Forest Festival 2023
BARTON FLATS – If you’ve wanted to try your hand at using a two-person crosscut saw, learn about the history of Serrano Indians in the San Bernardino Mountains, or ask a state game warden about fishing laws, the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association’s annual Forest Festival on Aug. 19 will provide a chance to experience all of these, and much more.
The family-friendly Forest Festival, which is free, introduces visitors to opportunities to enjoy and protect the forest with hands-on activities, informational booths, and a visit from Smokey Bear.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Barton Flats Visitor Center, located on State Highway 38 about seven miles east of Angelus Oaks. Snacks and beverages will be available, and live music by SGWA volunteers will be presented beginning at 11 a.m.
Visitors will have opportunities to use a crosscut saw to create a “tree cookie,” which will then be branded with U.S. Forest Service and Smokey Bear logos; pan for gold; operate remote-controlled OHV Jeeps; explore their creative side with nature crafts; learn what it takes to serve on a search-and-rescue team; hear what various outdoor and conservation groups do to protect our natural resources; check out a Junior Forester program developed as a Gold Award project by a local Girl Scout; and visit with members of the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association, who patrol and maintain trails in the San Gorgonio and Cucamonga wilderness areas, and provide interpretive programs.
Smokey Bear will make appearances throughout the day, and SGWA volunteers will lead nature walks around the visitor center.
SGWA is a nonprofit organization that works with the U.S. Forest Service to protect the forest in and around the San Gorgonio Wilderness and Cucamonga Wilderness, and educates the public about this natural resource. Every year SGWA volunteers donate thousands of hours to the San Bernardino National Forest in a variety of activities, including interacting with the public on wilderness trails and at interpretive programs, clearing fallen trees that block trails and repairing damaged trail tread, removing illegal fire rings in wilderness areas, and measuring and collecting data on wilderness trails.
For more information about the Forest Festival or the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association please call the association at (909) 389-9650, or e-mail sgwa@earthlink.net. The association website is www.sgwa.org.
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