Chimney Point

NOTE: This event has been postponed. Please check back with us in 2021.

Make your own woven willow basket with expert guidance from Barry Keegan. You’ll use willow shoots and wands to weave and twine a round base, and sharpened spokes and twined willow shoots to form the basket walls. The final basket will be about 10 inches tall. All materials provided. Enjoy a relaxing day on the lake as you learn and create. Workshop will be held from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Pre-registration and payment required, call (802) 759-2412. Vermont Archaeology Month event. 

Workshop fee: $60

NOTE: This event has been postponed. Please check back with us in 2021.

Atlatl experts Bob and Cheryll Berg of Thunderbird Atlatl teach traditional and modern techniques of atlatl and dart construction, flint knapping, hafting stone points, and cordage making. Enjoy atlatl lore and coaching on the use of your new atlatl. Pre-registration required. Workshop will be held from 12:00 to 5:00 PM. Fee includes instruction and materials. Vermont Archaeology Month event.

Workshop fee: $70

Participate in or watch this annual atlatl championship testing skills in accuracy and distance. The sport of using the atlatl to throw darts is based on the ancient hunting technique. Newcomers to experts welcome. Children’s activities. Workshops and demonstrations on crafts and skills from ancient to Woodland times.  Try your hand at stone tool-making (flint-knapping) and Woodland pottery. Learn how the colonists made fire. Event will be held from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Call (802) 759-2412 to register. Vermont Archaeology Month event. 

Competitors: $7 preregistered, $8 same-day registration

Visitors: $5 adult, free for children under 15

This event has been postponed. Please check back with us in 2021. 

Members of the Twist o’Wool Guild and Strands will be in residence on the Chimney Point porch to demonstrate a variety of fiber skills, including spinning, weaving techniques, and other crafts and arts important historically and still relevant today. Bring questions and your own project to work on.

Green Mountain Timekeepers Society members are in residence on the Chimney Point porch to keep time while talking with us about the history of clocks and watches, and how they can be repaired. Bring your old clocks and watches, and learn more about your timepieces. At 2:00 PM experts will offer a talk on the history of pocket watches and Vermont clocks.

Artist Lillian Kennedy shows you how to stay fearless and serene during the creative process while you make a small Lake Champlain landscape painting. She explains the fundamentals and demonstrates options. You’ll have plenty of room for individual expression. Take home a painting and the skills to continue on your own. You will learn the tricks to make a painting kit that fits in a baggie that you can carry with you on all your travels. Workshop suitable for all skill levels from rank beginner to seasoned professional. Adults and children 10+. Class fee is $35 (all materials included). See also August 8. Pre-register by calling (802) 759-2412.

The Chimney Point, Vermont, and Crown Point, New York, sites present, on the 10^th anniversary of the October 16, 2009, closing of the 1929 Lake Champlain Bridge, a day exploration of the rich history of the bridge area. In the morning at Chimney Point learn about the bridge project archaeological findings and talk with personages from the past. The afternoon at Crown Point includes a moderated panel discussion of stories and memories from the October 16, 2009, closing day and after, and reflections on the challenges and triumphs of the new bridge. Lunch included. Fee and program details to be announced. Pre-registration required, call (802) 759-2412.

The Addison County Amateur Radio Association sets up a radio station, to communicate with other operators elsewhere and to talk with the public about what they do and how you can get involved. How far away can they reach? The public is welcome to watch and ask questions.

Make your own birchbark basket with expert guidance from Barry Keegan. The bark is folded with the help of hot water and sewn together with pine roots and/or basswood bark strips, to make a basket about 10 inches by 10 inches. Pre-registration and payment required, call (802) 759-2412. 

Cost: $60.00

Participate in or watch this annual atlatl championship testing skills in accuracy and distance. The sport of using the atlatl to throw darts is based on the ancient hunting technique. Newcomers to experts welcome. Children’s activities. Workshops and demonstrations on crafts and skills from ancient to early Contact period times. Try your hand at stone tool-making (flint-knapping) and Woodland pottery. Learn how the colonists made fire. Call (802) 759-2412 to register.

Cost: COMPETITORS: $7 PRE-REGISTERED, $8 SAME-DAY REGISTRATION * VISITORS: $5 ADULT, FREE UNDER 15