Things to do in Troy this weekend: a pretzel-baking class, the first blacksmithing session and a fall colors hike

TROY, Mich. — Troy’s weekend leans hands-on: a pretzel-baking class in a clay oven, the first session of a six-week blacksmithing course and a guided walk through the fall leaves.

Troy Historic Village, 60 W. Wattles Road at Livernois, holds a historic bread-making class on pretzels from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. Professional baker and culinary arts teacher Jeff Pavlik leads it, and students learn early American techniques using the village’s outdoor clay oven, built as an Eagle Scout project in 2025. The class is for ages 16 and up and costs $48, or $40 for Troy Historical Society members.

The same morning, resident metalsmith Rose Naimo Weiss starts Basic Blacksmithing Level 1, which meets Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through Nov. 21. Students learn 12 hand-forging techniques on a coal forge and make a trowel. The course costs $360, or $310 for members, and the village says students must attend all six sessions.

Both classes require registration on the village website.

At Stage Nature Center, the Troy Nature Society’s Nature Explorers: Fall Colors program runs 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Families hike the trails, talk about why leaves change and how plants get ready for winter, and make a leaf rubbing. It is open to all ages but best for 5 and up; adults must register and stay with their children. The fee is $10, or $8 for members.

Earlier Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon, a mindfulness workshop for ages 14 and up meets outdoors, weather permitting. It is free for members and $15 for others. On Friday, Oct. 16, the Knee-high Naturalists session on squirrels runs 10 to 11:30 a.m. for children 2 to 4 with an adult, for $15, or $12 for members.

Scarecrow Row lines Wattles and Livernois through October. The scarecrows stand outside the village fence, so they can be seen from the sidewalk.

Next weekend, the nature society’s Jack-O-Lanterns Among the Trees lights the trails Saturday, Oct. 24, in sessions from 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $18 for nonmember teens and adults, $16 for members and $8 for children 4 to 12; children under 4 are free. Pumpkin carving sessions the evening before cost $15 per pumpkin. The historic village closes to the public Friday, Oct. 23, to set up its Trick-or-Treat: Under the Sea event that evening and Saturday morning.

Sources:
Troy Historic Village, Programs & Classes, accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.troyhistoricvillage.org/programs/
Troy Historic Village, “Historic Bread Making Class,” accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.troyhistoricvillage.org/programs/historic-bread-making-class-fundraiser/
Troy Historic Village, “Basic Blacksmithing Level 1,” accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.troyhistoricvillage.org/programs/basic-blacksmithing-level-1/
Troy Nature Society, programs for all ages, accessed Oct. 15, 2026, https://troynaturesociety.org/programs-all-ages/
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture, “Troy Historic Village.jpg,” Oct. 17, 2021, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Troy_Historic_Village.jpg

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Tags: Troy · Michigan Travel · Things to Do · Troy Historic Village · Stage Nature Center · Fall