Construction of a pavilion at Mackinaw Historic Village will help draw visitors, especially school groups, to the park, and will be a joint project of the Mackinaw Area Historical Society and the Village of Mackinaw City.

The 24-foot by 40-foot openair facility will accommodate about 100 children and will be started this fall, reported Ray Roth, president of the historical society, at the Thursday, August 21, meeting of the village council. Existing buildings at the park are too small to hold large groups.

The pavilion will cost about $30,000. The bulk of the cost for materials, about $28,000, will be paid by the historical society. Dave McFarland of the Architect Forum will design the pavilion for $2,200. To prepare the site for concrete, the village crew will provide about $5,000 in labor, said Village Manager Jeff Lawson.

The building will be designed to look like a pavilion from the late 1800s or early 1900s, which is consistent with the time period the Historic Village represents.

Most of the construction work will be done by volunteers, and the structure should be completed by May 1, 2009.

"We've already had three schools visit at the village," said Mr. Roth. "We have a program in the Pest House, in the Freedom School, and also for the nature walk."

The historical society will create additional programs for school children for next spring.

A realistic goal is for about 20 schools, with an average of 50 students each, to visit the park next year, Mr. Roth said. That would generate about $5,000 in admissions.

To further augment the site with new trees, the village council approved a request by Mr. Lawson to apply for a community forest grant through the Department of Natural Resources.

Partnering with the Historical Society, Mackinaw City will seek $2,000 from the state, $1,000 from the Historical Society, and will pay $1,000 in labor to obtain and plant 30 trees there.

Mr. Roth noted that this will add to recent aesthetic improvements at the Historic Village, which have dramatically improved the site.

At the entrance "you will see flowers, trees, and bushes, which our grounds chairman Sandy Planisek and her crew have added to the general ambiance," he said.

Mr. Lawson added the village continues to pursue a marked trail system leading from Mackinaw City to the village site.