Greenville to celebrate 30th annual Maine Forest Heritage Days
GREENVILLE — The 30th annual Maine Forest Heritage Days is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 14. The 2021 event, back after being impacted by COVID-19 in 2020, includes a craft fair, chainsaw carving, a woodsman demonstration featuring chopping and ax throwing, the regional Game of Logging competition, museum exhibits and a concert.
The Forest Heritage Days events start at 7 a.m. with a lumbermen’s breakfast until 10 a.m. at the American Legion Hall, 218 Pritham Avenue, Enjoy a hearty Maine woodsman’s breakfast of eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage, pancakes and more.
Join the Natural Resource Education Center at Moosehead as it celebrates the opening of the replica of the Big Moose (Squaw) Mountain fire warden’s cabin that will also serve as a warming hut for the youth cross-country ski program. The exhibit is from 9-10 a.m. at the Destination Moosehead Lake Visitor’s Center, 480 Moosehead Lake Road.
GENTLEMEN, START YOUR CHAINSAWS — Competition announcer Stuart Hall introduces the five entrants in the 2015 regional Game of Logging at the Greenville school grounds, held in conjunction with the annual Forest Heritage Days celebration. From left is Hall, Jeremy Grignon, Tom Fox — that year’s winner, John Grignon, Tyler McIntosh and Paul Cyr. The 2021 event gets underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14 as part of Forest Heritage Days.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Greenville school campus, 130 Pritham Avenue, will be the site of the Game of Logging competition integrated with the Colby College Woodsman’s Team demonstrations. The site will include chainsaw carving demonstrations, an outside craft fair, forestry, wildlife and recreation exhibitors, forestry equipment, food vendors and children’s programs.
Moosehead Historical Society and Museums, 6 Lakeview Street and 444 Pritham Avenue, will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn about the history of the greater Moosehead Lake region through entertaining guided tours of Lumberman’s & Outdoor Heritage Exhibits.
A woodsman’s dinner will be served from 4-7 p.m. at the Masonic Temple on Pritham Avenue. Enjoy an authentic meal of baked beans, hot dogs, biscuits and more.
Extreme Country performs at the East Cove Gazebo on the Lily Bay Road starting at 7:30 p.m.
TIMBER! — Tom Fox and the several judges watch as Fox’s tree falls to the ground in the precision felling event during a past Game of Logging in Greenville. The loggers try to be as precise as possible by having the tree land on a target.
The complete schedule as well as information about ticketed events can be found at www.forestheritagedays.org or the event Facebook page.
Forest Heritage Days is an annual community event that honors the state’s most historic industry. The forest products industry has been a staple in Maine for generations and provides an annual economic impact of $8 to $10 billion, employs one in 20 Mainers and contributes 28.9 percent of all state exports. Each year since 1991, families and community members gather to celebrate this vibrant industry with several days of forestry fun.
This year’s Forest Heritage Days is made possible in part through a grant awarded by the Maine Arts Commission to the Moosehead Historical Society for a community-wide State of Maine Bicentennial Celebration.