Thunderbird Atlatl will be at two events close to our home shop but about a half hour away in different directions Saturday! We will be at the Tioga Center Pumpkin Fest in Tioga Center, NY and at the First Peoples’ Festival in Ithaca, NY.

The seventh annual Pumpkin Fest will take place at Ransom Park in Tioga Center, NY The event begins at 9 a.m. and continues through the day.

The First Peoples Festival begins at 10 a.m. and continues to 5:30 p.m at DeWitt Park in downtown Ithaca. We will be joining the Primitive Pursuits group at the festival. The festival is free and is a celebration of indigenous peoples and cultures. There will be performances by Allegany River Indian Dancers, listen to flute playing by Dan Hill and story-telling by Barbara Bethman-Mahonty.

We had a great time back at Chimney Point Historic Site in Vergennes, Vt. last weekend. Gary Nolf of Connecticut won the grand champion award. We will post pictures over the weekend.

Thunderbird Atlatl will be in Vermont this weekend. Thanks to all our friends who made the Maine Primitive Weekend a great experience a couple weeks ago.

There is still time to sign up for the workshop at Chimney Point on Friday. It is from noon to 5 p.m. It will take place at the Chimney Point Historic Site in Vergennes, Vt. We are excited to be back at Chimney Point again after two years away during construction of the new Lake Champlain Bridge.

For further information about the workshop and to sign up contact, the museum at 802-759-2412. This is the 17th year the workshop has been offered at Chimney Point! This is a Vermont Archaeology Month program.

On Saturday, September 22, the 17th Annual Northeastern Open Atlatl Championship will be held at the museum.
Participate in or watch this annual championship. The sport of atlatl throwing is based on the ancient hunting technique of using the atlatl or spear thrower. Demonstrations and workshops on flint knapping, Woodland pottery, and other crafts and skills. Vermont Archaeology Month program. 10:30 – 4:30 PM

Photo from a previous year’s workshop in Vermont!

Thunderbird Atlatl will be at the Maine Primitive Gathering in Wells, Maine this weekend. The program provides at weekend of camaraderie and primitive skills instruction. Check out the website at http://broad-wingedfarm.com/MPG.html

Bob Berg and a host of other instructors will offer workshops throughout the weekend.

The weather was perfect (well almost except for a little rain on Sunday!) at Letchworth but it was a fantastic show. The new setup worked great. Thanks to everyone who made the weekend possible!

Now we are off to Ohio for the Labor Day weekend and the annual Flint Ridge Knapin. We are looking forward to seeing lots of atlatl and flintknapping friends.

A couple of photos from a past weekend at Flint Ridge!

Atlatl Battles on the Pennsic Battlefield once again set the stage for a good time for all at this year’s 41st Pennsic War. Now we look forward to upcoming programs at Letchworth State Park in western New York August 25 to 26 and Flint Ridge, Ohio over Labor Day Weekend. Check out our event schedule to see where we will be!

Thunderbird Atlatl’s Bob Berg has been doing some interesting experiments from his programs in Germany and Denmark with hafting, hafting glues and primitive flint tools.
The above photo shows an underwater find that shows an example of the type of tools Bob and others were experimenting with at Lejre, Denmark. Bob has started using these in Thunderbird Atlatl’s atlatl making workshops. According to Bob, this type of tool is used like a one handed draw shave. It is very efficient for carving wood. It carves wood as well as a metal tool. It works because the blade is easy to hold at just the right angle to cut most efficiently, while at the same time a great deal of pressure can be applied.

Come visit us at Letchworth State Park, Mt. Morris entrance, this weekend for the annual Stonetool Technology Show. Looking forward to seeing you. For further information, contact us at 800-836-4520 or 607-743-4379.