Cane Hill Festival: The Weekend That Makes The Year

Here it comes. It’s the weekend I wait for all year. The Cane Hill Festival is scheduled for Sept. 15-16. This will be the 26th year of this celebration, which raises money to restore and maintain the Cane Hill College — the first institute of higher learning west of the Mississippi. We’re proud of this.

The first settlers in the area had to cut their way through thick stands of sugar cane before they could build houses and a school.

The college predates the University of Arkansas, and Cane Hill would have been the site of the university had the railroad people not decided to route the rails through Fayetteville. After all was said and done, that probably worked out for the best. This way, Cane Hill has remained a small, beautiful community.

Visitors can begin their day at the festival with a delicious breakfast cooked on the premises by local volunteers. It’s the best buy around: biscuits, gravy, bacon and sausage, eggs and apple butter washed down by coffee. Breakfast is served 7-10 a.m. This is followed by a variety of activities, which include horseshoe pitching, a parade, living history presentations and music, lots of music on both days of the festival.

Don’t miss the quilt show which is held inside the college. It’s the first right turn after entering the building. There will be an array of beautiful quilts, all hand-quilted by local ladies. This year’s opportunity quilt is called “Autumn.” It combines old- fashioned maple leaves with a modern pattern called French braid in a striking combination of 14 different fabrics in rich, bright, fall colors. Tickets can be bought at the festival. The winner need not be present to win.

I’ll be in the quilt room, where I’ll be demonstrating the endangered art of hand quilting. After visitors have had a chance to walk around and drink in the beauty of the quilts, it’s a good place to sit down and rest the feet, listen to music drift in from outside and tell me about your favorite part of the day. You might not be able to pick just one.

And that’s the view fro Antioch Mountain.