A Fun-packed Forest Fire & Wood Festival at Dean Heritage Centre
The annual three day Fire and Wood festival returns for its 6th year at the Dean Heritage Centre (DHC) from Saturday 25nd to Monday 27th May, and has a packed line up of local crafts and artisans.
Activities include the Welsh Axemen (Sunday and Monday only) ‘Warbow Wales’ (Saturday only), blacksmithing, chainsaw carving, stone carving, the Forest of Dean Woodturners, pole lathe workshops, pyrography, fire juggling, rustic furniture building as well as the centre’s brand new Gruffalo’s Child woodland trail. A detailed line up can be found on the DHC’s website, www.deanheritagecentre.com
Harri Le Claire, PR and Event Manager said: ‘The Fire and Wood festival has always been a popular event for families and showcases traditional crafts on our beautiful woodland site. It’s a great opportunity to learn about different skills and get the kids involved. With ‘Warbow Wales’ demonstrating the power of the medieval longbow on the Saturday and the ‘Welsh Axemen’ joining us on the Sunday and Bank holiday, it is sure to be an exciting spectacle for visitors’
Jeremy Spencer from Warbow Wales said: “We are greatly looking forward to attending the Fire and Wood Festival, the event is the ideal place to showcase the power of the Welsh longbow and the ancient skills involved in making archery tackle. We will be doing demonstrations throughout the day and will be available to chat to visitors about the craft and history of the medieval longbow”
As part of the festival, the centre will be conducting one of its bi-annual charcoal burns. The ancient process which takes three full days and nights of constant monitoring by volunteers will be available for visitors to see with experts on hand to explain the process which transforms locally sourced cord wood into charcoal which can be bought in the onsite gift shop. Unlike many brands of charcoal which have been treated with fire retardant chemicals for transportation to the shops, the DHC charcoal is entirely natural and easier to light.
Since the opening of the 2012 ‘Gruffalo’ trail and the brand new ‘Gruffalo’s Child’ trail which will remain open until March 2014, the DHC has seen record numbers of visitors and anticipates that the festival which falls on the Bank holiday weekend will give visitors the opportunity to take part in hand’s on activities and see artists at work whilst viewing the spectacular new Gruffalo’s child woodland trail and everything else that the award winning tourism attraction has to offer.
The Dean Heritage Centre is a great family day out with something for every age range. The five acre site in Soudley includes the woodland trail, animals, an adventure playground, five galleries of Forest of Dean history, a gift shop, a café, chainsaw carvers, interactive trails and much more.
Fire and Wood still has spaces for demonstration pitches. If you have a craft that you would like to bring to Fire and Wood please contact Harri Le Claire on 01594 822170 or email harri@deanheritagecentre.com
Explore Gloucestershire
14 May 2013
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