NPS Photo August 11 & 12, 2023
Step back in time at the Port Oneida Fair and experience life as it was in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Imagine the life of Euro-American immigrants as you help bale hay or watch a broom-maker at work. Learn about spinning, basket weaving, soap making, butter making, candle dipping, and fur trapping. Listen as park rangers and local historians share the area's history. Watch as teams of oxen haul hay and artists and craftsmen demonstrate their skills. The fair is held at six of the historic farmsteads in Port Oneida. Each farm has a variety of artists, crafts, food, and activities for visitors. Click on the farm names below to see what's happening at each farm. A shuttle bus runs between the farms on a regular schedule during the fair, so you can park your car and easily get around to the different venues. Get InvolvedVolunteerThe following list provides a few examples of volunteer activities for the Port Oneida Fair:
Demonstrate a skillSign up to demonstrate a skill or facilitate an activity. Demonstrations must fit with the Port Oneida period, 1870s to 1930s. We are seeking demonstrators of traditional skills from the 1800s - early 1900s, such as canning, quilting, soapmaking, painting, sculpting or other art, basket weaving, knitting, candle making, etc. Craft must be demonstrated or offer hands-on activities for visitors, such as assisting with part of the demonstration or practicing the craft. Demonstrators who wish to sell items must:
e-mail us with your traditional skill and contact information. Food vendorIf you are a food vendor that would like to sell food at one of the various sites, please contact Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear at Submit a work of artTo help celebrate the fair, the Port Oneida Fair committee prints a fair poster. The committee is always looking for potential poster art. If you have painted a recognizable scene in the Port Oneida district and want to share, please consider submitting it for the poster. It’s easy to submit your work. Just email the highest possible quality image (jpg, tif, gif, or png) under 1MB to e-mail us, and include the title, size, and medium of the work. Selecting the winner Submissions will be juried by the Port Oneida Fair Poster Committee. If we choose your artwork, we will require a high-resolution image for printing. You would retain all ownership rights of the original artwork. Farm ActivitiesFair events at the Dechow Farm10:00 am - 4:00 pm Food:Schwenk’in Wagon Moomer's Ice Cream Music: Accordian Music Children's activities: Farm animals Moomers' calves Kathy Schutt—Horse and Wagon Rides, Horse teams working fields Trisha Wilson -- Donkeys Cathy Cole. Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes—Information and Scavenger Hunt Sue Ann Carpenter—Hand spun wool Schwenk’in Wagon--Food Service-Lunch both days and Breakfast on Saturday morning NPS Interpretation—Natural history hikes, barn tour, etc. Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network—Invasive education (Friday only) Colin Bohash—Antique Bicycles Sue and Michael Duncan—Farm animals and Chickens Bob Plummer —Moomers Ice Cream and Calves in Barn Stalls Cathy Siterlet—Hand weaving and Basket Making Kathleen Bieri, Spring Hollow Farm—Rug Weaving Susie Viswat—Vintage Glass Jar/Mason Jar History and Tumbled Glass Treasures Paul Dechow—Dechow Family History Empire Area Museum—Wind-up musical instruments Cathye Williams—Goat Milk Soap Making Peggy Roth—Mrs. Dechow leads tours of the Barn “The Past in Present Time” Grace Johnson—Historic Photographs and Maps of the Area Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear—2022 Poster Sales and Donation Can Traverse City Model A Club—10 Autos Youth Work and City Girl Farm—Goats conducting Conservation Grazing Xi and Del Bromley and Ania Spitzner—Beekeeping and Native Species Habitat for Pollinators Patti Rudolph—Chair Caning Sue Nichols – Felted and Knit Items Claude Fields – Maple Grove Cemetery Rudy Rudolph and Claude Fields—Single Engine Motors Grow Benzie - Native Seeds Rudy Rudolph and Claude Fields – Old Engine Display Fair events and demonstrators at the Kelderhouse Farm and Orchard10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Fair events at the Schoolhouse10:00 am - 4:00 pm “School Days in a One Room Schoolhouse” (11 am, 1pm & 3 pm) Fair Events at the Burfiend Barn Food: Music: Antique Farm Hand Tools Fair events at the Olsen Farm Charles Olsen Farm/Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear—Shuttle Stop; horse and wagon stop Penny Rug Making Rug Braiding Old Tyme Photography Tom VanZoeren – oral history recording; his books; Port Oneida History Dulcimer – Jerry Kloock Sewing – bonnet patterns Preservation Station- see what we’re restoring or making using traditional methods Historic Cooking Demonstrations/food-ways Olsen Barn Tours Bread and Butter - butter churning, story boards about milling of grain; interpret cream separator Ice Cream – Cherry Republic Wood toy boats and trough fishing Washtub demo Vegetable and Flower Garden Leather stamping Float your boat – make wood boat from our templates Children’s Games Root Cellar – storyboard– samples of vegetables Fair events at the Thoreson Farm Friday, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Sleeping Bear Stories: Two Lost Tales of the Past Presented by Beach Bards and Co. Children's activities: |
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Last updated: February 1, 2023