PENFIELD – Programs have been finalized for the annual Woodhick Weekend, Sept. 1-2, at the Parker Dam State Park.
Saturday, Sept. 1
Graces:
3 p.m. – near Beach House
Learn how to play Graces, an older style of “catch”. Not as easy as it looks, but a whole lot of fun. All ages can enjoy this game of the past.
Woodhick Skills Primer:
5 p.m. – Woodhick Games Field
Take a short walk to each of the stations to learn some of the skills and tips that will help you do well during the competition on Sunday.
Woodsmen and River Drivers:
8 p.m. – Campground Amphitheater
Learn about the skills needed to harvest timber before chainsaws. Video interviews with woodsmen who lived the life of the lumber camps tell of their past.
Sunday, Sept. 2 – Annual Woodhick Games
Lumberjack Skills Demonstrations:
PA Professional Lumberjacks
12 p.m. & 4 p.m. – Woodhick Games Field
Many specialized skills made woodhicks valuable in the forest. Their hard work and skills were put to the test each day as they faced one of the most dangerous jobs of their time.
Today, the stakes aren’t quite as high, but the skill level is. Watch as members of the PA Professional Lumberjack Organization demonstrate their skills and explain how what they do was useful to the earlier woodhicks in the forests.
2018 Woodhick Games:
1 p.m. – 5 p.m. – Woodhick Games Field
Register for free at the table in the grove above the Cabin Road (look for the banner) so that you can participate in the Woodhick Games. Then, test your traditional woodhick skills against other amateur woodhicks in six different events: log rollin’, cross-cut sawin’, seed spittin’, ’shoe pitchin’, doo-doo droppin’, and hatchet throwin’.
Best score will win you an event; best overall score in your division will give you the coveted title of Woodhick or Woodchick of the Year. There’s a Junior division for those who are 12 and under.
Note: If you win an individual event, or one of the Woodhick of the Year divisions, you must attend the Woodhick Awards program at 6 p.m. to receive your prize(s).
Arrival of Smokey Bear:
1 p.m. Woodhick Games Field
Smokey Bear will be in the park for a while to greet the competitors, their families, and other park visitors. Be sure to say hello.
Woodhick Camp Demonstrations:
1 p.m. – 5 p.m. – Woodhick Games Field
Watch the blacksmith as he shows off his skills with iron. Other woodhicks will be demonstrating the skills used in the woods and along the waters. Look for the tools-of-the-time display, the camp cook’s tent, and try the traditional bean-hole beans.
Log Birling Demonstration:
5 p.m. – Lake Shore, below the Woodhick Games Field
When driving logs downriver, balance was a skill you must possess, or face deadly consequences. The stakes aren’t as high, but bragging rights are on the line when woodhicks face off in the sport of birling. Come watch and cheer them on.
2018 Woodhick Awards:
6 p.m. – Woodhick Games Field
The competitors have given it their all, now it’s time to reward them. The winners of each event will be awarded their prizes; however, winners must be present to receive their treasures. Then, we will crown the 2018 Woodhick, Woodchick, Jr. Woodhick, and Jr. Woodchick of the Year. Come congratulate all of the winners.
