Feast of the Strawberry Moon

As you drive up US-31 north through Grand Haven and up to Muskegon, don't be surprised if you smell gunpowder, burning sulfur and campfires. That's just a few French fur traders, some Odawa and Pottawatomie and other great lakes natives, and a few military units camping out. They come to us every third weekend in June for a visit, straight from 1760.

Come and wander around. Everyone's dressed in hand-sewn clothing: chemise, skirt, mobcaps, voyageur shirts, moccasins, breeches. The fur traders (voyageurs in French)You will see Native Americans from many clans and tribes. And of course the military are dressed in their regimental colors, in complete uniform.

June is when our strawberries are picked. Our native neighbors organized their year pragmatically around the cycles of the moon and the work asscoiated with each season. Thus this is the Feast of the Strawberry Moon

If you would like to stop by and visit, they will be happy to talk with you about their lives. You can examine a native tipi. You can watch the soldiers fire the cannon. Artisans will demonstrate their trades: rope and broom making, carving or weaving. The paddle maker will tell you wonderful stories while be tends to his boat.

You can sample foods that are cooked daily over an open fire. Try a taste of chocolate cake baked in an ash covered kettle. In the food tent, you can buy a froferbridie ( a Scottish meat pie), baked sweet potato, soups and lemonade. You can sit on bales of straw and rough hewn planks on the little open air theater and enjoy puppet shows, juggling, tumbling, magic and music.

There are many things to do, too. Try your hand (or arm) at the tomahawk throw. Dip a genuine beeswax candle. And there are always animals to pet. Or come see me in the children's activities where we'll demonstrate some games and toys of the period and our children will show you how to play them. Many of the re-enactors will have some items that you can touch: different animal skins, musket balls or other tools necessary to the work of the day.

You can browse in tent markets for a nice piece of fur, beads, jewelry, soaps and all your all your 18th century needs. Children love the rock candy, Jacob's Ladder, ball and cup, clay marbles and other hand made games. You'll find hand-made turtle shell purses, tiny 'housewives' sewing kits for emergencies and many other things also.

I have taught history and have a passion for historic preservation. As home-schoolers, we took our children (dragged they sometimes quip) to any and all historic re-enactment we could find. And now, they know history inside and out. They know the real stories, not just the frosting. I chuckle when, in spite of themselves, they will correct a misnomer or quote a source they've experienced. You won't find a better history lesson than an encampment. And I can whole-heartedly recommend this event as realistic, authentic, educational and fascinating.