Competitors try birling at Ballaine Lake during the 2014 Forest Fest.


There is no entry fee and anyone 18
or older may compete. Expertise is not necessary, just a willingness to try. Events
begin at 10 a.m. at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm fields, across from the
Georgeson Botanical Garden. Events there include log rolling, pulp toss, bow
saw and crosscut sawing and axe throwing. 
The competition migrates to Ballaine Lake around 1 p.m. for campfire
building and birling (staying upright on a log in the lake).
Competitors fan the flames at Ballaine Lake.
People may compete as individuals or
teams of four to six. At the end of the day, the “Bull of the Woods” and the
“Belle of the Woods” will be announced.
UAF forestry faculty members and
students at UAF developed the competition as a way to commemorate old-fashioned
forest festivals and traditional woods activities that were the basis for work
and play.

A warming fire will be
available at Ballaine Lake. Participants are advised to dress warmly. If
competing in the birling, a towel and change of clothes are recommended.
The festival is sponsored by the UAF
School of Natural Resources and Extension and the student Resource Management
Society. For more information, call Pete Fix at 474-6926 or at
pjfix@alaska.edu.

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