From 1998-2003, Michigan's Great Outdoors Culture Tour included a variety of performing artists and cultural interpreters offering programs in northern Michigan. In 2003, 110 programs were performed in Northern Michigan.

Exciting and entertaining programs by musicians, storytellers, historical characters and ethnic and cultural tradition bearers took place in scenic and informal settings at parks, campgrounds, historic sites and other community venues around northern Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. These family-friendly events brought to life the rich culture and heritage of people, places and traditions of Michigan's northwoods and Great Lakes. Included in this site is information from 2003, the final year of the tou.

With a sailboat display as a backdrop, Great Lakes musician Carl Behrend plays and sings of sailors and fishermen, wooden schooners and ore carriers July 8 for a Culture Tour audience at the Les Cheneaux Maritime Museum in Cedarville.

2003' s lineup of performers and programs were:

Musicians:

Dancers: The Mme. Cadillac Dance Theatre of metro Detroit - "Michigan's French Colonial Roots in Music & Dance"

Storytellers:

• Patty Clark with Jim Clark of Charlevoix - ""Land of White Pine Sandy Shores"
• Larry Massie of Allegan - "Superior Stories: Legends of the North"
• Genot Picor of Macomb - "Songs & Stories of Old Michigan"
• Barbara Schutzgruber of Ann Arbor - "Beaver: The 'Velvet Gold Rush'"
• Jenifer Ivinskas Strauss of Hastings - "Michigan Legends & Lore: Stories from Shore to Shore"
• Larry Plamondon of Delton - "Stories from the People of This Place"

Historical-Cultural Interpreters:

• Michael Deren of Ann Arbor - "The Past in Person: 1870 Lumberjack/Shanty Boy"
• Project Lakewell of the Lansing area - "Fur Trade in the Great Lakes Region"
• Wil and Sarah Reding of Kalamazoo - "Early Midwest Arrivals"
• Judy and Jim St. Arnold of Ironwood - "Ojibwe Culture & Way of Life"

Colorful stories, nostalgic history, inspiring music and dance and other creative presentations interpret the people, places, traditions and events that have made Michigan memorable.

Culture Tour programs are offered free of charge at 7 p.m. local time between July 1 and Aug. 15 -- there are probably several taking place near your favorite vacation spot, so plan to join the fun! They're open to everyone: campers, resorters, travelers, local folks -- young and old. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy a lively evening!

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) joins the Culture Tour's funding partners, making possible the program's expansion in its sixth summer season with a Challenge America grant. Michigan's Great Outdoors Culture Tour is a partnership project of the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Other partner support comes from Michigan State Parks, the USDA-Forest Service, National Park Service, cultural and heritage organizations, community and cooperating hosts and MeadWestvaco of Escanaba.