Editor's pick: Folk, fiddles and flutes at the Festival of Wood

Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13, from 12:00 noon on Saturday through 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Musical performances at the annual Festival of Wood. Grey Towers National Historic Site, Milford, PA. $10 donation requested for Saturday night concert, at 5:30 p.m.; other music free. greytowers@fs.fed.us or 570/296-9630.

One of the many functions of wood that enriches our daily lives without our much thinking about it is its ability to shape sound. The annual Festival of Wood will remind visitors of this fact by weaving a procession of musicians, playing instruments largely made of wood, throughout its weekend of activities.

The headline musical event, at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 12 in the outdoor amphitheatre, will be a performance by the French-Canadian folk band Matapat. This group reflects influences from a diverse spectrum of musical traditions and cultures, employing upbeat rhythms and infectious melodies that get audiences on their feet clapping, tapping and step dancing.

The recorder is the only instrument in modern times made entirely of wood, and fittingly enough, the first musical performance, at 12:00 noon on Saturday, will be by the River Gap Recorders Consort, who will play music spanning the centuries from medieval to contemporary. From 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., festival goers will be treated to the music of strolling guitar player Bill Frye, singing wood-related tunes such as “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree.”

On Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the Lost Ramblers will, true to their name, be rambling the festival grounds with banjos, guitars and fiddles. Visitors are invited to bring their own instruments for a bit of one-on-one from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The music of Native American flutist Little Bear, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., will conclude the succession of performers, coming from a cultural perspective that emphasizes community with rather than control over nature.

Of course, music is not all the Festival of Wood has to offer. There will be an open house at Grey Towers, the ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot, founder and first chief of the U.S. Forest Service; wood-related games and activities; handmade wood crafts, sales and demonstrations; stilt walkers; films and videos; and arts and conservation workshops. The festival runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.