COLUMBUS, OH -- Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County will hold its 25th Annual Ohio Heritage Days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 22 and 23.
Ohio Heritage Days is one of the state's largest annual outdoor craft shows, drawing hundreds of visitors annually. More than 70 craftsmen dressed in vintage clothing will be on hand to demonstrate their talents, including spinning, woodworking, broom making and molasses boiling. Admission is free.
This year, author Ellen Bromfield Geld, youngest daughter of Malabar Farm founder Louis Bromfield, will be on hand to autograph copies of The Heritage: A Daughter's Memories of Louis Bromfield. The book is Geld's memoir of her famous father who pioneered modern conservation farming methods at Malabar during the 1940s. Geld's 1962 biography was recently reprinted with more photos, an epilogue and a foreword. Geld will be in the farm's Big House from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day of the event.
This year's festival will again feature an encampment of Civil War re-enactors and a rendezvous of buckskinners. The Richland County Steam Threshers will display their steam-powered machines and old-time farm tractors throughout the event. Members of the Central Ohio Draft Horse Association will offer demonstrations of plowing, log skidding and load pulling. The group will also provide horse-drawn wagon rides both days.
Nearby Mohican Resort and Conference Center will sponsor a barn dance with live music in the park's Main Barn from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on September 22. Steve Hall will perform live on the grand piano in the Big House and there will also be live music in the Main Barn from noon to 4 p.m. both days.
Malabar Farm was Bromfield's home until his death in 1956. It was designated as an Ohio State Park in 1976 and remains the only working farm in the state park system. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located 12 miles southeast of Mansfield and one mile west of State Route 603.
For Further Information Contact:
Louis Andres, Malabar Farm State Park
(419) 892-2784
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860