Things to Do in Fenton

Passionate staff members stroll through bell-shaped fairy doors at The Bead Gallery’s Ann Arbor location, which has housed a voluminous spread of crafting accessories in an idyllic Victorian abode for more than 20 years. Both here and at the store's Howell locale, sprawling aisles house an epic selection of Czech pressed glass beads, Swarovski crystals, and semiprecious gemstones, which customers can buy loose, by the strand, or in repurposed Skittles bags. Crafters can also sign up for classes that cycle through beadwork, metal and stone techniques, and methods for manipulating wire and glass. Along with their expert instruction, The Bead Gallery’s crackerjack staff can also flex their restringing skills to repair beaten-up baubles.

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.

One of three devoted dancers who founded Studio 3 Performing Arts Center, Megan Stanley told the Dexter Patch that she wanted a venue where "girls or guys of any skill level feel they can have a place to dance." Today, the center has broadened her dream by teaching visitors how to become a triple threat onstage. Lessons in music, dance, and theater place its students—some as young as two years—on the road to self-expression, while an atmosphere of fun and acceptance keeps them practicing.

The owners teach most of the classes themselves, building a community of students and parents that trust their expertise and attend regular recitals. This convivial spirit carries over to theater performances, where audience participation and Samuel Beckett's famous call-and-response cheers ensure everyone's involvement. Classes welcome all-comers to try their hand at intuitive cardio workouts and competitive choreography alike, the latter of which has led the studio's crew to a Best in Studio award at the 2012 JUMP dance convention.

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.

A passionate staff of potters and painters oversees brushstrokes at Piece of Mine, which boasts hundreds of paintable items, ranging from mugs to vases to piggy banks, for beginner and veteran maestros. Unlike the antiquated pottery studios of yesteryear, Piece of Mine has done away with the cumbersome slips, molds, and cleaning greenware that bog down the process, affording artists total focus on their work. Sponges and stamps supplement brushes, and nearby design books are full of great art ideas, such as painting a personal Mount Rushmore with your own face four times.