Our 2024 Main Tent Schedule
Thursday
June 20
3:00 PM – Opening Greetings & Friends of Serpent Mound, 20 Years – Delsey Wilson
4:00 PM – The Storyteller’s Flute – John DeBoer
5:00 PM – The Nature of Flight! – Ohio School of Falconry (1.5 hours)
7:00 PM – Festival Closes for the day
Friday
June 21
10:00 AM – Music & Discussion – Baba Jubal
11:00 AM – Sound Healing & Meditation – Joanie Boyle
12:00 PM – Serpent Mound Crop Circle – Jeffrey Wilson (2 hours)
2:00 PM – Music – Crystal Judge
3:00 PM – Open Slot
4:00 PM – If You Plant It They Will Come – Chris Kline
5:00 PM – Rare Encounters in Southern Ohio – John Howard
6:00 PM -Sound Healing, Dance Music, and Drumming – Steven Rutherford
7:00 PM – Festival Closes for the day
Saturday
June 22
9:00 AM – Canoe Tour below Serpent Mound (Hosted by MoonDoggie LIVERee)
10:00 AM – From the Snake River to the Serpent Mound, Story, Song, & Meditation – Terri Rivera
11:00 AM – Music – Chris Davis (tentative)
12:00 PM – Bigfoot – Dusty Ruth
1:00 PM – A Dedication to Stephen Kelley – FOSM
2:00 PM – Folk Music – Steve Free
3:00 PM – Q & A with Past Serpent Mound Park Managers – FOSM
5:00 PM – The Plains Mounds – Lawrence Greene
6:00 PM – Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, The Expanded Edition – Jeffrey Wilson (may go past 7 pm)
7:00 PM – Festival starts Closing for the day
Sunday
June 23
10:00 AM – Singing Bowls – Deo Abellera
11:00 AM – Serpent Mound’s Pre-Park History – Jeffrey & Delsey Wilson (2 hours)
1:00 PM – John T. Wilson and Serpent Mound – Paul Worley
2:00 PM – The Women Who Saved Serpent Mound – Jeffrey Wilson
(1 1/2 hours)
4:00 PM – Daniel Wallace & Family at Serpent Mound – Brandy Pointer
5:00 PM – Life, Death, & Butterflies – Debbie Keri-Brown
6:00 PM – Community Drumming
7:00 PM – Festival ends
Scroll down to learn more about our presenters.
the WORKSHOP SCHEDULE is here.
It gets finalized closer to the event.
Festival activities
Join us, June 20-23, 2024, as we celebrate the first few days of summer among the foothills of the Appalachia mountains.
Our annual festival highlights the area’s history, heritage, ecology, as well as the multitude of aspects associated with the Serpent Mound Park. The Great Serpent Mound effigy, built by the Ancient Indigenous Peoples, incorporates alignments to the rising and setting of the sun and moon on the solstices and equinoxes. The summer solstice sunset alignment is through the open jaws and across the oval.
There are many theories, stories, ancient knowledge, and unknowns with Serpent Mound. The Friends of Serpent Mound started this festival as a way for the public to share and learn about the many facets of Serpent Mound. Our presenters vary from locals, historians, Indigenous Americans, Scientists, Spiritualist, Musicians, and more. Learn about Serpent Mound and the surrounding area’s history, uniqueness, wildlife, and ecology, along with some fun family friendly summer activities!
Festival Rules
- This is a family friendly event – there is to be NO alcohol, drugs, guns, or nudity!
- Children are welcome and must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.
- There is no smoking in the Main Tents, in the port-o-lets or within the group hikes. There are proper places to put one’s cigarette butts, so please do not throw them on the ground.
- Dogs are permitted, but must be leashed at all times, next to owner, and must be cleaned up after.
- The back gate to the Serpent Mound Park is closed. One can use the Buckeye Trail to access the park during open hours.
All thanks to our wonderful Community of Sponsors!
Every year our festival seems to have an underlining theme, and this year’s is
“FOSM’s 20th year.”
Join us any or every day of the festival, for FREE.
No registration required to attend.
Sorry, we don’t have any public camping.
Visit Adams County Travel & Visitors Bureau,
Visitor’s Bureau of Highland County,
or Visit Pike County, Ohio
Festival Hours
Thursday
3 pm – 7 pm
Friday
10 am – 7 pm
Saturday
10 am – 7 pm
Sunday
10 am – 7 pm
Festival Parking
Anyone planning to spend the day with us, should enter the festival from Horner Chapel Rd and park in the field. Anyone parked at Serpent Mound may visit us via the Buckeye Trail, but you will have to pay a parking fee. Look for our sign behind the large conical mound and follow the Buckeye Trails’ Blue Blazes to our other signs.
