Organizers with the 5th annual Heritage Festival are hoping to hold the special event this fall. The festival was initially set for May 2, but covid-19 concerns have delayed the event.
Karen Almeter, the organizer, said the festival is now tentatively scheduled for September.
The festival celebrates demonstrations such as blacksmithing, spinning, broom making and more. Organizers believe the event helps people understand the importance of those skills and serves as a fundraiser for the New Bethel School, just west of Anderson.
Almeter, who serves as New Bethel School Preservation Association founder, has been busy with other projects related to the school. The nonprofit organization was started in 2011 to restore the old building which served as a school from 1915 to 1948.
Despite a rainy spring, more work on the Victory Garden has taken place. The garden project started last year and was named after the victory gardens of World War I and II. This year, most of the Victory Garden has been planted. Almeter and her husband, Bernie, have assembled and placed rain barrels at the back of the school to help water the garden.
The couple also has hooked up the propane line to the cookstove, so the new addition is functional, she said.
As part of the renovation effort, the association has sought volunteers to help refinish a number of desks for the schoolhouse. Eight school desks have been refinished, she said.
General News on 04/30/2020