Puppet shows, parties, and parades celebrate the child in all of us! the Festival gets rolling with the Kids Parage. Then, for kids of all ages, the annual Beach Party features music and lots of sand for shagging the night away. The fun never ends at the Youth Tent, filled with two weeks worth of hands-on activities, games and workshops such as:

• Decorated Bike Parade
• Sandcastle Building Contest
• Youth Art Show
• Inflatables
• Pet Show
• A Paintball Team Tournament
• Family Storytelling
• Hot Air Balloon Rides
• Visit the Farm Park Petting Zoo
• Karaoke
• Make, Take & Do Workshops
• A Teen Classic Car Show

Digging for History - Explore history through archaeology! Trained archaeologists will carefully retrieve artifacts and information from the ground. The Fields-Penn House was built in 1860, and maps indicate that a structure existed behind the home. Archaeologists hope to build on findings from the 2006 season that revealed unexplained brick patterns. Join Tom Klatka, regional archaeologist, Virginia Department of Historic Resources; Trisha Blosser, curator, William King Regional Arts Center; and members of the Wolf Hills Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Virginia at the Fields-Penn House, owned by the Town of Abingdon and operated by the Arts Center. Help them excavate a test unit, record history, and interpet the meaning.

Skipping Through History with Capt. Joseph Black & Friends - Join costumed interpreters at the Youth Tent 10-15 minutes before the start of this living history tour. Joseph Black, a founder of Abingdon (formerly Black's Fort), will lead an easy, interpreted stroll through the more "kid friendly" aspects of the Colonial and Civil War periods of the town's history. Included will be stops at The Tavern, the Martha Washington Inn, Barter Theatre, the site of (Joseph) Black's Fort, and many other points of interest. Designed to surprise and delight as well as inform, narration is geared to elementary and middle school students as interpreters help children relate more vividly to the remarkable history of the oldest town west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Playground of the Past - Children of all ages are invited to enjoy games from the past on the lawn of the Fields-Penn 1860 House Museum. Featured activities will include skittles (the forerunner of bowling), lawn bowling, hoops, ring toss, puzzles, colonial bubble blowing, hand held toys, and more.

2008 EVENT INFORMATION COMING SOON

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