PLEASANT TOWNSHIP | Dressed as a Potawatomi woman, Cindy Deardorff, of Wheatfield, stirred a clay pot of buffalo stew, with beans, onions and garlic, over an open flame. Wood smoke filled the air, with the sound of crickets, as the lazy Kankakee River drifted by.

Other re-enactors -- 19th century fur trappers, French voyageurs, and Native Americans -- demonstrated life as it was on the Kankakee River at the first Aukiki River Festival, hosted by the Kankakee Valley Historical Society on Saturday.

"Aukiki is the Indian word for (the Kankakee) river," said Debra Dubovich, a society board member.

The society, which is striving to restore the 1898 Collier Lodge at Baum's Bridge on the river's bank, promotes an interest in the history and culture of the Kankakee River Valley area with educational programs, research and archaeological excavation.

Mark and Diane Saunders, of Lowell, relaxed on a picnic table under the trees while listening to the banjos and fiddles of the Oxcart Ramblers.

"We enjoy this type of festival," Mark Saunders said. "The smoke, the smells -- and it's in a beautiful location."

John Hodson, historical society president, said the Aukiki Festival highlights the need to preserve Kankakee River Valley history.

"We've been around now for six years, so people know who we are" Hodson said. "We wanted to have a festival of our own to get people down here and see the building and what we're trying to accomplish."

The lodge, which served as recreational family resort in the 1800s, would be a museum and public meeting place, Hodson said.

"We see this as a center to tell the whole story here," he said of the lodge, local wildlife and 150 acres of woods and riverfront. Hodson said the festival was planned for the same day as the Kouts Pork Festival and the Baum's Bridge Inn customer appreciation day.

"We want to develop this into people coming down to southern Porter County to see a variety of events," Hodson said. "This area is named Pleasant Township for a reason -- because it is pleasant. Yes, the Dunes is beautiful, but we also have our own beauty here, too."