While the corn will be boiled rather than roasted this year because of the county-wide fire ban, Lang Pioneer Village Museum in Keene will still be celebrating the summer harvest season in settler style during the annual Corn Roast event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday (August 17).
Along with plenty of cooked corn with butter, the day of family fun includes historic demonstrations, live music, and more.
Tour the historic village in a horse-drawn wagon while you discover the many different ways 19th-century settlers used corn, with harvest-related demonstrations including threshing, bagging, fanning mill, corn husk braiding, and corn shelling.
Other historic demonstrations include natural dyeing using native plants, flop mattress repairing and stuffing, stitching with the Northumberland Hills Stitchery Guild, weaving on the Jacquard loom, wood turning with the Kawartha Woodturners Guild and the Peterborough Artisan Centre Wood Turners, rug hooking with the Northumberland Rug Hookers, grinding at the Grist Mill, and more.
Listen to harvest songs being played on the organ in the Glen Alda Church and traditional music performed by Glen Caradus on the Weaver Shop porch.
Visit the Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building to see the entries submitted for the Peterborough Agricultural Society’s Homecraft Show (also running on August 15 and 16), and view the Kawartha Truth and Reconciliation quilt on display. There will also be a display by the Otonabee South-Monaghan Public Library
Enjoy steaming cooked corn smothered in butter and, if you’re up for a challenge, enter the afternoon corn-on-the-cob eating contest taking place on the Village Green.
The Keene Lions Club food truck will at the Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building courtyard selling BBQ goods (cash only), sweet treats and cold beverages will be available for purchase in the Keene Hotel, Ben’s Kettle Corn will be popping up fresh kettle corn for sale, and the Cheese Factor will be selling fresh Empire Cheese curd and bread.
Admission costs $17 for adults, $12 for students and seniors 60 and older, and $9 for children and youth ages five to 14, with free admission for children under five. Family admission is also available for $45 and includes two adults and up to four children and youth.
Visitors may purchase admission at the gates or in advance online. To purchase advance admission or for more information, visit langpioneervillage.ca.
This is the final special event for the summer at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. Special events for the fall include Applefest on Sunday, October 5 and Spooky All Hallows’ Eve on Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25.
Lang Pioneer Village Museum’s summer hours of operation of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Sundays continue until August 31. From September 1 to November 14, outside of the special events mentioned above, the museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays.
