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Mackinaw Island Michigan
holds special events every month of the year. Starting in January, you can take advantage of reduced plane fares to the island and enjoy cross-country skiing and an annual winter time festival. In February is a cross-country ski/walk that ends with a chili cook off. When the ice breaks in spring, ferry lines resume their business carrying passengers between St. Ignace and Mackinaw Island. The State Park reopens for the season and a special Memorial Day celebration kicks off the summer fun. Springtime also fills the air with the intoxicating aroma of lilacs grown on the island, and culminates in June with the annual Lilac Festival - ten days of fun and special events. Other events not to be missed on Mackinaw Island include an old fashioned star spangled Fourth of July celebration, a yacht race at Port Huron, the annual Islanders’ Saddle Horse Show, and the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk. Fall brings gorgeous color to Mackinaw Island and nearly the whole month is designated as the Fall Color and Island Bargain Shopping Days. Some of the island’s larger hotels hold their own special events throughout the year, such as antique and car shows, and arts and crafts weekends.
The following list shows some of the special events held during the summer months on Mackinaw Island:
Guided Tours of the Governor’s Mansion each Wednesday through August
Mackinac Arts Council Lecture Series (Every Thursday Through August)
Mackinac to Manitoulin to Little Current Yacht Race
The Grand Hotel’s Arts Weekend in late June
Independence Day Celebration includes a Stone Skipping Contest, American Picnic at Fort Mackinac and Fireworks at Dusk.
The Great Turtle Festival in July
Mackinac Island Arts Council Festival
Bay View to Mackinac Yacht Race
Chicago to Mackinac Yacht Race
Hickory Stick Golf Classic in August
The Snag and Brag Fishing Contest
The Annual Mackinac Island Music Festival
Labor Day brings the Grand Hotel’s Jazz Festival, a three-day weekend of lively music and fun, which is the perfect transition from late summer into fall. Halloween is a big event on the island with a foot race, costume parade, pumpkin painting contest and a famous pumpkin roll down Mission Hill. Winter is quieter, but it’s a great time to visit if you want to avoid the crowds and experience Mackinaw Island covered in a blanket of white snow. Many summertime visitors return for December's Christmas Bazaar that features local arts & crafts, decorations and food.
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