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Tue July 09, 2013
9th Annual Zane Grey Festival - Fun for the Whole Family!


The National Park Service and the Zane Grey’s West Society will host the 9th Annual Zane Grey Festival this summer. The festival is free of charge and will be held at the Zane Grey Museum, 135 Scenic Drive, Lackawaxen, PA on Saturday, July 20, 2013 from 10:00am – 4:00pm.

The Lackawaxen and Delaware Rivers are what initially drew Zane Grey to the area. These rivers fulfilled his love for fishing and the outdoors and inspired him to write some of his most famous books right here on the banks of the Upper Delaware. Zane and his brother Romer would eventually settle in Lackawaxen and Zane called the area home from 1905 to 1918. Exhibits in the Zane Grey Museum give visitors a better understanding of the life and writing of the famed western author. His office and study have been meticulously recreated based on an interior photograph by famed local photographer Louis Hensel.

The Zane Grey Festival is geared towards fun for the entire family with many activities and events for children and adults.

Craft activities will be available for children of all ages. Kids can also take part in a Scavenger Hunt to receive a free book. By visiting exhibitors, children will learn about the area’s natural and cultural history, while finding answers to trivia questions. The children’s books were generously donated by the Boyds Mill Press in Honesdale, PA.

For those that love to tap their toes to great music, the Steamtown Ramblers will perform songs of the railroad with several cowboy ditties thrown in to put us in the mood of the wild wild west. The Steamtown Ramblers can be heard at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Opera singer Carol Diefenbach of the Delaware Valley Opera in Narrowsburg, NY will be performing several songs written by Academy Award winning local composer E.Y. "Yip" Harburg at 12:30pm. This dynamic lyricist wrote for popular films and musicals as the Wizard of Oz and New Americana. Pull up a chair and sit back and listen to Ms. Diefenbach perform Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Doc Miller, also known as the Cowboy Dentist will interpret in full regalia what it was like to work out on a western range, while captivating children and adults with his stories about cowboys. Do you know why cowboys wear bandanas? Come and find out this and other amazing facts about phrases, clothing, and tools used by cowboys that we take for granted today. Along with learning about the west that Zane Grey wrote about, Doc Miller will entertain all ages with his magic tricks.

Aspiring young authors can meet with children’s authors Clara Gillow Clark and Lindsay Barrett George. Several of Ms. Clark’s books are set right in the Delaware River Valley. The book “Hill Hawk Hattie” tells the story of the relationship between Hattie and her father as they raft trees down the Delaware River. Ms. Barrett’s children’s books focus on the natural world around us. Her beautiful illustrations of animals, birds, and the natural world add an incredible amount of imagination to her stories.

Area environmental groups and historical societies will display exhibits about their organizations, many of which will have hands-on activities for children. Other activities include trying your hand at roping cattle like famed cowboy Buffalo Jones, learning how to cast a fishing rod, and water safety.

Join Nathaniel Whitmore from the Delaware Highlands Mushroom Society and explore the intriguing world of Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants on the Zane Grey property at 11:00am.
If you are not able to find anything to eat with Nathaniel, don’t fret because the Lackawaxen Fire Company will also be cooking up hamburgers & hotdogs along with all the fixins during the festival, so plan on staying for the afternoon or all day and join them later in the evening for the annual Lackawaxen Fireman’s Carnival complete with fireworks at dusk.

Zane Grey’s legacy of literature and sportsmanship lives on in Lackawaxen. Come join the fun and learn more about the Western novelist from Lackawaxen. Light refreshments will be served all day. For more information call (570) 685-4871.
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Historical images of Zane Grey used with permission of Dr. Loren Grey