Curwood Festival
The Editing Curwood Festival is a celebration of the American novelist James Oliver Curwood in Owosso, Michigan.[1] Many of his novels were written in Curwood Castle on the banks of the Shiawassee River.
History
The annual Curwood Festival started on the 100th anniversary of the birth of James Oliver Curwood. He lived in Owosso and was a famous author and conservationist.[2] Mr. Curwood built the Curwood Castle for his writing studio and left it as a gift to Owosso. James Oliver Curwood wrote over 30 nature adventure books and out of those, approximately 18 were adapted into movies. Some of the movies were premiered in Owosso. Most of his books were based in Canada.[3] The festival was started to celebrate Curwood's contribution to the community.[4]
Dates
The Curwood opening ceremony is held outside Curwood Castle. The Curwood Festival takes place outside the Owosso City Hall and the Owosso fire and police departments. The Curwood Heritage Parade takes place on main street M-21. The Kids in Curwood Parade takes place right outside of Emerson Elementary school. The 3-on-3 tournament takes place right outside the Owosso Middle School which is located across from the main rides and attractions.
The festival is the first full weekend in June. The Opening Ceremonies occur that Thursday. There is a Curwood royal court there along with many people who are key in creating the festival including the Owosso High School Trojan Marching Band. On that Friday, there is a "Kids in Curwood Parade" and on Saturday is the "Curwood Heritage Parade". On Friday and Saturday is a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for boys and girls.
Events
There are several other events that happen during the Curwood Festival. One is the Curwood writing contest. Every year the contest has a theme having something to do with nature, like all of James Oliver Curwood books. They have carnival rides and games along with vendors selling assortment of crafts. One event brought back from earlier festivals is the River Daze, where contestants race down-river. Each year there is also a local medieval reenactment group known as The Kingdom of Shiabruck that puts on a small medieval faire near Curwood Castle as part of the festival.
There is also the running events such as the 5k, 10k, and a half Marathon that takes place on the river trail.