August 23, 2024 3:20 a.m.

In the KQEN Cultural Spotlight:

Elkton Community Education Center has its annual Fort Umpqua Days during Labor Day weekend, on Saturday August 31st and Sunday September 1st.

An ECEC release said historic reenactors will set up camp on the grounds of Fort Umpqua, a life-sized replica of a Hudson’s Bay trading fort, to show what life was like in the Umpqua Valley in the mid-1800s. Guests can visit with trappers, press their own cider, enjoy kid’s activities and visit live animal exhibits. On Saturday, educators from the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians will be on site to teach people about Native American culture.

Elkton’s hometown parade on River Road is Saturday at 10:00 a.m., followed by a performance by the Sunny Sky Boys and Elkton’s famous pie auction starting at 11:00 a.m. on site at ECEC. A wide range of activities, including artisan booths, tours of ECEC’s butterfly pavilion and an opportunity to “Adopt-A-Butterfly continue all weekend.

This year is ECEC’s 25th anniversary. Guests, community members, former volunteers and graduates of ECEC’s youth employment program are all invited to a reunion. There will be opportunities to share memories of their time at ECEC, founder Carol Beckley, and ECEC’s long-time Executive Director Marjorie Hamann who is stepping down at the end of the summer.

New activities this year include a mullet contest on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. There will be cash prizes for the best mullet hairdos and a special prize for best mullet wig. Chainsaw carving demonstrations will take place Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

Each day wraps up with Elkton’s live action musical pageant, Echoes of the Umpqua, at 5:00 p.m.

A full schedule of Fort Umpqua Days activities is at: https://elktonbutterflies.com/event/fort-umpqua-days/