May 1, 2008

Mackinac Island, Mich. - Mackinac State Historic Parks kicks off the 2008 tourist season at 9 a.m. on May 5 with a cannon salute at Colonial Michilimackinac, a 1770s-era British fort and fur-trading village in Mackinaw City, and the excitement of new features - some finished and some nearing completion - at Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park, located on US-23 a few miles southeast of Mackinaw City. All the sites feature live programs with historic interpreters in authentic period costumes, exhibits, displays and videos in a setting of original or reconstructed historic structures.

There will be many thrilling additions to Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in May. Many will be ready for visitor enjoyment on opening day, including some elements of the Adventure Tour, while others will be completed by mid-May. The Adventure Tour consists of the 40-foot-high Nature Trail Climbing Wall; 165-foot-long Forest Canopy Bridge, sponsored by Mackinac Associates; and 425-foot-long Eagle's Flight Zip Line.

Other new elements to the nature park and historic site include the 50-foot-high Treetop Discovery Tower, which will provide a spectacular view of the Straits of Mackinac and Mackinac Island; the Water Power Station, sponsored by Presque Isle Electric and Gas Co-op, the local Touchstone Energy Cooperative, where hands-on 18th-century waterwheel replicas provide splashy play opportunities; and the Forest Friends Play Area, where children can climb on large animal structures and enjoy interpretive panels with cast bronze animal tracks.

Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island opens on May 6, and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City opens its doors on May 12. The fog-signal building on the lighthouse grounds has undergone extensive restoration during the winter, and now features its original tin cathedral ceiling.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, through the efforts of its governing body, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, opened its first revenue bond financed museum in Fort Mackinac on June 15, 1958. As the 50th anniversary of Mackinac State Historic Parks approaches, nearly 19.5 million visitors have enjoyed the many historic and natural wonders of its parks and sites. Visit www.MackinacParks.com for information on 50th-anniversary events taking place in 2008.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a pure Michigan family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites - which are accredited by the American Association of Museums - include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City. Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks' rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations. Visitor information is available at (231) 436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).