Rock River Archaeological Society, a chapter of the Wisconsin Archaeological Society, is a nonprofit organization for those who are interested in archaeology and/or human history. The Horicon Marsh Archaeological Festival has been named the best Archaeological Festival in Wisconsin.
The Rock River Archaeological Society is sponsoring the Horicon Marsh Archaeology Festival on October 14th and 15th. It is a weekend historical/educational event held annually and is a great “admission free” family event with something for all ages. The activities are held both outdoors and inside the building between 10am and 4pm on Saturday, October 14th and 10am and 3pm on Sunday, October 15th at the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, N7725 Hwy, Horicon, WI. 53032
A buck skinners encampment with Dirty Kettle plus friends will both fascinate and educate the young and old. A wigwam will be set up for all to enter, Native American stories will be told and everyone can try their hand at throwing a tomahawk. Dirty Kettle will be having a drum circle at 5pm on Saturday that everyone is invited to attend.
The Flags of Wisconsin’s 11 Sovereign Nations will be on display.
There will be atlatl demonstrations and instruction given so that all can get a chance to try throwing the atlatl at a target. The public can get a feel for how early man took down the largest of beasts in order to feed their family. Then stop and get the phones out to take a picture of the family next to the Native American statue aiming his atlatl at the mammoth pre-historic beast.
Venders will be on site with fry bread to taste along with Native American items, silverware keepsakes, leather items, and jewelry to purchase. Venders can be found both upstairs, downstairs and at the buck skinners encampment.
Featured for the weekend will be the Fox of the River Voyageur Canoe giving rides on the water of the marsh. During the ride all will get to paddle and hear about the first fur traders in Wisconsin. It is an experience that young and old will never forget.
Inside the building there will be many activities for children. They will be able to try their hand at grinding corn, leather stamping to make a necklace and collecting beads to take home. They can also watch the flint knappers making arrow heads and see the collections of museum-quality arrow heads and other Native American items that the exhibitors will have on display. For a small fee they can even have a small object painted on their face.
Everyone is encouraged to enjoy the special food prepared by Chef Anthony Madison. He will be in the lower level serving brats, sloppy joe, BBQ pulled pork, hot chicken breast sandwiches and homemade chicken and wild rice soup. There will also be sodas, coffee, water and hot apple cider available. Chef Anthony’s food is prepared by him and will delight the most discriminate pallet.
On Sunday, the newly published book by Bill Volkert and Kurt Sampson, will be available for purchase. The title of the book is “The Indian Mounds of Horicon Marsh and Upper Rock River”. This is a highly anticipated new release.
There is much to “see and do” at this wonderful event including visiting with the wolf people and riding behind the antique tractors that will take one from the Buck Skinner encampment to the Education Center.
The Festival is FREE to the public and takes place at the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, N7725 Hwy. 28, Horicon, WI, 53032. The hours of the event are Saturday, October 14, 2023, 10 AM to 4 PM; Sunday, October 15, 2023, 10 AM to 3 PM.