9 Kind of Weird Yet Wonderful Summer Festivals in Michigan
Michigan can be really weird sometimes. Aside from the weird weather (4 seasons in a day), Michigan also has its own share of crazy laws and even weird traditions and festivals.
Below are some of the many weird summer festivals in Michigan that you probably don’t know about. They might sound really odd but I assure you, they are so wonderful and amazing at their own rights!
CerealFest – Downtown Battle Creek – June 9th – 10th, 2017
Also known as the Cereal City Festival. This festival highlights Battle Creek’s heritage as the birthplace of the cereal industry. This is one amazing tradition that draws people from far and wide. This family friendly festival includes variety of local, regional and national entertainment, exciting activities and much more. One of the most notable attractions at this festival is The World’s Longest Breakfast Table.
Wizard of Oz Festival – Ionia – June 17, 2017
Are you a fan of Wizard of Oz? This amazing festivity will surely amaze you! In this one of a kind festivity, The City of Ionia’s Downtown Main Street is transformed into the Yellow Brick Road as a tribute to the Wizard of Oz. There will be a “Flying Monkey Flea Market” that features arts and crafts to vintage treasures. There are also contests like Look-a-Like Contests (dress up like your favorite Oz character), a Souvenir Booth featuring collectible Wizard of Oz gifts, and the original Wizard of Oz movie will be shown at the historical Ionia Theatre for only .25 cents per person.
Electric Forest – Rothbury – June 22 – 25 & June 29 – July 2, 2017
This is a truly unique concert that you won’t probably find anywhere else, only in Michigan! Electric Forest Festival is an eight day, two weekend multi-genre event, with a focus on electronic and jam band genres, held in Rothbury, Michigan. Electric Forest largest event (2015) drew an estimated 45,000 attendees.
Sticky Buns Day – Grayling – July 14
The amazing sticky buns in Michigan also have their own celebration – the Sticky Buns Day that will happen on July 14th. This festivity started as a token of recognition to some of the baking skills generally practiced by the homemakers of the Great Depression. In addition to all the treats you could eat in a lifetime day, the festivity also features demonstrations of period-accurate food-production equipment.
This summer festivity features exciting activities like speed-climbing, speed-sawing, and log balancing. It demonstrates the skills of the lumberjack including chopping, sawing, cross-cut sawing and logrolling. There are also saw-carving demonstration and axe throwing contest at this festivity. The show aims to educate the audience in the rich history of Michigan’s logging past.
Love bacon? Baconfest Michigan is just right for you! This festival aims to bring the best bacon-infused culinary delights to bacon lovers through series of events. For more information about this bacon-centered festival, check out this link.
ElvisFest – Ypsilanti – July 7 & 8, 2017
Love Elvis and his music? Then this festival is a must-attend for you! ElvisFest is not a contest, but a true concert with spectacular performances by Elvis impersonators who sings, strut and dance across the stage, just like the King of Rock and Roll.
Bologna Festival – Yale – July
The Yale Bologna Festival is a 3 day weekend event that closes the streets and transforms the community into a stage for 20,000 Bologna starved party-goers. This traditional festivity draws people from all around Michigan and nearby states as well. The highlights of this festival include the coronation of the new King and Queen of Bologna.
Rubber Ducky Festival – Bellaire
If you are fond of the yellow quaking rubber ducky, this festival is best for you! Festival includes a great race of thousands of rubber ducky toys down a quarter-mile stretch of river. Sounds fun, right?
Among these festivals in Michigan, which one is your favorite?
Festivals can be so much fun! I am looking forward to getting to a few this summer.
Love them all, especially baconfest! 😉
I am sure my husband would be the first to book a trip to Michigan to be there during the Baconfest. My kids would definitely be tagging along too. My family loves bacon and we always say, “Bacon is the duct tape of food.” What an awesome festival that would be!
I would definitely attend Baconfest! Michigan’s unusual festivals remind me of some of the ones you can find here in my state of Minnesota. We can also do four seasons in one day 🙂
So much fun! I love weird and quirky event. Baconfest is calling my name!
The cereal fest would be a family favorite. My boys do love cereal
So cool! Summer festivals are always fun and it’s nice to see unique ones in Michigan instead of your usual music festival. These are all interesting!
These summer festivals are really interesting. I would love to attend that cereal festival, it sounds like a lot of fun. I had no idea that Michigan hosts a lot of festivals during the summer.
All of these sound like a blast! I’m all about the weird 😉
These are some, well, interesting festivals for sure. I wouldn’t mind attending some of these. They do sound like a lot of fun.
Great list! I haven’t been to any of these festivals, but there are all kinds of festivals like this in the Thumb. As a young reporter, I covered the Hatchet Festival, Fish Sandwich Festival, and Cheeseburger in Caseville to name a few more unique festivals in our state.
I love everything about it. The festivals look amazing and everybody is looking forward on it, they were having so much fun.
Sounds good. Summer festivals are always fun and i love such festivals which are different. I wish i will enjoy them in near summer.
Awww these looks all fun! The dog is also so cute!
I’m torn between the Sticky Buns and Bacon festival! One thing’s for sure though – my Dad, who is the biggest Elvis fan I know, will choose the Elvis Festival over buns or bacon. Haha!
Wizard of Oz festival for sure is my favorite! I’ve loved that book and the movie since I was little. It sounds like so much fun!
The Wizard of Oz fest sounds fun. I would love to check it out.
These are pretty odd. I really like the Rubber Ducky festival. I don’t know about the Elvis one… I think no matter how much I enjoy his music, it’ll creep me out to see people dressed as him throughout the day.
Thank you so much for this! I have never been in Michigan and it’s definitely on my to do list and now I know what I really have to see!
Awww these look all a lot of fun. Very nice. xx
I love festivals, in Louisiana starting in April there is one almost every month until October. My husband and I look for festivals to travel to every year. These all look like fun.
I’m not surprised to see a cereal fest in Michigan. It looks like so much fun as do the Elvis fest and the Sticky Bun Days.
These all look cool!! Especially the Wizard of Oz one. I would love something like that around here.
I wish our little town offered more festivals. They are always so fun and festive.
I really enjoy reading about the fun little things and festivals from different towns and cities. These sound like so much fun.
Sounds like so much fun – who doesn’t love a festival!!! Wish we had more here!
Hey that Elvis Fest might be fun. Pretty sure too that I’d love seeing Tony the Tiger in person. 😉
Oh they are not so weird. lol! I will be happy if I could see and experience any of the festival.
Sounds like Michigan is jammed packed with fun events. Wish we have the Wizard of the Oz Festival here. The only festival we got is International Jazz Festival.
I never knew there’s a lot of festivities in Michigan. It would really be nice if I can attend one.