The North Manitou Island deer hunt in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is held each year to manage the introduced/non-native deer population to allow for the recovery of the forests. This year, the National Park Service is only accepting 200 applications in 2024. The application period will open on Monday, June 3, and close Monday, Sept. 30, or when 200 applications are received.
Change is difficult for many people, but it is also challenging to lead change. This is what the Telgards have been doing for five generations in Leland and how they became a local legacy family influential in protecting the town’s heritage and character, writes Abby Chatfield. The Telgards own the iconic Bluebird Restaurant and Tavern, which was recently demolished and is being rebuilt. Common threads throughout the family’s history are forward thought towards its future generations’ ability to thrive and the important role they play in providing a social hub for the community. Their reputation is based on a foundation of consideration for their community’s needs—not an easy role to maintain for well over a century.
Leelanau Summinars have returned to the Leland Township Public Library. The Leland Library Summinars program offers thought-provoking seminars across a wide variety of engaging topics. The 2024 lineup includes the following dates, all of which start at 10 am. Click here for the full lineup.
It’s been part of the conversation for weeks, ever since the unseasonably warm weather in late March: Is it spring yet? Is it really spring? Will there be another frost? Have you seen all the blooms on those lilacs? In order: Yes, yes, probably not, and it’s not just lilacs—it’s everywhere and most everything.
If you frequented the Round Up variety show and open mic that played on Thursday nights at the Hayloft Inn on M-72 between 2004 and 2020, you might recognize the new public address announcer’s voice at Traverse City Pit Spitters’ minor league baseball games this summer. That’s Cedar resident Bill Dungjen—a musician, sometime DJ at the WNMC college radio station, former Glen Lake School theater director, and now the baritone in the booth behind home plate.
A housing collaborative including the Leelanau Peninsula Economic Foundation, Sleeping Bear Gateways Council, Housing North, and the Northwest Michigan Rural Housing Partnership will hold a series of community focus group meetings in June. The dates are: June 4 at the Glen Lake Community Library in Empire; June 6 at the Leland Library; June 12 at the Friendship Center in Suttons Bay, and June 13 at Northport School. Each event is 5-7 pm. Join the Leelanau County Housing Collaborative for these interactive evenings to help bring Housing for ALL to Leelanau County.
Miss Asparagus on Stilts returns to the Empire Asparagus Festival on Saturday, June 1, from 2-4 pm. The day-long event includes: a Kick-Yer Assparagus 5k Fun Run/Walk at 10 am; a Recipe Contest in the Town Hall at noon; an Ode to Asparagus Poetry Contest in the library at 2 pm and Asparagus Eats with food vendors, local breweries and live music from noon-6 pm. Visit EmpireChamber.com for more information.
Author and environmentalist Jane Elder will discuss her newly published book, Wilderness, Water & Rust, at the Glen Lake Community Library in Empire on Thursday, May 30, at 7 pm. The book weaves together memories from her life in the upper Midwest with nearly 50 years of environmental policy work, presenting a unique insider’s perspective into the quest to protect the Great Lakes.
The Glen Arbor artist community will hold a reception at Lake Street Studios on Saturday, June 1, from 3-6 pm for an exhibition that runs until June 26 with proceeds from all works sold benefiting Beth Bricker, co-owner of Forest Gallery and a pillar of the local artist community who is battling cancer. Beth’s parents, the late Ananda and Ben Bricker, were founding members of the Glen Arbor Art Association 40 years ago. “Beth has always been a champion of the artists in her community, and it is our hope that we, as artists and friends, can send love and support back to Beth and her family in this emotionally and financially difficult time,” the Lake Street Studios friends wrote in a statement.
Blind Dog Hank and the Burdickville Boys played an Empire Area Emergency Fund concert in the Friendly Tavern’s outdoor beer garden on May 26. The venue is for sale, and local musicians hope the beer garden remains a dynamic locale for them to jam. Photo by David Geisler