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Celebrate Fall Harvest At Great Smoky Mountains National Park's Mountain Farm Museum

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By NPT Staff - September 11th, 2017

The sorghum syrup demonstration, which the park has provided each fall for more than 30 years, is a hallmark of the Mountain Life Festival/NPS

The annual Mountain Life Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is scheduled for this coming Saturday. The event continues to preserve the legacy of Appalachian folkways and is a tribute to the many families who lived on lands that would later become the national park.

The event hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All activities are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the Mountain Life Festival is to share with park visitors some of the traditional fall activities that were an important part of rural life in the southern mountains. The spirit of cooperation that existed among families and neighbors is reflected in this event. Demonstrations on the grounds of the mountain farm museum include hearth cooking, apple butter making, blacksmithing, lye soap making, food preservation, and gardening.

Artifacts and historic photographs from the park's collection will be on display. Mountain Life Festival coincides with the park's music jam sessions held on the porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. every first and third Saturday of the month.

The centerpiece of the event is the sorghum syrup demonstration, which the park has provided each fall for more than 30 years. The syrup is made much the same way it was produced 100 or more years ago, using a horse or mule-powered cane mill and a wood-fired cooker. The syrup making demonstration is provided by students, staff, and volunteers from Swain County High School Future Farmer’s of America through a cooperative agreement with Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains Association.

The Mountain Farm Museum is located adjacent to the park’s Oconaluftee Visitor Center on US 441 in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, two miles north of Cherokee, North Carolina. For more information call the visitor center at (828) 497-1904.

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