Supporting community through live music: Emergency Fund expands to Benzie

For over a decade, the Empire Area Community Emergency Fund has addressed sudden financial need, one note at a time. Last year, the Benzonia Area Community Emergency Fund followed suit. The two non-profits offer a financial hand to those in need, with all their funding coming from a once-a-month source: area venues hosting a concert, where the musicians eschew their usual fee and the fund collects donations. Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor will host the next Empire Emergency Fund concert on April 27, from 4-6 pm, and feature Jim Crockett and the Beach Bards.

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Earth Week includes rally in support of National Parks, Leelanau Conservancy events, Seth Bernard concert

This week is Earth Week, with Earth Day honored on Tuesday, April 22. It’s also National Park Week. Events in Leelanau County include a rally on Tuesday at 3 pm in Empire to support Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore—which has faced deep spending cuts and a hiring freeze by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Leelanau Conservancy offers opportunities each day this week, starting tomorrow, to join hikes, volunteer, attend a trivia night, and learn about local efforts to preserve trees.

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Glen Lake Chamber hosts Restaurant Week, April 25-May 3

Get ready to indulge during the 11th annual Glen Lake Restaurant Week. From casual bites to gourmet dining, participating locations will feature specials or a prix-fixe menu that highlight the best of the local culinary scene. Whether you’re craving comfort food, fresh ingredients, exquisite drinks, or an elevated dining experience, there’s something for every palate. Some may also offer breakfast, lunch and dinner specials in accordance with their own hours and offerings. For special menus and the full lineup of participating businesses, click here.

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Celebrating songs of Leelanau: Seth Bernard’s instrumental ode to the Manitou Islands

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Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with Seth Bernard’s “Manitou,” an instrumental that he wrote in June 2019 during a residency sponsored by the Old Art Building in Leland. “I wrote this simple piece on acoustic guitar looking out over the islands near Van’s Beach around sundown,” said Bernard. “It’s a little magic carpet ride to that peaceful, serene, early summer Leelanau sunset vibe. Bernard returns to the Old Art Building on April 24 at 7 pm for an Earth Week-themed concert.

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Sleeping Bear Dunes to conduct prescribed fires this spring

The National Park Service plans to conduct four prescribed fires in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore before May 15. Prescribed fire is used as a tool to assist in restoring forest habitat while also reducing the threat of wildland fires. In the Platte Plains area of the National Lakeshore, two prescribed fires will be on 1,490 acres. One burn unit includes and surrounds the Lasso Loop of the Platte Plains Trail. The second burn unit falls between Peterson and Lasso Roads.  

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Hunt for Easter eggs in Glen Arbor

The Crystal River Outfitters Recreational District will host the fourth district-wide Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 19, at the M22 Glen Arbor store. The afternoon will be full of Easter activities with spring drink specials and Peep S’mores by the fires. The event will kick off at 12:30 pm with the Easter Bunny arriving via kayak on the river.

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Walking the ordinary and extraordinary, and what’s in between

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More than mere proof of motion, walking is an act both ordinary and extraordinary. It has the unique ability to shape human experience in both subtle and profound ways. A first step marks the beginning of independence, like those of a small child—something Leah Hilton Turner, lifelong Glen Arborite, knows well. The mother of twin daughters, now almost three, recalled the pure joy and excitement of that milestone.It is this vast spectrum of meaning—walking as both instinct and intention—that is the focus of the latest exhibition of the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC): Walking. Sarah Bearup-Neal, GAAC’s gallery manager, is the visionary behind Walking. Predictably, Bearup-Neal infused the exhibit with her signature energy and curiosity. As with past shows, her concepts, while deceptively simple, are profoundly cerebral. The exhibit remains on display through May 29.

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Bay Theatre hosts “Detroit: The City of Chefs”

Made in Michigan, a popular film series hosted by The Bay Community Theatre in Suttons Bay highlighting great films made in the state of Michigan, concludes on Sunday, April 13, at 4 pm with a special screening of filmmaker Keith Famie’s Detroit: The City of Chefs, an inspiring documentary that celebrates the rich heritage of Detroit’s culinary scene. The Made in Michigan 2025 series is proudly presented by French Valley Vineyard and Hendryx House.

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Glen Lake Library celebrates National Library Week with “Free for All” film

The Glen Lake Community Library will host a special community screening of Free for All: The Public Library on Wednesday, April 9, at 7 pm—as part of its National Library Week celebration. The film tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who created a civic institution where everything is free and the doors are open to all. Director Dawn Logsdon travels the United States, discovering historic and modern-day figures, especially women, who contributed to the library’s integral position within democracy.

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League of Women Voters forum examines accessibility in Leelanau

How can Leelanau County ensure that its places, spaces, and services are designed for people of all abilities, including those born with a disability and those facing physical challenges over time? That question will be front and center at a public forum titled “Universally Accessible Leelanau?” which the League of Women Voters of Leelanau County will hold on Wednesday, April 2, at noon at the Leelanau County Government Center on M-204 between Lake Leelanau and Suttons Bay.

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