About the 2006 Port Oneida Fair

The Port Oneida Fair is a special event hosted by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, in the Port Oneida Rural Historic Distric. Port Oneida is found in picturesque Leelanau County, in the upper northwest corner of Michigan's lower penninsula ... "Michigan's Little Finger".

The fair is co-sponsored by Lakeshore "partner" groups; nonprofit organizations such as the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Preserve Historit Sleeping Bear, the Shielding Tree Nature Center and the Manitou Island Memorial Society. Neighboring nonprofits also participate, such as the Leelanau Historical Museum and the Glen Arbor Art Association. The fair is funded primarily by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, grants from the Michigan Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, and by local businesses and organizations through paid program advertising.

The fair is free for everyone.

There is no admission charge, and there are no fees at any of the exhibits or events. Visitors enjoy a wide variety of interesting and entertaining activities at the hands of volunteers and professional presenters. Blacksmiths, potters, barn builders, quilters, and spinners demonstrate their time-honored skills and crafts. Story tellers, musicians and artists take their inspiration from the rural landscape to exhibit their skills and entertain. Oxen pull old fashioned mowing machines while volunteers show youngsters how to use wooden rakes and pitchforks to build haystacks, or how to cut wood with a crosscut saw. There are Civil War reinactors, exhibits of antique vehicles and farm equipment, farm animales, canning and wine-making demonstrations, and even an old fashioned barn dance! All of this is disbursed among the districts several historic farmsteads, with transportation provided by "streetcar" trolleys and horse-drawn wagons.

Since its inception, the fair has hosted thousands of visitors. Visitors are people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. They include local residents, resorters, tourists and lakeshore day-visitors. Accordingly, they come from nearby villages and cities, and from all around the world. Now in its fifth year, the 2006 fair is expected to draw upwards of 10,000 visitors

The Port Oneida Fair invites you to come and enjoy being a part of this fun and meaningful event. As a visitor, volunteer, presenter or supporter, you will surely find this special summer celebration a richly rewarding experience. To learn more, please select from the links at the left according to your interest.

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Copyright © 2006 Port Oneida Fair All Rights Reserved.
Port Oneida Fair™ ~ the Port Oneida Fair Committee