Fab Fourth Field Trip

If you live in Utah, or you'll be visiting relatives in Utah around Independence Day, here's a great educational way to celebrate (or take a field trip).

America's Freedom Festival at Provo presents Colonial Fest  July 3-5 and it gets bigger and better every year. (I have to interject here that Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia is one of my favorite places on the planet, so I do have a high standard. Colonial Fest is pretty well done considering that it's a temporary gig in tents in a park in Utah.) We went for the second time this year and found it much expanded from our previous visit a few years ago. It was a very engaging and appropriate way to spend time on Independence Day.

Here are some highlights.

We participated in a public debate between Loyalists and Patriots, adding our
own "Huzzah!" and "Fie!" when we agreed and disagreed. We also witnessed
a mock trial for hog stealing and learned a lot about colonial crime and punishment.

The kids attended the colonial "publick school."

P3 and his friend were recruited for a secret spy mission. This was exciting
because we'd just finished reading about Nathan Hale and all the espionage
of the American Revolution. 

They were sent all over the place, delivering a newspaper and secret
message from the printer to the baker...

...from the baker to Major Tallmage in the American Encampment with a message
hidden under a cookie, on to other people in other places.

For us, it was perfect timing, given that we're wrapping up our unit on the American Revolution. If you find yourself studying this part of history and unable to get to an original colony for a field trip, this is a decent substitution.