The Quincy Museum hosted its 25^th annual Folk Life Festival on Saturday, Oct 2, 2021.

The Folk Life Festival is held to help the locals connect with past while also raising funds for the museum. They try to create an atmosphere that resembles that of the 19^th century settlers, as well as provide entertainment and education to visitors.

The festival was held on the exterior grounds of the museum, taking advantage of the calm cool weather and spacious surrounding terrace. The event was able to host 16 different vendor stands, each with their own festive product or activity that reflects the early frontier time-period.

The food stands were selling time appropriate baked goods, classic sodas, and homemade candies. There were also stands dedicated to selling home-made crafts like blankets and woodcarvings.

The museum also displayed interactive exhibits that allowed historical experts and enthusiasts to share their knowledge, as well as let guests get some hands-on experience with relics and stories of the past.

Mark Locket hosted one booth. He shared his vast knowledge of the French and Native American fur trade, as well as the many survival skills one needed to live on the frontier. He wore a time accurate French trapper outfit while showing people how to start fires with a flint and steel, how the Natives made and transported their canoes, and how frontiersman would rely on local plants for their food and medicine.

The festival also had many events to entertain kids. There were activities like pumpkin painting, face painting, geode mining and a bouncy castle. Some of the more elaborate shows included square dancing dogs, a reptile show, and the Quincy Police Department showing kids one of their drones as well as the D.A.R.E. vehicle.

“We don’t normally come to the museum, but we saw the parked cars outside and the bouncy castle and we had to stop. Its nice getting the kids out of the house and have them out learning and having fun with other kids,” Lorna Moore said.

There was a large amount of people at the beginning of the festivities, but as time passed and more special events showed up, the crowed of visitors continued to grow. Children crowded around the painting stations and bouncy castle while many adults browsed the stands and grounds around the museum.

“This is the largest turnout we’ve had in the past few years,” Susan Daggett said.

According to the festival staff, this has been the first time they have been able to hold the event since 2018. In 2019, the event was canceled because of poor weather conditions and, in 2020, the event was not planned due to the COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings.

All of the money raised at the Folk Life Festival is put right back into the museum. The Quincy Museum is not federally funded and requires events like the festival as well as donations and admission for tours to raise its money.

The museum is offering tours Tuesday though Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.