Forest Fest competition scheduled for Oct. 10
October 5, 2015
Competitors can test their lumberjack mettle Oct. 10 at the 18th annual Farthest North Forest Sports Festival at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
There is no entry fee and anyone 18 or older may compete. Expertise is not necessary, just a willingness to try. Events begin at 10 a.m. at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm fields, across from the Georgeson Botanical Garden, and include log rolling, pulp toss, bow saw and crosscut sawing, and axe throwing. The competition migrates to Ballaine Lake around 1 p.m. for campfire building and birling (staying upright on a log in the lake).
Participants are advised to dress warmly and bring a towel and change of clothes if they plan on competing in birling. A warming fire will be available at Ballaine Lake. People may compete as individuals or teams of four to six. At the end of the day, the “Bull of the Woods” and the “Belle of the Woods” will be announced.
UAF forestry faculty members and students at UAF developed the competition as a way to commemorate old-fashioned forest festivals and traditional woods activities that were the basis for work and play.
The festival is sponsored by the UAF School of Natural Resources and Extension and the student Resource Management Society. For more information, call Pete Fix at 474-6926 or at pjfix@alaska.edu.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Debbie Carter, School of Natural Resources and Extension information officer, 907-474-5406 and dscarter@alaska.edu