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Woodlands Nature Station will celebrate Harry Potter Appreciation Day on March 30, 2019

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Gorgeous owl at the Nature Station

I can remember (years and years ago) when the first Harry Potter book came out. I had ran into Kroger to grab something (story of my life) and saw the books on display. Figuring it was a big deal, I grabbed a copy to take home to my girls. Their reaction let me know it was a very big deal, indeed, and I could do no wrong in their eyes for weeks on end!

The Nature Station is having an especially fun event for the Harry Potter fans in your life… heck, you may even be one, yourself! They’re calling it Harry Potter Appreciation Day and it sounds like a lot of fun. After enjoying the fun at Woodlands Nature Station, head over to the 1850 Homeplace for a special night of storytelling!

There are two special story-based events coming up this month. Harry Potter Appreciation Day will include multiple events at the Woodlands Nature Station and the 1850 Homeplace will host a special night of storytelling, both on Saturday, March 30, 2019, at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

Programming for Harry Potter Appreciation Day at the Woodlands Nature Station includes:

10am-4pm – Seeker of the Snitch
The Golden Snitch is flitting around somewhere in the backyard! Brush-up on your seeker skills and see if you can find it! When you find it, snap a photo and report back to the Quidditch Referee for a prize!

10am-4pm – The Triwizard Tournament Training Course
Think you have what it takes to compete in the Triwizard Tournament? Test your skills in this rigorous training course, available one day only! Test your magical ability, intelligence and courage to see if you could handle the real deal!

11am-4pm –Make Your Own Wand
Expelliarmus! Let’s have some fun and create our own magic wands using native wood and natural materials! Turn an ordinary stick into a wand with a little crafty magic!

11am-4pm – Potions
Turn to page 394! Attend this year’s Potions demonstration and take home a “potion” sample of your very own! Which will you make? Felix Felicis for luck? Amortentia for love? Polyjuice potion for trickery? You decide!

11am-12:30pm – Fantastic Beasts of LBL and Where to Find Them Hike
Join guest instructor “Mudpuppy Scamander” (distant relative of the famous Newt) in learning how to find the fantastic beasts that live deep in the woods and waters in Land Between the Lakes. Go on a ½ mile hike to check out a variety of habitats and see if you can locate any fantastic beasts’ homes!

12pm-2pm – Herbology
Plants are truly magical! Using just sunlight, water and soil they create energy, grow and make beautiful flowers! Join Professor Gillyweed to learn what plants need to grow and plant your own niffler-attracting mariGOLD!

12:30-1:15pm – Outstanding O.W.L.s
It’s time to earn your O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level) in owls! Test your owlish knowledge with a fun game and see if you earn an Outstanding, Exceeds Expectations or Troll!

1:30-2:15pm – Defense Against the Dark Arts
Aspiring wizards need to know practical techniques of defending themselves against dark charms, creatures, and spells. We will study how some of the fantastic beasts of Land Between the Lakes defend themselves using tricks such as camouflage, poison and mimicry, and how we can use their methods in our magical adventures!

2:30-3:15pm – Care of Magical Creatures
How do you care for an owl? What do bowtruckles eat? These topics and more will be covered in your very first Care of Magical Creatures class! In this course, we will learn about magical creatures from the world of Harry Potter and also how to care for creatures from our world. Hippogriffs not included (advanced classes only).

All activities are included in Nature Station admission fees, which are $5, ages 13 and up; $3 ages 5-12; and free for ages 4 and under.

Evening Storytelling at the Homeplace is scheduled for March 30, 2019.

Want to hear tall tales from years ago? Don’t miss the Evening Storytelling at the Homeplace, 5:30-7:30pm. Cost is $5 per person, a separate fee from Homeplace admission. Be sure to note that this fee for the storytelling is in addition to the admission fee.

Reservations are required and space is limited. Call 270-924-2020 to reserve your space. Pre-registered participants will meet at The Homeplace Interpretive Center at 5:30pm, storytelling begins at 6pm;

Traditional refreshments will be served during the break. Be prepared to laugh and have a great time as you enjoy this rare evening experience in 1850.

Snap Apple Night 2018 at The Homeplace Tomorrow Night!

