Country Festival to celebrate Baldwin County's farming roots

STOCKTON, Alabama -- An event fashioned after a county fair of the late 1800s to early 1900s — complete with mules plowing and pulling logs in a “mule rodeo” — will be held this weekend at Bicentennial Park near Stockton.
The county’s first Old Time Country Festival, sponsored by the Baldwin County Department of Archives and History, will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
“What we’re trying to put together is an event that celebrates the agrarian traditions of Baldwin County,” said Nick Warren, special projects coordinator for the Department of Archives and History who oversees the park.
“The park is following the history of Baldwin County, and farming, of course, is one of the oldest and biggest industries within Baldwin County.”
Visitors will also get to see demonstrations ranging from blacksmithing to butter churning to wool carding, which Warren described as a brushing process so that wool can be loomed for textile making. For children, there will be historical games such as clay marbles, beanbag tosses and sack races, he said. A pie and cake contest is also planned.

OLD TIME COUNTRY FESTIVAL
WHAT: Historic county fair-like festival
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Bicentennial Park in north Baldwin
INFO: Contact the Department of Archives and History at 251-580-1826 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              251-580-1826      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or visit the Baldwin County website at www.baldwincountyal.gov

Tractors, including some of the earliest models, will be on display.
“There’s just a wide variety of things for people to look at and do all day,” Warren said.
The festival will also feature a horseshoe tournament with an entry fee of $5, he said. The hope, he said, is that it will revive the sport in Stockton, formerly known as the horseshoe capital of the state.
“Apparently, at one time they had horseshoe tournaments and that just kind of dried up, so we’re trying to revive the old horseshoe tournaments,” he said.
Food and craft vendors will also be selling their wares. Live music will be performed by local bluegrass bands.
Warren said he hopes the festival will not only be fun, but educational for visitors.
“It’s kind of just reminding folks of where we came from and some of the traditions that go with farming,” he said.
Bicentennial Park is two miles north of Interstate 65 on Ala. 225.
For more information, contact the Department of Archives and History at 251-580-1826 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              251-580-1826      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or visit the county website at www.baldwincountyal.gov and select events in the news and events category.