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Dust bowl festival to celebrate history
| Wednesday, Oct 17 2007 11:17 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Oct 17 2007 11:16 AM
At the 17th Annual Dustbowl Festival Saturday, visitors can hop on a shuttle at Sunset School and tour the adjacent Weedpatch Camp, which opened in the 1930s to house migrant farm workers and was featured in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”
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Members of USDA Square Dancing group do their thing at the 2003 Dust Bowl Days in this Californian file photo.
Earl Shelton, 68, stands in front of a tin cabin, at the 2002 Dust Bowl Days event. Shelton said the cabin was like the one he grew up in after moving to Weedpatch from Oklahoma in 1941.
“There’s so much history there,” said one of the organizers, Faye Holbert.
The festival is a good opportunity for kids to learn about the Dust Bowl and what life was like at the labor camp.
Three historic buildings will be on display: a post office, library and community hall. People who lived at the camp will be on hand to answer questions and share personal experiences.
Besides being educational, “It’s just a fun day,” Holbert said.
There will be live western music and square dancing and old-fashioned food, like chili beans, corn bread, cinnamon rolls and biscuits and gravy. You can get a plate of food for about $5.
Plus, historic cars will be on display, and there will be presentations on families who migrated to the area during the Dust Bowl.
17th annual Dustbowl Festival
When: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Sunset School, 8301 Sunset Blvd., Lamont, with shuttles to the adjacent labor camp.
Admission: Free