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this time of year! The crispness in the air, football on tv, the UK Wildcats starting to hit the court, autumn leaves, pumpkins, hot chocolate… love it, love it, love it. So, needless to say, I’m excited that it’s time for Snap Apple Night at the 1850’s Homeplace in the Land Between the Lakes. They put on such a wonderful production – you can tell that (like me!) they’re kids at heart. The decorations, the festivities, the atmosphere… they embrace this season like it deserves to be embraced.

Below are events that’ll be going on tomorrow (October 13). Hope you can make it!

Saturday, October 13

1-3pm | Carving Jack-O-Lanterns
In Ireland, people carved turnips with scary faces to help ward off evil spirits. The tradition migrated to the United States where the pumpkin became the vegetable of choice. Help the Homeplace workers scoop out the insides of turnips and pumpkins and create scary faces on them for Snap Apple Night! Come early since there are a limited number of pumpkins to carve.
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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace
6-8:30pm:  Snap Apple Night
Enjoy an evening in the 1850s where the nights were very dark, and the only light comes from lanterns. Family entertainment was sitting round the hearth listening to stories of long ago. Step back in time, gather around for the old-time tradition of storytelling and listen to award winning storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis www.foxtalesint.com as he shares scary stories around the blazing bonfire.
Between storytelling, get a hot cup of cider and discover your future as we tap into the “other world” and learn your fate through Victorian fortune telling games. Program held rain or shine, so please be prepared for the weather. Great family fun!
  • 6 pm – 1st storytelling scary stories
  • 6:45 pm –- fortune telling games
  • 7:30 pm –2nd Storytelling, Even Scarier Stories
Doors open at 5:30 pm 

Fort Henry Anniversary Program at The Homeplace in the Land Between the Lakes

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Fort Henry

We were at this event last year and loved every minute of it. Few things history buffs love more than sitting and talking about history with fellow buffs!

From The Land Between the Lakes:

The Homeplace 1850s Working Farm and Living History Museum in Land Between the Lakes remembers the 156th Anniversary of the Battle at Fort Henry with a program and walk on Saturday, February 10. Registration and full deposit for the day is required: $5/adults and $3/children. Call 270-924-2020 to make your reservation.

At 1:00pm in the Homeplace theatre, invited historian, Susan “Ski” Witzofsky, sets the stage for war “Between the Rivers.” In February of 1862, Confederate forces occupied Fort Henry as federal forces moved up the Tennessee River. The program will cover Fort Henry’s construction, battle, and legacy 156 years later.

Individuals can relive the siege with a guided walk along the Fort Henry Trails and Confederate fortifications, at 3pm. Participants will drive and meet at the Fort Henry Trail. The program and walk are weather dependent.

Interpretive Center will be open for this program; farm site will be closed. Doors open at 12:30pm.

Read more on the Land Between the Lakes Official Website by clicking here.

Pictures from Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 1850s Working Farm October 14

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace

We make just about all of the special events in the Land Between the Lakes – especially the ones involving the Nature Station, the Elk & Bison Prairie, and The Homeplace, so you’d better believe we were at Snap Apple Night last Saturday night. Guests gathered around the bonfires and got all comfortable and cozy while storytellers Robert Valentine and Jamie Futrel told stories (a few that were in the spirit of Halloween).

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

Like any event the Homeplace takes part it, the night was absolutely wonderful. God helped with some extraordinary weather, too. They even had hot apple cider to drink – it doesn’t get much better than that!

The “Working Farm” was decorated beautifully – fortunately we got there before it got dark so we could see everything. They did an outstanding job – as they do with everything, if we’re being honest.

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

When the sun went down, the lanterns and bonfire added to the ambiance perfectly.  Everyone involved did an exceptional job of making the night extra fun and memorable for guests of all ages.

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

There’s just something relaxing, fun, and (very) memorable about a night like this. Sitting back, sipping apple cider, and listening to wonderful stories. The storytellers were absolutely excellent. Jamie Futrel and Robert Valentine were both VERY funny and beyond interesting. I love a good story, so I was completely in my element.

Robert Valentine had an extra, extra special gift that I’m not sure I even knew existed. Heck, maybe he invented it. He was superb – and I mean SUPERB – at telling wonderful stories that seemed to be written especially for children and especially for adults.

