For the second year in a row, Frank Siepker, Jr., launched a Christmas Tree Boat approximately 550 feet from the family property on the south shore of Big Glen Lake, near the Narrows. The Douglas Fir tree sits on a raft which is held in place by an anchor. Siepker uses a solar battery and timer to light the tree every evening between 5:30 and 10:30 p.m.
Leelanau County construction code authority Steve Haugen has notified Remo Polselli — and other potential stakeholders in Sugar Loaf — this week that action must be taken on the long shuttered ski resort’s decrepit lodge within 20 business days, or Haugen will take the case to the 13th Circuit Court. Polselli now has until early January, 2016, to inform the construction code of his plan for Sugar Loaf.
Thanksgiving Weekend in the Glen Lake area provides holiday community events full of fun, shopping and recreation for the whole family. Make the trip and visit the naturally beautiful Glen Arbor. Tree Lighting and Christmas caroling will get you in the spirit and give you something wintry to do the last weekend of November. A great opportunity to buy from your local artisans, shop for yourself and shop for the holidays.
Retirement is an interpretive experience. For one guy it might mean a pastured life. For another, there’s the Tom Van Zoeren School of Retirement: Not! A former ranger with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBDNL), Van Zoeren’s post-professional life is a blueprint of engaged, purposeful work.
A special holiday tradition is underway, as the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library kick off their 17th annual call for children’s books.The Friends of the Library, in cooperation with Glen Lake School’s Parenting Communities and Early Head Start Programs, are once again collecting donations of new children’s books for children whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore reported in a press release today that it will officially reopen portions of the Alligator Hill Trail on Thursday, Nov. 19. The trail has been impassable since a severe storm blew down thousands of trees on Aug. 2. National Park Service crews and National Lakeshore volunteers have completed work on the Easy Loop, Advanced Loop, Islands Lookout, and Big Glen Lookout. More than 2,800 trees have been cleared on six miles of trail. Clearing of approximately 1,000 more trees from the two-mile Intermediate Loop and trail access from Forest Haven Drive will take place in the spring of 2016.
A week after the storm Shira Klein, a seasonal resident, approached Peg McCarty, director of the Glen Arbor Art Association (GAAA), and planted the seed for an exhibition, a show of art predicated on the hopeful belief that there was beauty to be found in the storm’s destruction. That seed-of-an-idea grew into New Views: A Storm of Art, which will be held next June 10-23 at the GAAA, on 6031 S. Lake St. in Glen Arbor. For artists wishing to exhibit their work, a prospectus describing this juried exhibition is now online at GlenArborArt.org.
After careful consideration, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore increase entrance and camping fees beginning January 1, 2016 in order to fund important maintenance and visitor service projects within the park and comply with a nationwide review of national park entrance fees.
Have you had the Glen Lake Fire Department come to your home for your free safety inspection? The program is new. Its purpose is to advise residents and point out potential fire and safety hazards. Plus, the department will not cite you for infractions.
Sometime within the next few months, Cedar Rustic Inn will officially adopt the name Big Cat Brewing Company, as owners Aaron and Nikki Ackley transition their cozy, popular restaurant just north of Cedar into a brewpub. The metamorphosis has been five years in the making, as chef Aaron became more interested in microbrews and decided he wanted to broaden the restaurant’s appeal to also include the millennials and young professionals who have grown more visible in the Traverse City region.