A special holiday tradition continues, Nov. 15-17, as the Glen Lake Community Library holds its 19th annual call for children’s books. The Friends of the Library, in cooperation with Glen Lake School’s “Parenting Communities” program, is once again collecting donations of new children’s books for children whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season.

Cherry Republic president Bob Sutherland and his sons Colebrook and Hawthorn bite into Michigan Apple Crunch Day on Oct. 25 at Glen Lake School. The event was sponsored by Cherry Capital Foods, Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, and the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, which celebrated 15 years of catalyzing the farm to school movement in northern Michigan.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was selected to receive a 2017 field trip grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF), the official charity of America’s national parks. This grant will allow fourth grade classes the opportunity to explore the National Lakeshore on a snowshoeing adventure for free and learn about winter ecology, snow science, and more in a hands-on, experiential format. This grant, part of the NPF’s Open OutDoors for Kids program, supports the Every Kid in a Park program.

The sky is the limit at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Join park rangers and astronomers from the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) on Monday, Aug. 21 from 1-3:30 p.m. at the Dechow farm in the National Lakeshore’s Port Oneida Rural Historic District to experience the Great American Total Eclipse. At the National Lakeshore, the eclipse will start at 12:57 p.m. and end at 3:39 p.m. Maximum solar coverage of 75.26% will occur at 2:19 p.m. All sky programs offered by the National Lakeshore are free. Participants need only purchase the Park Entrance Pass or have an Annual Pass displayed in their vehicle to join in the fun.

You know a race is going to be special when it is a unique distance. Mostly we see 5Ks and 10Ks, but you don’t see too many 4-Mile races around. Fortunately for us, the Dune Dash 4-Mile Run/Walk is not only unique in distance, but in many other aspects as well.

This year in the Glen Arbor Sun we’re publishing a series on the living legacy of the Native Americans. A desire to push back against the rise of xenophobia in contemporary America is not the only reason we chose to examine the living legacy of the local Odawa and Ojibwe among us. Across civil society in Northern Michigan, and throughout the nation, it seems that more and more people are interested in learning the Native perspective on this land and the human history it has witnessed.

Glen Arbor Township recently contracted Aspen Wireless to install free WiFi for the public. Access was up and running by the end of June. According to operations manager Eric Laitala, the head-end is located at the Glen Arbor Township Hall.

For many good reasons—the area’s beauty and its good life, for starters—Glen Arbor has become a haven for us retirees. By 2015, the influx of seniors pushed the average age of a resident to around 63. Now, census estimates reveal Glen Arbor’s residents as the oldest in Leelanau, one of the oldest counties in the state.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is restoring an 0.8-mile section of National Park Service-owned dirt track in the Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness in the vicinity of Good Harbor. The unnamed route traveled south from West Lake Michigan Road to Shell Lake.

Northern Michigan’s largest brand puts on one of the best athletic events of the year. At 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, 900 racers will line up for the ninth annual M22 Challenge. The race includes a 2.5-mile run, 17-mile bicycle ride, and 2.5-mile paddle — making it the most unique “tri” event in northern Michigan.