Entries by editor

Accomplished sound man takes over Manitou Music Festival

The Glen Arbor Art Association’s Manitou Music Festival has a new director this summer. The successor to Harry Fried is Jack Conners, who has enjoyed a long career in the recording industry, and is no stranger to this popular local festival. This year’s Manitou Music Festival kicks off with patriotic music by the Northport Community Band on July 3 and crescendos with the annual Dune Climb concert on July 13. We spoke to Conners about his new role, and about this year’s lineup.

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What it means to be an American

You don’t really know where you’re from until you’ve been somewhere else and come back. That’s because anything is only itself in relationship to some other thing. A day is only a day in relationship to the night. An apple stands for every fruit until you’ve tasted a mangosteen. America isn’t America until you’ve been to El Salvador.

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Going Polish at Duneswood

Cedar’s Polka Fest isn’t the only Polish attraction in these woods. The Duneswood Resort along M-109, and right on the popular new leg of the Sleeping Hear Heritage Trail, is a hit with Poles from Detroit and Chicago, and even Warsaw and Krakow. Owner Debbie Rettke began displaying a Polish flag along M-109 last summer because she had employees from the central European nation. Lo and behold, people began pulling off the road to ask her (she recalled in a pronounced Polish accent), “What do you have my flag here for?”

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For the love of Cedar

The woman behind the free dance lessons at Polka Fest in Cedar, Michigan, is Beverly Jane (“BJ”) Christensen, a feisty woman with piercing blue eyes. In 2001, Christensen founded the Cedar Area Community Foundation, an organization that offers free, fun activities for all ages year round, from service events like outdoor clean ups and CPR classes to self-improvement activities such as walking groups and aerobics. Also on the calendar are kayak trips down the Victoria River, ice cream socials, crafting events and holiday parties—as well as the Polka Fest fun.

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Fourth of July Flag Raising at Old Settlers

The Glen Lake Women’s Club is once again sponsoring the annual Fourth of July Flag Raising Event at Old Settlers Park. The club has done this every year since 1970. The Flag Raising starts at 10 a.m. on Friday at the Old Settlers Picnic Grounds along the southeastern shore of Big Glen Lake on Dunn’s Farm Road (CR-675).

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New in town: mini golf, men’s clothing, and ice cream

The scenic putt-putt golf course and play area on Oak Street in Glen Arbor is open once again. Gone is The River at Crystal Bend, and taking its place after a quiet 2013 is Dale’s Glen Arbor. The venue is named after the late Dale Sutherland, a principle at Glen Lake School, pillar of the community, husband of Mary, and father of Bob (Cherry Republic), Matt (Foreword Reviews magazine, The Box in Traverse City), Tim (local tennis guru), Mike (now The River Traverse City) and Paul (Financial & Investment Management Group). Dale’s, which is now owned by Paul, will specialize in putt-putt golf, Crystal River tube rentals and Moomers ice cream.

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Glen Arbor Facebook page, an online portrait of beauty

How do lovers of Glen Arbor who don’t have immediate access to our beautiful dunes and lakeshore stay in touch with their favorite destination? Chances are they follow the Glen Arbor Facebook page, which is facilitated by Paul May and his son Keenan (with help from Glen Arbor Sun co-editor Mike Buhler, and occasionally Simon Winograd, too). Paul May and wife Kristin Hurlin produce and sell their furniture, photography, ink and watercolor illustrations under the brand Glen Arbor Artisans.

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Sun sets on Britain and Empire

Nearly 4,000 miles and five time zones, different cultures and histories separate England from Northern Michigan. But Julie Mecoli found a way to connect them. Mecoli’s project, “Empire Sunset”, involves showing a live webcam image of the view over Lake Michigan from Empire on screens at two venues in England. The five-hour time difference means that sunsets in Empire happen after 2 a.m., Greenwich Mean Time. The project was part of the Whitstable Biennale (which ended this spring) but continued through June as part of an exhibition in the Kent School of Architecture at the University of Kent, Canterbury.

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22 Reasons to Love the M-22 Challenge

Maybe it’s true—the third time is a charm. Though my first two M22 Challenges—the first in 2011, my second in ’13—were fantastic experiences, this year’s event proved especially rewarding. Not just because I made it to the podium—a first in my seven years of racing!—but because I felt so strong throughout this 22-mile run-bike-paddle race. Is there anything better than a race where everything just clicks?

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Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail celebrates July 2 ribbon cutting

Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail partners are inviting the public to help celebrate the opening of the newest segment of the Heritage Trail during a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 2, at the Dune Climb of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The Dune Climb to Empire segment more than doubles the miles of trail completed, bringing the total to 9.5 miles. In addition, the newly installed donor recognition plaza will also be unveiled, which recognizes donors of $1,000 or more.

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