The ball will be the crowning event of a summer of celebration honoring Mackinac Associates’ 25 years of support to the parks agency. Both Mackinac Associates and the public are invited to attend.

The event will be a formal affair, with participants expected to wear costumes or business dress. Guests will be announced and photographed as they step onto the fort’s lantern-lit parade ground; the photographs will printed and distributed at the end of the evening as a memento of the event. Additionally, female guests will be given a dance card to wear on their wrists and fill with names of potential partners. “The fort band will play authentic dance music of the 1880s: waltzes, schottische dances—even something called a Mackinac reel,” noted MSHP Director Phil Porter. “We’ll demonstrate the steps for each of these, so that everyone can participate and enjoy themselves.”

The menu for the event dinner, to be catered by Grand Hotel, includes three entrees—grilled steak, grilled shrimp with pesto, and marinated rainbow trout with citron and parsley sauce—complemented by salads, vegetables, and dinner rolls. Beverages will be available throughout the event, with the fort’s soldiers and Victorian ladies moving among the tables to serve guests.

“It will truly be a night to remember,” said Porter. “Dinner and dancing under the stars, just as they did in the 19^th century at this island fort: What a fitting and we think fun way to celebrate this milestone anniversary in Mackinac Associates’ history.”

Tickets to the event are priced at $125 per guest and may be reserved by calling Membership Coordinator Diane Dombroski at 231-436-4100. Reservations must be made by Friday, July 6.

Mackinac Associates—founded in 1982—describe themselves as “friends preserving Mackinac’s heritage.” They gather several times each year for special events including cottage tours, dinners, and a special Fourth of July reception; on August 4, the group will hold its annual meeting at Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. Members also enjoy discounts at Mackinac State Historic Parks’ museum stores; unlimited attendance at its sites; and free or discounted admission to special events hosted by the parks.

Mackinac State Historic Parks is a family of living history museums and nature parks in northern Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac and 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.