In the age of 24 hour news and hyped headlines, local journalism tackles stories that directly impact our day-to-day lives. Join Leelanau Indivisible and the League of Women Voters of Leelanau County on Saturday, April 8, at 10 a.m. for a virtual conversation via Zoom to learn how local media is relevant now more than ever.
Leelanau County has added another notch of fame to its belt. Now the two most popular boys’ names in America have their roots in beloved taverns in Glen Arbor and Empire. Last year, 18 percent of all newborn boys nationwide were honored with the names “Art” and “Joe” on their birth certificates. “Art” for Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor, and “Joe” for Joe’s Friendly Tavern in Empire.
Nestled in the wooded hills just south of Suttons Bay, Black Star Farms has become an iconic and unique part of Leelanau County’s most memorable landscape. The lovely paddocks with horses quietly grazing in their pastures reminds one of blue-blooded horse country in Kentucky right here in northern Michigan. It is a splendid sight even when just passing by on M-22 at Shady Lane.
Brooke Baker of Traverse City danced for joy during her first snowshoe hike at Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Feb. 26—a beautiful, blue sky day with fresh, sparkly snow on the ground.
The Bay Community Theatre in Suttons Bay announced in a press release that it has hired Graham Powers as its new general manager. Powers comes to “The Bay” from Fort Wayne, Indiana, bringing with him five years’ experience in both hospitality management and operations management, most recently within the Parkview Health System.
The Manitou Music series is one of the most enduring and significant programs of the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC). Each year, to commemorate the music series, the GAAC selects a painting representative of Leelanau County and the surrounding area for its annual poster. This year the honor has been bestowed upon Randi Ford, a landscape artist based in Grand Rapids. Ford’s painting, entitled Path Through Time (2021), is a vibrant and lyrical rendition of the Arcadia Dunes and its surrounding azure waters. Ford’s love of nature—northern Michigan and Lake Michigan, in particular—is abundantly clear from her acrylic works. Ford exclusively paints landscapes. The outdoors provides deep and endless inspiration. Her intention is to capture the energy and spirit of nature, and share it with her audience.
Steve Webb took this photo on Jan. 31 of an ice disc spinning in the Crystal River. It seems that a small particle of ice got caught in an eddy, spun around and around, and the ice disc grew.
Parallel 45 Theatre returns to the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC) with a dose of magical realism. A performance of “Smokefall” takes place on Wednesday, March 22, at 6 pm in the GAAC main gallery. Tickets are $10. Seating is by reservation and limited.
The first time Michael Brennan stepped into the river in January 2022 it was 10 degrees and snowing, but he’d made a promise to himself at the first of the year to visit the Crystal River at least once a month. “I’ve been coming to the Leelanau Peninsula for 30 years. This is my spiritual home, but that year I made a commitment to the river. I wanted to learn more about it.” “River Sacred—Uncovering the Crystal” is the self-published booklet that was created from Michael’s year in the Crystal River. It’s part photography, part poetry, part scrapbook, but it reads more like a Sundance short documentary.
The much anticipated reopening of the historic Brammer gristmill on the Crystal River is near, though owner Turner Booth and the Fernhaus hospitality group have yet to name a date. On March 1 they introduced The Mill’s general manager Corey Smith on social media. Smith, a native of South Haven and a University of Michigan graduate, returned to the mitten state and joined The Mill team last May after working in real estate in New York City and hospitality in Hudson, a town in upstate New York.