History Festival 2010

I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Lawrence County History Festival, which is always a great event involving reenactments, arts and crafts demonstrations, and other fun history-related activities. This year was the best ever, as it included the first-ever Native American Pow-Wow in Indiana. The colorful costumes of the Indians, the dancing and singing and the steady, solemn drum beat were very moving to watch and reminded me of the many courageous Native Americans with whom I served long ago in the Army.

Only a few feet away from the Pow-Wow, but miles away in history, my friend Stephen and I demonstrated bobbin lace for the third year in a row, both of us in historic costume. It had been a while since I had worked on my turquoise lace, but fortunately the bobbins hadn't become too tangled (it stayed far away from my visiting nieces and nephews this year!). Stephen was making four-inch-wide burgundy and cream lace trim for a queen-sized sheet, which was beautiful and made me want to finish my own project so I could start his pattern.

I always love the first day of the festival, which is when we get to show hundreds of fifth graders how to make lace, and watch them try. The general reaction is "Cool!" and there are always a few who come back to make another stitch or two.

This year I was also keeping track of our museum booth, where we had set up a kind of a quiz machine with questions about local and Indiana history. The kids liked it all right (mostly making the red and green lights flash), but it was a bigger hit with their parents and grandparents, who lived through much of the history in question. I spent more time giving hints to quiz-takers and handing out pencils at the museum booth than I did making bobbin lace on Saturday and Sunday, so unfortunately my turquoise lace didn't grow very much this weekend.

I'm happy to be home now and back in regular clothes. Someone told me, as I hopped out of DH's big red pick-up truck in my mobcap and colonial garb, that I looked like Granny Clampitt. I think it's time to retire that dreary colonial outfit that I made for DD's third-grade class trip fifteen years ago, and make a pretty Civil War dress with a low-cut bodice and a big hoop skirt. Maybe I'll finish the turquoise lace to trim the neck.