Autumn festival at Idaho Museum of Natural History will give public a taste of medieval culture

POCATELLO – The Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello is gearing up for its annual Mabon celebration this weekend.

The festival honoring the autumn equinox is happening on Saturday, Sept. 28. It offers a unique blend of cultural traditions, educational exhibits and hands-on activities for all ages.

Robert Gay, the museum’s curator of education, says “Mabon” is a Welsh term originating from mythological figures with a similar name.

“They are featured in epic Welsh mythological tales of the Mabinogion (the earliest Welsh stories compiled from oral history). I have seen some references to Mabon as a medieval harvest festival, but most current use seems to center around modern recreations of the pre-medieval equinox celebrations,” Gay says.

Mabon marks the time of year when day and night are of equal length. It is a time of reflection, gratitude, and celebration of the changing seasons, and was initially celebrated as the second to last harvest of the year.

The event provides an opportunity for visitors to connect with the natural world and learn about the cultural significance of this time of year. Objects created by Indigenous people will be on display.

Other activities and exhibits at the Mabon festival will include warriors fighting in combat armor, medieval music and sewing, costumes and coloring books for the kids, as well as artifacts and reproductions from culture represented in the Society for Creative Anachronism, an Idaho State University club helping to organize the event.

“I hope people will understand the complexity of our collective pasts by seeing these glimpses … in the flesh,” Gay says. “Showing how people across the world were dealing with similar issues at similar times is important.”

The Mabon Festival is happening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is free to the public.

For more information, visit the museums’s website or call (208) 236-3139.