Piney Woods Festival features traditional skills and crafts

By Nathan Gregory MSU Extension Service

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- History enthusiasts of all ages can try their hand at traditional skills and crafts at a festival hosted by the Crosby Arboretum.

The 22nd annual Piney Woods Heritage Festival will take place on Nov. 9, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Crosby Arboretum, located at 370 Ridge Road in Picayune.

This annual event celebrates traditional skills and crafts, providing a platform for artisans to show their expertise in various heritage activities.

Demonstrations featured include blacksmithing, quilting, spinning, weaving, basket-making, and butter churning. Children can learn how to forge, spin wool and make butter.

The festival also features musical entertainment, with old-time bluegrass group Hazel and the Delta Ramblers performing followed by the Pineywood Cloggers and the N.O. Quarter Shantey Krewe.

Vendors will be on hand selling their baked goods and crafts.

Exhibitions also include a Piney Woods' cow. This breed is among the oldest in the U.S., tracing its roots back to Spanish cattle introduced to the Americas in the 1500s.

Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for children 12 years old and under. Crosby Arboretum members get in free of charge.

A unit of the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi, the Arboretum is operated by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. More information is available online at crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu.

MSU is an equal opportunity institution. For disability accommodation or other information, contact Barb Medlock at 601-799-2311, ext. 0.

Contact: Barb Medlock, 601-799-2311 office, 228-332-0823 cell