Oct. 6, 2006

Load your campers, gear up for Halloween fun and head for Fayette Historic State Park's "Fall Fest" on Saturday, Oct. 14.  This first-time event is hosted by the Department of Natural Resources' Parks and Recreation Division in partnership with the Department of History, Arts and Libraries' Michigan Historical Center and the Friends of Fayette group.

“In recent years, harvest festivals at other state parks have really grown in popularity, and we felt that with both a campground and a historic town site to work with, Fayette is a natural for hosting a Halloween‑inspired event,” said Randy Brown, park supervisor.  

A full afternoon of autumn activities is scheduled for Fall Fest participants.  Guests are invited to join Friends of Fayette board member Sarah Bagley for pumpkin painting and paper mask making.  Other activities include children's games like "snap apple," a 19^th-century version of bobbing for apples.  Participants can also experience making fresh cider the old-fashioned way – cranking it out by hand with a historic apple press.  Light refreshments of apple cider and donuts will be provided.  Later in the day, adults and kids alike can enjoy a hayride and trick-or-treating excursion around the historic townsite and campground.  Campers are encouraged to bring candy to hand out at their sites. 

The afternoon will wind down with a presentation of "Victorian Mourning Customs" in the historic hotel.  Dressed head to foot in black attire, site historian Brenda Laakso will discuss late-19^th-century mourning etiquette, attire and funeral customs.  At a time when most funerals were held in the home, discover why Victorians believed you should "stop the clock in a room where someone dies," why "mirrors in a house with a corpse should be covered" and other superstitious beliefs.           

The event provides campers a fun opportunity to "go orange" and spirit into Halloween by decorating their individual campsites.  First-, second- and third-place prizes will be awarded for the most "spook-tacular" sites.  Ballots will be provided and must be turned in to park staff by 6 p.m. on Saturday.  Winners' names will be posted at the park contact station at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15.

Day visitors, campers, children of all ages – and, of course, local ghosts, ghouls and goblins – are invited to wear their favorite Halloween costumes.  Admission is by Michigan State Park motor vehicle permit; participation in Fall Fest activities is free of charge.

The Saturday, Oct. 14, schedule includes: 

·         12:30 p.m.:  Hayride from campground into the historic townsite

·         1 to 4 p.m.:  Pumpkin painting and paper mask making; children's games; apple press demonstrations; refreshment table with cider and donuts

·         4 p.m.:  Hayride and trick-or-treating in the historic townsite

·         4:30 p.m.:  "Victorian Mourning Customs" talk (historic hotel)

·         5 p.m.:  Hayride from townsite to campground for more trick-or-treating

·         6 p.m.:  Deadline for campsite decorating contest; ballots will be provided and must be turned in to park staff

Today, Fayette is one of the nation's premier examples of a 19th‑century industrial community and company town.  In operation from 1867 to 1891, its furnaces produced over 229,000 tons of pig iron to become the second largest producer of charcoal iron in Michigan.

The State of Michigan has preserved 20 buildings 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 townsite as it looked in the 1880s. 

Fayette is located on Delta County's Garden Peninsula, in the south‑central Upper Peninsula.  The historic townsite is administered by the Department of History, Arts and Libraries in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources.  The museum village is open daily, 9 a.m. to dusk, through Labor Day and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Labor Day through mid‑October.  Admission is by Michigan state park permit.  For more information call (906) 644‑2603, visit the museum online at http://www.michigan.gov/fayettetownsite or the DNR/PRD Web site at www.michigan.gov/fayette.

The Department of History, Arts and Libraries is dedicated to enriching quality of life and strengthening the economy by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity.  In addition to the Michigan Historical Center, it includes the Library of Michigan, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Michigan Film Office.  To learn more, visit www.michigan.gov/hal.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).