POTOMAC - Potomac 4-Hers are performing an old Finnish Folktale entitled "The Hunter and the Old Woman of the Woods" March 18 at the Greenough/Potomac Community Center for the 71st Annual 4-H Drama Festival. The plays begin at 10 a.m.
The play was written by Elaine Lindy and Wendy Lees. The 4-H members chose the story because it was about nature. Parts include a Goddess of the Woods played by Leah Nelson and an Old Woman played by Corbin Weltzein.
In Northern Finland, where the play takes place, live people known as the Saahms who have lived above the Arctic Circle for thousands of years.
Hailey Jones plays a Saahms huntress named Olga. She hunts alone, looking for deer. She has a hard time finding them, but unbeknownst to her they are following her every move.
The deer are sassy, friendly and humorous and include a fawn played by Ivy Van Grinsven. Other deer include Cait Jones, who falls to the hunter's arrow but survives, Taryn White, Katrina Olson and Lily Van Grinsven who try to aid their friend and thwart the humans.
Olga comes upon an Old Woman, played by Weltzein, in the forest who teaches her about hunting and cooking. The Old Woman said that perhaps the way to bag a deer isn't by singing at the top of her lungs.
In the end the Old Woman and Olga bond and stay forever friends, thinking of each other as family while the deer continue to cavort.
Nelson narrates the play and assists in telling the story with whimsy while keeping the deer at bay from the huntress.
This year, plays will be presented by the Mullan Trail Mustangs, Blue Mountain, Treasure State and Potomac Valley 4-H clubs. The plays are judged by Missoula judges and the participating clubs are awarded ribbons.
A pie auction will be held by the Potomac Valley 4-H Club. The Potomac School eighth grade class will offer concessions.
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