Rain could not dampen Fallasburg Village Celebration spirit

By Justin Tiemeyer - Contributing Writer

3 Aug 2025

Forecasts of thunderstorms on Saturday, July 26, 2025, threatened to overshadow the fourth annual Fallasburg Village Celebration at the historic Fallasburg Village, but with only brief, isolated showers, the festival was still a success.

Members of the Third Michigan Company F Civil War reenactment group gathered out front of the historic schoolhouse with supplies and weaponry contemporary with the buildings in the historic village, including a saber that is over 100 years old.

This calls to mind Company I, known for going from house-to-house in the greater Lowell area to recruit men to join the Civil War. According to legend, a couple of men were putting up a fence in Fallasburg before Company I scooped them up and left the fence behind, forever unfinished. Sources say that a tree grew around one of the fence posts, and folks have used the landmark over the years to celebrate the work of the Union army. On September 15, 1862, a total of 91 men from Lowell signed up for active military service on the same day, thanks to Company I.

To make history fun for children, several games were set up on the schoolhouse lawn, including a team plank race, where teammates coordinate their steps, pulling on ropes attached to two-by-fours, in order to navigate to the finish line first. There was also coloring, painting, rocking horse rides, and neighbors in period costume.

Musical entertainment included Hawks and Owls, Cheater B’s, Chick and the Boomers, Easy Idle, and Sophie Bolen, with sound by Ryne Clarke and Jeremy Kargl. The textured blend of Americana, folk, country, and bluegrass on stage, as attendees drifted about, betrayed the idea that this festival has been around for as long as the village itself. In fact, this is only the fourth year.

For some people, the Fallasburg Village Celebration starts and ends with the Classic Car & Motorcycle Show, and this year’s assembly of cars did not disappoint. One collector had a 1977 Condor motorcycle on display, built for the Swiss Army, and complete with a mount for a military rifle. For people who wanted to look below the hood, there was plenty to see.

A number of familiar vendors showed up, like Ability Weavers, with their hand-woven textiles, and Mystic Print 3d with high-quality 3d, printed objects, including pool noodles with sword hilts. West Michigan Avid TypeWriters had several manual typewriters set up with Fallasburg Telegram stationary. Typewriting, once a necessity, has become a novelty, and the Avid TypeWriters introduce new generations to a vestigial art.

Out back of the Fallas House, the Michigan Horse Driving School offered miniature horse-cart rides and demonstrations. For attendees interested in full-size horses, there were also horsedrawn carriage rides along the main thoroughfare.

Despite the threat of storms, the Fallasburg Village Celebration once again proved resilient, vibrant, and deeply rooted in community tradition. Blending Civil War lore, creative vendors, toe-tapping music, and family-friendly fun, the day reminded attendees that history is not just preserved—it is lived, celebrated, and passed on.