Local Personality

Stephanie Schlatter: Finding the Extraordinary in the Everyday

For centuries, the arts have recognized and illuminated the profundity of everyday life. The practice of depicting ordinary, shared social spaces as enduring images is what art historians refer to as genre painting: works that transform the familiar into the extraordinary, revealing the poetry, light, and rhythm embedded in lived experience. It is within this tradition that Stephanie Schlatter’s painting, “Gathered Together,” finds its place. Renowned for her luminous landscapes—renderings of water, sky, and the shifting light of northern Michigan—Schlatter departs from that familiar creative practice in “Gathered Together.” She instead turns to a more intimate, human-centered scene: the vibrant summer atmosphere at Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor. This emphasis on a buoyant, communal vision led to Gathered Together’s selection for the 2026 Manitou Music Poster.

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Fred Sitkins readies Inland Seas for more sailing adventures

It’s a special year for the Inland Seas Education Association. Make that another special year: the organization is on track to serve its 200,000th person this year in its 37th season. At the same time, the ISEA is launching the bidding phase for construction and expansion on its Suttons Bay campus. “We’ve served 192,123 participants since our founding in 1989,” says Skyler Singleton, communications coordinator for the Suttons Bay organization. The numbers continue to grow each year. “We reached nearly 10,000 participants in 2025 alone, so we are definitely on track to hit that 200,000 milestone this fall.” Executive director Fred Sitkins says expansion of the campus will enable it to continue to grow and serve even more. “It’s going to be really strong. Every year is a little bit better,” he says.

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Folksinger Bill Staines’ music lives on at May 10 show

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In 1994, a tradition began when the Cedar Tavern hosted folk singer Bill Staines. Over the following years, the troubadour became a regular presence in the area, first at the Cedar Tavern and later at Sleder’s in Traverse City. He gained a loyal following, and his concerts became singalongs that heralded the arrival of spring. Staines performed about 200 shows a year, including those local stops. He appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage and The Good Evening Show. His extensive discography includes more than 20 albums. He died in 2021, but his music lives on. Now many of those loyal concert-goers are resurrecting the songs and the tradition, with “Bill Staines Remembered,” a show featuring his music as a fundraiser for the Benzie Emergency Fund. The concert will take place May 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Mills Community House in Benzonia.

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Glen Arbor to celebrate Tree City USA designation, May 9

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It’s practically in the town’s name. So celebrating trees seemed like a no-brainer to Chris Sack of Glen Arbor. Sack, the co-owner of Great Lakes Tea and Spice with his wife Heather, will be on hand at the the town’s May 9 Arbor Day Celebration, the inaugural celebration of Glen Arbor being named a Tree City USA. “We want to get this off the ground on the right foot,” says Sack. The day will start at 10 a.m. with a tree planting ceremony at the corner of Lake Street and State Street, marking Glen Arbor’s first Arbor Day as a recognized Tree City USA community. It will be followed at 10:30 with a community “tree talk” at the Cherry Public House.

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Leelanau Wellness Collective hosts well-being summit

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What does a summit look like? Well, two things: One, a gathering of like-minded individuals to learn about and discuss a topic. The other is the top of a mountain. The two come together May 3 in Glen Arbor. The Leelanau Well-Being Summit will take place at and around The Homestead. Organizer Kat Palms says the event will include a vendor marketplace featuring local wellness brands, creatives, and makers, optional ticketed wellness classes led by regional practitioners, and a guided Bayview Trail Ruck with the Leelanau Ruck Club. Oh, and that second definition of summit? That works too, as the event will include a champagne toast at the top of Bay Mountain, the resort’s ski hill, followed by an optional dinner at Nonna’s.

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Traverse City immigrant joins hunger strike inside Baldwin ICE facility; local faith leaders pray, fast in solidarity

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Soon after Lynn’s husband arrived on March 5 at the North Lake Processing Center — the mammoth ICE detention center in Baldwin, Michigan — the food began to make him sick. “I haven’t seen an orange the whole time I’ve been here,” the husband told Lynn, a U.S. citizen and Traverse City resident who shared their family’s story with the Glen Arbor Sun this week. The couple, who have a 2.5-year-old son, worship at Guadalupe Chapel in southeastern Leelanau County, where local clergy held a prayer service and press conference on Monday to illuminate the plight of detainees in federal custody. Lynn’s husband is one of several immigrants detained, as ICE detentions mount in Northern Michigan.

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Celebration planned for Michelle Crocker, Michigan’s longest-serving current county clerk

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A celebration is planned to honor the longest-serving county clerk in Michigan presently in office upon the 30th anniversary of her being sworn in. Leelanau County Clerk Michelle Crocker assumed office on May 1, 1996. The event celebrating her service will be held Thursday, April 30, at 5 p.m. in the community meeting center at the Leelanau County government center. Snacks, soft drinks and of course cake will be provided. No county funds will be spent on the event. The Glen Arbor Sun named Crocker among a list of Leelanau County “influencers of 2024” for adeptly overseeing the correction of a vote undercount following the November 2024 election.

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Devouring Time: a consuming biography of a northern Michigan legend

It takes nerve to write a biography about such a revered, almost mythological northern Michigan writer as Jim Harrison. Kudos to Todd Goddard for taking on such an important project for posterity with sensitivity, level appreciation, and a North Star dedication to accurately portraying this gigantic personality and prolific writer of master works of poetry and fiction. As well, it takes some daring to share one’s impression of the Harrison biography, writes Tim Mulherin. I’ve long been a fan of Harrison’s work. I’m in awe of his vast intellect and artistic range, his turn-of-phrase genius and ability to connect so deeply with his ardent readership.

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Bearberry General store opens in Lake Leelanau

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Part gently used, part brand new. Part camping necessities, part office supplies. Part collectibles, part home goods, and all of it at Bearberry General Store. It’s all part of the scene at the store in Lake Leelanau. A store owner Sarah Schultz says she had no interest in starting until opportunity came knocking. “It was Bearberry Vintage,” Schultz explains. She was taking items there for resale from her parents’ home after they had passed away when one day the owner told Schultz she was moving to Florida. “Do you want to buy the store?” she asked Schultz.

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Sauna Fest returns to heat cool Northern Michigan

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Long relegated to back yards and backwoods cabins, saunas are enjoying a heyday in northern Michigan. Popup saunas appear at community events, portable saunas are available to rent, and private sauna gatherings transition effortlessly into pot-luck dinners with friends. The Sun interviewed Vlad Borza—co-organizer of the second annual Michigan Sauna Fest this weekend—to get his read on sauna popularity, what’s new at Sauna Fest, spring saunas vs winter saunas, what he does when he’s not sweating in a tiny house, and his vision for a floating sauna on a barge. Borza of Sleeping Bear Saunas and Nick Olson of Hearth Sauna—proselytizers of the local sauna movement—co-organized the Michigan Sauna Fest, which takes place in Traverse City’s Clinch Park from Friday, April 10, until Sunday April 12.

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