SUNBURY - The Northumberland County Historical Society will blend art, crafts and history at Fort Augusta Saturday, Aug. 10, when it hosts Colonial Crafts Demonstration Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public and will be held at 1150 N. Front St., rain or shine.
The fourth annual Colonial Crafts Demonstration Day is one of the society's Living History Days, a series of educational programs for all ages.
Event organizers have invited skilled craftspeople from central Pennsylvania and southern New York to display their work and demonstrate their crafts, which were part of 18th century daily life. Woodworking, powder horn making, blacksmithing, tinsmithing, lace making, fraktur, spinning, weaving and basketmaking are among the traditional crafts which will be represented.
A gardener, seamstresses, a trader and several soldiers will explain their roles and demonstrate methods used during the 18th century. Some of the craftspeople will have sell items and will accept custom orders throughout the day.
Society volunteers will staff the Fort Augusta museum, the genealogical research library and bookstore. Visitors may view the two remaining Fort Augusta features on the property, the well and the powder magazine, and the Hunter-Grant Cemetery.
In cooperation with the Susquehanna River Valley Heritage Alliance's efforts to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, the society has created a temporary exhibit of Civil War artifacts and Abraham Lincoln items collected by the late Leo Bobb. The exhibit will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes artwork, engravings, buttons, coins and other Lincoln memorabilia.