'Dino & Dragon Stroll' animatronic dinosaur exhibit returns to Michigan: Where to see it in Oakland County
After touring the country, the "Dino & Dragon Stroll" experience is back in Michigan, where it started.
The traveling animatronic dinosaur exhibit is stopping in multiple Oakland County locations this month.
Established a year ago at Lake Orion's Canterbury Village, a historic farmsite with a collection of specialty shops and attractions, "Dino & Dragon Stroll" returns to the place where it was founded May 19-22 and May 28-29.
"Dino & Dragon Stroll" was also scheduled to make special visits to Dutton Farm in Rochester and Beaumont Children's Hospital in Royal Oak on Thursday to provide children and adults with disabilities a form of “Dino Therapy.”
The exhibit has had about 80 shows around the country since its inception, according to owner Keith Aldridge of Canterbury Village, who purchased the family-owned site from his parents with his wife Angie in 2020.
“We bought Canterbury Village before the pandemic," Aldridge said. "We had a lot of success with outdoor events and did the next best thing, and it happened to be dinosaurs. I had no idea it would turn into a 50-week dinosaur tour with two tours every weekend.”
In each "Dino & Dragon Stroll" tour city, the mission is to visit children and families to provide "Dino Therapy," with animatronic, life-like and life-sized dinosaurs making special visits to hospitals, schools and other community organizations.
During every stop, the "Dino & Dragon Stroll" teams up with a local food bank or pantry as part of its “Stomp Out Hunger” initiative with the goal of feeding one million families each year.
Guests are encouraged to bring food items and place them in the collection bins located at the front entrance of the stroll.
During the Lake Orion event, all collected food items will be donated to The Village Food Pantry, a food bank on the property of Canterbury Village that helps children and families in southeast Michigan facing hunger and food insecurity.
Canterbury Village this weekend and next will be transported to the Mesozoic Era with prehistoric dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The creatures have moving heads, necks, tails, wings, blinking eyes, mouths that open and close, breathing movements, synchronized sounds, roars and other details that make them look real and alive. Some dinosaurs and dragons are more than 28 feet tall and span more than 60 feet long.
All net proceeds from ticket sales on Thursday's opening night benefit Jay’s Juniors, a program that takes chronic or terminally ill children to Disney World.
Sensory-friendly sessions will be be offered at 8:30 a.m. May 21 and May 28 for those with sensory sensitivities. Sensory settings will be modified with sound and motion adjustments designed to be less stimulating and overwhelming.
In after dark sessions, guests can walk through a dark haze and experience dinosaurs that are illuminated to show their massive size and features. Lasers and lights will be showcased throughout the stroll along with realistic sights and sounds.
Dino & Dragon visits, May 19:
12:30-1:30 p.m. at Dutton Farm, 2290 Dutton, Rochester.
2:30-3:30 p.m. at Beaumont Children’s Hospital, 3601 W. 13 Mile, Royal Oak (entrance to the Medical Office Building connected to the north parking deck).
Canterbury Village, 2359 Joslyn Court, Lake Orion.
4-8 p.m. May 19-20
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 21-22 and May 28-29
8:30 a.m. May 21 and May 28 — sensory-friendly
9:15 p.m. May 21 — Dinos and Dragons after dark
Tickets: $26.99; children under 2 and military and veterans are free.
Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Dino & Dragon Stroll' back in Michigan with Oakland County stops
