1. Color Cruise and Island Festival, Grand Ledge – 10/7 – 10/9/11. Cider pressing, weaving, spinning, and wood carving are just some of the “old time” skills you will see demonstrated this weekend.
2. Fort Fright at Fort Michilimackinac, Mackinaw City – 10/7 10/8/11. 6:30 to 9:30 each evening walk amongst the lantern-lit paths and see this historic fort in a frightening new way.
>Frankfort Fall Festival – 10/8/11. Two words – Pumpkin. Catapults.
3. UPtoberfest, Escanaba – 10/8/11 from 2pm to 7pm.
4. Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival, Alpena – 10/6 – 10/9/11.

And in case you haven’t noticed – Michigan’s beautiful fall colors are upon us!

Over 800 antique tractors will parade across the Mackinac Bridge this Friday, September 16th. The parade begins in Mackinaw City at approximately 9am and will head north over the bridge, through St. Ignace, and finish at Kewadin Shores Casino. You will also be able to view the antique tractors on September 16th & 17th at the casino grounds.

The parade will go on rain or shine, but will be cancelled if there are winds in excess of 35 m.p.h. There is no makeup date for this event.

For more details on this event check out www.bobstractorpartscorner.com

From antique tractors to Civil War reenactors, there are lots of great events across Michigan this weekend. Have fun!

1. Antique Engine and Tractor Show – Bangor, 9/8 – 9/11/11. Admission is $6 and ages 12 and under are free.
2. Hiawatha Paddling Festival – Les Cheneaux Islands, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 9/9 – 9/11/11.
3. The Michigan Schooner Festival – Traverse City – 9/9 – 9/11/11. Schooner tours & sailing, pancakes with Pirates breakfast, and plenty of activities for kids.
4. U.P. Beer Fest – Marquette – 9/10/11.
5. Michigan 16th Infantry Civil War Reenactors – Mackinac Island – 9/10 – 9/11/11. The 16th Michigan Company reenactors will depict the Stanton Guard and the 3rd U.S. Infantry as they were hosted at Fort Mackinac.

We’ll kick things off with this slideshow from last year’s Porcupine Mountains Music Festival –

1. Kalamazoo Scottish Festival – 8/27/11. Come see the tossing of the haggis this Saturday in Kalamazoo.
2. Civil War Muster in Jackson. Come visit Michigan’s oldest and largest Civil War Reenactment.
3. Porcupine Mountains Music Festival – 8/26 – 8/28/11.
4. Movies By The Bay in St. Ignace. The movie for 8/28 is Secretariat. This event is free and begins at approximately 10pm.
5. Traverse City Microbrew and Music Festival – 8/26 – 8/27/11.

Summer is winding down. School will be back in session before you know it. But that hasn’t slowed down the number of festivals and events taking place all across Michigan this weekend.

1. Mackinac Island Fudge Festival – 8/19 – 8/20/11. Get your fill of fudge this weekend by tasting some Mackinac Island Fudge Stout Beer, crazy fudge drink combinations, a dinner with fudge (of course) as the theme, and much more chocolate-related fun.
2. Take your kids to A Day Out With Thomas at Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad – 8/19 – 8/20/11.
3. Southeast Michigan Civil War Remembrance Tour – Metro Detroit – 8/20/11. “Join David Ingall, a Civil War expert and former assistant director of the Monroe County Historical Museum, and traverse a historic trail created by linking local monuments, museum exhibits, markers, forgotten landmarks, forts, and grave sites centered on this pivotal period in American history.”
4. National Pickle Festival in Linwood – 8/19 – 8/21/11. Parade, car show, entertainment, kid rides, and (of course) free pickles.
5. Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 8/21/11 at 1pm. I’m guessing that in addition to some great racing you will see a lot of ads for Pure Michigan .

Oh man. There are so many great events going on in Michigan this weekend. It was really difficult to narrow them down to just five, but I did it.

If you are looking for something fun and unique to do this weekend in Michigan – check these ideas out:

1. Dunegrass Music Festival – near Lake Anne – 8/5 – 8/7/11. Great group of local, regional, and national bands will be playing all weekend long.
2. 3rd Annual Buy Michigan Now Festival – Northville – 8/5 – 8/7/11. Come celebrate Michigan-made products!
3. Michilimackinac Marines Encampment – 8/5 – 8/7/11 – Mackinaw City. Park opens at 9am – “Camp reenactors show cooking, camp life, children’s games, and dress up. Inside the fort, demonstrations of reliability firing tests, flag raising, and marching of the 1750′s French soliders and civilians at Michilimackinac.”
4. The Ribs ‘n’ R&B Festival – Detroit – 8/5 – 8/7/11.
5. Railfans at Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad – 8/6 – 8/7/11 – Flint. “Trains! Trains! Trains! Celebrate our famous Huckleberry Railroad with tours, demonstrations and model trains galore. Tour our Train Shop, which is only open to the public this weekend!”

Seth Bernard and Daisy May will be performing at the Dunegrass Music Festival this year – here’s a video of one of my favorite songs:

1. Taste of Kalamazoo – 7/21 – 7/23. Great food and music!
2. 33rd Annual Hiawatha Music Fest in Marquette – 7/22 – 7/24. Bluegrass, old-time, Cajun, Celtic, acoustic blues and folk – including singer/songwriters and dance.
3. Vintage Base Ball game on Mackinac Island 7/23 at 6:30pm. This game features the Fort Mackinac Never Sweats against the Bay City Independents.
4. Michigan Antique & Collectibles Festival at the Midland County Fairgrounds – 7/23 – 7/24. Over 1000 Vendors and 80 Acres of Treasures & Memories featuring – Antiques, collectibles, classic car show, a taste of Michigan, and more!
5. Paul McCartney On The Run Tour at Comerica Park 7/24 at 8pm. This is McCartney’s first visit back to the City of Detroit since 1976.

1. Soo Locks Engineers Day – June 24th
2. Detroit River Days – 6/23 – 6/26/11
3. Michigan Challenge Balloonfest – 6/24 – 6/26/11
4. Dairy Days at the Wellington Farm Park near Grayling – 6/25 – 6/26/11
5. Comerica Park – June 26th before the 1:05 start – Detroit Tigers are retiring Sparky Anderson’s Number 11 in a pregame ceremony. All fans will receive a commemorative canvas print.

With two of his ex-players, Kirk Gibson and Allan Trammell, in town with the Arizona Diamonbacks – the Detroit Tigers will retire Sparky Anderson’s Number 11 in a pre-game ceremony before the 1:05, June, 26th, start. This is a long overdue gesture and it’s a shame that this couldn’t have been done before Sparky’s passing last year.

Here’s this week’s Five Fun Michigan Events!

1. Antique Tractor Show – Ravenna – 6/9 – 6/11/11. Admission is $5 with kids 12 and under free. Call (231) 853-2882 for more information.
2. Vicksburg Old Car Festival – 6/10 – 6/11/11. Live music, lots of classic cars, swap meet, and a gas & steam show are just a few of the fun attractions.
3. Free Fishing Weekend all across Michigan – 6/11 – 6/12/11. Check the website for events near you.
4. Free Music Fest – Freeland, Michigan. 6/11/11 10am to dusk.
5. Lilac Festival – Mackinac Island – 6/10 – 6/19/11. Celebrating all things Lilac!