The Hay Creek Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 11 to 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the grounds of the historic Joanna Furnace, 1250 Furnace Road, Morgantown. Visitors will learn about life in a rural industrial iron-making village from the beginning of Joanna Furnace in 1791 up to the 1950s.

The early American crafts area will include domestic and village industry demonstrations of skills that were necessary for a self-sustaining rural industrial community during the 18th and 19th centuries. Open fire cooking, bake oven demonstrations, and butter- and sauerkraut-making will take place throughout the weekend, and food samples will be available. On Sept. 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., a fleece-to-shawl demonstration will reveal how freshly shorn wool is transformed into a finished shawl in a few hours.

The Creekside Craft Market will include redware and stoneware pottery; ceramics; hand-blown and stained glass; dolls' cloths; soaps and lotions; candles; bee's wax products; jewelry; knitted, crocheted, and quilted items; woodcrafts; ironwork products; antiques; and home decor items.

In the mechanical technology area, visitors may see early gas and steam engines, models, antique cars and tractors, sawmill and threshing demonstrations, and a line shaft powering 100-year-old industrial machinery. A parade of vintage vehicles will occur daily at 1 p.m. The festival will also feature the Dragon Wagon Car Club from Honey Brook.

The festival will include World War II and Civil War encampments. In the Civil War area, re-enactors portraying soldiers and civilians will share information, and on Sept. 12 and 13 they will offer rifle- and cannon-firing demonstrations. The re-enactors are members of the Army of the Rappahannock Reenactors Association and the 22nd North Carolina Infantry.

Visitors may also tour the ironmaking complex, where interpreters will give presentations and demonstrations in the blacksmith shop, wheelwright shop, office and store, charcoal storage barn and museum, and casting house. In the blowing engine house, a new exhibit will showcase the furnace's hot-blast system, installed in 1888. A hot-blast system is one in which a blast of air sent into the furnace was preheated to 800 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the charcoal barn and museum, the Kutztown University anthropological archaeology program will have a display highlighting the Joanna Furnace mansion, the foundation of which was uncovered by archaeology students who spent their summer digging at the ironmaster's house in 2021 and 2022. To prepare for the exhibit, students have been identifying artifacts, such as bottles and pottery, that provide a sense of goods used by the people living and working at Joanna Furnace and how they were connected to other places of industry across the region.

In the mule stable, Hay Creek's Tri-County Heritage Library will feature an anniversary exhibit about the history of the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (HCVHA). The organization was started in October 1975 by a small group of history enthusiasts with the goal of preserving the history, crafts, and trades of the community. This first Hay Creek Festival was held the weekend after Labor Day in 1976. By 1980, the organization had acquired the 26-acre historic Joanna Furnace property, where it now offers three main events each year, along with educational programs and tours for the general public and school groups. The HCVHA has nearly 600 members. The exhibit will include a table where original members will reminisce about their experiences with the organization.

In addition, a celebration will be held on Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. During the event, a time capsule will be filled with new and old artifacts for a future generation to discover. The time capsule was presented to the HCVHA by the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office as part of HCVHA's recognition with a Community Initiative Award. The award honors organizations whose activities demonstrate that great preservation is happening every day across Pennsylvania.

A variety of entertainment will take place on the main stage. Performers will include the Marian and Friends ventriloquist act on Sept. 11; magician and past "America's Got Talent" contestant David Darwin on Sept. 11 and 12; Americana, roots, and rock group Valley Vision on Sept. 13; folk and bluegrass group the Hay Creek Gold Band all three days; Brent Lill and his Tiggar's Comedy Magic Shows on Sept. 11; the Get Reels on Sept. 11; Matt Miskie on Sept. 12; Reading A Cappella Voices on Sept. 12; and Emily Ryan on Sept. 13.

In celebration of the HCVHA's milestone birthday, the M&J Big Band of Pottsville will perform swing-era music on Sept. 12 from 7 to 10 p.m. An hour of dance instruction, starting at 6 p.m., is included with the ticket price. Special tickets are required; they may be purchased for a discount in advance at http://www.haycreek.org or for full price at the gate. Parking for this activity is on the Joanna Furnace site.

Sept. 11 will be Student Day. Public school, private school, and homeschool groups and co-ops are invited to participate. A Student Day registration form can be downloaded at the aforementioned website.

Children's activities throughout the weekend will include archaeological programs, candle-making, early American games, Civil War marching and drilling, and a new antique tractor-themed story time. Children may pick up a list of the activities at the gate, and completion of the list will entitle them to a free ride on a wagon or the Apple Barrel Express.

Food options will abound. Since 1976, the food has been prepared and served by Hay Creek volunteers and community nonprofit organizations. Fare will include chicken pot pie, hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork barbecue, turkey and roast beef sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, Mabel's open fire-cooked soups, hand-dipped ice cream, funnel cakes, french fries, fresh baked goods, homemade corn pie, stuffed bell pepper casserole, and freshly pressed apple cider. Many of the items will also be available to purchase to take home. Craft beer and honey wine will be for sale.

The first 75 patrons at the festival each day will receive a swag bag filled with items from local businesses. Recipients must be at least age 18.

There is an admission fee, with a discount for children ages 6 to 12 and free admission for children age 5 and younger. Free parking will be available on the festival grounds on Sept. 11. Free, continuously running shuttle buses will be provided at Weaver's Orchard, 40 Fruit Lane, Morgantown, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 12 and 13. For the safety of visitors, when parking at the furnace, attendees are encouraged to park at the lot just off Route 10. For more information, visit the aforementioned website.