Entries by editor

Crystal River Outfitters hosts Glen Arbor Easter egg hunt

The Crystal River Outfitters Recreational District in Glen Arbor is hosting its first Districtwide Easter Egg Hunt. The festivities will take place on Saturday, April 16. The afternoon will be full of Easter activities and family fun. The event will kick off at 3 pm with face painting and crafts. At 4 pm, the Easter Egg Hunt will begin with an opportunity to meet the Easter Bunny. Afterwards, families may enjoy spring drinks (think wine cocktails and mocktails for the kids) and Peep ‘smores on the M22 Wine Patio.

/by
,

Oldest hotel in National Park, Sleeping Bear Inn gets new lease on life

On a blustery, cold April 8, with approximately 400 bundled, enthusiastic citizens as witnesses, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker handed the keys of the Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage to Maggie Kato, executive director of the nonprofit Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation, which now has a 40-year lease to rehab the historic Glen Haven inn and re-open it as a bed and breakfast as soon as Spring 2023. Once resurrected, the Sleeping Bear Inn will be the oldest hotel in the National Park System where one can spend the night—even older than Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park, which was established in 1872.

/by
,

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore announces new park film premiere venues

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has announced the world premiere viewing details of Water, Sand, and Sky, their new park film. The film will be premiered during National Park Week, April 16-24, at 10 northern Michigan venues with 13 showings in a public campaign called “Sleeping Bear Everywhere.” Venue and event details are listed below, and available on the National Lakeshore’s website at Water, Sand, and Sky Film Premiere (U.S. National Park Service).

/by
,

The New Gold: Sand from Sleeping Bear Dunes a Hot Commodity on Global Markets

Golden, mineral-rich grains of sand from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are commanding top dollar on a growing international market that has attracted the lust and the pocketbooks of mining tycoons and marketeers, Saudi royals and French models.

/by
,

National Park leases Sleeping Bear Inn to nonprofit group Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has officially issued a 40-year lease to Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) for the historic Sleeping Bear Inn and Garage in Glen Haven. The lease allows the Inn to be rehabilitated and opened as a premier bed and breakfast lodge. A public open house of the buildings will take place on Friday, April 8, at 1 p.m., following a short ceremony. The open house will provide the public the opportunity to see the buildings as they are before their rehabilitation.

/by

Maritime Heritage Alliance’s Mackinaw boats maintain legacy

A love of the significantly rich maritime history bestowed upon the Great Lakes region, and of traditional sailing boats working on these lakes, was—and still is—the very foundation of the Maritime Heritage Alliance (MHA). Since the early 1980s, its mission, to Preserve, Interpret, and Share the Maritime History of the Great Lakes, is ever at its forefront. A dedicated and growing core of volunteers have been avidly working on projects ever since.

/by
,

Michigan’s oldest art center celebrates centennial

A cultural hub of the Leelanau community since its establishment in 1922, the Old Art Building (OAB) in Leland celebrates its Centennial birthday through 2022 with an ambitious lineup of events including four stage productions, 10 art exhibits, 15 musical performances, a varied selection of classes for children and adults, and other special events. This doesn’t account for the numerous private celebrations and gatherings that also take place there.

/by
,

Sleeping Bear Gateways Council seeks hosts for seasonal employee housing exchange

For college students and others seeking summer employment in Benzie and Leelanau counties, getting a job is often the easy part. The hard part comes in finding a place to live. “It’s a significant barrier to anyone who’s not local,” said Isabella Beshouri, a University of Michigan student who spent a month in 2021 finding a summer rental after being hired as an intern at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. That barrier is being lowered in 2022 and beyond through an innovative “seasonal employee housing exchange” sponsored by the Sleeping Bear Gateways Council (SBGC) and funded through grants from local foundations and the federal government.

/by

Glen Arbor Sun wins 12 awards in Michigan Press Association’s “Better Newspaper Contest”

The Glen Arbor Sun won 12 awards in the Michigan Press Association’s 2021 Better Newspaper Contest in the class of Michigan News Media (which does not include daily print newspapers). Submitted stories were published between August 1, 2020, and July 31, 2021.

/by
,

BARC hopes to build workforce housing with recycled materials

From the outside, it may seem surprising that a recycling company would be interested in building homes. But for Andy Gale, President of Bay Area Recycling for Charities (BARC) in Traverse City, the move makes complete sense. Not only is it an opportunity for their organization to step up the “reuse” portion of the “3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” but it also enables Gale to return to his roots in construction. And, perhaps most notably, it could offer access to more affordable housing that northern Michigan desperately needs.

/by