Pearl River County residents can take a trip back in time this weekend during the Crosby Arboretum’s Piney Woods Heritage Festival.

The two-day event will start Friday at 6 p.m. with a presentation by Dr. Cathy Shropshire that will involve a one-act play to recreate the life of Fannye Cooke, a pioneering conservationist and scientist in Mississippi.

Arboretum Event Coordinator Jennifer Buchanan said that Cooke’s work was important because she was a female conservationist in a time when there weren’t many women in the field. She was also instrumental in the development of todays Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

The paly will be held outdoors, so Buchanan suggests dressing for the weather that day. The play is expected to last about an hour and a half.

On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., visitors can get a look at a number of exhibits featuring historic items, and see a presentation of Piney Woods heirloom livestock, such as the patchy horse, Piney Woods oxen along with cattle and sheep.

Visitors can also learn how to churn butter, spin thread and get a look at the local quilters, beekeepers, dulcimer group and hear some Blue Grass Folk music.

“It will feature everything about how things were done in the old days,” Buchanan said.

Both events are free to members of the Arboretum, or $5 for adults and $2 for children for non-members.