The Empire Village Council voted yesterday to implement and enforce paid parking at Empire Beach next summer, following what members perceive as a successful trial run in 2014. The parking meter near the picnic area, which charged visitors $1 per hour, generated more than $23,000 between July 3 and September 10, despite summer weather marred by rain and cold temperatures. Empire’s popular beach, which has 87 parking spots, sits in the middle of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
With Charlie Edson, owner and winemaker at Bel Lago Vineyards and Winery mentoring them, the Alan Eaker and Linda Ackley selected vines, and planted 10 acres of wine grapes on their land. Today there are 12 acres of grapes, including hybrids Cayuga and Frontenac, and vinifera varieties Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Cabernet Franc.
Cedar Rustic Inn owners Aaron and Nikki Ackley are itching for a change. Not a huge change, like leaving the restaurant business altogether, but a transition of Cedar Rustic Inn from American comfort to brew pub. This idea, said Aaron, has been in the works for at least three years.
Come to the Sleeping Bear Gallery in Empire, Sept. 12-13, to watch Albert Young (Michigan Hot Glass), who will be joined by David Helm, Stephen Szymanski, Tim Southward, and Heather Caverly work with Hot Molten Glass to create delicate wine glasses and fun colorful vessels. You can enjoy the magic of this fascinating craft while pondering a piece of Art within our Gallery & Extra Special Silent Auction.
For farmer Andria Metrakos, the more holistic, satisfying life she began to imagine while working in Detroit’s auto industry has come to fruition at her Red Gate Farm, which occupies a verdant swath of land on Burdickville Rd about a mile west of Myles Kimmerly Park.
Sitting with owner and executive winemaker Charlie Edson on Bel Lago Vineyards and Winery’s tasting room patio on a sunny summer day, it’s easy to appreciate his Italian father-in-law’s inspiration for the name “Bel Lago,” which means beautiful lake in Italian. From the vantage point of a steep hill above the western shore of Lake Leelanau, the view is indeed spectacular—white clouds in a blue sky reflecting onto the bluer waters of the southern end of the lake.
The Glen Arbor Township Board is working on a new Master Plan for Glen Arbor. Faced with burgeoning summer tourist crowds, national media attention, and a popular new bike trail, the time seems right for Glen Arbor to reexamine its identity, in what direction the town is going, and what changes are needed to keep the community safe, sustainable, beautiful and profitable.
Thousands of visitors flock to Leelanau County each year, many of them attracted by big draws such as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. But while nothing compares to the delight of bounding down the Dune Climb after a sweaty trek uphill, or taking in the pristine view of the Manitou Islands from a sugar sand beach, there are plenty of lesser-known places in the county to have fun, too. Two of these places are sister communities Maple City and Cedar.
Scott Whybrew is a man with a plan for retirement: hops farming. “You’ve heard of people spending their children’s inheritance?” he asks with a straight face. In October Scott and his wife Gerri, the parents of three adult children, purchased a 110-acre former apple orchard on Kittlinger Road in Empire Township. Over the course of the fall and a challenging winter, the couple employed a crew of eight-to-10 local men who turned the feral orchard into a working hop farm.
“Ignore my fingers. I work on an organic farm and was pruning tomato plants. It turns your fingers black.” Tyler Bradley holds up his hands to show his darkened fingers. “It’s hard to get off, but don’t worry, I washed my hands.” He’s in front of the crowd at the Hayloft Inn on a recent Thursday evening, getting ready to play a few songs on his guitar. But before Bradley starts to play and right after the black-finger explanation, he asks, “What time is it?”