24th Annual
Mount Hood Huckleberry
Festival & Barlow Trail Days
August 22nd, 2008 (Friday) --- 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ~
(plus a special ³Huckleberry
Friday Evening Concert² --- 7 p.m. to 10
p.m.),
& August 23rd, 2008 (Saturday) --- 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ~
(plus a special ³Huckleberry Saturday Evening Concert² --- 7 p.m. to 10
p.m.),
& August 24th, 2008 (Sunday) ---
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ~
Mt. Hood Village, 65000 East U.S. Highway 26, near the historic Village of
Brightwood, Oregon
No
Admission! Free Parking!
1840ıs Oregon Trail emigrant Samuel Welch founded
the Village of Welches
in the western foothills of Mount Hood in 1880. By 1890 he had modified his
two-story farmhouse
into a hotel to go along with the campground he had
built two years earlier. To celebrate, he decided to hold an
annual
festival to celebrate the birth of tourism on this Mountain that the Native
Americans called ³WyıEast².
This pioneer celebration survived up until the
realities of the Great Depression in the 1930ıs forced it to come to an
abrupt
halt. Then 24 years ago the Cascade Geographic Society revived it
and started out with a table in a parking lot trying
to get people to
remember this Mountainıs great heritage. Today, we are celebrating our
Twenty-Forth Anniversary.
The festivities include free historical tours of
the Oregon Trail, original and traditional Folk music, arts and crafts,
antiques
and collectables, historical and natural resource exhibits, and
more. One of the highlights is the ³Worldıs Record-Breaking
Watermelon
Launch² (Saturday afternoon), where catapults and other uniquely-designed
contraptions launch watermelons
and other produce into outer space. There
are lots of delicious Huckleberry Pies and Tarts, Huckleberry jams and
sauces
and a selection of other Wild Berry jams, even fresh Huckleberries.
There's a Native American Salmon bake, Native
American storytelling, a
³Huckleberry Ceremony², and much, much more including ³Great Northwest
Music² featuring incredible
singer-songwriters all day long, with a
³Huckleberry Friday Evening Concert² between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., a
³Huckleberry
Saturday Evening Concert² between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. followed by
a ³Huckleberry Jam (Session)² on between 9 p.m. and 10
p.m. There will be
something for the whole family! This three-day event is always held during
the month
of August the weekend before Labor Day Weekend. Free admission!
Free parking!
For Information: Call (503)
622-4798; Email: cgsmthood@onemain.com.
Website: www.members.com/cgs-mthood.
~2~
Once again, this yearıs Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival &
Barlow Trail Days will help celebrate two special anniversaries: the first
attempted [but failed] crossing
of Mount Hoodıs southern flank 162 years
ago, and the opening of the first
toll road over the Cascade Mountain Range
161 years ago. With a toll of $5 per wagon, this
overland route was fashioned out
of an ancient Indian trail and served as an
overland route for emigrants not
having the $50 fee to raft their wagon down
the Columbia River.
The Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days celebrates the
history and natural resources
associated with Mount
Hood and the Oregon Trail. Itıs a time for young and old people from all
walks of life to come together
for the festivities.
²Festivals such as this one are ideal because people can enjoy
themselves while appreciating
those very special things that Nature provides
us, along with a fascinating history
that is associated with our natural
landscapes,² explains Michael
P. Jones of the Cascade Geographic Society.
³You canıt help but to take a
good look at what we have here in
Oregon and
the Northwest and know that we
are very lucky to have this heritage.
³Holding this celebration [the Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival
~3~
& Barlow Trail Days] on Mount
Hood is also very special since this Mountain
is the symbol of Oregon, as well
as the Peak serving as an important
Cascadian representative of the
Northwest. Where else could you really
celebrate our natural, historical,
and cultural resources with so many
people from different walks of
life and age groups?
³It also becomes very apparent during these special times of unique
celebrations, like the Mount Hood
Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days,
that people come to understand
that each and every one of us must do
something, no matter how large
or small, if we want future generations to
have what we have. Our heritage is not something that we can take for
granted, because it will always
be with us; these are things that we must
diligently protect.²
The Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days is actually a
reincarnation of an earlier celebration
that began back in 1890 with the
opening of the Welches Hotel in
the quaint little Village of Welches. The
hotel, known as the ³Big House²,
was operated by 1840ıs Oregon Trail
emigrant, trading post operator,
and founder of this frontier settlement
along the Salmon River, Samuel
Welch, who actually resembled the image of
that character who became known
as ³Uncle Sam². Samuel, along with his son
Billy, opened a campground along
the Salmon River two years prior to the
hotel, which sowed the seeds for
the tourist industry on Mount Hood.
This yearıs Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days, as it
has since the very early beginnings
of this event, pays tribute to Mount
Hoodıs unique bounty of Huckleberries
and its
~4~
other special natural resources,
in addition to its history. This
Festival has become part of a
tradition that brings people back to the
slopes of Mount Hood year after
year.
Besides the ever popular fresh Huckleberries, huckleberry milkshakes,
and fresh Huckleberry Tarts, there
will be even more special goodies
available. This yearıs Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days
will feature a wider selection
of more tasty products made from Oregonıs
³blue gold² --- Wild Huckleberries. These not only include jam, syrup,
candies, tea, milkshakes, and
tarts, but also coffee, vinaigrette, and
barbecue sauce. And, as in previous years, there will be a big demand for
all products made from the Wild
Huckleberry, so we have added even more
stock so we, hopefully, wonıt
sell out. They will be on sale each day of
the Festival, from 10;00 a.m.
to 6:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and on
Sunday until 5:00 p.m. only.
