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PORT HOPE, Mich. — Port Hope’s annual ABC Day celebration will return Saturday, Aug. 15, with a historic duck decoy shed dedication, vintage vehicles, museum tours, bean soup and more than 30 outdoors-related vendors.
ABC stands for Antiques, Bean Soup and Collectibles.
The day’s centerpiece begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Lumberyard Museum, where the Port Hope Area Historical Society will dedicate a duck decoy shed once used by noted decoy carver Otto Misch. The society saved the Bay Port-area structure from demolition last fall.
Activities tied to the dedication will include decoy-carving demonstrations, displays of historically significant decoys and other waterfowl-related activities.
A vintage car and motorcycle show will be held on the lawn east of the Lumberyard Museum, about a half-block from M-25. The museum and the community’s 1904 Train Depot and Caboose will offer free tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The traveling exhibit “Echoes of Sanilac: Exploring the History of Michigan’s Thumb” will be shown Saturday afternoon at the Lumberyard Museum and Sunday afternoon at the Port Hope Depot.
Food remains a major part of ABC Day. Organizers plan to prepare the community’s traditional bean soup in a 40-gallon cooker using fresh, locally grown ingredients. Homemade doughnuts also will be available downtown.
Stafford Park along Lake Huron will host a vintage “base ball” game played under rules and customs from more than a century ago. The historic township hall and village jail also will be open to visitors.
Historic Port Hope is along Portland Avenue, just east of M-25. Free and open to the public is the Lumberyard Museum, the 1904 Train Depot and Caboose, the historic, lakefront lumbering-era chimney, and, of course, the car show.
Additional information is available at HistoricPortHope.org and PortHopeMich.com.
