Outdoor Kids’ Day Camp
See workshops page for more information
Porcupines Popping U.P.
Submitted by Jenifer Varecha
Spring has finally arrived and seems to be in a rush to hit summer. Baby fawns are romping about and porcupines are spreading their quills all over the Western U.P.
The Porcupine Mountain Folk School has been selling porcupines to help fund folk school projects. The drive began last fall. Wooden porcupine cut-outs were produced by the Ontonagon High School woodshop class. Each purchaser was to decorate it in any way they would like and display it in their choice of locations.
The decorated porcupines are phenomenal! And they are popping up all over the area. Be sure to stop at the following places to see a porcupine: Regal Country Inn, Ontonagon Herald, WUPY, OCTC, Rogers Insurance, Ontonagon Historical Museum, U.S. Forest Service, Nonesuch, Singer’s and more!
If you have your porcupine out, please with a pic and the location or call Jeni Varecha at 885-5256. Updates will be posted regularly!
We look forward to seeing everyone’s unique porcupine!
PAST EVENTS
No Child Left Inside/Earth Day Event
Activities will be held at the folkschool and other locations in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
Goals
• To promote the No Child Left Inside Day, which is a state of Michigan and a nationwide movement to encouraging families to partake in outdoor activities on April 26, 2008.
• To continue to promote the longstanding tradition of Earth Day by hosting Earth Day themed activities.
ACTIVITIES AND DESCRIPTIONS
Deeryard Hike
Spring brings about time of change and provides a great opportunity to study how the natural word has coped with the ever present challenge of a Northern Michigan winter.
Join Park Interpreter Bob Wild for this one-mile off trail hike. We will explore a deer yard or wintering area of white-tailed deer. We will study survival strategies, suitable forest types for yarding, impacts to vegetation, predation and more. This hike is about 1 mile and will take about 1 hour.
Letter Boxing
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park employee Sandy Richardson is spearheading a new activity available at the park this year, Letter Boxing. Letter Boxing is an adventure activity that combines artistic expression, treasure hunting, map and compass use, wayfinding skills, hiking and more. It is a great activity for families of all ages. This event will launch the park’s letter boxing program and offer a beginning workshop. All materials will be provided.
Green Products Displays
On display will be:
• Bio-diesel
• Crop neutral soy-based engine oil, bar and chain oil, 2-cycle oil, grease, hydraulic fluid, and more
• Greener cleaning supplies
• The energy savings of compact fluorescent bulbs vs. incandescent
Other Displays:
• Recycling options
• Homemade composters
• And more
Also on hand for the day will be people who have used these items, resources to find some of these and other hard-to-find earth friendlier products.
Food and refreshments will be provided.
Red Pine Seedlings will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis.
Porcupine Palooza!
Be on the lookout for a porcupine near you! The Porcupine Mountains Folk School will be holding its first fundraiser. We are asking businesses, organizations and individuals to get involved. Wooden porcupines are being sold—the 2-foot for $25 and the 4-foot for $50. You get to do the decorating with the medium of your choice. Then put the porcupine on display in front of your location during Hometown Christmas. Judging will take place on December 6 and 7. The winner will be announced during the annual Friends of the Porkies Ski-Swap and Music Festival discount ticket sale, December 8.
A big thank you to Bob Burrows at Peninsula Graphics for being our first Porcupine purchaser. He already had a “vision” for his. What will yours look like?
Following the contest, please bring your porcupine inside and keep him safe and warm. Then on Memorial weekend, put him back outside for the summer season. We will be doing a press release telling people to come up and find the porcupines! The weekend after Labor Day will be the Hunter’s Harvest Festival in the Porkies. We hope to have the porcupines all brought together for the Folk School Open House…a Parking Lot full of Porcupines!
To get your porcupine, please call Jeni at 885-5256 TODAY!
Writer's Workshop
September 14-21, 2007
Spend a week writing and being inspired in the Porkies
An 8-day Writers' Workshop retreat will be held at the gorgeous Kaug Wudjoo Lodge on the shores of Lake Superior, September 14-21, 2007 with Dr. Carol Lauhon, online faculty member of the University of Iowa writing programs. The workshop can accommodate 8-12 participants. No manuscript submission is required for enrollment. Writers at every stage are welcome.
Participants will enjoy time to write in the great outdoors or at the specially reserved Carpenter’s Workshop; workshop-style critiques around the great pine table; special guest speakers on local culture, history and wildlife; park tours; conversations around the fire; catered meals including local ethnic and regional specialties, and more.
Personal writing will be the focus of the 2007 retreat —stories of memories in the Porkies, or life memories that participants want to write down, or simply meditations and creative prose that are part of being inspired by the beautiful natural setting.
Carol holds Master’s degrees in education and writing, and earned her Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa. In addition to teaching, she consults with writers on book-length projects and manuscripts, and has taught and mentored a number of publishing writers.
Carol’s workshops are known for the quality of the environment she creates: attentive, supportive, and deeply stimulating. One participant wrote, “I loved her passion for writing, her thoughtful criticism of technique, her warm heart, and the sense she always gave me that through writing we can touch each other and make the world a better place.”
Click on the icon below for the Program Schedule and Fee Information.
Adobe Reader is required to read the pdf version of the application. Adobe Reader can be downloaded for free from this link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
If you chose to seek lodging elsewhere, there are several other options. The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park offers rustic trailside cabins and the Union Bay modern campground. There are also four rustic camping areas. For information on park facilities, call 906-885-5275.
Privately owned hotels, motels, cabins, and cottages are also available throughout the area. For more information on lodging, visit www.westernup.info, www.ontonagonmi.org, or www.porcupinemountains.com or call 1-800-522-5657.
|
