Valerie Reviews the Michigan Nordic Fire Festival 2025

“Be a weekend Viking,” they said, and so my Bearded Companion and I set off for an

adventure, six hours from home and more than a thousand years into the past.

If you follow in our footsteps to this annual, late-winter event, please dress warmly.

Bring a backpack and throw in some extra layers, your warmest ski gloves, an extra hat.

You’ll keep getting colder as time goes on and you’ll end up piling everything on.

Wear whatever makes you happy, I always advise. But if you have some glorious Viking

cosplay costume items, this is your time to shine! And if you don’t, you’ll fit into the

landscape perfectly by choosing colors that could be achieved with natural dye or the

shades sported by woodland creatures. I wore a long skirt (over thermal leggings!) and

my Bearded Companion sported his authentic beard as the ideal fashion accessory for

the occasion, both warm and stylish.

Possibly my favorite thing of all at this Festival was an activity not on any official list of

events. It’s known as Staring at the Other Guests. The costumes you’ll observe will be

as fabulous as anything you’ve conjured while reading A Song of Fire & Ice or The Lord

of the Rings. Luxurious furs, armor, bottles of wizardly potions dangling from leather

belts, painted wooden shields, weapons, complex braids woven with feathers and

bones.

Most of the shops are under tents, which is a wonderful escape from both the wind and

our world. You’ll be in awe at the pottery, weaving, leatherwork, wood carving, swords,

cloaks, and my personal favorite: furs.

In the fur booths, I took my gloves off for the first time in hours and petted nearly every

animal that lives in the continental US. Did you know that a possum is incredibly soft?

And that an otter feels much colder to pet than a lynx?

You’ll experience many moments of being transported back in time, as I did, watching

dancers on the Dragon Stage through the haze of a luxurious campfire. Was this

authentic Viking dancing? I did not care; I was in an ancient storybook world and loving

every minute.

Some people cared quite a bit about what was authentic, and these fine historians and

their educational displays could be found in the Viking Village. You’ll notice they aren’t

wearing glamorous furs or terrifying face paint. Instead, simple wool garments protect

them from the wind as they work to keep their fires lit, cook meals, carve tools and

prevent their fishing nets from blowing away.

While admiring all these historical activities, I became greatly intrigued by an activity

that many women were teaching each other. It wasn’t knitting. It wasn’t crocheting. They

were each wrapping wool around their thumb and manipulating it with a bone needle. It

was an ancient craft known as nalbinding, and I’m slightly obsessed with trying to learn

it.

You will also, I doubt not, go home slightly obsessed with some ancient craft and feel

the need to become a champion at the board game, hnefatafl, or an expert in Nordic

runes.

When you get unendurably cold, brace yourself to stand in line in the icy wind by the

food trucks. If you’ve any kind of luck at all, Fire & Rice will have their tent set up,

making paella in enormous pans over fire and Daenerys herself will serve you. Hustle

your treat over to the Mead Hall where you can enjoy good company, fantastic live

music and world-class mead.

If we’re lucky, we’ll see each other next year to shout, “Skal!” together at the Viking Ship

Burning.