Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore announces final Port Oneida Fair
Popular August event concludes after 2026
From staff reports
For more than two decades, the Port Oneida Fair has been celebrating the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the late 1800s and early 1900s of the area. This summer, as the nation commemorates its 250th anniversary, the fair will be “Celebrating the Threads of a Nation” in a theme that will give visitors the opportunity to reflect on the places and people of our shared history.
The annual Port Oneida Fair will be held August 7-8 in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Port Oneida Rural Historic District, four miles northeast of Glen Arbor, and will include four farms and a one-room schoolhouse.
Lakeshore staff announced in early June that this will be the final Port Oneida Fair. Sleeping Bear Dunes superintendent Scott Tucker told the Sun that his staff is reexamining the impact of the event and whether they have the resources to continue holding the fair. Dozens of National Lakeshore staff work during each Port Oneida Fair.
Tucker said that visitor numbers have dwindled for the past five years, and actors and demonstrators are aging out. Finding interpretive funding to stage the event has also proven difficult, he said.
According to a media release by the nonprofit Sleeping Bear Forever—previously called “Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear”—the fair brings the landscape alive with activities true to the by-gone period when it was a community of robust settlers. Visitors experience a variety of artists, music, crafts, food, games and programs.
This August each site will highlight a thread from the past that ultimately created the fabric of rural American life for generations. The Olsen Farm will highlight “Feeding the Nation” with historic food preparation, gardening, and family life. The Dechow Farm will be “Harvesting Heritage” with a focus on farm animals and agricultural equipment. Thoreson Farm will be “Crafting Freedom” through blacksmithing, basketry, and textiles. And Kelderhouse Farm showcases the “Voices of Many” through storytelling and maritime activities.
Returning visitors might note that Thoreson Farm is again included in the fair after a one-year hiatus in 2025 and is being hosted by members of the Thoreson family.
Looking ahead, Sleeping Bear Forever, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Fair committee members, and the surrounding community will collaboratively begin shaping a new vision for events that honor the area’s history. Together, these partners remain committed to preserving the cultural legacy of Port Oneida and exploring fresh ways to celebrate the stories, landscapes, and spirit that make this place so meaningful.
