Things to Do in Fenton

With more than 13 years of experience in the party-planning industry, Valley Tent Rental supplies event coordinators with affordable amusements ranging from portable putt-putt greens to dunk tanks. To accommodate indoor play time, Valley Tent Rental created the Bounce Warehouse, a facility brimming with ping-pong tables, arcade games, and inflatable castles where kids can play without weather getting in the way. In addition to party-planning items, Valley Tent Rental enlivens events with DJ services and guest appearances by its Spiderman or Tom Brokaw impersonators.

Saginaw Art Museum gathers both contemporary and classic art in a brick-clad Gregorian Revival mansion that itself is a historical treasure. Originally designed in 1903 by Charles Adams Platt as the Ring family home, the building’s exquisite interior includes dark butternut wood paneling and decorative moldings. Filling the rooms is the museum’s permanent collection of paintings, prints, textiles, and sculptures from American, European, and Asian artists; African artifacts and masks; Native American art; and American and Mexican folk art. A library complements the art collection with more than 1,200 books and periodicals discussing art, as well as Leonardo da Vinci's handmade comic book depicting him as a superhero.

A roster of ever-changing current exhibitions includes showcases of forged metal sculptures, contemporary nature paintings, and the recurring Art in the Heart of the City's ART 4 ALL Exhibitions, which showcase works by local Michigan artists. Visitors peruse temporary exhibits in the exhibition wing gallery, an ultramodern glass-covered hall, or teach flowering plants how to spell “Matisse” in a formal outdoors garden.

To continue arts education outside the gallery, staffers organize themed art history and technique classes for all ages, as well as docent-led tours. They also helm the interactive Visionarea, a gallery space where children delve into art-making, science experiments, and the works of famous artists.

Nestled within a two-story brick house-turned-knitting shop, Charlene Hatfield helps fabricteers weave their marks with an assortment of classes and needlework supplies. An instructor certified by the Yarn Council of America, she offers tips and techniques on the craft and leads classes on topics that include crocheting, cross-stitching, and knitting. She stocks her shop with an extensive selection of fibers to ensure customers won't have to search the ends of the earth for a particular style of thread or surreptitiously unravel the socks of strangers on the bus.