The 53rd annual Fort de Chartres Rendezvous takes place this Saturday and Sunday, June 3-4, at Fort de Chartres in Prairie du Rocher.

Events take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Rendezvous features shooting competitions, military drills, dancing, music, food, and traders of 18th century-style goods.

The boom of cannons, smell of campfires and a parade of colorful uniforms transport visitors back to the 1700s at the largest gathering of its kind anywhere in the Midwest.

There will be military unit re-enactors, traditional craft demonstrations, period music and dancing, black powder shooting events and cannon firings – all from the time when France controlled what is now Illinois.

Visitors can try their hand at throwing a tomahawk and watch swordsmen duel.

For more information, call 618-284-7230 or email info@ftdechartres.us.