Muskets, fiddles, and beads, oh my!  The sixteenth annual frontier heritage fair is this weekend at Lane County Fairground Auditorium in Eugene.

Demonstrations of tanning hides and other frontier skills are a prominent part of the event, as are performances by local musicians.

Jim Hayden, a long time participant, says the fair is a celebration of frontier culture…

Hayden:  “We’re celebrating the development of the west, I know some people find that odd, but it’s our heritage and most of us  are from families, our families traveled west through the expansion of the united states, and we’re just more or less celebrating that.”

Hayden says the group has occasionally fielded criticism for glorifying the settlement of the west, but that the fair is meant to educate and provide an honest account of the area’s history.