Thoreau-Wabanaki fest features trips, classes and Dave Mallett concert

  GREENVILLE — The Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival July 15-18 in Greenville celebrates the history of the Wabanaki people and poet, philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau’s three trips into the Maine woods.

 This year’s program also includes an appearance by Dave Mallett on Friday, July 17.

 The Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail consists of traditional Wabanaki canoe routes and portages in the Kennebec, Penobscot and Allagash river drainages over which Henry David Thoreau traveled in his three excursions into the woods, his last two with Penobscot guides Chief Joseph Attean and Joseph Polis.

 On Wednesday, July 15 starting at 9 a.m., youngsters can join the Maine Woods Explorers for a day of map and compass skills that will end with a Thoreau scavenger hunt with lots of prizes. Participates will met at the Natural Resources Education Center (NREC) office on Pritham Avenue.

 At 7 p.m., Maine Guide Eric Ward and Wildlife Biologist Scott McLellan present “The Majestic Moose: Denizen of the Maine Woods” at the Center for Moosehead History at 7 p.m. Learn about the early history of moose hunting in Maine’s north woods and the newest research programs from a biologist on the front lines of Maine’s moose management. Admission is by donation.

 On Thursday, July 16, staff from the Abbe Museum of Bar Harbor will be at the Center for Moosehead History from 10 a.m.-noon with a program on the Wabanaki Indian Tribe through stories and artifacts. This is a terrific children’s program about the history and culture of Maine’s Native American tribe.

 At 7 p.m., also at the center, retired IF&W Fisheries Biologist Paul Johnson will host a program on Maine wildflowers.

 Thoreau was a very competent amateur botanist who documented the plants that he found in his travels throughout New England. This program will highlight some common, as well as some not-so-common, wildflowers observed and recorded by Thoreau on his three trips to Maine more than 160 years ago. The program begins at 7 p.m. and admission is by donation.

 Friday, July 17 features a good old-fashioned chicken barbecue with baked beans at 5 p.m. on the lawn across from the Center for Moosehead History, followed by a concert by Maine’s own Dave Mallett on the waterfront.

 Mallett has recorded 14 albums, including “The Fable True” in 2007, based on Thoreau’s last expedition in 1857. His songs have been recorded by more than 150 artists, including Pete Seeger, Alison Krauss, John Denver, Arlo Guthrie, Emmylou Harris and Peter, Paul & Mary. The show starts at 7 p.m. and donations are greatly appreciated.

 On Saturday, July 18, NREC will host a family field hike to the top of Mount Kineo.

 Hikers will meet at the Center for Moosehead History at 8 a.m. to carpool to the Kineo launch in Rockwood. See the magnificent view of Maine’s largest lake from the top of the mountain that has been the centerpiece of the region for decades. There is a $10 fee for the shuttle ride.

 There will also be an NREC field trip on “Native American Archeology of the Moosehead Lake Region” with Greenville native Dr. Nathan Hamilton, professor of anthropology at the University of Southern Maine, also on Mount Kineo. The peninsula is one of the most significant Native American tool-making sites in the Northeast.

 The carpool leaves the Center for Moosehead History at 9:15 a.m. to catch the 10 a.m. shuttle. There is a $10 for the shuttle service.

 The festival wraps up with a presentation on Native American basket making by Barbara Francis across from the center from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and a presentation by Dr. Hamilton on the archeology of the Moosehead Lake Region at 7 p.m.

 For more information, visit www.nrecmoosehead.org/thoreau-wabanaki-festival.