2011 Spring Festival, Part 1 of 4

2011 Bridgeport Spring Festival
Herb Lindberg
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Part 1 of 4

Please feel free to use any of the pictures on these four pages at no cost for
promotion of the park or Nevada County more generally. Larger versions are available.

Spring Festival is an exciting day of fun and learning for the whole family, including many activities for children. Music filled the air from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., as the Road Test Band played rock and roll tunes on the stage area next to the Historic Barn. This year we didn't host the Mountain Man campers, to free up the entire grassy area next to the Visitor Center for children's crafts and park activities.

Food booths were bustling with hot dogs, chili, soda pop, ice cream and other delights for the tummy. Face painting, flower making, crown making (King and Queen for a day) and other activities made for very happy children.

All the normal park activities were also in full swing. Docents greeted visitors at the information table, answered questions about gold-rush era wagons in the barn, told the history and features of the covered bridge, demonstrated blacksmith, pine needle weaving, and yarn spinning techniques, and helped children of all ages pan for gold and bottle their treasure to take home with them.

And the exterior of the old Kneebone Shell Station has been restored to nearly its former self, including an old visible-cylinder gas gravity pump just as at the original station. This is the first event in which the gas pump and other station items were on display for visitors to enjoy.

This pictorial story of the event is divided into four pages, mainly in the chronological order in which they were taken:

Page 1	Road Test Band, artist's booths, improved Kneebone Gas Station, with clear cylinder gravity-feed pump, horse-drawn wagon rides (this page)
Page 2	Balloon clown, face painting, make King and Queen crowns, ice cream bars, farewell to Barbara Pixley, worms for composting demonstration.
Page 3	Arm painting, paper flower making, crown making, June's baked deserts, pine needle basket demonstration, Yarn spinning demonstration, gold panning.
Page 4	Audience listens to Road Test Band, visitors read displays in Historic Barn, Mom with King and Queen children, hot dogs, chips and soda with all the fixin's.

This year we were entertained by the Road Test Band, playing old-time rock and roll.

Here's a link to their Myspace music

http://www.myspace.com/roadtestband/music

Zachary Lake displayed some of his photographs at a booth along the festival entrance to the park area.

S. E. Designs had many works of art on display.

Closer view of articles inside the booth.

Gourds by Claudia were in the next booth.

These gourds made attractive elephants.

The outside of the Kneebone gas station is nearly complete, with restored structure, new shake roof and siding,
and a wonderful restored gas pump with gravity-feed visible gas cylinder for up to 10 gallons.

Close up of the visible-gas gravity flow cylinder. Remember those?

Howard Voshell and George Case on duty at the gas station

Happy wagon riders disembark after their ride.

The teamster about to give the command "Walk on", with another group of riders.

Return from a short ride up the "Virginia Turnpike."

The wagon continues past my view.