THIS WEEKEND AT THE PEACE GARDEN The International Peace Garden will host two events this weekend.
The 27th annual Peace Festival will be Friday through Sunday. The theme of the event is "Homemade Peace." The festival is organized by volunteers and includes workshops and activities to help participants explore their personal, national and international roles in nature and with their neighbors. Activities include soccer games, homemade cooking and the annual walk to the Peace Tower. Attendance is free but donations are welcome. For more information, contact Teyana or Colleen Neufeld at 534-2303.
International Dog Agility Show and Showing of Dogs will be Saturday and Sunday. The Agility Show demonstrates the ability of a dog and its handler to function smoothly through a maze of tunnels, jumps and weave plots.
The International Peace Garden in on the North Dakota-Canadian border, 15 miles north of Dunseith on North Dakota Highway 3. For more information, call 1-888-432-6733 or log on at (www.peacegarden.com).
FRONTIER MILITARY DAYS Spectators can get an idea of what life at an 1870s military fort was like during Frontier Military Days Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Fort Stevenson State Park, near Garrison. Admission to park is free for the 17th annual event.
Members of the Frontier Army of Dakota will set up authentic tents and gear in front of the park's Guardhouse Interpretive Center during the two-day encampment. A cannon will fire at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, along with cannon maneuvers starting at 3:15 p.m. each day. Live demonstrations featuring old-time skills like tomahawk throwing, woodcarving, tatting, black power gun demonstrations, and baking will be held each day. On both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the public can try shooting a black powder rifle, under the supervision of Frontier Army of Dakota members. Historical presentations will be given at 2:30 p.m. each day.
Fort Stevenson Frontier Military Days is sponsored by the Fort Stevenson Foundation, a local volunteer organization that sponsored the reconstruction of the original fort's guardhouse. The guardhouse is used as a visitor center with displays and artifacts about military life in the Dakota Territory.
Sunday is also Visitor Appreciation Day, which extends free admission into Fort Stevenson State Park to all day use visitors.