COLUMBUS – Enjoy a rural, family-oriented fall festival this Saturday, October 11, as the area celebrates Columbus Day at beautiful Norton Park on Bell Road in the nation's first Columbus.

Watch tractors vying, pulling down the track, courtesy of Johnson Farms, LLC. Browse through the hand-crafted wares of local vendors, everything from soap to maple syrup. Listen to live music by Sheila Geer and Rick Iacovelli. And observe as a chainsaw master, Mark Watson, turns logs into collectibles – www.speedsawcarver.com/3391.html .

And the best part? It's all for free, thanks to a grant from the New York State Council of Arts, a gift from Golden Artist Colors, and funding from the Town of Columbus.

Norton Park opens at 9 a.m. Saturday, with hot coffee and registration for the tractor pull. The playground by the large pavilion will be open as our cooks heat up the grill, ready to make tasty sandwiches, fries and more.

At 10 a.m., peruse the prizes as the Quarter Social opens. In one part of Norton Park, tractors will be revving, ready to compete, while at the other, our chainsaw artist will be preparing to create art, where formerly there was merely wood.

Mark Watson interacts with the audience, answers your questions on how to carve, and operates with an assortment of saws, including an electric model that dampens noise.