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Monday, December 26, 2016

Rendezvous in the Sault! Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Colonial Event


Are you planning your summer ahead, like I am? If you're heading up to Northern Michigan or Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula, you might want to plan to attend Rendezvous in the Soo. This colonial event happens in late July. In 2016 my family and I were blessed to be able to attend! The photo above is one of the encampments of reenactors. Below is another vignette!

Soldiers were everywhere, especially the French, because this entire region was settled by the French in the 1600s. Not only were there forts, but the fur trade was prominent in the area. The French Colonial Heritage Society directs and supervises the event.



There is a reason they keep the tomahawks behind a rope!

While you are at the Rendezvous in the Soo, be sure to participate in the Tomahawk Throw event! That's my son, above, and he did a fantastic job with throwing the tomahawk! But be sure to stand behind the rope, and follow all the rules. The primary Native American tribes in the area were Odawa, Ojibway, and Chippewa.

There were so many wonderful reenactors at the event. This kind lady was weaving rope from cornstalks! She explained that in colonial times people had to use what they had on hand to weave ropes. She even gave me a sample, which I still have! I found it interesting that some of what she had learned was through being a Boy Scout Leader!

This year, Rendezvous in the Sault will take place July 29th and 30th in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. What historic events do you hope to attend this summer?

Bio: Carrie Fancett Pagels is the author of over a dozen historical romance books and is the administrator of the Colonial Quills Blog. In her upcoming release, My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude's Mooring, part of her heroine's backstory is that her colonial ancestor was a little French girl from Mackinac Island, whose "parents" lived in mid-1700s Sault Ste. Marie! 

14 comments:

  1. How fun Carrie, to visit the Rendezvous & for Clark to participate in theTomahawk Throw.
    One day I am going to get there.
    Blessings, Tina

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    1. It was a pretty warm day for upper Michigan, in the 80s and humid, but Clark was a sport and enjoyed throwing the tomahawk!

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  2. What a great place to visit! I lack three states completing my goal of visiting all 50 states and Michigan is one of them. Great excuse to visit, wouldn't you say? Thank you for sharing!

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    1. If you visit Michigan, the one place you can't miss is Mackinac Island. And if you can -- go to the Soo Locks and to the Tahquamenon Falls!

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  3. My hubby and I attend the Rendezvous at Mackinaw City every summer. Last year was sad, one of the reenactors passed away in the camp the morning of the 2nd day. But we stayed and witnessed their memorial for him, a blend of two ceremonies, using both a pastor/reenactor and the native reenactors.

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    1. Wow, that must have been difficult, Pegg! What a lovely tribute, though.

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  4. Sounds like a fun time. Where do you stay when you are there for the Rendezvous?

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    1. The Sault has many hotels for guests, Anne! You don't have to camp out with the reenactors!

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  5. Sounds like a very worthwhile trip!

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    1. It was interesting to finally go to the Rendezvous in the Sault, Betti!

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  6. What a delightful event. One I'd enjoy attending if I lived closer. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. I was fortunate to be a room mother when my son( now 44) was in 6 th grade. We took a field trip to Mackinac Island . I had a memorable time! Loved every minute, even if we did have to get the charter bus at 5 am and didn't get back til 1 am! The ferry ride, Grand Hotel and fudge were highlights! Blessings

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  8. Just a quick clarification: three Anishinaabe nations, the Odawa (or Ottawa), the Ojibwa (or Chippewa) and the Potawatomi had a tribal alliance called the Council of Three Fires. They used both the Sault and Michilimackinac (Mackinac Island) as meeting places. Frederic Baraga, 19th century Slovenian missionary who ministered to the native population of the Great Lakes Region, became the first Catholic bishop of the Upper Peninsula in 1853. His first cathedral was located in Sault Ste. Marie. Visitors to the summer Rendezvous may wish to visit the historic Holy Name of Mary church while there. This church served as the early diocese's first cathedral until the see was relocated to Marquette. Venerable Baraga's cause for sainthood is being examined in Rome.

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