SPRINGFIELD – The Fort de Chartres Rendezvous, a popular annual tradition in Randolph County, will take place June 1 and 2 at the Fort de Chartres State Historic Site.
Rendezvous hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 1, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 2. Highlights include a flintlock muzzleloader shooting competition; period food, drink, and entertainment; artisan and craft demonstrations; 18th century kids’ games; militia and military events; and more.
The Rendezvous is free and open to the public. Special event parking is available for $5 per car. Donations are welcome. The site is at 1350 Illinois 155, about four miles west of Prairie du Rocher.
The Fort de Chartres State Historic Site marks the location of the last of three successive forts named “de Chartres” built by the French during their 18th century colonial occupation of what today is Illinois. The third fort, erected in the 1750s, served as the French seat of government and its chief military installation in the Illinois Country. The historic site features an imaginative reconstruction of portions of the third fort and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The Rendezvous is hosted by Les Coureurs des Bois de Fort de Chartres and sponsored by Les Amis du Fort de Chartres and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which manages the historic site.
For more information about the Rendezvous, call 888-699-FORT or email lesamisdufortdechartres@gmail.com. For site information, call 618-284-7230.