From staff reports Ring in the New Year at the Empire Town Hall with a party that begins, Dec. 31, at 8:30 p.m. Get on your dancing shoes. Chris Skellenger, Doug Zernow and friends will perform live music. Bring an appetizer to share and Bring Your Own Beverage.
Who’s to blame for the 20-month delay in transferring the title of Sugar Loaf resort from former owner Kate Wickstrom back to “new” owner Remo Polselli? Wickstrom received a contract back in March 2013 to transfer the deed.
Come explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on snowshoes this winter. Join park rangers for a guided snowshoe hike this holiday season and every Saturday throughout the winter. The first hike of the season will be on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014 at 1 p.m. The snowshoe hikes will continue to be offered every Saturday at 1 p.m. through March 7, 2015. Meet at the National Lakeshore’s Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire. If you don’t have your own snowshoes, a pair will be loaned at no charge. Participants need only purchase the park entrance pass or have an annual pass to join in the fun.
The Glen Lake Library will host a presentation by Susanne Simpson, a senior series producer of PBS Masterpiece programs, on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at 4 p.m., at the Glen Arbor Township Hall. Susanne will provide behind-the-scenes insights about critically acclaimed programs such as Downton Abbey, Sherlock and Mr. Selfridge. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Susanne was a producer for NOVA for 20 years. She has twice been nominated for Academy Awards, and has received two Emmy Awards. Her presentation is made possible by the Friends of the Glen Lake Library.
The next Empire Area Community Emergency Fund Concert will be held on Sunday, Dec. 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Empire Town Hall. We are in for another treat with a special musical performance by E Minor and Libby Liberty. Mr. Empire Dave Taghon will also conduct a live auction and sell many unique and unusual items.
Wings of Wonder invites the public to its next raptor release scheduled for Sunday. Dec. 14 3 p.m. at the Grand Traverse Area Veterans Memorial Park. The Empire-based organization will release a beautiful young female Bald Eagle in honor of our area veterans of war. Several area nonprofit organizations have been invited to attend including A Matter of Honor, Veterans for Peace and Military Working Dog Team Support Association. The public is welcome to attend. Dress warmly, leave your dog at home and please don’t be late. For more information please contact Wings of Wonder at 231-326-4663.
Members of the Glen Lake Garden Club attached roping and bows onto the Carl Oleson, Jr. Memorial Bridge at the Glen Lake Narrows the weekend before Thanksgiving. The garden club has decorated the bridge at the Narrows each year, except during bridge construction, for over 15 years. The approximately 80 club members fund the project, make the bows, customize the roping, and hang the greens in time to welcome everyone to the Glen Lake area for Thanksgiving.
The next Empire Area Community Emergency Fund concert will be held on Sunday, Nov. 30 from 4-6 p.m. at Joe’s Friendly Tavern in Empire. This month’s performance will feature Peter Bergin — an exceptionally talented musician both energetic and dynamic, a true artist.
A special holiday tradition continues, Nov. 12 until Dec. 14, as the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library kick off their annual call for children’s books. The Friends of the Library, in cooperation with Glen Lake School’s “Parenting Communities and Early Head Start Program”, are once again collecting donations of new children’s books for children whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season.
When Randy met Mari, it was loathe at first sight. “She’d just moved back (to Northern Michigan) from California,” said Randy Chamberlain, who is today the chef-owner of the Glen Arbor restaurant Blu. But when Randy met Mari Patton, he was sous chef, the deputy head chef at Windows, an Elmwood Township restaurant. This was the 1980s, and Mari Patton had brought back with her all sorts of West Coastisms, including “purple highlights” in her “wavvy” hair. “So before there was any interaction or conversation, (I) immediately had an impression of her,” Randy said of Windows’ newly hired server. “It was something you’d sneer at.”