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First Posted: 9/26/2014 You can attend a baseball game or a football game and see athletes competing. But it isn&#8217;t often you will see men log rolling, pole climbing and chainsawing.
It&#8217;s the sport of lumberjacking and it is a sport unlike any other, according to Rob Scheer, who produces the Timber Team Ironjack Shows, which combine folk lore, comedy and history along with real competition, for audience enjoyment all across the country.
&#8220;It is a very traditional Ironjack competition,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It is what the early logging athletes did every spring and fall. It is disciplined, dangerous, athletic and combines precision, power and strength.&#8221;
Shawnee Mountain, well known for its ski lodge, plays host to another rugged sport at its annual Autumn Timber Festival.
It will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, and Sunday, Oct. 12.
The Timber Team Ironjack Shows feature demonstration and humorous competition in a variety of events like pole climbing, log rolling, chopping, sawing and chainsawing as seen in ESPN&#8217;s Great Outdoor Games. Three half-hour shows will be performed both days.
Four athletes, who have all competed on the Decathlon level, and are specialized in cutting, sawing, chopping and tree-climbing, comprise two teams that vie against each other in tree cutting, pole climbing, springboard chainsawing, ax throwing and an obstacle event.
&#8220;This is a true American spot,&#8221; Scheer said. &#8220;It&#8217;s like a rodeo. They&#8217;re like cowboys cut from the same fabric. You are watching not athletes but history. Not everyone can climb a 50-foot free and stay safe and master it to the level that they can. They&#8217;re pretty unique and special. Only a few hundred people in the world can actively compete at this level.&#8221;
While the men undeniably are all in great physical shape, they are also selected for their ability to play off an audience. &#8220;It is a true competition,&#8221; Scheer said. &#8220;But some of it is scripted for the benefit of the crowd. This is an invitational event and these guys were hand-picked for their athleticism, marketability and performance. They&#8217;re fun, handsome and rugged. And they can ham it up big time.&#8221;
It takes a lot of endurance to compete in three daily shows and Scheer notes that the men are experienced in endurance and outdoor events like skiing and kayaking.
Scheer said the crowd can get pretty rowdy cheering the men on and the guys, in turn, feed off this adrenalin. What makes the sport so appealing despite its unfamiliarity is that the performance is so accessible to the audience. &#8220;They&#8217;re not a football field away,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The impressive part about it is that it&#8217;s up close. You can see the pain, sweat and joy all on their faces. The people linger after the show is over because they are so excited about what they&#8217;ve seen.&#8221;
The audience is also invited to compete in an open ax throwing contest.
But timber isn&#8217;t all that&#8217;s happening on the mountain. The festival, one of the longest-running at Shawnee, combines some unique attractions into a family friendly event that is big on novelty acts like dogs, fortune tellers and stilt-walkers.
Festival spokesman Jim Tust calls it &#8220;classic Americana.&#8221;
&#8220;Fall is one of the most beautiful times here on the mountain,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The mountain provides a great backdrop for a lot of fun. The foliage will either be early or we will be on the peak of the tail end of it.&#8221;
The Marvelous Mutts is an athletic team of strays, all adopted from shelters, who will wow crowds with their tricks, stunts and demonstrations.
If dogs aren&#8217;t your thing, maybe pigs are. David Feimster&#8217;s &#8220;Sue Wee&#8221; Pig Racing is part of the fun along with magician Stephen Christopher&#8217;s Traveling Medicine Show. There will also be a stilt walker, a pie man, jugglers and balloon art. Chainsaw Carvers will demonstrate their art throughout the weekend.
Scenic Chairlift Rides on Shawnee Mountain&#8217;s new Tomahawk Express Quad Lift will be available from noon to 4 p.m. each day at an additional cost for a spectacular view of the Pocono fall foliage.
Music will fill the mountain on both days as live musical entertainment will be on stage. The Cramer Brothers, a country show band with six musicians playing contemporary and classic country as well as bluegrass. The Liz Nordstrom Band, a Pocono Mountain favorite, will perform on Sunday. The Lost Ramblers will stroll the grounds both days providing Appalachian music ranging from bluegrass to gospel to swing and old time favorites in three-part harmonies.

Timber Festival is a real tree-t for the family