The Glen Arbor Sun won seven awards in five different categories from the Michigan Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest among local news media for stories published between August 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022.
Stan Brubaker, the unofficial organizer and grand marshal selector for Glen Arbor’s “anything goes” Fourth of July parade, died on Monday, March 6, at age 95 at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. According to his daughter Kristi, longtime family friend and former Glen Lake fire chief John DePuy will take over parade duties. This will be the 60th year of the parade.
New York Times best-selling author Dan Egan writes about the source of great bounty—and now great peril—all over the world in his new book The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance. He’ll visit the Traverse City Opera House on Friday, March 10, at 7 pm, for an event co-hosted by the National Writers Series and the International Affairs Forum at Northwestern Michigan College. Patrick Shea, environmental reporter at Interlochen Public Radio, will be the event’s guest host.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in partnership with Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear will host Maple Sugaring Days at the Dechow and Olsen Farms in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District on Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5 from 10 am-3 pm each day. Join park rangers, volunteers, and special presenters at this new event to learn the history of maple sugaring and the process of making maple syrup from start to finish.
How can a creative practice help one navigate the grief that accompanies the death of a loved one? This topic is explored during Exploring Grief Through Creativity, a Glen Arbor Arts Center retreat focused on increasing wellness through creativity. The retreat takes place March 11, from 9 am-5 pm at Pine Street Studios, next door to GAAC. The cost is $175, including all materials, breakfast, and lunch. Pre-registration is required. Space is limited to 12 participants.
“The Feral Housewife” is the nom de guerre of Mary Beth Acosta, a longtime Leelanau County resident, whose collage work is on display at the Glen Arbor Arts Center until April 23. The word “feral,” generally, is defined in one of two ways: “of, relating to, or suggestive of a wild beast,” or “having escaped from domestication and become wild.” The latter definition of “feral” is that which resonates with Acosta. Indeed, she playfully sees herself as “feral.” Acosta’s exhibit at the GAAC includes a retrospective of nine collage works that reference American culture from the 1940s through the 1960s, with an emphasis on female domesticity and Detroit automotive design. Her body of work is, essentially, a reflection on the ethos of those decades, and, also a parodic critique thereof.
For Diana Grebennykova, a Ukrainian who lives in Traverse City near the border with Leelanau County, February 24—the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of her home country—is an “anniversary of pain and mourning.” Diana and her husband Viktor Grebennykov, the former coach of the Lake Leelanau Rowing Club, have lived in Northern Michigan since 2019. They are raising two young children here. Diana’s mother, Liubov, moved in with them in April after she left Kyiv on the morning of the invasion.
Grand Rapids artist Randi Ford’s acrylic-on-canvas painting “Path Through Time” is the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s 2023 Manitou Music poster image. Ford’s painting was selected by the GAAC’s Manitou Music Poster Committee from a field of 40 entries. The 2023 poster can be viewed and purchased online at GlenArborArt.org and the GAAC office.
Certain moments determine the rest of your life. When she was 18, Haylee Fisher remembers that she “lived in Traverse City in a super-crappy apartment with a dog while looking for a place to board my horse that I could afford.” A lady told her there was a job in Maple City at a horse farm, so she called farm manager Tom Pierson. He said, “You’re too young to watch over all of the brood mares and horses,” Haylee remembers. It was 2001, and the Cold Spring Farm needed help throughout the year, including every winter when the owners went to Patagonia, Arizona.
In honor of Black History Month, the National Writers Series will welcome author and radio broadcaster Alvin Hall, to discuss his latest book, Driving the Green Book. Using the historic guide for Black travelers, Hall tells stories of safe havens for Black Americans in a hostile “Whites Only” country. He drove from New York to Detroit to New Orleans. The event is available via livestreame or in-person at the City Opera House at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23.