Program & Member Activity Schedule for 2011

2011 Theme: "Our Village Life, Connecting You to Everyday Life of Past Times"
Using multiple venues and presentation strategies (exhibits, talks, programs, tours), the
"Our Village Life" program year 2011 aims to document, preserve, and present the
many layered history of "village life" in the Saugatuck-Douglas area since 1850.
 
DATE DAY

EVENT
February 9 Wednesday MONTHLY MEETING 7pm at the Old School House History Center "Village Food as Village History". Get a sneak peek into the Society’s as-yet-untitled "Food" book that will document our area’s long and delicious relationship with food. Kit Lane will recount stories she uncovered while researching the book. Stacy Honson will demonstrate one of her favorite "local" dishes.
     
March 9 Wednesday MONTHLY MEETING 7pm at the Old School House History Center "Tea With May: The May Heath Story". Presentation by Marsha Kontio (with the May Heath Study Group).
March 20 Sunday COMMUNITY GET-TOGETHER & SDHS BENEFIT "Spring Forward". Beginning at 6pm. Restaurant Toulouse, Downtown Saugatuck. Enjoy an dinner of comfort. After dinner there will be a game area for everything from card games, to dice games, charades, pictionary, etc. Click HERE for details.
     
April 13 Wednesday MONTHLY MEETING 7pm at the Old School House History Center "You Were There News Hour, 1850-1900: Storms and Saving Lives—Shipwrecks and Lifesaving Stories". Saugatuck High School Advanced Placement Language & Composition Class research project/collaboration with SDHS History Center/OSH exhibition "Rowing Them Safely Home".
Opening April 29 Through June 20 EXHIBIT Saugatuck Center for the Arts, Exhibit Gallery
"PIE. From Michigan Orchards to the American Dinner Table and a Factory for the Arts." This exhibit follows the village economy and the history of fruit growing, fruit export, and the adaptive re-use of old pie factory into a major art center. An SDHS exhibit in collaboration with the Saugatuck Center For the Arts. See related ”About It” talk at SCA—June 2.
     
May 11 Wednesday MONTHLY MEETING 7pm at the Old School House History Center "Anniversary Party" celebrating the Historical Society’s 25th Year - with the dedication of the "new" Union school as History Center and the first public viewing of the OSH Garden and Back-In-Time Walkway. Event will include the official opening of the SDHS Art Gallery.
May 14 Saturday SDHS 101 10am Old School House
Opening May 15 Through July 1 OLD SCHOOL HOUSE HISTORY CENTER EXHIBITION Exhibit of model "village places" built by students from Saugatuck-Douglas school's fifth and sixth grades. The student teams build models of "village places" as a way of documenting and understanding "village life." At the Old School House History Center, Douglas. See the Society’s website sdhistoricalsociety.org  for exhibit opening times.
May 19-21 Thursday-Saturday MICHIGAN HISTORIC PRESERVATION NETWORK 31ST ANNUAL STATEWIDE PRESERVATION CONFERENCE
"Just Add Water: The influence of Michigan’s lakes, rivers, ponds and streams on its culture and architecture" is the theme of the 2011 Michigan Historic Preservation Network Annual Conference - to be held in Saugatuck & Douglas with the SCA and the SDHS as conference hosts. Public invited.

The MHPN is Michigan's largest non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and preserving Michigan’s cultural and architectural heritage. Each spring the Network sponsors the state’s largest annual preservation conference - offering a wide number of interesting sessions relating to the conference theme. The Conference Keynote speaker will be the Mayor of Grand Rapids, a well known advocate for architectural and land preservation.
May 19 Thursday MHPN "TWILIGHT WALKING TOUR" WINE AND CHEESE RECEPTION 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the Saugatuck-Douglas Museum
May 21 Saturday MUSEUM HOSTS' ORIENTATION Saugatuck-Douglas Museum
May 28 Saturday SDHS MEMBERS MUSEUM EXHIBITION RECEPTION 5:00pm-7:00pm at the Saugatuck-Douglas Museum
Opening May 28 Through October 30 EXHIBIT Saugatuck-Douglas Museum Through October 30 "A Village Patchwork: Tales of Everyday Life in Saugatuck-Douglas." Photographs, artifacts and text uncover the mysteries and stories of daily life in the Saugatuck area (1890-1950).
     
