EVENTS

Log Cabin Day
Sunday, June 25, 2023 | 1-5pm | MORE DETAILS TBA

It's time for the return of Log Cabin Day & Ice Cream Social to Palmer Park for 2023! 

Log Cabin Day, a free, family-friendly festival presented by People for Palmer Park, will celebrate history, music, theater, storytelling, and art. Palmer Park's annual Log Cabin Day — which coincides with National Log Cabin Day — will be held in the beautiful outdoor setting next to the historic Palmer Park Log Cabin overlooking Lake Frances, as well as inside the Log Cabin. Dressing-up in vintage attire and hats from the 1800s-early 1900s is encouraged.

This beloved community event, held for the past decade, transforms the grounds of the Palmer Park Log Cabin with vibrancy, fun, and enrichment with a variety of activities and presenters, including:
  • 102nd USCT Black Civil War History Group
  • Learn about the history of the Log Cabin and Palmer Park from historians and friends
  • Enjoy free homemade ice cream and frozen desserts from Motor City Brewing Works for the first 500
  • Arts and crafts for all ages; make a mini-log cabin, write & illustrate your own stories, and other creative activities
  • Readings by storytellers from the Association of Black Storytellers, including a special visit by Harriet Tubman, reenacted by one of the storytellers
  • Quilting demonstrations and quilt display with April Shipp of Griot’s of Cloth
  • Display of a collection of the historic, renown Gee’s Bend Alabama quilts
  • Weaving demonstrations by Michael Daitch of Coat of Many Colors Weaver
  • Spinning wheel demos
  • Musical theater with Dream Arts Company’s gifted youth performing excerpts from CInderella
  • Country & Celtic Fiddling with Natcho, an ensemble of alumni from the Chelsea Home Orchestra
  • The Wheelman on their penny farthings
  • Food pop-ups with the Pink Flamingo To Go and Qui-Qui's Edibles Specialty Hot Dogs
  • And more surprises

People for Palmer Park (PFPP) and the City of Detroit open Palmer Park’s historic 1800s Log Cabin each year for a rare public tour of the only authentic log cabin in Detroit.

Built in 1885 for Senator Thomas and Lizzie Merrill Palmer by the renowned architects George D. Mason and Zachariah Rice, Palmer Park’s extraordinary Log Cabin makes history come alive. The cabin, which looks like a rustic cabin on the outside and a Victorian-era home on the inside, was used by the Palmers as a place to host parties in what then was the countryside outside of pre-auto industry Detroit. The impressive landmark with new restoration, shimmering stain-glass windows, pocket doors, and more is an enchanting testament to historic preservation. Sen. Palmer donated the land to Detroit in 1894 with the stipulation that it always remain a park for the enjoyment of all. The cabin lay dormant for some four decades until People for Palmer Park and the City of Detroit successfully raised funds to restore it. Log Cabin Day celebrates the rebirth of the cabin and of Palmer Park. 

PFPP is a nonprofit 501 (C)(3) organization committed to the revitalization of Palmer Park. The group makes possible free classes for yoga and t’ai chi, weekly bike rides, a walking group, tennis programs for children and adults, a community garden and gardening workshops... and more. 

Palmer Park is an urban oasis of 296 acres of lawns and historic woodlands, a Splash Park and playscape, tennis courts, hiking and biking trails, Lake Frances, and some of the most valuable and diverse ecosystems in the state. Located between 6 and 7 Mile Roads and west of Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Palmer Park has been a treasured nature park and recreation site for more than 120 years. 

Thank you to our 2022 sponsors: City of Detroit Parks & Recreation Dept., City of Detroit General Services, Motor City Brewing Works, and Integrity Shows. 

RELATED LINKS
Check out this great segment from WDIV's "Live in the D" on the Palmer Park Log Cabin
(air date: 6/21/16)
MORE EVENTS:


LOG CABIN DAY


WINTERFEST


HARVEST FESTIVAL


PALMER PARK ART FAIR