Michigan Travel · Traverse City
Traverse City’s Deer Widow’s Weekend is Nov. 14-15 at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, with free tunnel tours and a vendor show
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — As hunters head into the woods for the Nov. 15 opener of Michigan’s firearm deer season, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons is inviting everyone else to Deer Widow’s Weekend, a free indoor shopping event Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14-15.
The craft and vendor show is in Kirkbride Hall, the former chapel of the old state hospital, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, according to the Village’s event listing. Admission is free.
The first 250 visitors each day get a free logo bag, the Village says, and there are door prizes and giveaways. Mimosa kits are $5.
Tunnel tours. Complimentary tours of the steam tunnels under the campus are part of the weekend. The listing gives slightly different start and end times in different places, so check the event page or ask at Kirkbride Hall on arrival. The Village’s regular paid tours require visitors to be at least 12 and include about a mile of walking.
Make a day of it. The Village hosts an indoor farmers market on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., November through April, according to its events page, and the Mercato in the lower level of Building 50 has shops, restaurants and tasting rooms.
Getting there. The Village is on the west side of Traverse City off Silver Drive and Eleventh Street, with free parking around the campus.
Sources:
The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, “Deer Widow’s Weekend – 2026” (dates, hours, Kirkbride Hall, logo bags, tunnel tours, mimosa kits), https://www.thevillagetc.com/events/deer-widow-2025-1-elk3m
The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, events (indoor farmers market), https://www.thevillagetc.com/events
The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, tours (age limits, walking distance), https://www.thevillagetc.com/tour
Photo: w_lemay, “Traverse City State Hospital, Traverse City, MI - 28221293378.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Traverse_City_State_Hospital%2C_Traverse_City%2C_MI_-_28221293378.jpg
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