Celebrate the end of summer with a traditional 19th century Harvest Home, a daylong event Sept. 9 at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum in Pt. Defiance Park.

All summer long, the museum’s  historians have nurtured wheat and oats in the meadow outside the museum’s palisade. This year, two varieties were grown: Scotch White Oats and Red Fife Wheat. Both types were grown in Washington in the 1850s, when the original fort was a center of the Pacific Northwest’s fledgling agricultural economy. We have harvested the crops and now visitors can participate in the threshing and winnowing that took place next in the process.

In addition to agricultural demonstrations and hands-on experiences, guests can participate in several harvest traditions common in the 19th century. Visitors can make corn husk dolls, play popular Victorian games, press cider, and enjoy performances of harvest songs and dances by the Puget Sound Revels. The public is invited to participate in our jam and jelly competition.  A panel of judges will sample all entries and award a special prize to the tastiest preserve.

Event admission is $8-$10, and children 3 and younger are free. For more information visit www.fortnisqually.org or call (253) 591-5339.

– Metro Parks Tacoma