MICHIGAN RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL RETURNS TO HOLLYGROVE IN 2022

Huzzah! The Michigan Renaissance Festival is returning to the medieval village of Hollygrove for a season of jousting, feasting and merriment. Beginning August 20th there will be eight themed weekends of fun at the rustic fairgrounds located in northern Oakland County.

Hours are 10 am - 7 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Festivities commence rain or shine. Parking is included with the price of admission. Visit michrenfest.com for ticket pricing and a schedule of event activities.

Pirates & Pups

Bring your dog & pirate pals for our Pirates & Pups weekend! This weekend will showcase pup rescue groups, pup training demonstrations & contests for dogs. Not only are there activities for your pups, but also for you!

Highland Fling

The Highland Games will have you cheering for your favorite athlete in this 8 series event. Championships on Saturday and State Masters on Sunday. Don’t forget to attend the Men in Kilts contest to see who can sport the best kilt.

Vikings Invasion

All barbarians are invited to participate in pillaging the village. This will be a weekend filled with competitive spirit and new experiences. Showcase your ink in their Tattoo Contest. Do you have an awesome beard or mustache to showcase, well enter a contest to win some great prizes!

Wonders of the World

This weekend will feature a world market and entertainment from around the globe. Also, all individuals and dance troupes are invited to the Michigan State Belly Dance Championship. If you don’t feel like competing, you can take a dance lesson.

Shamrocks & Shenanigans 

Visiting Hollygrove is like a trip to Ireland. Kick up your heels with traditional Irish music & dance. Got a Kilt? Enter the Men in Kilts contest to discover who can wear it best. This is the largest shenanigans party in Michigan!

Harvest Huzzah

Be on the lookout for interpreters for Deaf Awareness weekend, signs will be posted at the stages they will be featured at. Don’t forget to visit the Valley of Aberdare for the BBQ competition and just to get some good ole’ delicious food. There is also an Archery Competition, held in the parking lot outside the front gate entrance.

Sweet Endings

A beautiful ending to a fantastic season. This weekend will appease your sweet tooth.

Dream Big: Engineering Our World

DREAM BIG: ENGINEERING OUR WORLD, the first giant-screen movie to promote the educational STEM (Science, Technology, Math) movement, is being shown through March at the  Michigan Science Center's Chrysler IMAX Dome. Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, Dream Big showcases engineering wonders big and small, ranging from the ancient Great Wall of China to today's largest buildings.  Be inspired by engineering feats that allow for underwater robots to explore our planet's oceans, solar cars to race across a continent without using a drop of gasoline, and learn about efforts to make the world's large cities more environmentally sustainable.



Dream Big hopes to encourage interest in STEM with the kids that will be the next generation of engineers through sharing stories that include a young woman engineer building bridges in undeveloped countries and an underprivileged high school robotics team that tackles the odds against them to humanize the field of engineering. Dream Big's producers hope the movie will encourage academic achievement, student engagement, and parent involvement with STEM topics.

For specific showtimes of when DREAM BIG: ENGINEERING OUR WORLD is playing or directions on how to get to the Michigan Science Center in downtown Detroit, Michigan please visit mi-sci.org

Saturday, August 6th Grand Opening Party for Metro Detroit's Newest 2ND & CHARLES Location

To celebrate the opening of Metro Detroit's newest 2ND & CHARLES location which is located along Macomb County's M-59 shopping corridor in Utica, Michigan the retailer is hosting a party.  On Saturday, August 6, 2016 the eclectic retailer, which specializes in the trading of books, video games, vinyl records, and collectibles, will officially debut its new location with a grand opening party.  There will be fun photo ops, giveaways, and contests throughout the day.

Festivities commence at 10 am and run through 6 pm.  Activities include meeting costumed characters, family-friendly activities, and a Nintendo video game tournament.  Attendees will also be able to enjoy delicious fare at the retailer's debut of the ChuckStop, 2nd & Charles first on-site coffee bar.  The retailer's ChuckStop will offer a selection of hot and cold beverages, whole-bean coffee, full-leaf teas, pastries, snacks and more for shoppers who visit the store.

GRAND OPENING EVENT SCHEDULE

• 10 am - Noon:  Meet and Greet character appearances with photo opportunities; free face painting and balloon art for children.

• 10 am - 4 pm:  Register for prizes and giveaways throughout the day including several $100 gift cards and a $500 one.

• 11 am - Kids story time and activities.

• 4 - 6 pm: Nintendo gaming tournament in The Arena

2nd & Charles buys and sells new and used books, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray, video games, game systems, vinyl records, comic books, electronics, toys, collectibles and more.  Customers wishing to sell their own used items can check them upon arrival and redeem for cash or store credit.  2nd & Charles is know for drawing a diverse audience of gamer fantatics, pop culture junkies, movie buffs, and bookworms to peruse the 300,000+ items available at each store stocked on more than three miles worth of shelf space.

"2nd and Charles is far from any typical book store," Scott Kappler, vice president of marketing told A Geek Daddy. "We are all about one-of-a-kind discoveries in almost every category: pop culture, comic books, vinyl records, collectibles -- you name it! Each store is truly a treasure trove of books, accessories and games galore.  You could easily spend hours browsing the aisles and you really never know what you'll find!"

The new store located at 45290 Utica Park Blvd is east of the Hall Road (M-59) / Van Dyke Freeway (M-53) intersection near the Dave & Busters arcade.  It joins an Auburn Hills location adjacent to Great Lakes Crossing Outlet mall.  For more information about the 2nd and Charles in Utica, visit 2ndandcharles.com/locations/utica-mi  Regular hours for the 2nd & Charles Utica store will be Monday through Thursday from 10 am - 9 pm, Friday 10 am - 10 pm, Saturday 9 am - 10 pm and Sunday 10 am - 8 pm.