Oakland Township

Old tyme fun comes to township

By Linda Shepard
C & G Staff Writer

OAKLAND TOWNSHIP — Stilt walking, a tug-of-war and sack races are just a few of the activities planned for Goodison Good Tyme Sept. 18.         

The entire family is invited to the free event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bear Creek Nature Park, located on Snell Road, between Rochester and Orion roads.

“We’ll be doing some old-fashioned children’s games,” said Sue Neal, executive director of Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve. “Simple activities that children used to entertain themselves with back when Oakland Township was still farm country.” 

Goodison Good Tyme will also include music, inflatable bouncers, jump rope, a bean bag throw, a rock climbing wall, giant Lincoln logs, a straw pile jump, face painting, balloon artistry and a craft-making session.

“We’ll be making toys with string and a button,” said Sharon Taber, Dinosaur Hill program director. “You wind the string and pull it and it makes a noise like a buzz saw.”

Young and old are invited to drop the clothespin in the milk bottle, lasso the livestock with small wooden models of farm animals, and play checkers and tick-tack-toe. 

Baked goods will be on sale at the nearby Paint Creek United Methodist Church.

Goodison Good Tyme is designed to celebrate the beauty of Oakland Township and includes the eighth annual Curamus Terram half-marathon race on the same date.

The Curamus Terram, which is Latin for caretakers of the earth, is a rare half-marathon set in a rural locale.

“A lot of half-marathons are held in urban areas,” said Oakland Township Parks and Recreation administrative assistant Carol Kasprzak. “We get a select group of dedicated runners who prefer to run in natural areas as opposed to pavement. We get about 200 runners. It is a very intimate group, and quite different from most half-marathons.”

The Curamus Terram also includes 5k and 10k races. This year, a new event invites children to run a half-mile beginning at 9:30 a.m. Ribbons will be given to all finishers of the half-mile. The fee is $3.

The registration fee for the half-marathon is $25 before Sept. 11 and $30 after. The registration fee for the 5k and 10k is $20 before Sept. 11, or $25 after.

Half-marathon registration is available at www.goracego.com or by sending a check made out to Oakland Township and sent to Oakland Township Hall, 4393 Collins Road, Oakland Township, MI 48306

For more information about Goodison Good Tyme or Curamus Terram, call (248) 935-9004.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Linda Shepard at lshepard@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1065.