English: Map identifying the location of Fayette Historic State Park in Michigan, United States. Adapted from Wikipedia’s MI county maps by Seth Ilys. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Heritage Day” brings music, art, crafts and games to Fayette HSP Saturday, Aug. 11
The 26th annual “Heritage Day” celebration returns to Fayette Historic State Park on Saturday, Aug. 11 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event features music, art, crafts, games and sporting activities popular during the 1800s.
Special guests will include Michael Deren, who will take visitors on a musical and historical journey to Fayette in the 1880s, as Scottish iron worker “Michael MacDuff.”
Additional featured musicians include the Falling Rock Jammers and White Cherry Wine – two lively Upper Peninsula old-time string bands playing toe-tapping traditional tunes.
“Heritage Day offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy an authentic 19th-century themed event, listen to music from the era, see a blacksmith operating a real forge, and participate in children’s activities enjoyed more than 100 years ago – all in a restored historic town site and pristine setting,” said site historian Troy Henderson.
Children’s games and activities will include three-legged and sack races, lawn croquet, and reproduction toys from the era. Anyone 13 years and older is invited to play a game of old-time baseball with the Fayette team following 19th-century rules, meaning no baseball gloves will be used and a ball caught on the first bounce is an out.
Blacksmith George Potvin and the Friendship Quilters of Garden will be on hand throughout the day demonstrating their skilled crafts. Other displays include the “History of Lighting,” featuring antique kerosene lamps and other artifacts along with a collection of antique sad irons and blacksmithing tools from the era. The Big Bay de Noc High School Booster Club will also sponsor a food tent and bake sale.
The day’s scheduled activities include:
11 am: “Falling Rock Jammers” traditional string music
12 pm – 4 pm: “White Cherry Wine” performances throughout the Townsite
1 pm: Michael Deren, “Scottish Iron Worker – Fayette, Michigan, 1880”
3 pm: 1800s-Style Baseball, Fayette team vs. All-Comers. Ages 13 and up welcome to participate.
Fayette Historic State Park is located on the Garden Peninsula, between Escanaba and Manistique along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Fayette Historic State Park features one of the nation’s premier examples of a 19th-century industrial community and company town. In operation from 1867-1891, its furnaces produced more than 229,000 tons of pig iron, becoming the second largest producer of charcoal iron in Michigan. Today, 20 buildings are preserved, including the furnace complex, hotel, town hall, company office and several residences. Eleven buildings contain exhibits and are open to the public, including a modern visitor center with a scale model of the town site as it looked in the 1880s.
Fayette Historic Townsite is one of 11 nationally-accredited museums administered by the Michigan Historical Center, an agency within the Department of Natural Resources. Located 17 miles south of US Hwy. 2 on Hwy. 183 at Fayette Historic State Park, the museum village is open daily, 9 a.m. to dusk through Labor Day, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Labor Day through mid-October. For more information call906-644-2603 or visit www.michigan.gov/fayettetownsite.
The Recreation Passport is an easy, affordable way for residents to enjoy and support outdoor recreation opportunities in Michigan. By checking “YES” for the $10 Recreation Passport ($5 for motorcycles) when renewing a license plate through the Secretary of State (by mail, kiosk, online atwww.expresssos.com or at branch offices), Michigan motorists get access to state parks, recreation areas, state forest campgrounds, non-motorized state trailhead parking and state boat launches. In addition, Recreation Passport holders can experience real savings at businesses and retailers that participate in the Passport Perks discount program. The Recreation Passport is valid until the next license plate renewal date. Nonresidents can purchase the Recreation Passport ($29 annual; $8 daily) at any state park or recreation area or through the Michigan e-Store at www.michigan.gov/estore.
Learn more about this creative way of sustaining Michigan’s outdoor recreation and natural resources at www.michigan.gov/recreationpassport. For information on Passport Perks shopping discounts or how businesses and retailers can enroll in the program, visit www.michigan.gov/passportperks.
Image : Musician Michael Deren will perform as “Michael MacDuff,” Saturday, Aug. 11 at Fayette Historic State Park’s “Heritage Day” celebration. The event will also feature old-time baseball, children’s activities, art, crafts and food from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
August 8, 2012
Events, Michigan