Historical exhibition at the Old Mission

CATALDO — After a two-year hiatus, the Historic Skills Fair and Mountain Man Encampment is making its way back to the Old Mission State Park in Cataldo.

The fun goes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Fans of dime store Western novels and those who want to try their hands at living like such men as Jim Bridger, Kit Carson or John Colter won't want to miss this educational event.

Following cancellation because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was planned to return last year. However, exceptionally hot weather mixed with the East Mission Flats fire made for risky conditions that led to a last-minute cancellation just days before it was set to begin.

Old Mission State Park manager Will Niska is excited to be at the helm of the event for his first time.

“This year I think we’ve expanded our horizons a little bit,” Niska said. “After the fire forced us to cancel last year, we really took a step back to see how we could reintroduce the event to the area.”

The Historic Skills Fair and Mountain Man Encampment is one of many ways the park helps people comprehend what life was like all those years ago when the mission was active and Cataldo was one of the most vital and traversed areas in Idaho.

The fair is an event to showcase the skills people used during the early mission years, including flint knapping; diverse techniques used to build the mission, such as wattle and daub; and different clothes, food and other basic necessities that were either handmade or gathered.

At the skills fair, demonstrators and vendors will wear period clothing and exhibit skills from 1840 through 1920.

During past fairs, demonstrators have shown guests historical skills such as yarn spinning, knitting, Dutch oven cooking, quilting, basket making and blacksmithing as well as kids activities for the time period, crafts and music.

Attendance has dwindled through the years, but the event still welcomes hundreds each day over the course of its duration.

Niska said he hopes with some of the tweaks they have made, including moving it from July to June, more people will be encouraged to come see what the Historic Skills Fair and Mountain Man Encampment is all about.

“It’s big for us. Just being able to have it again and to get people back into our parks is such a big deal,” Niska said. “Over the years it’s kind of died and we’re looking to revive it since we’ve seen quite a bit of renewed interest in the event, which is really exciting for us.”

Several vendors will be featured at the event. Rusty Jackson will entertain guests with live music each day from noon to 4 p.m.

Info: www.facebook.com/cdaoldmissionstatepark