While I can only speak for our visit during their "Family Fun Day" event, we had a great time. The…read moreevent was busy, but not over-packed, and everyone we met; from vendors, to volunteers, to the townspeople; were so friendly and approachable. We had the chance to walk the property, visit inside the old buildings, and get a taste of the town's history. There were also hiking trails in the vicinity, although we didn't get an opportunity to personally walk them. We were too busy enjoying the family fun. They had local vendors selling goods; honey, syrup, veggies, flowers, crafts.... so many goodies. There was also a donation walking taco bar and popcorn; or hot dogs and ice cream from a food truck if you were hungry; and an animal show to participate in for learning and memorable experiences. We honestly had a fantastic time, I definitely recommend you swing by of you are in the area.

The museum and grounds are a wonderful yet mostly undiscovered gem in this part of Michigan. The…read morecenterpiece is the Loop Mansion, an example of Second Empire architecture, built by Dr. Loop in the 1870's. The home is restored to the Victorian era and gives the visitor an idea of what life was like in this area about 150 years ago. The rest of the museum grounds have been used to re-locate area historic buildings. There are log cabins, barns, a country store, a one-room school house, a vintage summer cottage, an old church that was once a saloon, and a railway depot. There is also the original barn, which is rented to a group operating as The Barn Theater, with plays being produced all summer long. The church is frequently used to host concerts, and is also available to rent for weddings or other social events. That isn't all that goes on here though, there are dinners and brunches held which give the visitor a glimpse into what it was like to live in this beautiful old home. There are also special event weekends, like Civil War Days, The Natives/Voyageurs/Settlers Days, and the Hunting/Fishing/Maritime Weekend. This year there will be a new building opened to the public, the Hunting and Fishing Cabin, which will celebrate the history of the local outdoor sport traditions. There will be many artifacts displayed including taxidermy. If you are in the area year round, Christmastime is when the house is decorated at its finest, and you can visit free during the community party, or buy a ticket for one of two Victorian dinner parties. The museum is open for guided tours from May 28th through September 5th in 2011. Tours are available Wed. through Sunday. Cost is only $5, $4 for seniors and $2 for children. The tour includes the mansion and all buildings in the Village. Some days the village buildings are staffed by costumed docents telling the stories that they've learned about the local area. School groups can make other arrangements for tours that accommodate their group.

It's a rare event that I go away stunned by a new visit experience. However that's what I felt…read moreafter leaving White Church Gallery in Grindstone Michigan. Located in rural remoteness of an old church in what was the heart of a long abandoned 1800's grindstone quarry operation, the owners Michael and Carrie Zaitz have created an artist oasis at the tip of the thumb. We stumbled upon the White Church Gallery while exploring Grindstone City's two popular ice cream shops; the Grindstone General Store and Rybak's Ice Cream Store. The gallery is across the street from Rybak's. Little did I know but the gallery opened this year on July 7, 2015. Doing a search on Yelp showed that White Church Gallery is the sole Art Gallery in the Thumb. The uniqueness of the restored church and remoteness of location makes it an amazing place. Carrie told me that they had to totally renovate the church. "Mother Nature had taken over." She indicated. They have been working on the Gallery for over three and a half years. The center piece of this renovated church is a beautifully restored quatrefoil stained glass window at the front of the gallery crafted by Tom Newton. You can sit on a the pews of the old church at Rybak's Ice Cream on the front porch. Carrie has pictures of the renovation process on her gallery's blog. The gallery has works displayed of fifteen artists in various mediums. Most notable are Joe Flosky's stained glass, Pat Hardin's cartoons, Duane Bilyeu's woodwork and turnings, Laura Landrum's jewelry, Susan Drescher's eco-friendly furniture and decorative products, Carolyn Kinnison's textured paintings using layers of paint and finishes over molding compound on wood Bill Stolpin's paintings and resident artist, Michael Zaitz abstract and surrealism works. When you first walk into the gallery it's like stepping into a different world. The unique colors and subtle light treatment show off the various art work. Everywhere you turn there is something to explore. I'm certain that the White Church Gallery will not be the sole art gallery in the Upper Thumb for long. However it will stand alone as being the first in the area with a powerful debut. The gallery is located five minutes east of Port Austin at 8686 Rouse Road.

From the owner: We are an art gallery.We carry acrylic and watercolor paintings, prints, photographs, jewelry,…read morefurniture, wood items, stained glass and more.

We found this store two years ago. Robin and Lauren are so personable. We love the uniqueness of…read morethe hand-blown glass items and the artwork. It is the kind of store where you find a wonderful piece as a gift but can't resist buying something for yourself - always our favorite kind of shopping. You will keep on coming back.

They are so personal with customers. I'm in Florida and needed to replace a piece we purchased a…read morewhile ago. I sent an email and they responded promptly, sent pictures of new pieces to choose from. Then shipped it within days for an excellent price

There are some good art pieces on show. Mostly mediocre craft show stuff. I understand that…read moreartists are not treated with respect or honesty. So consider the artist before purchasing. Find a more ethical gallery.

