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<p>KINGSTON TWP. &#8212; Churning butter, shelling corn and cranking out apple cider are just some of the hands-on activities available at the 2017 Heritage Day and Fall Festival at Frances Slocum State Park on Sunday.&nbsp;</p><p>The annual event celebrates local history and the park&#8217;s amenities, said Kathy Kelchner, the environmental educator at the park.</p><p>&#8220;People stop coming to the park after Labor Day,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The event brings people back to the park and gives families an opportunity to see how things were done in yesteryear.&#8221;</p><p>The free event is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. in the vicinity of pavilions one and two at the park, 567 Mount Olivet Road.</p><p>A variety of vendors &#8212; including the Luzerne County Historical Society, the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment, master gardeners and watershed stewards &#8212; will tap into visitors&#8217; curiosity.</p><p>Other interactive exhibits will allow people to operate a &#8220;corn sheller&#8221; to remove corn kernels from a cob or turn the crank on a cider press to make apple cider, Kelchner said.</p><p>&#8220;Before the corn sheller, people used to hand-cut field corn off the cob to feed to their poultry,&#8221; she said, adding the cobs were then burned as a fuel or made into toys for children.</p><p>Kids will also be able to make a feather dart from a corn cob, as well as create a title coaster and a gourd craft. Other guests can taste pickled cabbage and freshly churned butter.</p><p>Native American artifacts, live animals and honeybees will also be part of Heritage Day.</p><p>Don Shappelle, a folk musician, will provide entertainment starting at 2 p.m. </p><p>Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation will hold a presentation at 3:30 p.m.</p><p>Boy Scout Troop 155 of Trucksville will sell hot food and refreshments as a fundraiser for upcoming troop programs and trips.</p><p>Heritage Day and Fall Festival started in the early 1990s, Kelchner estimates.</p><p>The event grew, and so did the support it receives from the community.</p><p>Last year, the cold and windy weather made many folks shy away, she noted.</p><p>&#8220;We had about 2,800 people attend last year,&#8221; said Kelchner. &#8220;The event usually attracts between 4,000 to 6,000 people.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We are hoping for good weather.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Five-year-old Olivia Kellar, of Dallas, sews a patch onto a quilt with help from the guiding hand of her grandmother Terry Kellar at the 2015 Heritage Day at Frances Slocum State Park in Kingston Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TDP101115Heritage3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Five-year-old Olivia Kellar, of Dallas, sews a patch onto a quilt with help from the guiding hand of her grandmother Terry Kellar at the 2015 Heritage Day at Frances Slocum State Park in Kingston Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>File photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TDP101115Heritage1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gene Kearney, a member of the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment, is seen in a Colonial battle uniform during the 2015 Heritage Day at Frances Slocum State Park in Kingston Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TDP101115Heritage1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Gene Kearney, a member of the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment, is seen in a Colonial battle uniform during the 2015 Heritage Day at Frances Slocum State Park in Kingston Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>File photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Heritage Day</strong></p><p><strong>Time: </strong>Noon to 5 p.m.</p><p><strong>Date: </strong>Sunday, Oct. 8</p><p><strong>Place: </strong>Frances Slocum State Park</p><p>567 Mount Olivet Road, Kingston Township</p><p><strong> Cost: </strong>Free</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Heritage Day at Frances Slocum State Park celebrates region’s past, present