GREENVILLE – Dedicated Prairie Days enthusiasts might want to consider marking off their calendars for 12 to 14 non-stop hours the weekend of Sept. 28-29. If they take a break they could miss something.

“We have something going on every hour,” said Darke County Parks Director Roger Van Frank. According to the schedule, an event often occurs every half hour.

A flag raising featuring a full salute with flintlocks and the National Anthem by the Wavaires starts the weekend at 10 a.m. Saturday. After that the grand opening of the Blacksmith Shop, encampments, log house activities, a Carpet Bagger, the Civic Theater and a purveyor of the “Truest Lies ever Told” top just a few of the featured events at the 2013 Prairie Days at Shawnee Prairie.

Van Frank added the Prairie Days weekend grows every year.

“This year we’ll have three buses from GTS instead of two… we expect 7,000 to 10,000 visitors over the two day event.”

The festival will feature the activities of previous years but will also have new attractions.

“We’ll have the cider press and apple butter making… these are things the kids can do. Also candle dipping. That was really popular with the kids; more than 1,000 last year.”

He added that rope making is back, horse and wagon rides, prairie hay rides, encampments…

“They love the horse and wagon rides. Our Belgian work horses were worn out from being kept so busy last year. And we’ve added a couple new encampments. There were seven or eight then… there will be nine this year.”

The Civic Theater will have three presentations of “In Search of the Holy Grill… or It’s All a Big Miss Stake.”

“They are really popular,” Van Frank said. “Last year 200-300 people came out just to see them.”

The Bee Lady (Carol Hathaway) will be back… “Bee population isn’t quite as good this year as last year, but she’ll still be demonstrating honey extraction.”

“True Lies” is a specialty of Chris Supinger.

“I’m a purveyor of improbable possibilities,” Supinger said. Pause. “I’m a liar. I get paid to lie.” He grinned. Supinger’s improbable possibilities will spring forth on the outdoor stage at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The rest of his time will be spent at the outdoor bake oven he’s been building.

“This type of oven has been in use 1,000 years,” he said. “It’s very efficient, takes little to construct and it will do anything a conventional oven will do.”

The building process includes using gravel on a layer of clay; saplings on top of that to make an igloo shape. Clay and grass start soft and wet. Once it dries, small fires are used to cure it. After two or three hours the oven is usable.

“They use it today in Africa, South America… even in Northern Canada.”

Supinger said the oven isn’t used with a live fire. After the fire is out, the heat from the stone is what does the baking… the temperature is about 600 degrees.

The oven probably won’t be complete by Prairie Days, but he’ll be working on it… and maybe sharing a few more “true lies” with visitors.

Photo set to be posted soon at Community Events Photo Gallery

http://www.countynewsonline.org/photosc.html

Published courtesy of The Early Bird