Entries by editor

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Bee Well in Cedar buzzes with excitement

When the building across the street from the Cedar yarn shop Wool & Honey had a vacancy, its landlord approached the owner. Liz Neddo immediately was intrigued: It would be a great place for her excess inventory. “I’d always been interested in that space for storage,” she says. Then she had another idea, one born in part from personal experience. Two and a half years ago, her daughter Cecily was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 7. The subsequent surgery and follow-up treatment took up time, money, energy and joy. Cecily was able to recapture some of the lattermost when playing with other kids at Detroit’s Gilda’s Club, the nation-wide organization for those battling cancer and their families. So as she looked around the space, Neddo reflected on the family’s journey and Cecily’s ongoing recovery. “I went in and the wheels started turning,” she says. Instead of just using it for storage, she decided to transform it into a space where children could enjoy toys, games and one another, a place that was worry-free for parents. “In Leelanau, we have art, food, etc., but we don’t have places for locals where kids and parents can relax,” says Neddo.

Northport Arts Association hosts “Harbor of Creativity”

The Northport Arts Association is thrilled to invite six exceptional northwest Michigan artists, whose talents reflect the vibrant and diverse spirit of the arts, to participate in its inaugural invitational art exhibition. Welcome Martha Elchert, Debra Howard, Logan Hudson, Charles Passerelli, Barbara Reich and Adam VanHouten. The Arts Association is honored to showcase their work in their first invitational art exhibit. Harbor of Creativity’s opening reception takes place Sept. 19, from 5-8 pm.

Jazz, funk, pop, soul conclude Homestead’s Music on the Mountain

The last of the season’s outdoor music shows are upon us. Music on the Mountain at The Homestead concludes its season with East Bay Drive and special guest Miriam Pico on Sept. 18, while Leelanau Uncaged in Northport takes place Sept. 27. East Bay Drive is a quintet of music veterans from the Traverse City area who bring together varying interests in soul, jazz and funk. Think the Rippingtons, the Crusaders, Fourplay and others of that ilk. The core quartet of David Chown (keyboards), Rick Kiehle (guitar), John Paul (bass) and Alex Wyant (drums) has been joined by new official member Ryan Critchfield (saxophone), formerly a regular guest.

Bay Theatre announces Live at the Bay fall 2025 series

The Bay Community Theatre in Suttons Bay kicks off its Fall 2025 live series on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 7 pm with a special solo evening with May Erlewine. One of the Midwest’s most prolific and passionate songwriters, Erlewine has a gift for writing songs of substance that feel both fresh and soulfully familiar. Her ability to emotionally engage with an audience has earned her a dedicated following far beyond her Michigan roots, touching people all over the world.

Glen Arbor Arts Center’s “Whose Story” exhibition offers a reckoning

HIStory/HERstory: Whose Story? The Glen Arbor Arts Center poses this question in one of its most profound and timely exhibitions to date. Whose Story? is not simply an art show. It is a reckoning. The exhibition invites artists to examine who exactly shapes the narrative—to explore identity, legacy, and power. At its crux lies the question: who determines which stories are immortalized and which are relegated as derivative.

Glen Arbor Arts Center hosts artists in residence

Ohio artist Nicholas Hill brings the 19th century to his Glen Arbor Arts Center residency in September. Hill, a resident of Granville, Ohio, has developed a practice around the combining of intaglio printmaking and cyanotype photography, a plein air approach to camera-less photography. Hill will talk about the resulting collages he’ll make while in Northern Michigan at a presentation on Sept. 18, at 10 am. The program takes place at the GAAC and is open to the public at no charge.

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Tariffs and boycotts and supply shortages, oh my!

The Trump administration’s federal policies and steep tariffs are adversely impacting Leelanau companies that sell chocolate, coffee, fruit and wine. “Never in my 23 years as a small business owner have I felt obstructed by our national government in my ability to operate, manage, and grow my business as I do now under President Trump,” said Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate co-owner Jody Hayden. “Like many small businesses, we’re feeling the effects of a very uncertain and volatile global economy.” On its most recent shipment of bulk chocolate, valued at $171,500, the small business based in Empire paid a tariff of $24,725 after Trump raised duties on Ecuadorian products to 15 percent on July 31.

Glen Arbor Players present The Half-Life of Marie Curie

The Glen Arbor Players will stage their third production of the 2025 season with a play brimming with wit, wisdom and passion: The Half-Life of Marie Curie. The play was written by Lauren Gunderson and is directed by Bob Boles. The play will be performed at The Leelanau School on two weekends: September 12-13 at 7:30 pm and 2 pm on Sunday, Sept. 14, as well as on Sept. 19 and 20 at 7:30 pm. Jean Jenkins and Janet Stipicevich will portray Ms. Curie and Ms. Ayrton, respectively.  

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Dave’s Garage owners, Olvey family ready to race or repair

Cars have been a passion for Craig Olvey for as long as he can remember. The owner of Dave’s Garage in Empire can’t exactly say when his love affair with automobiles began, but it was early on. “Growing up, I always had a fascination with cars,” he  says. “I lived down the street in Cincinnati from a Porsche dealer. I grew up working at a carwash.” And it appears he’s passed his passion on to his sons. Craig and his older son Caden will be participating in the Empire Hill Climb Sept. 13.

Celebrating songs of Leelanau: Chris Skellenger’s “Old Yellow Dog”

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Skellenger, who has played nearly every music venue and hot mic in the County, wrote “Old Yellow Dog” about 30 years ago as an homage to small towns. The song was “inspired by trips I took from college back in the late ’70s, where—to a city kid—Leelanau looked like a place out of a Field & Stream magazine in a barber shop,” said Skellenger. “It was remote and wild. I expected to see a moose! “The roads and beaches were pretty much empty. If you’re too young to have experienced the old Leelanau, you missed something special.” This is part of our ongoing series featuring songs inspired by Leelanau and the Sleeping Bear Dunes.