UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept. 6-8, 2024
Fall Family Days at the Thumb Octagon Barn
Location: 6948 Richie Rd, Gagetown, MI 48735
The Thumb’s premier barn festival is held the weekend after Labor Day. It kicks off with the Fish Fry on Friday night, followed by two days of family events on Saturday and Sunday. The MBPN exhibit and timber-frame model barn will be on display in the barn museum during the festival.
In 2024 the museum will be celebrating the barn’s 100th anniversary. The theme will be “A Century Jewel — the Thumb Octagon Barn.”
Information will be posted at the Museum’s website and Octagon Barn Facebook Page. Registration is required for kids 10 and up to participate in the building of the model barn in August. Contact MBPN member Rose Putnam, who co-chairs the event for Friends of the Thumb Octagon Barn, at 989-444-9574.
Pioneer Day
Date: Oct. 6, 2024
Location: Waterloo Farm Museum, 13493 Waterloo Munith Rd., Grass Lake, MI 49240
This celebration of late 19th century farm life includes:
- Tours of the Farm Museum, Dewey School
- Live music
- Demonstrations of crafts, trades and traditional cooking methods
- Vendor booths and concession stand.
The MBPN Teamwork & Timbers model barn will be erected and displayed.
PAST EVENTS
Sleeping Bear Dunes Barn Restoration Workshop
Date: June 10-14, 2024
Location: Kropp Farm, 12 miles north of Glen Arbor and 5 miles south of Leland on M-22 near Townline Road.
For the 28th year, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore park maintenance staff hosted a “hands-on” barn restoration workshop to teach techniques and train barns owners and those interested how to do restoration work on timber and frame structures. With Wood Framing for Walls, Roof, and Floor and Siding Repair as the focus, there were opportunities to do door and window repair, small stair construction and more.
Details: There is no cost to participate. The workshop begins on site at 9:00 a.m. each day. Participants should wear boots, gloves, and bring a sack lunch for each day that they attend. Participants can sign up for any number of days.
Camping is allowed on site during the workshop for all registered participants interested in doing so. Amenities are provided, including access to showers at park campgrounds.
Interested for next year? Contact the historical architect, Kimberly Mann: Call: (231) 326-4771; email: [email protected].
Romeo Barn Tour
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, 11am – 4pm
This Macomb County community hosts an annual barn tour every September. In 2023 for example, there were 8 locations on the self-guided tour for a viewing of 13 structures.
Advance tickets can be purchased at the Romeo Archives Museum, Town Hall Antiques Mall or the Romeo Chamber of Commerce. Cost is $20 for adults and $10 for children 6-12.
Day-of tickets are sold only at the Romeo Schools Administration Building parking lot at 316 Main Street.
Event information will be posted on the Society’s facebook page when 2024 details are available: https://www.facebook.com/RomeoHistoricalSociety/
Contact: the Romeo Historical Society at 586-752-4111.
Celebrating National Preservation Month at Leelanau County Poor Farm
Date: Saturday, May 27, 2023
Location: County Road 616, west of Maple City in Myles Kimmerly Park, a Leelanau County Park.
Contact: [email protected]
“Save the Poor Farm Barn” preservation efforts of the last few years:
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- Meet the contractors and volunteers who have done the barn and grounds work.
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- Learn about Row x Row nonprofit who handles the vegetable garden and assists with distribution through local pantries.
Activities include:
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- Small group barn tours
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- Draft horse demonstrations (discing, harnessing and wagon rides)
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- MBPN Barn Exhibit, Leland Historical Society Museum’s new Model A and more from local history museums
Ruby Ellen Farm
Date: Sunday, May 21, 2023, 11am – 4pm
Location: 5946 S. Center Hwy, Traverse City, MI 49684 (Bingham Township in Leelanau County)
Activities include: Horse-drawn plowing & field work, harnessing demonstrations, rope making, wagon rides, hiking trails, MBPN barn exhibit.
Museums and gift shop: 11am-1pm & 2-4pm
Information: Website, (231) 590-9304
Hadley Homestead Harvest Days – Farm Hop and Festival
Date: Saturday, Sept. 16, 2022
Location: Hadley Mill Museum, 3633 S. Hadley Rd, Hadley MI (Lapeer County)
The Farm Hop is designed for familites, history bufrs and those who simply want to revisit old America. Equipped with a map, guests on the this self-guided tour enjoy an engaging perspective of several area properties integral to farming in this region.
Michigan Virtual Barn School: The Basics
Presenters: MBPN Technical Committee – Steve Stier, Tammis Donaldson and Stephanie White
Host: Michigan Historic Preservation Society – Mallory Bower
For more information about Barn School Workshops, click here.
Barn School Field Workshops
Participants spent a Saturday assessing the condition and stability of a barn to determine its needs. They learned about barn architecture, construction, maintenance and repair approaches.
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- Sept. 14 in Northern Michigan (Wexford and Kalkaska counties): Workshop included a stone repointing demonstration. Instructors: Steve Stier and Tammis Donaldson.
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- Sept. 28 in Grass Lake (Jackson County): Projects included closing a gap in the basement foundation wall and adding a support column at a rotted beam connection. Instructors: Tammis Donaldson, Stephanie White and Steve Stier.
To inquire about future Barn School programs, contact: Steve Stier at [email protected].