Thursday Main Tent Schedule
The thoughts and opinions of each presenter, are their own and FOSM does not support or promote only one view, but offers an opportunity and platform for people to share their thoughts, experiences, and theories and let the public discern what feels right to them.
This is a Tentative Schedule and will not be complete until closer to the event.
3:00 – 4:00
Delsey Wilson
Executive Director, Friends of Serpent Mound & Owner of Serpent Mound Farms, LLC
Festival Opening and the Friends of Serpent Mound, 20 years
Wilson will welcome everyone to the festival and discuss the theme of this year’s festival “FOSM’s 20 years!”
4:00 – 5:00
John DeBoer
The Storyteller’s Flute
John has been a working musician, certified music teacher, and performer for a lifetime. Working with 35 mayor label groups. He is also, Certified by NASA to present the Moon rocks, for which he has done 54 times. He is also an Ambassador for Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds”. He has written seven books, along with writing and producing eight albums of music.
He will play his Flute and tell stories about Nature and Legends.
5:00 – 7:00
Joseph Dorrian
Ohio School of Falconry
The Nature of Flight!
Come join us and discover the Nature of Flight! As we learn about the many types of raptors (owls, hawks, falcons and buzzards) that can be found around the world, we will explore their unique powers of flight and how each of the do it a little bit differently.
Friday Main Tent Schedule
The views and opinions of the presenters are their own and not that of the Friends of Serpent Mound’s.
This is a Tentative Schedule and will not be complete until closer to the event.
10:00 – 11:00
Baba Jubal
Musician
Tentative
11:00 – 12:00
Joanie Boyle
Sound Healing & Meditation
Joanie is the owner & operator of The Gaia Den in Princeton WV, a healing arts studio & metaphysical shop. She offers a variety of classes and services: she is a CYT, meditation & breath-work facilitator and also a Tarot reader and astrologer, with over 20 years experience in her modalities.
Using a drum and 7 crystal quartz sound healing bowls, attuned to each of the 7 main chakras, she will guide people through a meditative sound journey, including light breath work.
12:00 – 2:00
Jeffrey Wilson
Serpent Mound Crop Circle
Jeffrey Wilson, President, Volunteer and a founding Board Member of the Friends of Serpent Mound. With a Master of Science and a double major in English Literature and History from Eastern Michigan, Jeffrey’s lectures bring a scientific approach with a refreshing side of Native American mythology. He has been researching Serpent Mound for over 10 years, and also gave a guided sunset tour at Serpent Mound for years. In 2015, he even discovered a new Winter Solstice Sunrise alignment. He has become the local Serpent Mound Researcher.
(Photo compliments of Don Reed)
2:00 – 3:00
Crystal Judge
Musician & Herb Enthusiast
Crystal Judge teaches Herbal Learning classes and makes herbal remedies for Gracious Farm, a 5 acre land that she and her family steward while growing native and naturalized plants for medicinal use and sustainability. Crystal has been a student of herbs for 28 years, although her interest was peeked at a very young age. She received knowledge from many mentors who were often women passing down information learned through generations. For years, she would offer work trade to these women who needed help maintaining their abundance so that she would be able to spend time with plants intimately, learning about them, and harvesting. Plus, she can sing!
3:00 – 4:00
Open Slot
Title
Description
4:00 – 5:00
Chris Kline
Butterfly Ridge
If You Plant It They Will Come
Christopher Kline’s interest in butterflies began in 1997 when he began tagging Monarch butterflies in Indiana. Since 1997, he has tagged thousands of Monarchs, co-founded the Central Arizona Butterfly Association, and founded the Southwest Monarch Study. He has also served as the Butterfly Specialist at the Franklin Park
Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, Ohio.
He now is the Director of Butterfly Ridge Butterfly Conservation Center in Rockbridge, Ohio where he and his wife have converted 21 acres of fields and forests into butterfly friendly habitats and have quadrupled the butterfly population in the process. He has authored several books including A Field Guide to Tropical Butterflies of American Conservatories, Butterfly Gardening with Native Plants, Butterfly Rider, Moths of Butterfly Ridge, and the Tony Spencer Mystery Series.
In this presentation, Mr. Kline will visually demonstrate how Butterfly Ridge has quintupled its butterfly population since 2015 and how you can use these same strategies to increase your local butterfly population. Focus will be on the use of native plants and their roles in the butterfly life cycle.
5:00 – 6:00
John Howard
Rare Encounters in Southern Ohio
John Howard is a local southern Ohio photographer and interpretive naturalist living in Adams County, Ohio. He is retired from the aerospace industry and is currently involved with research projects studying timber rattlesnakes, hellbenders, and gray foxes.