June 1 Wednesday SABA MEMBERS ANNUAL MUSEUM EXHIBITION RECEPTION 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Saugatuck-Douglas Museum
June 2 Thursday COMBINED SDHS MONTHLY MEETING & SAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS (SCA)
ABOUT IT!  LECTURE Gallery Reception 5:00pm-7:00pm Collaborative Program with Saugatuck Center for the Arts
     
July
Every Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday & Sunday		 WALKING TOUR OF HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SAUGATUCK 2pm starting at the Information Booth across from City Hall. Experience historic & Sunday Saugatuck on the 75 minute walking tour.
July 5, 12, 19 & 26 Tuesdays SAUGATUCK-DOUGLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S TUESDAY TALKS  From 11am until Noon at the Old School House. Presentation will coordinate with this year’s Saugatuck-Douglas Museum’s exhibition - "Our Village Life". A person of expertise will share knowledge of a particular local historical subject.
July 13 Wednesday MONTHLY MEETING "From Fishing Tug, to Net, to Market and Fry Pan." A visit to historic fish shanties/docks and slideshow and fish dinner at a local restaurant
July 14, 28 Thursday DOUGLAS HISTORY TROLLEY TOURS Beginning at Beery Field Park Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society historians conduct the 25-minute tours of Douglas. 5:30 – 8:00 pm. In collaboration with City of Douglas “Community Summer Socials”
July 15, 16 Friday & Saturday SAUGATUCK-DOUGLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S UPSCALE SALE At the Saturday Old School House History Center, Douglas. It's not a garage sale, its better, it's the UPSCALE SALE! The sale features high-quality antiques, collectibles, art, curiosities, knick-knacks, housewares and more. Preview and silent auction, Friday, July 15 and sale, Saturday, July 16
July 30 Saturday SDHS 101 10am Old School House
     
August
Every Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday & Sunday		 WALKING TOUR OF HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SAUGATUCK 2pm starting at the Information Booth across from City Hall. Experience historic & Sunday Saugatuck on the 75 minute walking tour.
August 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 Tuesdays SAUGATUCK-DOUGLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S TUESDAY TALKS  From 11am until Noon at the Old School House. Presentation will coordinate with this year’s Saugatuck-Douglas Museum’s exhibition - "Our Village Life". A person of expertise will share knowledge of a particular local historical subject.
August 10 Wednesday SDHS ANNUAL PICNIC On the lawn of the Old School House History Center “Food as History” at OSH School Yard
August 11, 25 Thursday DOUGLAS HISTORY TROLLEY TOURS Beginning at Beery Field Park Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society historians conduct the 25-minute tours of Douglas. 5:30 – 8:00 pm. In collaboration with City of Douglas “Community Summer Socials”
     
September 17 Saturday FALL HERITAGE FESTIVAL. Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society presents the 8th annual Heritage Festival. "Douglas - A Patchwork Village: From Everyday to Extraordinary". Discover the rich historical heritage of the Saugatuck-Douglas area
     
October 12 Wednesday MONTHLY MEETING 7pm at the Old School House History Center "Ghost Story and Cemetery Night."
October 14 & 15 Friday & Saturday 2nd ANNUAL DINE AROUND TOWN BENEFIT. Ten homes-ten meals-ten guests. An evening of tasty fun and palatable fundraising.
October 30 Sunday ANNUAL VOLUNTEERS THANK YOU CHILI SUPPER at the Old School House History Center
     
November 9 Wednesday MONTHLY MEETING 7pm at the Old School House History Center “Our Veterans: Experiences Told and Historic Photos”
     
December 4 Sunday SDHS HOLIDAY PARTY At the SCA. Theme: "An Old Fashioned Village Holiday"