News Release

FestiFall 2018 - Fun for the entire family

Date: September 18, 2018
Contact: Brian Reedy, 724-329-5470
Contact: Friendship Hill Staff, 724-329-2501
Contact: Friendship Hill Association

POINT MARION, Pa. – The Friendship Hill Association and the National Park Service celebrate the life and times of Albert Gallatin at FestiFall 2018 Saturday, September 22, and Sunday, September 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Friendship Hill National Historic Site.  With music, food, crafts and games, there is something for everyone at FestiFall.
 

Friendship Hill is the historic country home of Albert Gallatin. Gallatin is best known for his service as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Jefferson and Madison. Gallatin founded the American Ethnological Society in 1842 to help preserve Indian languages and culture that were rapidly disappearing. He was also a founder of New York University. The annual event is designed to celebrate Gallatin’s role in the early republic.
 

Albert Gallatin was an entrepreneur, and early on focused his energy on bringing industry west of the Appalachians. The area was still frontier, and crafts and individually created items were the norm. FestiFall recalls those times with demonstrations of spinning, quilting, weaving, and other crafts including blacksmithing, woodworking and carving, rug braiding, bobbin lace making, bobbin turning, and paper making. Wares offered by tradespeople and shopkeepers include garlands, baskets, jewelry, pottery, handmade note cards, and silhouettes. Learn more about surveying and banking during Gallatin’s time period at FestiFall.
 

FestiFall is a family event. There are plenty of opportunities for children to learn about life in early Fayette County in fun, hands-on ways.  Over the course of the two day celebration, children can participate in applesauce making, butter churning, candle dipping and corn husk doll making as well as play historic games.  They can also examine various animal pelts. A circuit rider performing a surprise frontier wedding both Saturday and Sunday is sure to delight all members of the family.
 

Plan to eat lunch under the trees on the lawn outside the Gallatin House. The taste of history offered by the Friendship Hill Association members will include hearty ham and bean soup slow cooked over an open fire, roast beef sandwiches garnished with horseradish and spicy mustard, dill pickles, pickled eggs, apple butter, sugar biscuits, molasses cookies, apple cider, lemonade, and root beer.
 

The crisp autumn air at FestiFall will be filled with a variety of entertainments including the music the Mountaineer Fife and Drum Corp, Greene Academy Dulcimer Players, period selections by Katie Sutton and Bobby Sutton, and Paxton Kendall on violin. The Appalachian Fife & Drum Jam Session will feature fifers and drummers from the area. Students will read interesting selection of Gallatin’s letters, and you may encounter Albert Gallatin himself, portrayed by John Gruskowski.
 

In addition to the many vendors and programs being presented by Friendship Hill, rangers from the National Park Service will conduct programs on military arms including artillery demonstrations at 2:30 each day. A War of 1812 military encampment will be open both days during FestiFall. There are also opportunities to explore more about history and contemporary issues at Friendship Hill by taking a self-guided tour of the Gallatin House or visiting the monarch butterfly garden.
 

Admission to the event and parking remains free. Shuttle service from the parking area to the knoll is provided for those needing assistance. The Gallatin House is handicap accessible with restrooms that are open to the public.
 

The Friendship Hill Association is a non-profit group whose mission is to support the National Park Service at Friendship Hill National Historic Site. They are sponsoring the event in cooperation with the National Park Service. A membership table for the Friendship Hill Association will be available at FestiFall.
 

Friendship Hill National Historic Site is located on Rt. 166 between Point Marion, PA and New Geneva, PA. For further information contact the National Park Service at [phone].