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"Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends"

​Welcome!

Welcome to the Michigan Folk School, a division of Washtenaw County Parks, dedicated to keeping learning, tradition, and community alive. 

Our classes create a community where we honor and share the old ways of doing things — offering access to skills you once might have learned while sitting on your grandparents' porch or as part of your community.

​We offer more than 300 classes each year and we’re growing and evolving to meet the needs of the community, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, let us know.

                 2023 Class Registration
                          ​Click HERE for the Schedule 

Quick Statistics

14,000+
happy students

​over 325
classes offered in 2023

18
categories of classes offered

123
crocks fermented

834
knives sharpened 

3
forges blazing

EVERY TIME
unique & memorable experience

262
brooms tied

The Michigan Folk School
@
Staebler Farm County Park

Support

The Michigan Folk School, a division of Washtenaw County Parks, relies on the generosity of many different groups to support its mission of diverse educational experiences in the folk school tradition. Of course we are an organization based on education but, it’s much more than that.  We are about building a sense of community, of rewinding the clock to a simpler time, and of carrying on the tradition of passing knowledge from one set of hands to another.

 Below are several ways to help us out. Take a look!

Gift Certificates

Donations

Volunteers

Learn

Select a Class by Discipline

Class  Categories

 archery
​ blacksmithing
 boats & trailers
 broom craft​
 bushcraft
​ children's classes

community 
​fiber
​food
​gardening & farming
​glass 
health & home

home improvement projects
​homesteading
jewelry & metalwork
​leather
millinery​​​ & dressmaking
woodworking 

Open Studio  Categories

 blacksmithing
 broom craft​
​ fiber
​​ glass 
​​ leather
 woodworking ​

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