The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the park, 299 W. Spring Grove Ave. Visitors can meet the people of Willow Springs, a recreated colonial village, and watch woodworking, blacksmithing, open-fire cooking, weaving and spinning, along with an apothecary, a smokehouse, a potter, militia gatherings and Colonial dancing.
The park represents the period between 1735 and 1785. It was reclaimed from a water works dump site, and its permanent buildings include the Willow Spring Meeting House, the Blacksmith Forge, the Spring House Tavern, the Grist Mill, Thompson Academy and the Perry Hill Cabin.
The nonprofit Olde Towne Preservation Association runs the park with volunteers, and 100% of its funding comes from donations and grants. When interpreters are not on site, the park offers an audio tour by phone.
Parking is available on the street, in the grass across from the main entrance on West Spring Grove and in the nearby public park lot. Handicap spaces are to the right of the main entrance.
