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Titanic at the Grand
The Gilded Age comes to life on Mackinac Island. BY H EATH E R STE I N B E RG E R
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he White Star Line’s Royal Mail Ship Titanic has captured imaginations since her keel was laid in March 1909 at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Northern Ireland. At the time of her maiden voyage in April 1912, she was the largest passenger steamer in the world—in fact, the largest moving object ever built—and she offered an unmatched level of luxury. Her celebrity became legend one calm, bitterly cold night in April 1912. Just four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, taking more than 1,500 people with her to the bottom of the North Atlantic. Thanks to Walter Lord’s 1955 nonfiction book “A Night to Remember” and James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster film “Titanic,” generations have remained entranced by this opulent ocean liner and the prewar Gilded Age society that walked her decks. But they haven’t been able to experience that vanished world first-hand. Until now. On May 13-15, the Grand Hotel will bring the Edwardian era and White Star Line shipboard life into throbbing color. During “Titanic at the Grand,” the hotel will transform itself into the ill-fated White Star Liner, and guests will
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take on the roles of those who were on board the ship when she sank nearly 100 years ago. The weekend will include accommodations; full breakfast and dinner daily; a Friday evening “Bon Voyage” party; “The Last Night on the Titanic,” an interactive dinner theater event that will incorporate the same 11-course meal served to first-class passengers on April 14, 1912; a period fashion show; seminars with Titanic experts; and other Edwardian-themed events. Costumes and reproductions of Titanic artifacts will be on display, and the hotel will host a special screening of James Cameron’s “Titanic.” For more information about the Grand Hotel, “Titanic at the Grand” and other special 2011 events and packages, call 800-33-GRAND, or visit grandhotel.com. HOTEL PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GRAND HOTEL