Come see the axes fly! The Woodsmen’s Club from the SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill returns to Hanford Mills to demonstrate cross-cut sawing, overhand and underhand chop, ax throwing and other lumberjack skills. The speed and precision of these talented college students is amazing to watch. The day of fall fun features woodworking demonstrations, exhibits by forest and woodworking organizations, food. music, kids’ activities, local vendors, and Mill demonstrations.

“The first mill was built on this site in 1846,” says Museum executive director Liz Callahan. “For generations and generations, Hanford Mills supplied the community with lumber and wood products they needed for their homes, businesses, and farms. The Woodsmen’s Festival celebrates this history, and is an opportunity to demonstrate how we still use water power to run the Mills’ machines. We also want to highlight the work of today’s woodworkers, craftspeople, lumberjacks, and organizations that work to protect and enhance our forests.”

The 2016 Woodsmen’s Festival featured:

• Woodturner Carl Stoner
• GTO Woodturning
• Traditional cooper Bob Allers
• Woodcarver Roy Watson
• A portable sawmill demonstrated by Seth Finch
• Catharina Kessler of Promisedland Farms with her handmade Swedish style, traditional mittens and hats
• Shaver-Hill Farm with a variety of maple products, including syrup and maple cotton candy
• Awestruck Ciders, serving samples and bottles of premium hard cider
• Gilson’s Native American Crafts
• “The Wild Ones: Creatures of the Catskills” exhibit by Berth Rogers
• Pure Catskills
• My Woodlot
• Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership
• American Chestnut Foundation
• Music by Bourbon & Branch
• Tickled Pink BBQ with pulled pork sandwiches and snack items
• Pie and chili sales from the Charlotte Valley Presbyterian Church
• Hands-on activities for kids, like playing with gears, simple machines, and circuit boards.
• Steam-power demonstrations
• Water-power demonstrations
• Mill-made crafts, traditional toys, books, and local products for sale in the Museum Shop