This year, for the first-time ever, participants at the Mount Hood
Huckleberry Festival & Barlow
Trail Days will be able to enjoy Huckleberry
Crepes. This special desert will be available as soon as the Festival opens
each day.
The ever-famous and always funny ³Worldıs Record-Breaking Watermelon
Launch² will take place on Saturday,
August 25th, at 3:00 p.m. Catapults
and other unusual devices will
prove that watermelons indeed can fly and
competition doesnıt have to be
so serious. This event will feature ³The
Gaflunger² (the worldıs oldest
watermelon launcher) and ³Mighty Might² (the
worldıs smallest watermelon launcher). As always, audience participation a
must!
~5~
Music will also be highlighting the Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival &
Barlow Trail Days, beginning in
the morning hours until it closes each
evening. Some of the best singer-songwriters from around the Northwest will
take to the ³Great Northwest Music
Stage² and perform in free non-stop
concerts from morning to night,
which includes a special ³Friday Evening
Huckleberry Concert², and a ³Saturday
Evening Huckleberry Concert².
Performers taking to the ³Great Northwest Music² stage at various times
during the three-days of the Mount
Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail
Days will primarily include singer-songwriters
featuring their own special
brand of music. These performers are coming from around the Portland
Metropolitan Area
and beyond. This Festival is also the place for folks to purchase what are
sometimes hard-to-find CDs for
their collection from these entertainers.
Performers include: Tony Graham (with his special brand of acoustic muse of
Pop/Rock/Folk at its very best);
Wayne Richards and Southern Nights
(Americana with a special twist);
Jacob Merlin Band (a seven-piece group
featuring Jazzy Funk); Laddie
Ray Melvin (whose music is said to be
³Folk-possessed hard-black coffee
with the sweetness of the road²); the
Nostalgic Jazz of the Amy Keys
Band; David Stauffer (featuring his ³Original
Pop-Tempo Americana² music); the
Alt Country of The Willamette Project;
Natalia, a twelve-year-old singer-songwriter
with her original Folk tunes;
the the singer-songwriting duo,
Celeste & Lauren, with their special tunes
that has been described as ³original
Pop with the sound of sweet thunder
softly cascading through a mountain
forest²; singer-songwriter John Twist,
with his special blend ³Acoustic
Folk with the bushwhacking spirit of
Americaıs backroads², and Cyndi
Hubb (featuring her music that has been
thoughtfully described as ³the
elusive echo of a solo flutist²).
~6~
From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., on both Friday and Saturday evening, the Mount
Hood Huckleberry Festival &
Barlow Trail Days is featuring two special
³Huckleberry Concerts². These performances will feature some outstanding
singer-songwriters.
The ³Friday Evening Huckleberry Concert² will be offered free to the
public. Featured will be two singer-songwriters and entertainers who will
be showcasing their talents. Tony Graham will be featuring songs from his
³Kick the Can² CD and brand new
tunes from his just released ³Writings On
the Wall² album. John Twist will feature songs from his ³The Vine Grows
Back CD, as well as from his untitled
soon-to-be-released CD in addition to
drawing from a large collection
of other original tunes.
Returning for the ³Saturday Evening Huckleberry Concert² will be the
outstanding Tony Graham, once
again showcasing the tunes from his brand new
³Writings On the Wall² CD and
from his earlier ³Kick the Can² CD. And,
sharing the stage will be singer-songwriter
Laddie Ray Melvin who will
feature tunes from his ³In the
Aftermath² CD and ³Rocky Ground² CD.
All the music for the Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow
Trail Days will be videotaped
by Nowhere Productions for cable access
television. Each of the performers will be featured in their own concert
and aired later in the year. There will be an estimated twenty or more
concerts that will be televised.
On Saturday and Sunday there will be Native American storytelling with
Indian flute music, which will
seemingly bring the myths and legends back to
life. Storyteller Michael P. Jones, with the Cascade Geographic Society,
will perform along with flutist
~7~
Cyndi Hubb.
On Saturday at 6 p.m., a ³Huckleberry Ceremony² will bring the cultural
and historical role of the Wild
Huckleberry in the Mount Hood Huckleberry
Festival & Barlow Trail Days
into perspective. Native Americans will share
songs and prayers associated with
this important natural resource, as well
as officiate over a traditional
blessing of the berries. These will then be
shared with those in attendance.
A Native American salmon bake, including freeboard, is also planned for
the entire three days of the Mount
Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail
Days, featuring ceremonial cooks
from The Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
In addition, a delicious and very
special barbecue will be available each
day until sold out that will feature
shish-ka-bobs, hamburgers, hotdogs,
chicken, and more. And, throughout the Friday and Saturday ³Huckleberry
Evening Concert², food will be
available.
The Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival & Barlow Trail Days is part of the
history of Mount Hood. On August 24th (Friday), August 25th (Saturday),
and August 26th (Sunday), this
family-oriented Festival will celebrate its
23rd anniversary.
For additional information on the Mount Hood Huckleberry Festival &
Barlow Trail Days or other festivals
and events, please contact Michael P.
