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Feast of the Hunters' Moon

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Coordinates: 40°24′23″N 86°57′50″W / 40.40639°N 86.96389°W / 40.40639; -86.96389
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This article is about the Indiana festival. For the album by Black Prairie, see Feast of the Hunter's Moon.
Fifers at the 2006 Feast

Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is a weekend festival and historical reenactment held on a weekend in October since 1968, at the present-day site of Fort Ouiatenon, a replica 18th century French military and trading post near West Lafayette, Indiana. Traditionally, the Hunters' Moon is the full moon in October, following September's Harvest Moon.

Site and History

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Blockhouse replica at Fort Ouiatenon

The Feast is held on the grounds of the Historic Fort Ouiatenon Park, on the Wabash River.[1][2] The blockhouse is a replica of the original Fort Ouiatenon, which was the first fortified European settlement in what is now called Indiana.[3] The fort served as a French trading post and was located approximately one mile downriver from the replica.[4]

Many Indigenous groups routinely visited Fort Ouiatenon, including the Wea, Kickapoo, Mascouten, Neshnabe (Potawatomi), Piankashaw, Sauk, Fox, Seneca, Miyaamiaa Nations (Miami), Lenape (Delaware), and Shawnee (Sewanee).[5]

Festival and Historical Reenactment

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During the festival, participants reenact the annual fall gathering of the French and Native Americans which took place at Fort Ouiatenon in the mid-18th century.[6][7] Participants dress in the garb of the 18th century French soldiers, settlers, and Native Americans who lived in this region.[8][9] Food vendors sell traditional period foods such as rabbit stew, voyageur stew, and venison sausage.[7][9] The program also includes music, marching, dancing and reenacted military maneuvers.[7]

Musical performances

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As part of the event, various musical acts perform, including Native American drummers, historical folk music performers, French folksingers and period fife and drum corps.[8]

Living history presentations

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The event includes historical reenactments featuring period characters from the 1700s to educate visitors about the lives and culture of the period.[10] One historical interpreter presented a Delaware Indian who first served as a scout for the French and whose people lived along the Wabash River in the 1700s and co-existed peacefully with the French at the outpost.[11] Others play traders and gunsmiths, such as "Pierre Rolletof" of French Scots-Irish descent who traveled along the Wabash River trading a range of items, including guns, and also gunsmithed as he traveled.[12] Other reenactors have demonstrated various period trades and crafts, including a chairmaker who built Windsor chairs to order, spending 40–45 hours per chair.[13]

Size and production

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In 2004, the annual event drew over 8,000 participants and over 60,000 spectators.[8] The Tippecanoe County Historical Association, cooperating with the Tippecanoe County Parks Department, presents the event on a weekend in late September or early October.[14] The annual event ran for its 44th year in 2011. 2017 marked its 50th anniversary and the 300th anniversary of the fort.[15] The event was cancelled during the Pandemic of 2020 but resumed in 2021.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Maxfield, Thomas (September 25, 2011). "Getting to the Feast". Journal & Courier. Layfayette. p. A4.
  2. ^ Dittman, Joan (September 21, 2011). "Feast of Hunters' Moon this weekend". Post-Tribune. Merrillville, Indiana. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  3. ^ "Blockhouse Museum" Tippecanoe County Historical Association
  4. ^ "The Ouiatenon Preserve" Tippecanoe County Historical Association
  5. ^ Florence, Kathryn (2021-08-18), "At the table or on the menu at Indiana's Feast of the Hunters' Moon", Public Memory, Race, and Heritage Tourism of Early America, London: Routledge, pp. 68–85, ISBN 978-1-003-10283-0, retrieved 2025-03-30
  6. ^ Bushnell, George (October 4, 1998). "A Feast for All Time Indiana Festival Traces History of Fort". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  7. ^ a b c "Full Feast Ahead". Journal & Courier. Layfayette, Indiana. September 23, 2011. pp. 11, 13.
  8. ^ a b c Gisler, Margaret (2004). "Feast of the Hunters' Moon". Fun with the Family Indiana (5th ed.). Globe Pequot. pp. 177–178. ISBN 978-0-7627-2978-4. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  9. ^ a b Borsky, Daniel (October 18, 1996). "The Feast of the Hunter's Moon". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  10. ^ Schaefer, Dede (October 1989). "The Feast of the Hunter's Moon". Outdoor Indiana Magazine. Indiana Department of Natural Resources: 26–29.
  11. ^ Showalter, Max (September 25, 2011). "This is our land, This is our Home". Journal & Courier. Layfayette, Indiana. p. A4.
  12. ^ Mack, Justin L. (September 25, 2011). "It's a challenging life". Journal & Courier. Layfayette. pp. A1 & A4.
  13. ^ Mack, Justin L. (September 25, 2011). "It's about the simplicity of life". Journal & Courier. Lafayette, Indiana. p. A4.
  14. ^ "Annual Feast of Hunter's Moon At Lafayette This Weekend". The News & Review. Brookston and Monon, Indiana. October 4, 2006. p. 11. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  15. ^ Showalter, Max (September 25, 2011). "Sunny skies draw large crowd to Feast opener". Journal & Courier. Lafayette, Indiana. p. C3.
  16. ^ http://feastofthehuntersmoon.org/ Official web site Retrieved 11/5/20
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40°24′23″N 86°57′50″W / 40.40639°N 86.96389°W / 40.40639; -86.96389

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