Lansing, MI – Annually Michigan offers hundreds of attractions for its residents and visitors, and every year there is something new to enjoy – from beachtowns overlooking Lake Michigan to the beautiful landscape of the Upper Peninsula. Visitors and choose new lodging choices, attractions and destination events. In 2009, look to celebrate several milestone anniversaries including the 110th. year for Petoskey’s Stafford Perry Hotel and the 100 year old Schuler’s Restaurant & Pub in historic Marshall. Ski fans can enjoy 60th year festivities at Boyne Mountain, or plan a trip to a Michigan State Park this year to commemorate 90 years of natural recreational destinations.
Museum News
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids is celebrating the 2009 presidential year with two White House related exhibits. From January 23 through May 24, 2009, The White House in Miniature exhibit returns to Michigan following a visit to Washington, D.C. Visitors will enjoy a remarkable scale model of the White House that is 60 feet long and 20 feet wide. The replica took more than 35 years to research, design and construct. From June 19-August 31, museum guests can see more than 70 dolls and puppets from 30 countries, all a part of the exhibit, A Child in the White House - Caroline Kennedy's Dolls, on loan from the John F. Kennedy Library.
The University of Michigan Museum of Art will reopen in late March following nearly a $42 million, two year expansion and restoration. The landmark 53,000 square foot expansion joins renovations and restoration to its original 43,000 square feet. The Museum's mission is to bridge visual art and contemporary culture, scholarship and accessibility, tradition and innovation.
The H. H. Franklin Club Inc., founded in 1951 to preserve the legacy of America's most successful air-cooled automobile, has announced plans to construct a new facility at The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners. Ground breaking for the all-new, 6,000-square-foot exhibit building, which will be known as The Franklin Automobile Collection at Hickory Corners, is slated to take place in spring of 2009. The new structure will provide the club with its own permanent home for its collection of automobiles, display engines and artifacts that span the four-decade history of the H.H. Franklin Company. The Syracuse, NY firm first produced its innovative air-cooled motorcar in 1902 and continued until 1934.
Lodging & Dining
Detroit's Greektown Casino-Hotel is scheduled to open the 400-room hotel in February 2009. The 30-story hotel will shine on Detroit's skyline with luminescent blue glass windows offering views of the Detroit River and Canada. The contemporary guest rooms will include suites with two or three bedrooms all filled with special guest amenities. The hotel will also feature over 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting, event and convention space. On Christmas Day 2008, the casino opened its new 275-seat International Buffet.
Coming in early January at The Westin Detroit Book Cadillac are two eateries: WBC Gourmet Grab & Go on the hotel's street level, and 24 Grille, a fine dining restaurant with a casual attitude overlooking Michigan Avenue. Also coming in early 2009 at The Book is Spa 19, a full service luxury spa for hotel guests and other visitors.
A Milestone Year
The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair will host its 50th year July 15-19. This major award winning event is considered one of the best in the country. The Ann Arbor Art Center boasts its 100th year with three events slated for February, May and June and includes a search for Ann Arbor’s most “artful” martini and a wine fest.
Chelsea, Michigan, home of Chelsea Milling Jiffy Mix, is planning activities beginning June 25 to celebrate the city’s175th birthday. Look for tours of the Chelsea Teddy Bear Company, the Purple Rose Theatre, Jiffy Mix tours, concerts, a parade and more.
The Detroit Jazz Festival will swing for the 30th year Labor Day weekend, and the Tulip Time Festival in Holland will be in full bloom for the 80th year, April 29 – May 9.
The Homestead , an all season resort located in Glen Arbor, is celebrating its 25th anniversary winter season with a “Skistakes” that features a special weekly give-away for winter, spring, and summer vacation packages totaling $25,000. Guests can enter at any of the resort’s facilities. The public can enter at selected ski shops throughout the state. Drawings will be held and winners announced every Sunday through March 27th.
Movie buffs won’t want a miss a visit to Marquette in 2009 to visit the area where Anatomy of a Murder was filmed in 1959 earning James Stewart an Oscar for Best Actor. Fifty years ago a troupe of Hollywood stars became temporary “Yoopers,” and a new part of the city’s history. The Marquette County Courthouse, where the murder trial was filmed, and other downtown locations are included in tours for visitors. Otto Preminger’s movie was based on a the best selling book written by Michigan’s John D. Voelker (under the pen name Robert Traver); the fictional story resembled a Big Bay murder case 25 miles north of Marquette.
Anniversaries in 2009:
- 160 – Oldest state fair, the Michigan State Fair
- 150 – Lansing incorporated – State Capitol dedicated in 1849
- 110 – Stafford’s Perry Hotel in Petoskey
- 100 – Schuler’s Restaurant & Pub – Marshall
- 80 – Tulip Time Festival - Holland
- 80 – Meadow Brook Hall - Rochester
- 80 – The Edison Institute at The Henry Ford – Dearborn
- 60 - Boyne USA Resorts
- 60 – Mackinac Island Lilac Festival – Mackinac Island
- 55 – Indian River Cross in the Woods – Indian River
- 50 – Ann Arbor Street Fair – Ann Arbor
- 50 – Anatomy of a Murder - Marquette
- 50 – Mesick Mushroom Festival – Mesick
- 30 – Kalamazoo Air Zoo
- 25 – The Homestead Resort – Glen Arbor
- 25 – Goose Festival – Fennville
- 20 – Coopersville & Marne Railway – Coopersville
- 15 – Dream Cruise (1959 Chevy -50 years) – Metro Detroit
- 5 – Traverse City Film Fest – Traverse City
Travel Michigan, a division of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, is the State of Michigan’s official agency for the promotion of tourism. Travel Michigan markets the state’s tourism industry and provides valuable visitor information services. For more information on traveling in the State of Michigan, visit the official travel Web site at michigan.org, or call (888) 78-GREAT.
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