Greetings from a very busy Maker Faire campus this morning! Makers are on their way and will be setting up all day today in preparation for 2012 Maker Faire Detroit. Hopefully you’ll be joining us at some point this weekend, but if you’re not, you can join in on the fun online:

• Check back for periodical updates on our Facebook page throughout the weekend
• Our own Maker Faire Facebook page will also have a lot of live updates
• Tweet with participants using the #MakerFaireDetroit hashtag and follow our feed
• Follow @TheHenryFord on Instagram for a collection of fantastic on-the-scene photos

If you are joining us this weekend, make sure to download the official 2012 Maker Faire Detroit smart phone application, created by Compuware. It features an event map, schedule, and the ability to create your own itinerary as you go from exhibit to exhibit. Simply search for it in your preferred app store.

Whether you’re on The Henry Ford grounds or watching from afar, make sure to join in on all the fun this weekend by connecting with our social channels.

Look who’s rolling into town! (Well, the village actually.)

Thomas the Tank Engine is making his annual visit to Greenfield Village for three weekends, beginning April 28. And anyone who has ever spent a day out with that Really Useful Engine knows it’s a great way to make some wonderful family memories.

This scrapbook page was shared by Lisa Brown Graham who told that she treasured the memories when her boys were young and enjoyed their Day Out with Thomas.

Thomas will be rolling along the track at Greenfield Village April 28-29, and May 5-6 and 12-13.

Advance tickets are on sale and recommended – since the event often sells out.

Tickets are sold for timed rides that depart from the Smiths Creek Depot and take passengers for a trip around the village.

A ticket for a Day Out With Thomas includes the train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine and some other fun Thomas & Friends entertainment including music, storytelling and video viewing, temporary tattoos of Island of Sodor friends, and an imagination station with arts, crafts and more. Guests will also have the opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of the railway on the Island of Sodor.

You can purchase tickets online and through The Henry Ford call center at 313-982-6001. Tickets are required for guests ages one and up.

An admission ticket to the village is required along with Thomas ride tickets. There is no charge for village admission for members of The Henry Ford.

Here's another photo from one of our Facebook friends: Daniel Bender.

Tickets for a Day Out With Thomas for  members who are one year and older are $11.75 per person.

Non-member tickets – which include the price of admission to Greenfield Village are

• Seniors (62 and up) $33.75
• adults (13-61) $35.75
• youth (5-13) $29.25
• child (1-4) $11.75.
• infants under one year are free

When it comes to Halloween history, domestic life curator Jeanine Head Miller and creative programs senior manager Jim Johnson really know their stuff! Read on for lots of little-known facts about the origins of what has become one of America’s most popular holidays.

Immigrants who came to America brought their folk traditions and religious beliefs with them to the New World. Folk superstitions of the British Isles, particularly the Celts, converged with observances of the Catholic Church and traditional American harvest celebrations into a “witches brew” of traditions that created the American holiday of Halloween.

By the 1890s, Halloween was increasingly celebrated in America, as articles in magazines and newspapers helped popularize and spread Halloween traditions to a national audience. While the origins of Halloween were rooted in superstition and fortune telling, the holiday had become a night of mystery and innocent fun.

The first Halloween gatherings were designed as matchmaking parties for young people, with games to “predict” matrimonial futures and ample opportunity for innocent flirtation. By the 1910s, other adults and children had joined in the fun of Halloween parties and the practice of donning Halloween costumes gained popularity.

When postcards caught the public’s fancy during the early 1900s, people enjoyed sending colorful Halloween greetings to their family and friends. As the 20th century progressed, civic organizations increasingly promoted Halloween as an event for all. Many communities began to host public celebrations that included festivals, parties and costumed parades.

The Henry Ford is home to quite a collection of Halloween items, including several Dennison’s Bogie Books, on which we have based our Hallowe’en in Greenfield Village artwork over the past several years; these were essentially advertising catalogs for the Denison Paper Company, which exists now as Avery Dennison (the label and office products company).

The Denison Paper Company specialized in paper party goods, particularly crêpe paper, and their Bogie Books were developed as a vehicle to sell everything from Halloween costumes to decor.

The books were published from 1912-1926, except for 1918, when Halloween was essentially cancelled that year due to the severe and quite deadly flu pandemic – no one held parties or went trick-or-treating to avoid further spreading flu germs. Dennison’s Bogie Books began at a cost of five cents in 1912 and were priced at ten cents by 1926; the next year, they changed formats and eventually stopped selling Halloween-only guides by the 1930s.

We also recently added a set of 1920s-era Halloween decorations to our collections, which were made by the Beistle Company in Pennsylvania and include invitations, lampshades, placecards, candle holders, party picks, nut cups and fortunes that were given to partygoers.

Finally, you may have wondered: Why exactly do we spell Hallowe’en that way?

When the Christian church began to expand its influences, the focus of these old pagan rituals was re-associated with All Saints’ or Hallows’ Day. The night before this feast became known as All Hallows’ Even, which was eventually abbreviated to Hallowe’en – and this spelling was common well into the 1930s.

So, there you go! Now that you know the full history of Halloween, tell us: What is your favorite Halloween memory? Did you have a favorite costume growing up, or maybe a particularly fun (or spooky!) trick-or-treating experience? Tell us all about it in the comments box below!