Seriously, you could have set him and his stories in a roomful of children and they’d have been a perfect match. You could have set him and his stories in a roomful of adults and they would have been a perfect match.

Now, while this is a great and commendable gift to have with ANY story…  it is an absolute GIFT (all caps) when it comes to “scary” stories.

When I saw all the kids at the event, I kind of wondered how everything would play out. As a mother, I know all too well that young people may “think” they want to be scared out of their wits, only to regret it terribly once their wits begin to get away from them! I have to admit, I sort of wondered how many kids would be having nightmares that night!

This would be a problem I’d soon realize didn’t exist because Robert Valentine, after all, has the GIFT.

The one he just may have invented.

He was able to tell two very interesting, colorful, and “edge of your seat” type scary stories that had all the kids and all the adults spellbound. Best of all, they ended just the way they should have – in a manner that ensured zero nightmares.

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace

Whenever you read about an event at the Homeplace, just go ahead and mark your calendar and go. They do not do anything second rate.

I’m not sure they’d even know how to go about it.

Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

Eclipse Viewing and Programs in the Land Between the Lakes

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Camping in the LBL at Sunset

Camping in the LBL at Sunset

The Great American Eclipse is almost here – it seems like just yesterday it was months away. Then again, Christmas is 4 months from today!

The Land Between the Lakes offers year-round events, educational programs, and entertainment for the whole family – so it’s no surprise that they have the eclipse covered as well.

From the Land Between the Lakes:

Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area will offer prime viewing locations for the Great American Eclipse on August 21 and “Sun and Moon Days” August 16-23, 2017, a series of programs throughout the 170,00 acre area to celebrate and educate about this amazing natural phenomenon.

“Visitors looking for a prime spot to watch the Great American Eclipse are invited to Land Between the Lakes,” says Customer Service Manager Jeff Laird. “Eye protection, free parking and food vendors will be available at Fenton, near the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge on US68/KY80 in western Kentucky.”

The duration of the total solar eclipse at this location will be two minutes, according to NASA (https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps). Other viewing areas in Land Between the Lakes are listed at https://landbetweenthelakes.us/best-2017-eclipse-viewing-areas/.

Eye protection is vitally important during this event and viewing glasses are available now at Friends of Land Between the Lakes gift shops and campground outposts. Sunglasses are not adequate.

“Sun and Moon Days will feature eclipse related programming at three facilities,” according to Laird.

Golden Pond Planetarium and Observatory will show TOTALITY (which is already in the weekly schedule), at 11am and 2pm, August 16-23, to teach about eclipses. There will be an eclipse star party at 8:45 pm on August 19 and solar viewing from 10am – 4pm on August 20 and 21. A Pink Floyd laser extravaganza will be offered on August 18 and 19, at 5:30 and 7pm.

The Homeplace 1850s Working Farm will feature Life by the Sun, Moon and Stars, weekdays, 2-3pm, which will show how farm families looked for signs from celestial bodies. The Storytelling event will be August 19 from 6-7:30pm. Talented presenters will weave tales of the eclipses from the past. This special event is not included in the regular admission price. Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Doors will open at 5:30pm. View the eclipse from the Homeplace on August 21 and be part of our watermelon social from 10am – 4pm.

Woodlands Nature Station will offer Daytime vs. Nighttime Animals, weekdays at 11:30 am, August 16-23. There will also be Mornings with the Hummingbirds, 10-11am on Thursday, August 17, and Tuesday, August 22. Reservations are required for the Sunset Canoe Trips, planned for August 18 and August 23, from 5:30-8pm; and the Hummingbird Café, planned for Saturday, August 19, 9-10am. Snakes of Land Between the Lakes will be discussed from 11:30am – 12 pm on Sunday, August 20.

For more information, visit https://landbetweenthelakes.us/solar-eclipse-2017/ and https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/.

To find more information about Land Between the Lakes, log on to the official website atwww.landbetweenthelakes.us or call 1.800.525.7077 or 270.924.2000.

"When reading about a Kentucky event, please be sure you check the date. Old events are not always deleted from the website. If you have an event you'd like to see on Genuine Kentucky or a 'Made in Kentucky' food or product you'd like reviewed, please contact us! " ~ Joi ("Joy")

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