WILTON: Nick Spadaro of the Maine Primitive Skills School shows off a buckskin he has been preserving through “brain tanning” at the 5th Annual Pine Tree State Sportsman Show at the Nichols Expo Center. Brain tanning is a procedure in which the skin is treated with liquified brain-matter, stretched and scraped to make a soft leather.
The Maine Primitive Skills School is putting on a variety of demonstrations today, from making bows (below), to identifying beneficial herbs and plants to tracking and other survival skills. The school, which offers courses in Augusta, Wells, Bowdoin and Bethel in Maine, teaches basic “earth living” courses and then more advanced specialty courses.
The sportsman show draws thousands of people from throughout New England with booths, demonstrations, food and fun. Admission is $8 for adults and $3 for children ages 6 to 12. Younger children get in free.
The show runs until 7 p.m. tonight, and is then open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow.
