July 23, 2007

Mackinac Island, Mich. - It will be a hot time on Mackinac Island on Saturday, Aug. 4, as Mackinac State Historic Parks host the 23^rd annual Benjamin Blacksmith Convention. More than a dozen blacksmiths from across Michigan will converge on the motor-vehicle-free island on this date to practice their craft with forge and anvil.

From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., spectators may observe and talk to the blacksmiths at the Benjamin Blacksmith Shop on Market Street. The blacksmiths will work on fence and railing projects and demonstrate the art of forming red-hot iron into hinges, hooks, handles and other items that were essential to life on the Great Lakes frontier.

Robert Benjamin and a partner bought the Star Blacksmith Shop on Mackinac Island in 1885, and the shop remained in the Benjamin family and in operation until about 1965. The Benjamin family donated the shop to Mackinac State Historic Parks in 1968. It is now operated as part of the parks' Historic Downtown attraction, with blacksmithing demonstrated in the shop seven days a week from early June to late August.

Admission to the blacksmith convention may be obtained in two ways: with a combination ticket to Fort Mackinac and the Historic Downtown buildings (the Benjamin Blacksmith Shop, Biddle House, American Fur Company Store/Dr. Beaumont Museum, McGulpin House and Mission Church) or with a ticket to the Historic Downtown buildings only.

The Fort Mackinac/Historic Downtown combination ticket is priced at $10 for adults and $6 for youth 6-17. The Historic Downtown ticket is priced at $5 for adults and $3 for youth 6-17. In both cases, there is no charge for children 5 and under.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a family of living history museums and nature 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, Historic Mill Creek and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City.  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.