Phase 2 of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, a 5.5-mile stretch between the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb and Empire, is close to completion. All spring, workers and heavy machinery have been clearing and flattening the path, and they began paving the trail on May 21. The National Park has set a deadline of July 1, but the Trail will likely be complete before then.
Learn why “Half the Park is After Dark” and kick-off your holiday weekend by enjoying two unique events on Friday, May 23, at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. At 7 p.m. at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire, join astronomer, author, artist and night sky ambassador, Tyler Nordgren, for an educational and entertaining program on the wonders of dark skies.
Step back in time with a visit to an historic Great Lakes village and United States Life-Saving Station during Glen Haven Days at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Join Park Rangers and volunteers in hands-on activities related to Michigan’s maritime heritage that will bring history of the early 1900s to life.
This Memorial Day weekend, the Leelanau Press will publish a new book by photographer Ken Scott of the rare ice formations he captured this past winter off the shores of Lake Michigan in Leelanau County. Through his lens, the viewer will experience ice caves in early winter, after a March thaw and refreeze, ice balls, ridges, volcanoes and pancake ice in a color spectrum from white to green to blue. Words cannot describe the beauty of these unusual natural ice structures that only a few brave souls have experienced.
Glen Arbor and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore area enjoyed an economic and tourism boom in the mid-1990s, and now the businesses borne of that boom are coming of age. Brad Anderson was a youthful 27 years old when he bought Steffens IGA in 1994 from Bill and Jan Heston and renamed it Anderson’s Market. Bit by bit he updated the interior and modernized the inventory, but not until this year did the grocery store in the heart of Glen Arbor get a complete facelift.
This spring in Empire, a heated debate has ignited over whether visitors from outside the Township ought to begin paying $1 per hour to park their automobile at one of 87 spots at the popular Lake Michigan public beach. The payment would be made at one, centrally located machine that accepts credit cards. Nearly empty during the cold months, the beach fills up fast in July and August.
Another sort of rebirth took place down the road in Benzie County last month—the rebirth of a community newspaper. The Betsie Current returned in April after an eight-year hibernation to chronicle Benzie’s news and events, businesses, characters and culture.
Anderson’s Market has just completed the full renovation of their corner market, and is celebrating this and their 20th anniversary with a four-day food-centric block of events. Festivities kick off on May 20 from 6-8 p.m., when owner Brad Anderson and his staff will host a casual cocktail party with wine tastings, Michigan-made product samplings and other tastes of fine foods from around the globe. “It’s a chance for us to give thanks to our community and customers for their support by treating them to a fun evening,” Anderson states.
It’s spring — at least according to the calendar book, and to the tourism arrival schedule (Memorial Day weekend is just a week away!). And yet, Leelanau County today knows only rain and a chilly 40 degrees (and tomorrow could yield snow!). Nevertheless, Empire’s 11th annual Asparagus Festival commences tomorrow, May 16, with a dance and pig roast from 7-10 p.m. Eat fresh pork supplied by Art’s Tavern and wash it down with asparagus beer from Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City. Then stomp your feet to music from the Benzie Playboys.
The Empire Chiropractic Health Center invites the public to a community open house on Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — the weekend of the Empire Asparagus Festival — in their space in the same building as State Savings Bank. Dr. Jason Van Skyhock is excited to introduce new team member Lance Mazurek, a certified massage therapist specializing in Swedish, deep tissue, prenatal, sports and orthopedic-rehabilitative. Mazurka was recently voted third place in MyNorth.com’s Red Hot Best of Northern Michigan.