From press reports

The French Camp Community Club's 52ndAnnual HarvestFestival will be held Saturday, October 11, at the gymnasium on the campus of French Camp Academy and the Historical Area on the Natchez Trace.

The Festival opens with music by FCA choruses at 9:30 a.m. followed by a day-long quilt and craft auction, beginning at 10 a.m. A covered dish meal, open to everyone, is held at noon, with the auction resuming at 1:00 p.m. Concessions are available at both the gym and the Historical Area. FCA is located near mile marker 181 on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Events at the French Camp Historical Area include story telling, sorghum making, dulcimer music, and quilting. The Tombigbee Pioneer Group will be back again this year, demonstrating crafts and life-style of American pioneers from the 1750's - 1870's. Activities for children near the gym include horseback rides, face painting and several new games, such as an inflatable slide and mechanical bull.

Proceeds of the auction will benefit French Camp Academy and the other members of the Community Club: Berea, Covenant, Bethsaida, and French Camp Baptist Churches and French Camp Presbyterian Church. Historic sties in French Camp will be open to the public as well: the Col. James Drane Antebellum Home, the Bed and Breakfast Inn, Greenwood Leflore's Carriage, and several historic church buildings in the area. A growing attraction at French Camp is the French Camp Historical Museum.

Rainwater Observatory will be open after noon and will host a viewing Saturday night, weather pen-nitting. Also available is a free art exhibit at Blucher Center for the Arts, in the foyer area of McGhee Tabernacle. Tours of the campus for individuals or groups will be available beginning at 1:00 p.m.

French Camp Academy, founded in 1885, is an interdenominational Christian boarding school for deserving young people, mostly teenagers, many from some type of broken, troubled or dysfunctional home situation. The Community Club was founded in 1950 by members of local churches and FCA for the purpose of improving and promoting French Camp.

For more information call 547-6482.