Demonstration at the Claude Moore Market Fair

We spent this past weekend at the Claude Moore Colonial Market Fair. Held three times a year (May, July and October), it is a wonderful, kid-friendly event. Jeff was very busy in the forge, designing an cooking system for a family who have been associated with the farm for many years and who want to be able to cook chickens over their outdoor fire at home, just like they experienced at Claude Moore. Jeff and I joked that this Market Fair will be remembered in our family as the Chicken Hook Market Fair because we spent our entire time making the hooks (and other parts of the system) and chatting about them to all the visitors. It was a good project for a demonstration, though, because the visitors  knew about the chicken since they saw it when entering the fair and could easily visualize what Jeff was making.

Like many projects, there were no "instructions" and Jeff reverse-engineered the system using the farm's pieces & then changed them as needed. He built two three-legged steel 48" tripods connected across the top by a 78" long steel cross bar. From the cross bar, four identical hooks hang which support a wooden spit that holds chicken for cooking on an open fire. The spit hooks are each hanging from a length of chain that allows the hooks to be adjusted to raise and lower the spit depending on the fire's temperature. In addition to the main cooking pieces, the set included 5 shepherd's crooks, each 5 feet long, that will be used to hold the spits away from the fire as the chickens are loaded and dressed. All of the pieces have an identical 5-inch long ornamental twist that visually ties the single pieces into a whole unit.   We were so busy that we didn't get a decent photo of the entire set, so we can't wait to see photos of the system in its new home!

It was great fun to see so many of our friends, both demonstrating and visiting the fair. I was very happy to get a lesson on spinning with a drop spindle from Rachel at Crowfoot Farm. We also picked up new period-appropriate mugs from Rudy Tucker Pottery and I was thrilled to get some new clothing from other friends who run "By My Hands Enterprises". 

We'll return to Claude Moore for their next fair on July 21 and 22. Hope to see you there!