Entries by editor

The Open-Air Resort of D.H. Day Campground

“We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home, in towns and cities” wrote Civil War veteran and expert outdoorsman George Washington Sears. Before my family purchased cherry orchard property, we were campers, and, I’ll be honest, not exactly roughing it campers. Heading to D.H. Day Campground several times each summer, our cars were overloaded, not with children, but with stuff. The children were mixed in between the crevices and cracks of the stuff, writes Rebecca Carlson in this sixth story in our series on the history of Leelanau County resorts and getaways.

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‘Not Accepted: An Historical Look At Art Exhibition Rejection’

Rejection from juried exhibitions is baked into the cake for artists who want to show their work. “Not Accepted: A Conversation About Rejection,” a slide lecture, delves into the topic. The lecture takes place at the Glen Arbor Arts Center on September 7, 11 am. Tickets are $5 for GAAC members, $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required.

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Annual Clothing Swap benefits Justice and Peace Advocacy Center

Save your little-used and well-cared-for women’s clothing that clutters your closet and bring it to donate. Come pick up a few additions to your wardrobe. Share a fun time with other “shoppers”. The annual clothing swap at Old Settlers Park in Burdickville on Sunday, Sept. 7, from 2-4 pm benefits the Justice and Peace Advocacy Center (JPAC), which works to support the immigrant, migrant and seasonal worker community of northern Michigan.

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Brandon Chamberlain heralds a new generation at Blu

The Chamberlains knew change was in the air. After owning and operating the fine dining restaurant Blu on the shore of Lake Michigan in Glen Arbor for 16 years, Randy and Mari Chamberlain decided the time was right, and last spring they turned the business over to son Brandon. He was ready, though a bit surprised at the timing. “I thought they were going to be here longer,” Brandon says. A 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry, he had worked his way up from busing tables at age 16 to now taking over the flagship restaurant Randy and Mari had made into a local institution.

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Good Harbor Grill featured on “America’s Best Restaurants”

The Glen Arbor restaurant Good Harbor Grill hosted a visit from America’s Best Restaurants on Aug. 18. America’s Best Restaurants is a national media and marketing company focusing on bringing attention to local, independently owned restaurants. The network highlighted popular dishes and conducted on-camera interviews with co-owners Cos Burrows and Cady Hall about the restaurant’s special place in the community. The episode will run on Facebook and YouTube sometime in October.

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Moar Than Us on the Water

Julie Bennett, who has Glen Arbor roots, plans to row 2,800 miles across Pacific Ocean. “We know it takes a whole community of people to get us on the water,” said Bennett, as she prepares to take on the World’s Toughest Row next summer—a 2,800 mile trek over 50 days across the mid-Pacific Ocean from Monterey, Calif., to Kauai, Hawaii. Bennett will become the first woman in Michigan to make this Pacific Ocean journey where she will bring along her crewmates. She is proud to represent Leelanau County, her Christian school in Grand Rapids, and the greater rowing community.

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Painting the positive

Debra Graetz used the cover story on Cindi John from our July 31 edition in her plein-air painting last month. She artfully painted over the text about the Walmart stabbing, and left untouched the narrative about John’s role as a local tribal fisherwoman.

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Honoring the workers who powered us through the summer

Many local Leelanau County businesses rely, in part, on J-1 international student workers to shoulder the load through the busy summer tourism season. Each Labor Day weekend, we honor and thank those workers. Meet a few of them here—from Anderson’s Market, Art’s Tavern, Grocers Daughter Chocolate, Blu, Crystal River Outfitters and La Becasse.

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Reflecting on a Mighty Mac Swim

I’d been in the water for five hours before I began to hallucinate. It was subtle at first. Kind of like at Thanksgiving dinner when you eat too much, sit on the couch and start to go into that dream state where you can kind-of still hear everyone’s voices around you, but you’re also probably drooling. It was Labor Day, and while 40,000 people walked across the Mackinaw Bridge, 80 of us were swimming underneath it, writes Matt Soderquist, who shared this story at the Leelanau Clean Water and Here:Say storytelling event “Bubbling Up” on Aug. 4 at the Lively NeighborFood Market.

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Glen Arbor Arts Center launches creative wellness month in September

The Glen Arbor Arts Center is proud to introduce Creative Wellness Month, a new, expanded initiative launching this September. A month-long series of art, movement, mindfulness, and community programs designed to support well-being and inspire reflection, renewal, and creative exploration. Building on their former Creative Wellness Retreat, this reimagined, month-long series invites participants to slow down, reflect, and reconnect through visual arts, writing, movement, meditation, and nature-based practices. Program offerings will take place at both the Glen Arbor Arts Center and the GAAC Ceramics Studio at historic Thoreson Farm, part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

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