Empire celebrates its annual Anchor Day festival on July 18-19 to commemorate the raising of an anchor found 37 years ago in 18 feet of water off the Lake Michigan shore. The celebration kicks off Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Township Hall with the Empire Museum showing of two films.
SEEDS Youth Corps program will hold a dedication at Old Settlers’ Park on Big Glen Lake on July 16 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. to celebrate and bless the observation deck constructed by the SEEDS Youth Corps crew to overlook the endangered monkey flower, which is currently in bloom. The wood used to construct the deck is made from black locust (an invasive species)—milled and harvested less than 20 miles to the site. This project was made possible through the generosity of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Jody Marquis, Michael & Lori Lyman and Steve & Kathy McShane.
The Glen Lake Women’s Club holds its 43rd annual Art Fair on Wednesday, July 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Glen Arbor Town Hall. This event hosts close to 100 artisans carefully chosen to represent most areas of the art world. They come from as far away as Florida and bring their best work to share with us. The artist selection meets in January and February to find the venders who will reflect the high standards of the club. The criteria include originality, creativity, category and sales appeal.
A wander through the doors of Ann Derrick’s Glen Arbor Botanicals gallery can produce exquisite results, but not many suspect that a purchase within those doors can change a life. Derrick, who together with husband Brendan Burrows, owns the Good Harbor Grill and the Pine Cone ice cream shop west of Glen Arbor’s main intersection, spend their winters sailing the Caribbean. It is there that they discovered an island and its people, along with a story and a mission that struck their core.
The Foothills Café and Motel in Burdickville have been under “new” ownership for five years. Thus far, we’ve made only minimal changes to both the café and motel, in order to ease into the community and to honor 50 years of tradition. But this year, our team introduced some new twists on age-old ideas, and launched the Foothills “Pay It Forward” project.
There are women in Glen Arbor who are addicts. Their drug of choice? Mah jongg, an ancient tile game not unlike gin rummy. “It’s addictive,” said Linda Gretzema, and happily one might add, “because every hand is new. It’s crazy. It has become a huge thing.”
The Glen Arbor Garden Club has some news for you: Better living through chemistry is not a strategy that works for bees. In addition to the threat posed by habitat loss, pesticides used in both home gardening and commercially-produced plants do a real number on our pollinating pals. Kills them, for one thing.
Here’s a quick timeline of events surrounding Sugar Loaf since the resort reemerged in the headlines last September. Below that you’ll also find a list of major questions that remain about Sugar Loaf and its ownership.
BATA’s “Bike-n-Ride” program, which allows cyclists to pedal paved trails one way and ride the bus back in Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties, is in its second season this summer—and it’s growing. Due to its popularity and demand for more service, a new Loop route has been added as well as additional weeks of service.
The 16th annual Dune Climb concert will take place Sunday, July 13 at 7 p.m. Imagine a beautiful summer’s evening at the foot of the Dune Climb in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, hundreds of families enjoying their pre-concert picnics and then a musical program provided by artists of national stature. This is the magical mixture which has filled audiences with warm memories every year since the first Dune Climb concert in 1998. The setting is magnificent and the music is even better. The concert at the Dune Climb is presented annually by the Glen Arbor Art Association and is free to the public. Because of the unique venue and incomparable music it routinely draws an audience of several thousand.