Studio 1219 "the blue water art incubator" houses a mixed-media art gallery and pottery studio…read more This is a hugely welcom addition to Port Huron. Local artists can display their work, throw pottery (and take pottery classes), there is even studio space to rent. I went there with my parents, partner, and in-laws and was quite pleased with the art in various media. The art for sale displays a range of styles and talents. Some of the art work (ceramics) wasn't quite as consistently high standard as the painted works, glass work, etc., but still, the place is well worth the visit.

We were forbidden entry because we had a bottle of breast milk for our baby. The owner said, "You…read morecould just be saying it's breast milk, how do I know what it is?!" Besides leaving our other kids pretty disappointed, this man was also extremely creepy, unhinged and aggressive. This sort of person doesn't belong around children.

We planned to visit the museum during a family vacation to Sarnia. Sadly, the owner began to yell…read moreat us the door to dump our closed baby's bottle of breast milk in order to enter. They have a no food policy. I explained even in the airports they allow breast milk through security. They used to say it takes a village to raise a child- sadly, nowadays it's hard to even take a baby into a museum. His anger was uncalled for and petty especially given the current shortages of formula our babies are facing. I wish we were treated with kindness instead of aggressiveness.

James is an Amazing pottery teacher. It wasn't my forte, but he was patient!! Happy I tried…read morepottery even though I'm definitely not skilled for it!!!

They are all very very kind. My family and I go to pottery every so often and they help out if you…read moreneed help. They have homeschool classes pottery ect. 10 out of 10.

I saw a painting I liked at a local business as asked where it was from. Wandered here to see if it…read morewas still for sale and the gallery owner, Diny, went to the business and pulled it off the wall to show it to me personally! It is a small gallery but Diny knows everything about what she has in stock. Plus she will hold items for you (so no one else can grab them), come to your house to hang them properly and even lets you "live with the painting" to see if you really like it. I ended up being here for over an hour chatting and searching her stuff. A great experience.

We have bought 3 paintings from Diny at Artisan's Alley over the years and are about to buy two…read moremore. Though we now live in Toronto, we bought our first two after browsing in her London gallery on two different occasions. She has tons of paintings of various styles and in sizes from 12"x12" to 72x72" and probably bigger. Prices also obviously vary by size and artist, but I doubt you'll get a better deal elsewhere than from Diny. I've seen some pieces at other galleries by artists she works with and she's been able to get it for me at a much better price point. Service is exceptional. She'll come to your house and hang art so you can live with it for a week or two before pulling the trigger on purchasing. She'll bring other works you might be interested in to see how they work in your space. She's got a great eye for what will suit. I'm hoping to check out the new gallery the next time I'm in London even though these latest two purchases will fill our walls for now. Check her gallery out, you won't regret it!

This beautiful church building with stained glass windows is filled with unique furniture and…read moreitems. We saw beautiful carved wood furniture. Some items may appear quite pricey, but they seemed very rare and antique. I was excited to see some crystals in one of the glass cases. They had a super awesome pyrite one and it was super cheap too. I was going to buy it but I do not have anymore room in my collection at this time. They seemed fairly priced though. They had quite a lot of other pieces as well. I did see a unique coin section too. The employees behind the counter seemed very knowledgable as well. They were showing an individual a clock and knew all of its history as well. I would definitely come back to this shop.

I will say the one and only downfall of this place is you have absolutely and utterly no idea it is…read morean antique store until you go down the small side street. The signage is absolutely nonexistent Which is a shame because this building and the quality of antiques are absolute gems. This place is two levels inside of an old church with all the stained glass windows still intact. It is absolutely breathtaking and the quality of the artifacts on the upper level is superb. This is not your search for a Hidden Gem Store. This is most definitely a looking for a high-quality piece to finish off your collection type of store. Absolutely worth the stop in. Two individuals running it we're extremely sweet and hospitable they were very knowledgeable and you could tell took great pride in their daughter who was attending Wayne State in the city. They made you feel at home with coffee and cookies out. I will make it a point to come back. I hope they succeed. He also had a brief story of the owner and why he started antiquing. It is highly respectable. What I hope they get to fix is the signage if they want more customers. Sadly It looks like just another closed Church during the week.

I think this place is now called Scoops!…read more Fun options for flavors and we got big scoops!! Loved that. Then got to enjoy our ice cream in their beautiful garden out back.

I always see a huge line in the summer so I was intimidated to go for many years but this summer I…read morefinally saw a short line and decided to give it a try. There were only two people ordering ahead of us and two people behind us but it took about 20-30 minutes by the time we paid and got our one scoop of ice-cream in a cup. There was only one girl working at the time but I still think it took too long to get three orders of ice cream ready. The ice-cream itself was below average for a parlour. It tasted like old ice-cream that you left in the fridge for too long with bits of ice particles and uneven texture. The only nice thing about this place is the outside garden where we could eat and enjoy a beautiful day. Overall, not worth the hype and time spent in line.