Timberfest

Timberfest is held the first weekend of October every year on the courthouse square in Sheridan (Grant County). Timberfest celebrates Sheridan and Grant County’s long involvement with the timber industry and is sponsored by the Grant County Chamber of Commerce.

The idea for Timberfest began in 1982 when the Grant County Chamber of Commerce board of directors decided to combine the Blue Mountain Bluegrass Festival and the Merchants Fair into one festival. The first Timberfest was held in 1984 on the courthouse square in Sheridan. Since then, it has grown into a very large event. Around 1995, a lumberjack competition was added to the Timberfest activities. The funds raised by Timberfest are used for scholarships that are awarded to Grant County students by the Chamber of Commerce. When Timberfest began, only $1,000 in scholarship money was awarded, but in recent years more than $6,000 annually has been raised for deserving high school seniors in a Grant County school district.

Timberfest offers a wide variety of activities for all ages, with the biggest draw being the Arkansas State Lumberjack Championship, which has been televised on the ESPN sports network. Lumberjacks from across Arkansas and surrounding states come to participate in this event, which includes the ax throw, horizontal chop, Jack and Jill crosscut, vertical cut, and chainsaw competition. Timberfest also includes various arts and crafts, Dutch oven and junior Dutch oven cook-offs, a pancake breakfast hosted by the Rotary Club, a horseshoe tournament, a pine wood derby competition, games, a petting zoo, and much more.

For additional information:
Timberfest. Grant County Chamber of Commerce. http://www.grantcountychamber.com/timberFest.html (accessed September 7, 2023).

Stephanie Mitchell
Grant County Chamber of Commerce