Join John for a romp through South Central Ohio looking at some of the rare, or at least rarely seen flora and fauna unique to the area. Adams, Pike, and Scioto counties are among the richest counties in Ohio for bio-diversity. We will look at everything from rare plants you can barely see to beautiful but little known orchids to little known small mammals and insects to timber rattlesnakes.
6:00 – 7:00
Steven Rutherford
Steven & the moon live performance and drumming
Sound Healing, Dance Music, and Drumming
Saturday Main Tent Schedule
The views and opinions of the presenters are their own and not that of the Friends of Serpent Mound’s.
This is a Tentative Schedule and will not be complete until closer to the event.
10:00 – 11:00
Terri A. Rivera
Music and Meditation
Terri Rivera Sings With Ravens or Ho Waste Winyan, means Good Voice or Good Talk Woman, In Dakota the name implies you speak the truth and from your heart. She is one of the founders of Serpent Mound Star Knowledge Spring Seed and Water Peace Summit.
She grew up in Idaho along the Snake River and now lives just three miles from the Serpent Mound at the Alternate Universe Rock Shop. Both her home and shop are on the southeastern edge of a five-mile wide impact crater and sits atop a 17.5 km long fault line that is miles deep. That combination emits a constant flow of positive energy. Terri is a Singer/Songwriter and has presented at workshops throughout the U.S. and Mexico she has worked with healers from around the world to hold spiritual retreats in various global locations.
She will share Songs (some gifted to her from the Serpent Mound), Meditation, and Prayers.
11:00 – 12:00
Chris “Flint Eagle” Davis
Musician & Songwriter
Chris “Flint Eagle” Davis, songwriter and musician, retired teacher and poet. Graduate of OU and WSU. Munay Ki initiate and follower of Star Knowledge, and the same time a down home Kentucky boy who’s lived most of his life in Ohio.
12:00 – 1:00
Dusty Ruth
Bigfoot in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky
Dusty Ruth is a member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization and a member of Tom Shay’s Northern Kentucky Bigfoot Research Group. He leads the BFRO expeditions in Ohio. He was an investigator and administrator in his career before he retired. He has done numerous presentations and have been a guest on several podcasts and radio shows.
He will be speaking on his research in southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. He will be talking about the groups that he is a member of, our research and our expeditions. His presentation will be interesting and fun for those interested in or curious about the entity we call “Bigfoot”.
1:00 – 2:00
FOSM
A Dedication to Stephen Kelley
Stephen Kelley was a beloved resident and local historian of Adams County, who also help blaze the majority of the Adams County sections of the Buckeye Trails. FOSM will honor his work done.
2:00 – 3:00
Steve Free
Folk Music
Among contemporary Singer / Songwriters Steve Free is one of the most versatile artist on The Americana Music scene , an unorthodox tunesmith and smooth voiced troubadour with a voice comparable to James Taylor and John Denver … yet with a timbre uniquely his own. Combined with heart – felt lyrics and well crafted story – songs that have continued to win him legions of fans worldwide – Power Source Music Review Nashville
3:00 – 5:00
FOSM
Q & A with Past Serpent Mound Park Managers
Be a part of what will surely be a lively discussion. FOSM President Jeffrey Wilson will lead the discussion and the audience can join in. We also have a special thank you gift for each attending manager.
5:00 – 6:00
Lawrence Greene
Friends of the Plains Mounds
Lawrence R Greene is a founding member of the Friends of The Plains Mounds a new non profit formed to preserve the mounds and educate people about them. He is the lead Natural and Historical interpreter with Rising Appalachia in Athens county Ohio. Lawrence is also the lead drummer and founder of Ugata: drum and dance, a Pan African drum group in southern Ohio and West Virginia.
He will be speaking about the formation of the Friends of The Plains Mounds and why it is such an important site in Ohio.
6:00 – 7:00 (or past)
Jeffrey Wilson
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, The Expanded Edition
Jeffrey Wilson, President, Volunteer and a founding Board Member of the Friends of Serpent Mound. With a Master of Science and a double major in English Literature and History from Eastern Michigan, Jeffrey’s lectures bring a scientific approach with a refreshing side of Native American mythology. He has been researching Serpent Mound for over 10 years, along with giving the sunset tours. In 2015 he discovered a new Winter Solstice Sunrise alignment. He has become the local Serpent Mound Researcher. Learn about how trying to find the original survey of Serpent Mound, lead to 1000+ more pages being added to the original Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley book of 300 and some pages.
