On Saturday, June 21, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host the annual Women’s Work Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. This festival honors the vast contributions made by the women of Southern Appalachian, and showcases lifeways that women used to keep their families going in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
As part of the celebration, demonstrations among the historic buildings will include hearth cooking, soap making, cornshuck crafts, sewing, spinning, and traditional mountain music. Families will have a chance not only to see into the past, but to also take part in hands on activities demonstrating the traditions of the southern Appalachia.
Exhibits of artifacts and historic photographs will also provide a glimpse into the many and varied roles of rural women, and the Davis-Queen house will be open with an audio exhibit featuring the last child born in the house.
All activities are free to the public. The Mountain Farm Museum is located on U.S. Highway 441 adjacent to the national park’s Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 2 miles north of Cherokee, North Carolina.
Info: 497-1904
– NPS
