Burdickville resident Jim Lively, a program director with the Traverse City-based Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities (formerly the Michigan Land Use Institute) is a key player in the Oil & Water Don’t Mix campaign, which calls on the state to shut down two aging oil pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore officials and volunteers honored Leonard Thoreson at this year’s Port Oneida Fair by giving the nearly-90-year-old a ride in the tractor he had donated to the Park three years ago (it was not in running condition then). Volunteers and staff sang an early “Happy Birthday” to Thoreson, who celebrates his actual birthday this November. Thoreson, a descendant of settlers at Port Oneida’s Thoreson Farm, was the longtime custodian of the Glen Arbor Township Hall and retired in 2013.
The National Park Service (NPS) invites visitors of all ages to join in the celebration of its 100th birthday. With special events across the country, and free admission to all 412 national parks from Aug. 25 to Aug. 28, the NPS is encouraging everyone to #FindYourPark/ #EncuentraTuParque for the Centennial. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has a full day of events from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Founder’s Day, Aug. 25.
Some highlights this summer from #glenarbor on social media
On Monday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m., Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host a free InstaMeet event to celebrate the National Park Service Centennial. An InstaMeet is an interactive, in-park event, allowing visitors to meet up, take photos, and get to know each other. Once the visitors meet, they will accompany a park ranger on a nature hike.
The 18 x 34 foot Ugly Tomato market and gift shop on the corner of M-22 and Lake Street seems almost lost in the madness of downtown Glen Arbor. Most summer afternoons it sits idle, both doors open, welcoming the summer breeze. But the place is anything but calm. The miniscule shop withstands frequent and intense rushes of customers. The rising sun brings a surge of people, eager to get their hands on still-warm pastries and confections. Afternoons attract a steady trickle of both locals, who rely on the shop for produce, and tourists who are often surprised to find such a concentration of local goods in one store. From the chipmunk named Alvin, who demands chopped pecans by the handful, to the witty t-shirts and signs, the Ugly Tomato might be small but it oozes character. It is this sort of quirkiness that draws in curious first-timers and seasoned locals over and over again.
On Friday Aug. 19, ShareCare is sponsoring a Tour of 6 Unique Homes of Leelanau. Six sites are being opened to public viewing from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person and are available at stores throughout the area. These include Pedaling Beans in Lake Leelanau, the Business Helper in Suttons Bay, the Cottage Book Store in Glen Arbor, Pennington Collection in Northport, Wool & Honey in Cedar, Tamarack Gallery in Omena, Leelanau Books in Leland, and Brilliant Books, Darling Botanical and Silver Swan Homemade Foods in Traverse City. Tickets will also be for sale at the homes on the day of the tour.
“I’m up in Glen Arbor; it doesn’t get any better than that,” says the rich, energetic baritone voice of Tim Sutherland. “Be happy. Be kind. Be safe. Leave a message after the beep.” Anyone who has spent significant time in Glen Arbor recognizes this as quintessential “Sudsy”.
In celebration of the National Park Service’s (NPS) 100th anniversary, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is proud to announce the NPS Centennial Band will perform six shows here in Northern Michigan on their “Find Your Park” tour. On August 18, 19, and 20, the band will play two shows per day, at a variety of venues. The Centennial Band is made up of rangers from New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, and children’s musician, park ranger Jeff Wolin. The NPS has been called America’s Greatest Idea, and to help celebrate 100 years of providing art-inspiring places all over America, the Centennial Band will bring a little bit of the Big Easy here to the Great Lakes State. National Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker is enthusiastic about attending the shows himself, saying “My family and I are very excited for the chance to see these outstanding musicians play the music of America!”
Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trails (TART), Inc. is a proud partner of the fifth annual Dune Dash, a 4-mile run/walk along the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT), to be held at 9 a.m. this Saturday, August 20, at the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb. The course showcases the trail within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.