Cherry Republic and Friends of Sleeping Bear report the first annual Sleepy Bear Twilight Ride, at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, to support maintenance of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. All funds raised will go toward trail operations, which include keeping the trail clear for riders during the spring, summer and fall, and grooming in the winter for cross-country skiing. Annual maintenance of the trail costs about $1,000 per mile.
The second annual Dune Dash to benefit the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail will be held on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 9 a.m. The 4-mile run/walk starts and finishes at the base of the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb and follows the flat, paved segment of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail to Glen Haven and back.
This is a unique opportunity to meet more than 20 local authors at one time in one location, in the Pine Patch at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor (rain location across the street at Bethlehem Lutheran Church). On Friday, Aug. 2 between 2 and 4 p.m. the best of mystery, history, essay writers and artists will gather.
Three years after the July 25, 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill, this tragedy holds important warning signs for communities and municipal and state governments. Oil pipelines now crisscross the entire country, running through Midwestern states that are not oil producers but have become oil transit zones. Many of them already carry Canadian Tar Sands oil.
The Glen Lake Library will host a performance by Song of the Lakes on Thursday, July 25, at 7 p.m. The concert is based on the classic children’s book Paddle to the Sea, written by Holling C. Holling, originally published in 1941. This concert will feature original music performed by the band, along with narration by Norm Wheeler. Children and adults are invited to this free performance, which will be held at the Empire Township Hall. For more information, call the library at (231) 326-5361, or check its website at Glenlakelibrary.net.
Glen Arbor’s weekly summer farmers markets are the quintessential way to enjoy an early morning stroll. But what about the people that spend hours preparing, gathering the freshest ingredients, mixing and tasting, and toiling in the kitchen to make delicious products to sell during those brief morning hours? Meet Stathis Stamatakis, who hails from Crete, and knows a thing or two about decadent Greek pastries.
Oil Painter Jeff Ripple will demonstrate his craft at Empire’s Sleeping Bear Gallery on Saturday, July 27, from 1-3 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Ripple may be “a Florida boy at heart,” but he also embraces the idyllic rolling hills and gentle landscape that characterizes Leelanau County. Even though Ripple is colorblind, he has “always been into art.”
The Glen Arbor Art Association’s Manitou Music Festival, which is celebrating its 23rd season of jazz, classical, blues, folk, country, celtic, bluegrass and world music on the Leelanau Peninsula, hosts a wealth of summer concerts in the coming weeks. On Sunday, July 28 at 8 p.m. the bluegrass/country singer Nora Jane Struthers will perform with her quartet outdoors at Studio Stage, located at Lake Street Studios in Glen Arbor; on Wednesday, July 31 at 8 p.m. the Michigan born country/folk singer-songwriter Drew Nelson will perform with his Highway 2 Band; on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. the Folk band Peter, Paul & Mary Remembered will perform at Studio Stage, and on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. the Celtic band Full Set will perform at Studio Stage. The rain location for all concerts is the Glen Arbor Town Hall, with the exception of Full Set, whose rain location is the Empire Town Hall.)
Ohio artist Joe Stewart’s love of Leelanau goes public in an exhibition of new work, “Painting the Leelanau Peninsula.” This show opens with a reception on July 26 at 6 p.m. at Center Gallery, 6023 S. Lake St. in Glen Arbor. Maple City artist Carol Spaulding’s “Garden Palette” will color Center Gallery at Lake Street Studios next. The exhibition of floral still lifes opens Aug. 2 with a 6 p.m. reception.
The Glen Arbor Art Association will exhibit wooded landscapes by Lynn Uhlmann of Shippensburg, Penn., and part-time resident of Leelanau County. The show is July 26-28 at the Art Association, 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor, with an opening reception on Friday from 6-8 p.m.