UAF offers chance to demonstrate woodsman skills
September 28, 2010
Nancy Tarnai
907-474-5042
9/27/10
If the lifestyle of true woodsmen appeals to you, mark your calendar for the 13th annual Farthest North Forest Sports Festival Oct. 2 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The day’s activities include ax throwing, log rolling, bow saw and crosscut sawing, fire building and more. Everyone is welcome to participate as individuals or as teams of four to six. Observers are also invited to this free event. Awards will be granted to individuals, teams and the “Bull of the Woods” and “Belle of the Woods.”
Faculty members and students at UAF's Department of Forest Sciences developed the competition as a way to commemorate old-fashioned forest festivals. While high-technology tools are the norm for forest professionals in today's world, the festival pays tribute to a time when traditional woods activities were the basis for work and play, survival and revival.
The morning events begin at 10 a.m. at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm fields across from the Georgeson Botanical Garden. At 1 p.m. the games move to Ballaine Lake on Farmers Loop. A warming fire and hot drinks will be available at the lake. Participants are advised to dress warmly.
The festival is sponsored by the UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Sciences and the Resource Management Society, a student organization.
For more information, contact John Fox at 907-474-7084 or jdfox@alaska.edu.
CONTACT: John Fox at 474-7084 or jdfox@alaska.edu. Nancy Tarnai, UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences public information officer, 474-5042 or ntarnai@alaska.edu.
NT/9-27-10/055-11