(Photo compliments of Don Reed)
Sunday Main Tent Schedule
The views and opinions of the presenters are their own and not that of the Friends of Serpent Mound’s.
This is a Tentative Schedule and will not be complete until closer to the event.
10:00 – 11:00
Deo Abellera
Plays Crystal Singing Bowls
Deo Abellera is a member of the Great Serpent Mound Society of Dowsers. Along with volunteering many hours throughout our community here in Adams County. He loves sharing his enjoyment for Singing Bowls. He will do a demonstration at 10:00 AM on Sunday. Visit his tent any time to learn more on the subject of self healing.
11:00 – 1:00
Jeffrey & Delsey Wilson
Serpent Mound’s Pre-Park History
Learn about the occupants living on or around the Serpent Mound park for before European Occupation up to the last purchaser before the Harvard Peabody Museum officially declared it the Serpent Mound Park.
1:00 – 2:00
Paul Worley
The Legacy of John T. Wilson
Paul Worley is a graduate of Peebles High School, Bowling Green State University, and has an MBA from Xavier University. He was formerly a Captain in the US Army and an Adams County Commissioner. Paul is currently the Adams County Economic Development Director.
John T. Wilson was a farmer, businessman, soldier, and politician. During his 80 years on this earth he left a legacy that endures to this day. Due to his foresight he was able to preserve Serpent Mound from destruction and donated this landmark to the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. He was also a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Come and hear about the exciting and impactful life of John T. Wilson!
2:00 – 4:00
Jeffrey Wilson
The Women Who Saved Serpent Mound
Learn about who these women that saved Serpent Mound where and why they wanted to save the park.
4:00 – 5:00
Brandy Pointer
The Life of Daniel Wallace; First Caretaker of Serpent Mound
Brandy Pointer is the Great, Great Granddaughter of Daniel Rucker Wallace; first caretaker of Serpent Mound. After spending the last 25 years researching Daniel and his ancestors, I will share his story and how he came to be the first caretaker of the Park.
She will be telling Daniel Wallace’s life story and how he came to be the caretaker of Serpent Mound. Besides the actual essay, She will have 5 poster size pictures of Daniel, Jennie, and the Serpent Mound house; three Wallace history books, 50 plus Serpent Mound Postcards, and a few other Wallace family items. So be to visit her under our large Education Tent in the middle of the festival on Sunday!
5:00 – 6:00
Debbie Keri-Brown
Life, Death, & Butterflies
Debbie Keri-Brown is a Reiki Master, antiques dealer, jewelry artist, intuitive oracle card reader, motivational speaker on spiritual and metaphysical topics, a published author and a storyteller. She chants songs of peace, love and praise in six languages during her Reiki sessions, during which time, she channels messages and uses gestural light language as well. She has been the keynote speaker at various functions and has conducted many workshops throughout Central Ohio. Debbie brings humor, passion and beautiful soul connections to her presentations and interactions with others.
Debbie is the recipient of the 2015 spirituality award from Purpose For Women International and the recipient of several other community service awards for her work in increasing the public’s awareness of the artistic gifts of people with disabilities. She is a nondenominational minister through the Healing Angels Ministry. She also works remotely for a man who loves rainbows and has witnessed several that are mathematically curious and led him to find greater meaning in life.
Join Debbie Keri-Brown as she shares an amazing glimpse of life and death through butterfly synchronicities and stories of divine intervention.
Debbie’s niece, Randi, died at the age of 41 from complications relating to renal failure and Type 1 diabetes. She left this world with a legacy of good deeds and memories as well as amazing synchronicities and experiences of her contact from the spirit world since her passing. A lover of butterflies, they have appeared at many unusual times to Debbie and members of the community since her transition.
Learn about these and other amazing experiences as well as the brief words uttered in clarity by her dad with ALS, who had been unintelligible to that point. You’ll hear about a single butterfly that hovered at the window behind her aunt Debbie as she delivered the eulogy, Randi’s presence as a Reiki master assisting her aunt during sessions and many more beautiful reminders that life goes on. This is a presentation that is sure to bring tears of joy to your eyes. And, you’ll have the chance to share your own stories of a loved one’s transition.
6:00 – 7:00
Open to the Public
Community Drumming
Bring your hand drum of choice and join in on this Community Drumming and drum the festival closed.
Where is Soaring Eagle Retreat?
Soaring Eagle Retreat is east of Serpent Mound and the Ohio History Connection has asked that all of our participants come in from the Horner Chapel entrance and park in our field. One can assess Serpent Mound park via the Buckeye Trail during Park hours.
375 Horner Chapel Rd., Peebles, OH 45660
1-937-205-0094