Yooper Plaid Fest And My Love/Hate Relationship With Plaid

Nobody is ever going to mistake me for a slave to fashion. Hoodie and Levi's during the winter months and comfortable t-shirt or golf shirt (collared shirt for work) and Levi's in the summer, and that's about it. And solid colors; I'm a fat guy, stripes, ugh, no.

But I have a fascination with plaid. Because the traditional tartan plaids from Scotland are very nice to look at; there's something very traditional about it. It's the stuff the British royals wear at those ceremonies that involve horses and such. And it's warm. I like warm, especially this week when temperatures are dipping into the single digits, and worse, at night. The Mackinac (Mackinaw) jacket, is plaid...and warm. And also has quite a Michigan history, dating back over two hundred years, to the Straits of Mackinaw and shipping, and again, warm.

Again, back to the fat guy thing. Plaids aren't slimming. Solids, and darks, those are slimming. Plaids and stripes. No.

Getting back to the present, there's scotch tape, and that little plaid tab when you start a new roll of it. And there's wrapping paper. This is where the love/hate comes in. Beautiful plaid wrapping paper is nice to look at as part of a collection of presents under your tree at Christmas, but here's where the cheapskate in me takes over and I realize what a waste of money wrapping paper is. In less than five seconds, it's off the box and then it's a game of paper wad basketball and then, it's over.

Which finally gets me to Yooper Plaid Fest. The organizers of Yooper Plaid Fest sure do get in the spirit of plaid.

As they say in a release, "Yoopers are a hardy lot and aren’t letting anything interrupt the tradition of “rad in plaid” during the deep cold of winter! So Michilimackinac Historical Society cordially invites you to get your plaid on with Yooper Plaid Fest Unmasked."

So, if you want to participate, here are the rules:

• Register and receive your MHS facemask (a collectible) and instructions.
• Take your mask on a trip to your favorite historical spot.
• Submit a video or photo of yourself with written explanation of why you love this bit of history.
• There will be voting and prizes! Winners will be announced at a virtual event on March 8.
• Check the Michilimackinac Historical Society Facebook page for other “unmaskings" .

Enter your number to get our free mobile app