The Leelanau Conservancy is committed to playing a vital role in a strong and vibrant community. The Conservancy knows that preserving our natural landscapes, working farms and healthy watersheds is key to both our economic vitality as well as the incredible quality of life we enjoy here. While the Conservancy is a solid block in the foundation, what are the other elements, in your mind, that make for a strong community?
Quaint and creative Empire already hosts the Asparagus Festival in mid-May and the revived Hill Climb racecar event in September. Next up is the village’s inaugural Hops Festival, which organizers hope will also become an annual event.
Drink and run! The third-annual Sleeping Bear Marathon and Half Marathon, held by Endurance Evolution, will take place on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 a.m. in Empire. That’s the day after Empire’s inaugural Hops Festival.
The Glen Arbor Art Association has announced the scheduling of tryouts for its December Reader’s Theater production of the movie/radio play A Christmas Carol. The date for the tryouts is October 6, at 7 p.m. at its 6031 South Lake Street, Glen Arbor facility. Directing the play will be Ron Smith, a Glen Arbor local who recently directed Casablanca.
Celebrated professional gardener, author, and historic landscape authority Peter J. Hatch will visit Leelanau County, Oct. 1-3, for a series of public lectures and programs. Hatch served as director of Gardens and Grounds at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello for 35 years and has published four books on Monticello’s botanic legacy including A Rich Spot of Earth: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello. He lectures extensively on Jefferson and the history of garden plants, and currently consults on public garden projects and private estate landscapes.
The League of Women Voters Leelanau County will host a presentation on Public Education: Past and Present on Wednesday Oct. 1 at noon in the lower level public meeting room of the Leelanau County Government Center. The October meeting will be the first session of a two-part discussion on public education.
The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will present an exhibition by photographer Ken Scott, Sept. 21-Oct. 26. The exhibition is being presented in collaboration with the Leelanau Conservancy.
Traverse City artist Lisa Perrine Brown will talk about her sewn and woven maps on Sunday, Sept. 21, 1 p.m. at Center Gallery, 6023 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. Brown began interpreting maps of local waterways and landform in 2012. After enlarging the maps, Brown translates them into woven tapestries and sewn constructions that use both new and recycled fiber materials. These works are part of an exhibition of contemporary fiber at Center Gallery, also featuring Stephen Kostyshyn’s woven vessels and mixed media clay forms by Kathy Brady.
U.S. veterans of foreign wars are invited to attend a lunch and raffle at the VFW Post on M-204 in Lake Leelanau at noon on Sept. 20. The event intends to salute and honor the thousands of U.S. servicemen and women who have gone missing in action over the past 100 years. Throughout Michigan, Sept 20 is considered “MIA recognition day”. The luncheon costs $1 per veteran. Please bring a form of military identification or wear a military hat or shirt. For more information please contact Alan Aldrich at 231- 271-2060.
Fiber is the focus Sept. 19-Oct. 13 at Center Gallery, 6023 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. The gallery will showcase contemporary approaches to an old medium by three artists: Kathy Brady, Stephen Kostyshyn and Lisa Perrine Brown. The show opens Sept. 19 with a 6 p.m. reception.