Visit the Empire Artisan Marketplace on Saturday, Nov. 26, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. where you’ll find truly unique, quality, handcrafted items—created and sold by local items. The marketplace will feature a great array of items to help kick-start your holiday shopping.
For 43% of Leelanau County’s 22,000 residents, Thanksgiving does not necessarily feel like a time of abundance and cheer. It is like most other days of the year when the stress of food insecurity is a nagging reality. Bill and Michelle White, residents of Leland and founders of 5Loaves2FishNMI, would like people to know is that it is okay to ask for help. According to Bill, “There is a stigma behind being food insecure, and pride stops people from asking.” 5L2F is an outreach group that promotes social justice by providing nourishing meals, infused with love, to those experiencing food insecurity and homelessness. The Whites founded the nonprofit to serve people in need around Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties.
Sarah Mills has been selected to lead the Old Art Building (OAB) as its next Executive Director. Mills has worked for the OAB since 2020 and began volunteering there in 2015. She currently serves as the Program Director.
The annual Glen Arbor Holiday Marketplace returns on Thanksgiving weekend with the “preview party” on Friday, Nov. 25, from 6:30-8 p.m. and the Holiday Market on Saturday, Nov. 26, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The market is known for showcasing a variety of quality, artisan-made goods. It is a popular annual event for year-round and seasonal residents, tourists, and vendors. The Holiday Marketplace nearly went on hiatus this year, but local resident and business owner Dotti Thompson stepped forward to take over as event coordinator.
A special holiday tradition continues on Nov. 19 with an annual call for children’s books. The Friends of the Glen Lake Library are once again collecting donations of new children’s books for children whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season. Any family can find themselves in hard times and the goal is to make sure the children still have some holiday joy in the form of a special book.
Editor/publisher of the Glen Arbor Sun, Jacob Wheeler has written a new book titled “Angel of the Garbage Dump: How Hanley Denning Changed the World, One Child at a Time” (Mission Point Press), which recounts how a young woman from Maine launched a school in the hovels of the Guatemala City garbage dump and helped pull thousands of children out of the teeming filth of one of the largest urban landfills in the Americas. Join Wheeler for any of the following upcoming readings in Leelanau County: Suttons Bay Library (with Bay Books), Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 6 pm; Glen Arbor Arts Center (with fellow author Anne-Marie Oomen) Saturday, Nov. 26, at 11 am, and Glen Lake Library in Empire (with Cottage Book Shop), Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 7 pm.
After a successful first year, the Strolling Lights Festival at Crystal River Outfitters Recreational District in Glen Arbor returns for a second year. This event is a combination of holiday festiveness with the added bonus of supporting local youth and families. Twenty-two pre-lit trees will be placed around The District by November 12. Sponsoring groups and families must provide the decorations and have until November 26 to decorate it. After that, trees will be on display for the public to admire through the new year.
Willowbrook Mill in Northport will host a Beaujolais Nouveau Day Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 17, from 6-9 p.m. The five-course French meal includes wine pairings created by guest chef Guillaume Hazael-Massieux of La Becasse restaurant. Limited seating is available, and going fast. Tickets cost $129 per person and are available online at MyNorthTickets.com.
Leelanau County leaned blue in yesterday’s midterm election—as the red wave that Republicans hoped for nationwide never materialized. By the slimmest of margins, Democrats will keep a 4-3 majority on the County Board of Commissioners. Leelanau also backed Betsy Coffia for State House, Gretchen Whitmer for Governor, Dana Nessel for Attorney General, Jocelyn Benson for Secretary of State and all three ballot proposals, including enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution.
From staff reports It is with profound sadness that Cherry Republic announces the sudden passing of longtime employee and treasured friend Kathy Baarstad, who died on November 6 after a brief illness. Anyone who visited Cherry Republic’s Glen Arbor campus over the past 12 years no doubt encountered Kathy’s dazzling smile and friendly welcome. As […]