Barn quilt, ag trails launch Friday.

PERE MARQUETTE TWP. — Two new cultural trails open this Friday in Mason and Oceana counties.

A Barn Quilt Trail and Agricultural Trail will be officially dedicated this Friday at 10 a.m. at Historic White Pine Village, when the final barn quilt of the 10 on the trail will be hoisted onto the village’s Jorrisen Barn using a traditional “block-and-tackle” pulley system.

The Barn Quilt Trail includes 10 barns in Mason County, each displaying an 8-foot by 8-foot hand-painted plywood quilt whose design was chosen by each family.

The Agricultural Trail features 17 stops across Mason and Oceana counties. This trail will join the existing Lumber Heritage Trail that launched last year – however, these two trails debut the addition of video technology at various stops to help visitors live vicariously through the farmer – giving an even richer understanding of the life on a working farm that only 2 percent of the U.S. population experiences.