Entries by editor

Manor on Glen Lake holds next Empire Emergency Fund concert

From staff reports The next Empire Area Community Emergency Fund Concert will be held next Sunday, May 31, from 4-6 p.m. at The Manor on Glen Lake. Featured performers are “The Older Than Dirt Boys Band” featuring Adair Correll, Patrick Niemisto, John Kumjian, Kurt Westie and Norm Wheeler who have come together for this event […]

,

A tale of two lives

Perhaps you were listening to Michigan Public Radio’s “Stateside” last winter, when an expert from Michigan State University (MSU) weighed in on the day’s topic — music education. That voice may have sounded familiar, especially to Empire residents. It belonged to Cynthia Taggart, Ph.D., who is world-renowned on the subject. Taggart also owns the Secret Garden gift shop, a place to find one-of-a-kind artisan items in Empire.

,

Glen Arbor a bikers’ paradise?

Within the next few weeks, the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail will officially open its third leg, which stretches roughly from the Crystal River dam (on County Road 675, 1.5 miles east of Glen Arbor) up to the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. That 3.4-mile stretch will make the popular Heritage Trail nearly 13 miles long.

Finding treasures in Leelanau’s antique and vintage shops

Antique and vintage shops are treasure troves for all, with many items quite affordable, says Julie Lattimore, owner of Maple City Trading Post, which opened for a brief time last summer and reopened this May. Not only do “old things” tell a story and take us back in time, but they are the ultimate in recycling.

,

Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail to Port Oneida opens today

The newest section of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT) from Fisher Road to Port Oneida Road opened today, Friday May 22 at 3 p.m., ahead of schedule and just in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The news came in the form of a press release from TART Trails outreach and program director Brian Beauchamp.

,

Marrying modern and rustic

Katy and Matt Wiesen’s M-22 Store has doubled in size. The clothing brand homage to the state highway already anchored downtown Glen Arbor if you crossed the Crystal River and entered from the northeast. Now the M-22 Store boasts a second floor and a sleek, galvanized steel and soft, barn wood exterior.

Art Association features photographer in resident

Travel photographer Eric Hatch talks about his artist’s residency with the Glen Arbor Art Association (GAAA) on May 28, 7:30 p.m. at the GAAA, 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor.

Empire Asparagus Festival 2015 recipe contest

Here are the winners from this year’s Empire Asparagus Festival recipe contest.

, ,

Timothy Young: locavore, social entrepreneur

Food For Thought has played a critical role in the local foods movement here in Northern Michigan. But when he started the business out of his house south of Empire in 1995, Timothy Young was one of just a handful of pioneers in this niche market. The demand for local foods has exploded over the last decade, and Young’s business has expanded to 10 full-time, year-round employees and a spattering of part-time and seasonal employees.

Tourism to Sleeping Bear creates over $181 million in economic benefits

A new National Park Service report shows that 1,395,400 visitors to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2014 spent $144.7 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 2,309 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $181.7 million.