The Marsh House in LaFayette will celebrate its annual Heritage Day Festival Saturday, Oct. 1, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and parking is free.

Heritage Day is a celebration of historic patterns of life that annually are resurrected for the public to sample and enjoy. This year’s events will include an old-timers’ meal of cavalry stew, cornbread and peach cobbler pre-pared over an open fire by renowned Camp Cow Cook Frank B. Wood, Civil War re-enactments and black powder rifle firing, multiple musical and entertainment acts and numerous vendors selling antiques, collectables and handmade treasures. Vendors’ tables will open to the public at 9 a.m.

This year’s music and entertainment will feature all local talents. Musical performers include Vince Stalling, Brenda Mostiller, Haleigh Parker, Jordan Teems, Taylor Thomison and Madison Vest. Two dance troups will de-light the audience: dancers from First Step Dance Studio directed by Sarah Herndon and the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Interpretive Dance Team under the direction of Jade Dodds. Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged for guests to maximize their enjoyment of a day at the historic Marsh House.

The historic Marsh House will be open for tours throughout the day for a $1 donation at the door. The works of local quilter Martha Steele will be featured inside, including her “Underground Railroad Quilt Sampler,” which took 130 hours to make and will be available for raffle. The sampler is an example of the ways in which quilt pat-terns were used to help communicate information about the Underground Railroad to assist escaping slaves along its route.

Co-emcees this year will be Don Welch of “This ‘N That” on Channel 9 in Chattanooga and LaFayette native Phil Scoggins, news anchor for Channel 3 in Columbus, Ga.

For more information on the Heritage Day activities or the Marsh House, please visit marshhouseoflafayette.com or contact Mary Smitherman at 423-718-9918.