Courtesy photo
Song Catcher Bob Antone and his sons Parker, 10, and Hayden, 12, will perform throughout the day.

2nd Heritage Festival expands farm opportunities

This year’s Heritage Festival (Sept. 22, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.) promises to be a butter-churning, yarn-spinning, blacksmithing, corn-shucking, cider-pressing, shake-splitting, rope-making good time.

Folks visiting the Dougherty Farmstead on Cherry Valley Road will learn how to churn butter and wash clothes on a scrub board. There will be logging demonstrations, weaving of traditional cedar hats and mule-drawn plows.

“The event is sponsored by the Duvall Historical Society and the Duvall Cultural Commission,” said event coordinator David Weinstein.

A festival in Duvall wouldn’t be complete without music. Bob Antone, Snoqualmie Valley native and Northwest storyteller and song bearer, will be doing some weaving of his own as he entertains with his songs, folklore and legends.

“For 15 years I’ve been collecting songs, stories and poetry of the Northwest,” said Bob. Much of his work is derived from timber camp songs and stories, and those he heard growing up.

Bob said there were often entertainers in timber camps to keep up the morale. He said in that tradition, he will play guitar and the fiddle passed down to him from his great grandfather. Assisting him will be his sons Hayden on the hand drum, and Parker on the musical saw, which has been passed down four generations.

Additional music will be performed by the Snoqualmie Tribe Canoe Family, throughout the day.

The 2nd annual Festival coincides with the Harvest Celebration Farm Tour in King County. Sponsored by King County WSU Extension, this year’s Farm Tour includes 24 farms. The Dougherty Farmstead is one of three heritage farms with historic value and buildings that are participating in the Farm Tour. A guide to all the participating farms can be found at the library, or at http://www.king.wsu.edu/foodandfarms/HarvestCelebration.html.

“The Harvest Celebration as a whole is to introduce people to the diversity of agriculture in our area,” said Tricia Sexton, Small Farms and Food Systems event coordinator, “and to encourage them to support small sustainable farms. The heritage farms add to that by giving it a historical perspective, and teach people that agriculture has a very long thriving history in that area.”

Last year’s Farm Tour resulted in 8,000 visits to local farms.

Both the Heritage Festival and Farm Tour are free. Visitors to the Dougherty Farmstead are asked to park at Holy Innocents Church.