Today, Congressman Dan Benishek’s (Republican of Michigan) legislation to protect the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was unanimously passed by the House Committee on Natural Resources during a key Congressional mark-up hearing. The legislation now is set to move to the House floor for a final vote.
Escape from the winter blues at the 14th annual Glen Arbor Winterfest on Saturday, Feb. 15. Festivities start at 7 a.m. with the beginning of the Perch Fishing Contest, with prizes for first- through fourth-place catches. All participants will bring their biggest catches from Big and Little Glen to the Sportsman Shop at 1 p.m., and winners will be crowned. Entry fee for this event is $20, and all ages are welcome to participate.
The Empire Area Emergency Fund will hold the next of its monthly concerts on Sunday, Jan. 26 from 4-6 p.m. at Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor. The Awesome Uncle “Z” Band will perform a free live concert. Organizers will pass the bucket to collect free will donations to support the efforts of the Emergency Fund.
The League of Women Voters Leelanau County (LWVLC) Farm Labor Task Force will host a panel program on “The Agricultural Migrant Worker in Leelanau County: Issues and Challenges, 2013-14” on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at noon in the lower level meeting room of the Leelanau County Government Center.
The Leelanau County Snowshoe Stampede will tromp through the snow for a second time on Saturday, Feb. 15. The grounds for the stampede are at the Leelanau Outdoor Center on Port Oneida Rd, 4 miles north of Glen Arbor. Adults can stretch out their winter blues on the 5K trail while kids 12 and under take on the 1-mile Snowflake Race. It all starts at 10:30 a.m.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore proposes to update its Hazard Tree Management Plan (HTMP) to include responses to current and imminent tree disease epidemics. To do so, the National Lakeshore will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) that will describe and analyze alternative methods available for these responses and determine which to include in the plan update.
In the Talk About Art series Sarah Bearup-Neal conducts live interviews with local and regional artists about their art making and thinking. These insightful interviews take place monthly at 7:30 p.m., at the Glen Arbor Art Association (GAAA) at no charge.
The Glen Arbor Art Association, The Homestead resort and the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail will again team up to offer Art From Michigan’s Wine Country on Friday, Feb. 7, from 6-8 p.m. at The Homestead’s Mountain Flowers Lodge. Now in its sixth year, this fun winter event kicks off Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail’s Taste the Passion weekend. The Friday night GAAA benefit features wine from Leelanau wineries, original art exhibits and sales by local artists and a small plates menu designed by Chef Piombo.
Kerry Kelly, Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes chairman of the board, reports excellent ski conditions on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, which was last groomed on Friday, January 17. “Additional snow last night (and right now) adds nice soft snow,” says Kelly. “The trees are beautiful covered in snow too.”