Greene to celebrate covered bridges
The Carmichaels Covered Bridge will host one of the festivals being held this weekend celebrating the area’s covered bridges.
The White Covered Bridge in Garards Fort is shown in this file photo. The annual Covered Bridge Festival will be held Sept. 16 and 17 this year.
When it comes to celebrating the history of two local bridges, Greene County has got it covered.
The 44th annual Covered Bridge Festival of Greene and Washington Counties will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21 at several of the covered bridges located in the two counties.
In Greene County, celebrations will be held both days at the Carmichaels Covered Bridge and the White Bridge in Garards Fort. Each festival will offer a wide array of crafts, food, live entertainment, demonstrations, horse-drawn wagon rides, family-friendly games and activities and much more.
Each of the bridges that are a part of the festival will have its own type of celebration, but a common bond will be shared by all – the lore and rich history of the covered bridge.
The Carmichaels Covered Bridge
Carmichaels is set to celebrate its 44th annual Covered Bridge Festival this weekend with lots of homemade food, free activities for children and live music from about six different bands.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Alan Vozel, co-chairman for the festival, said the music will start at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The bands include: The American Legion Post 400 band, Triple Dare, The Greene Academy Dulcimer Players, Augsburg Little German Band, Spoonwood Station and Timm Reeves.
Throughout both days of the festival there will be free face painting for children from noon to 3 p.m., horse-drawn wagon rides across the covered bridge from noon to 4 p.m. and a petting zoo.
The food and crafts are also a Covered Bridge Festival staple.
Vozel said all crafts are hand-made and feature pottery, jewelry, wood items, needlework, primitive raggedies, potpourri, painted pumpkins and gourds, jar candles, quilts, crochet items and novelties for kids.
“There will also be pottery demonstrations done multiple times throughout the day,” Vozel said.
Food vendors this year include the Boy Scouts Troop 1262, selling funnel cakes and fries; The Chuck Wagon Cafe, providing barbeque, hamburgers and hotdogs; The Hartley Inn, bringing along homemade cabbage and noodles; Joyce’s Copper Kettle Fudge, which will feature 15 different kinds of fudge for those with a sweet tooth; and the popular beef jerky.
The Carmichaels Covered Bridge, which has been listed on the National Register Listed Properties since 1979, is one of the seven covered bridges that remains standing in Greene County.
The bridge was built in 1889 and was restored by the county in 1988.
It is covered with white vertical board and batten siding on both sides and portals, has a roof of sheet metal covered with raised seam tin, and a deck of lengthwise planking in the tire track are laid over crosswise planking.
The Carmichaels Covered Bridge is still open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
The White Bridge, Garards Fort
The 44th White Covered Bridge Festival will be this weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Roberts Run Road in Garards Fort.
The event will host 36 crafters featuring hand-made crafts such as embroidery, pottery, quilts, woodwork, floral arrangements, bird feeders, maple syrup products, candles, knives and jewelry.
There will also be pottery and quilting demonstrations held multiple times a day throughout the weekend.
Pat Walko, treasurer of the White Covered Bridge Association, said there will be various hot and cold dishes for sale by nine local churches and fire departments.
Some of the food will include: hamburgers, hot dogs, cabbage rolls, smoked chicken and ribs, steak dinners, cabbage and noodles, ham and bean soup, chicken and biscuits, buffalo burgers, biscuits and gravy and desserts.
The festival will host the popular Civil War Re-enactment at 3 p.m.on both days.
A Native American Indian re-enactor will also perform “Ghost in the Head,” portraying the life of the Huron Indian tribe of the 1700s.
Free children’s activities will include horse-drawn wagon rides by Rocky Ridge Farm, sand art, spin art and coloring sheets.
Throughout both days of the festival, there will be a number of gospel singers and bands taking the stage.
The following bands will perform on Saturday: Soldiers & Sons, 11 a.m.; Dan Cunningham, noon; Cross Vision, 1 p.m.; Traci Ketchem, 2 p.m.; and FOG – Friends of God, 4 p.m.
The event will kick off at 10 a.m. on Sunday with a worship service on the bridge led by the Rev. Gary Whipkey of the John Corbly Memorial Baptist Church in Gerard’s Fort.
The following bands will perform on Sunday: Heater Smith, 11 a.m.; Mollie Ehrlichman, 11:30 a.m.; Choz N’ 1’z, noon; Free Spirit, 1 p.m.; James Tobin, 2 p.m.; and Crimson Stream at 4 p.m.
The festival will conclude with a closing ceremony at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
According to the State Survey Board, the White Covered Bridge was erected in 1900. An extensive refurbishing of the bridge was accomplished in 2008, and the bridge is still open to traffic to this day.
The White Covered Bridge is 66.6 feet in length, 15 feet in width and 16 feet, nine inches in height.