06/08/2007

Fort Offers Evening Hours, Dinner Service at Tea Room

Mackinac Island, Mich. — Starting Friday, June 22, Mackinac State Historic Parks (MSHP) will extend Fort Mackinac’s hours into the evening, providing island visitors a new way to experience this Michigan vacation tradition. Ticket booths will remain open until 8:00 p.m. and fort buildings until 10:00 p.m. every evening. The extended hours will last until August 25.

“This is a chance for our guests to see Fort Mackinac in a new light,” said Gregory Hokans, MSHP’s chief of development and marketing. “At 6:30 p.m., guests can watch a visiting Girl or Boy Scout troop perform the flag-lowering ceremony that traditionally ends our day, and then enjoy rifle and cannon firing demonstrations and guided tours. After that, our guests will have a chance to explore the fort’s 14 original buildings at their own pace.”

During the extended hours, visitors will also be able to take advantage of full dinner service at the Fort Mackinac Tea Room Restaurant, managed by Grand Hotel. (The dinner menu may be previewed at http://www.grandhotel.com/FortMenuatNight.html .) Seating will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

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.