July 9, 2009
Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling will host its annual Wood Shaving Days Festival on July 18-19 at the park's Logging Museum. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, visitors can enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of the historic steam-powered sawmill cutting logs into pine boards; listen to traditional music played by "The Cousins Music Group;" and enjoy the art of wood carving, wood burning and other woodcrafters. Also included at Wood Shaving Days are demonstrations by blacksmiths, weavers, and wool spinners and a historic surveying reenactment.
There will be a match of "Vintage Baseball" with the home club Hartwick Pines Swampers taking on the Petoskey Moss Backs at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 19, at the park's picnic area. This is a chance to see baseball as it was played in the mid-1800s, without a glove and a few different rules than today.
Wood Shaving Days will be held on the grounds of the Logging Museum at Hartwick Pines State Park. The Logging Museum is a field site of the Michigan Historical Museum and interprets the white pine logging era of 1840-1910. Wood Shaving Days is sponsored by the Friends of Hartwick Pines and all proceeds go toward the interpretive and educational programs at Hartwick Pines State Park. Upcoming events include Vintage Baseball games on Aug. 2 and 23 and Sept. 6; Forest Fest on Aug. 8; and Black Iron Days on Aug. 22-23.
For more information about Wood Shaving Days or other programs at Hartwick Pines, please call (989) 348-2537. There is no charge for attending Wood Shaving Days, but a 2009 Michigan State Park Motor Vehicle Permit is required to enter the park. Permits are available at the park entrance, and cost $6 for a Michigan resident daily or $24 for an annual. Out-of-state visitors can purchase permits for $8 for a daily and $29 for an annual.
For more information about this event, Hartwick Pines State Park, accessibility or park amenities, contact the park at (989) 348-2537 (TTY/TDD 711 Michigan Relay Center for the hearing impaired), or visit www.michigan.gov/hartwickpines.
Camping reservations can be made online at www.midnrreservations.com, or by calling the DNR central reservation system toll-free at 800-447-2757.
Join the DNR in celebrating the 90th anniversary of Michigan State Parks (1919-2009) this year. Events are being posted at www.michigan.gov/dnrgogetoutdoors.