“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.