Lake Charlotte Forest Festival Unlocks Nova Scotia’s Wild Heritage This October

image visitmemorylane.ca

Nova Scotia’s forests will take centre stage on Saturday, 3 October 2026, when the Nova Scotia Forest Festival returns to Lake Charlotte. The event will run from 11am to 4pm at Memory Lane Heritage Village on the province’s Eastern Shore. It will give visitors and local families a close look at how forests have shaped work, homes, food, culture and daily life in Nova Scotia.
This is not a quiet museum visit. It is a lively day where people can watch old skills in action, try hands-on activities, hear local music and learn why healthy forests matter. Horse logging, axe throwing, woodwork, tree walks and traditional food will bring the heritage village to life. The festival will take place rain or shine.

A festival set in a living 1940s village

The event takes place at Memory Lane Heritage Village a living history site that shows rural coastal Nova Scotian life in the 1940s. The village reflects the years during and after the Second World War. Its old-style buildings, workshops, tools and farm animals help visitors feel close to the past.
This makes the forest festival different from a normal autumn fair. Visitors do not only read about history. They walk through it. They see how people used wood to build homes, make chairs, create boats and earn a living.
The festival carries one clear message. Forests are not only places for walks and autumn colours. They provide jobs, homes for wildlife, building materials, food and lasting community traditions.

Horse logging brings forestry history to life

One of the most exciting parts of the event will be live horse logging. Dan and Ruby, a pair of Clydesdale-cross horses, will show how horses once helped workers move logs in forest areas. Visitors can also enjoy rides around the heritage village in an antique carriage.
This is a rare chance to see how forestry looked before large modern machines became common. Horse logging required care, trust and skill. Workers needed to understand both the forest and the animals.
The festival will also feature vintage forestry tools. Visitors can try a two-person cross-cut saw and learn about tools such as augers and brace-and-bit drills. Historic woodworking equipment will be running during the day. Visitors can watch shingle mills, buzz saws, lathes and belt-driven machines at work.
Local woodcarvers will show their skills. Another demonstration will show how steam can bend wood into useful shapes. These activities explain how timber became everyday items in Nova Scotia homes and workplaces.

Axe throwing gives the day a competitive edge

The Nova Scotia Forest Festival will also bring friendly competition to Lake Charlotte. The eighth annual Eastern Shore Golden Axe Throwing Tournament will begin at 1.30pm. Local businesses will compete for the Golden Axe and a year of local bragging rights.
People can also try axe throwing before and after the tournament. The Lumberjack AXE-perience will run from 11am to 1pm, then again from 3pm to 4pm.
Axe throwing is now a popular activity. But it has deep links to old forest work. The event gives visitors a safe way to enjoy the sport while learning why axes were once essential tools in woodland communities.

Trees wildlife and the future of Nova Scotia forests

The festival will offer learning activities for children and adults. Tree Detective sessions will help people understand what makes a tree and how to spot different species. A forest walk through the village will point out local trees and show objects that came from forest plants.
Visitors can also learn about bats, tree care and forest wildlife. Local groups will share information about woodland conservation, urban trees and forest stewardship.
The festival will highlight the threat from hemlock woolly adelgid. This invasive insect attacks eastern hemlock trees in Nova Scotia. It can cause major damage to forest areas. By including this subject, the event gives visitors a simple way to understand that forests need protection as well as celebration.
This practical conservation message makes the festival timely. It connects old forest traditions with the challenges facing Nova Scotia’s woodlands today.

A wider story of work and community

The event will include the returning exhibition, Lumber Legacy: Contributions of African Nova Scotians to the Forest Industry. The display gives visitors a broader picture of the people who helped build Nova Scotia’s forest economy.
A colour film from around 1942 will also show the Haslem lumbering operation at Porters Lake. It offers a window into real forest work from another time.
Master artisan chairmaker Tom Marshall will build a replica Acadian chair during the festival. He will use traditional tools, materials and methods. The finished chair will go into a silent auction, with the draw at 3.30pm.
These experiences help show that Nova Scotia’s forest story belongs to many communities, trades and generations.

Traditional food and music add warmth

The festival will feature music throughout the day. Eastern Shore Lads, Bill Dawe, David Bradshaw and Oscar & Friends will perform. A campfire may be part of the setting, depending on the forest-fire index on the day.
Food will play a key role. Visitors can enjoy maple syrup samples with pancakes, fried bread with molasses and cranberries, barbecue snacks and a fried lumberjack treat.
The Cookhouse will serve an “Eat Like a Lumberjack” meal for CAD 15. Visitors can choose chicken stew, baked beans or corn chowder. The meal comes with Memory Lane brown bread, gingerbread, rhubarb sauce and drinks.
Admission is CAD 7 for adults and CAD 2 for visitors aged 18 and under. Pets are not allowed because farm animals roam freely around the heritage village.

An easy autumn trip from Halifax

Lake Charlotte is on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore, about 50 minutes from Halifax. Visitors travelling from Halifax or Dartmouth can take Highway 107 towards Musquodoboit Harbour, then continue east on Highway 7 to Lake Charlotte.
The venue has a Level 2 public electric vehicle charging station, with J-1772 and Tesla connections.
The Nova Scotia Forest Festival offers more than an autumn outing. It lets visitors throw an axe, meet working horses, enjoy hearty food and step into a forest story that still matters today.