Celebrate local foods and trails this Saturday, June 4, at the eighth annual Trek to Taste festival. This free event at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park brings together local food vendors, musicians, artists, and community members for a day of fun on the trails.

The morning will kick off at the Forest Center with the National Park Postage Stamp Dedication at 10:30am, which will highlight a new stamp with artwork of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. The stamp will be part of a collection of 16 that celebrate the National Park Service’s Centennial this year. After the dedication, visitors can listen to the music of the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra at the Forest Center or join one of three guided hikes and one yoga hike that will lead visitors on the winding trails to destinations throughout the park.

Families can enjoy games and crafts all day at the Forest Center. Make your own walking stick or jump on a stationary bike to churn your own smoothie. Play a round of family Bingo with the nature Bingo cards or become a junior ranger. An easy walk up the trail will lead you to the Horse Shed Meadow, where visitors can make trail bandanas, see live raptors, and play a nature-themed game of I Spy.

A hike to the Nordic Hut will reward visitors with wood-fired pizza made with local ingredients as well as local food displays. Continue on to the Pogue to join Artist-in-Residence Joan Hoffman for plein air painting. Hikers who make the trek up to the South Peak can sample local gourmet foods as well as a New England colonial-era beverage called switchel.  

The Billings Park Commission will sponsor an ice cream social at the Forest Center from 1 to 3pm along with a performance by local musician Jack Snyder. The festivities will close with the announcement of the Annette C. Compton Fiertz Trail Stewardship Award and the recognition of artists of the New England Sculptors Association’s exhibit.

For more information about this year’s Trek to Taste, visit www.trektotaste.info.