Menokin Makers Day 2022

“Menokin celebrates the building arts every day, but once a year we bring makers from our community to Menokin to celebrate the maker movement with Makers Day.”

We had an amazing time at Menokin Makers Day!

Have you heard of Menokin? We hadn’t either until a visit to Warsaw last summer. We were intrigued by the glass house project and wanted to learn more. Fast forward to this year when we heard about Menokin Makers Day held on June 4, 2022. We made a plan to visit Menokin that day.

“Menokin, the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee — a signer of the Declaration of Independence — is a National Historic Landmark and, like our country, built on the contradictions of slavery. It is one of the best documented 18th century houses in the United States.”

Maker Day 2022 Information

What: Menokin Makers Day is an annual event. Visitors learn from makers in various fields of craft as they share their talents and ingenuity. Attendees can also take a special guided tour of the Menokin Glass House Project.

When: June 4, 2022 (This event is held annually, so watch for next summer’s date. You won’t want to miss it.)

Cost:

• Maker Activities: FREE
• Tours of the Glass House Project: $10 for ages 13+, Free for 12 & under (These tours are normally $15 for those 13+. But on Makers Day 2022, they were discounted.)

Hours: 11 am – 3 pm

Address: 4037 Menokin Road, Warsaw, VA, 22572
Parking: There was plenty of parking in the fields. There were volunteer parking guides.
Restrooms: There were nice restrooms inside the Visitors Center. There were also porta-potties outside.

We arrived at Menokin just before 11 am. We had to drive on a long one-lane gravel road to get to the area. There were guides who helped us with parking. From there we headed straight to the Visitors Center. After scheduling our tour of the house, we headed to the maker activity tables.

Participating Makers and Activities

You can watch a short video of our Makers Day 2022 HERE.

UPTOWN QUILTERS GUILD, COMMUNITY QUILT — This maker table was held inside the Visitors Center. My daughter was able to create a small quilt square to take home. The adhesive backed fabric made it easy for her to design a square.

BLUEBIRD HOUSES with Rappahannock Wildlife Refuge Friends — My daughter was able to assemble a bluebird house to take home with her. She was their first visitor of the day. All of the wood pieces were pre-cut which made the assembly easy. She just had to do the nailing. She left with instructions on how to welcome these beautiful birds to our own back yard. Good thing we had these instructions as she was ready to go home and paint her bluebird house.

WEAVING, SPINNING AND WOODEN SPOON MAKING — After watching some demonstrations, my daughter was able to try her hand at planing a small log. In the 18th century an apprentice would do this daily for approximately $7 per month. There was no make-and-take activity from this station.

GLASSGIRL STAINED GLASS — This maker table was the most popular. My daughter and I both participated. Here we were able to learn the art of stained glass using the copper foil technique. We had to cut, assemble, and solder our glass into the shape of a house or a fish. Soldering is only allowed for children 12 and older with parental permission. I made a glass house, and my daughter did a freehand fish.

MENOKIN BRICK YARD — My daughter had fun getting dirty making a brick out of clay. She had to keep mixing in sand to help dry out the clay. After the clay was the right consistency, she slammed it into the mold. Her brick was almost perfect.

PHOTOMATH, SUN-PRINTS — Here my daughter was able to assemble a sun print out of leaves. It was interesting watching the entire process.

Several of the stations we were able to just observe and not create.

THE GLASS SPOT MOBILE GLASS-BLOWING STUDIO DEMONSTRATIONS — It was interesting watching the trained glass blower twirl, blow, and create beautiful glass objects. His assistant narrated so we knew what was going on.

PINE NEEDLE BASKETS — We both had no idea that baskets can be made with pine needles. We were surprised by the length of the Longleaf pine needles. We thought we were going to get a turn at pine needle basket making, but we were just able to observe.

VIOLIN/FIDDLE MAKING — This amazing individual shared his knowledge and skill of making violins/fiddles from wood.

DYING 2 SPIN, INDIGO DYING DEMONSTRATION — At this station we watched the transformation of natural fibers into beautifully colored Indigo-dyed pieces using age-old natural, hand dying techniques. 

We were able to do all of this for FREE!

Stay tuned for a post about our visit to the Glass House.

Plan a Trip to Menokin

If you don’t want to wait till Makers Day 2023, you can plan your own visit to Menokin most days year-round with a guided tour, kayaking, trail hiking, and seeing the Glass House Project in action. Click HERE for more information.

Make a Day of Your Visit

If you’re new to the Warsaw area, you can make a day or weekend trip out of your visit. Stop in at Chesapeake Donut for ice cream or donuts, play at the town park, which is next door, visit Tom Rhodes Tree Carving Trail, and grab a burger at NN Burger. Westmoreland State Park is only 30 miles from Warsaw. Camping and great hikes can be found there. They are also home to Fossil Beach.