You can read about how animals and plants survive winter or how to identify trees, but it’s more fun and more engaging to see up close and personal. That’s the premise of the winter experience programs offered by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore rangers. “We show what plants and animals do, evolutionary strategies … like rabbits changing coat colors, cedar boughs have scaly leaves (for) less water loss,” says David Fenlon, the Education Lead at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Holiday festivities continue this month at the Old Art Building in Leland as they host their third Annual ‘Christmas at the Old Art Building – A Variety Show Spectacular’ on Saturday, Dec. 14. Hosted by Andrew Dost, this retro-inspired performance will include caroling, comedy and holiday cheer. Imagine Lawrence Welk, Dolly Parton, and the Muppets collaborating to put on a festive show. The evening will feature a wide assortment of talented musicians, a jazz combo, sketch comedy, and more.
The Leelanau School, the private school located just north of Glen Arbor on 1 Old Homestead Rd, invites the community to join in an evening of holiday cheer on Friday, Dec. 13, from 7:30-9:30 pm. Stop by the school’s auditorium for music and sing-along at 7:30, a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol at 8 by local actors Don Kuehlhorn and Drew Gibson, followed by cookies and punch at 9. The event is free, but reservations are requested by visiting leelanau.org/scrooge.
Kick off the holiday season in Glen Arbor this Thanksgiving weekend with a warm welcome to the annual Holiday Artisan Market, plus two of Glen Arbor’s favorite quirky traditions, the “PJ Party” and the “Bed Parade,” for a weekend full of local creativity, community, and holiday cheer.
The Leelanau Conservancy has unveiled its new logo, which offers a peek through trees and toward a grassy hill with sand dunes, open Lake Michigan, and an island or peninsula in the background. The new logo retains its oval—a nod to the shape of the old logo, which served the Conservancy for 36 years. The old logo featured a ship sailing by sand dune cliffs. “The new refreshed logo feels familiar for our audiences, keeping an alignment with the current logo, but removing elements that do not represent our services,” the Conservancy stated in a press release. “The refresh also captures the scenic character of Leelanau—the ‘peek’ through the trees makes you feel like you are here, in Leelanau.”
Up North Pride will host a Transgender Day of Remembrance Luminary Walk on Wednesday, Nov. 20, on the Leelanau TART Trail between Farm Club and the Fouch Road trailhead. The half-mile pathway will be lined with glowing luminary bags featuring the names of those being honored with the memorial event between 5:30 and 7 pm. Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is an annual observance that started in 1999 as a vigil for remembering and honoring all trans, gender diverse, intersex, and non-binary people who’ve lost their lives during the past year due to anti-transgender violence.
Come and experience the magic of the holidays at the Old Art Building in Leland on Friday, Nov. 22, with Switchback – A Celtic Christmas Concert. Doors open at 6:30 pm with the concert running from 7-9 pm. The show will feature musicians Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack performing some Christmas standards, Irish melodies, and some originals. Voted the top duo for Irish music in Europe and North America by the Irish Music Association, they have shared the stage with luminaries from the Chieftains to Leon Russell to the Moody Blues.
A Special Holiday Tradition continues on Nov. 15 as the Friends of the Glen Lake Library kick off their annual call for children’s books. The Friends are once again collecting donations of new children’s books for those whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season. Any family can find themselves in hard times and the goal is to make sure the children still have some holiday joy in the form of a special book. The list is compiled from Glen Lake Elementary School, Parenting Communities, The Benodjenh Child Center, Leelanau Children’s Center and Family Daycare Homes and is available at the Glen Lake Library in Empire and at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor.
With the holiday season comes the panoply of seasonal markets, where artists and artisans, bakers and makers alike showcase their wares. For many, the season starts with the holiday shows in Glen Arbor and Empire that take place the weekend after Thanksgiving. The Glen Arbor Holiday Marketplace kicks off Friday night, Nov. 29, at 6:15 p.m. with the lighting of the Christmas tree and caroling. The town hall opens for shopping at 6:30 p.m. and goes until 8 p.m., then welcomes shoppers again on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “It’s been going on a long time. I put it together with a ton of other people,” says organizer Cre Woodard. “It’s like a machine.” The vendors line the walls at the town hall, the center of the room and the stage as well. Throngs of shoppers fill the room, perusing the displays of jewelry, mittens, art, holiday décor and more. Woodard has no problem signing up vendors, and when she runs out of room, she knows where to send them – just down the road to Empire. If there’s room there. “I filled up very fast,” says Linda Payment of this year’s Empire Artisan Marketplace, held in the Empire Town Hall. Payment has coordinated the daylong event for the last several years, which takes place the Saturday following Thanksgiving, Nov. 30. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Crystal River Outfitters Recreational District is excited to kick off the holiday season in Glen Arbor with another fun, family-friendly Strolling Lights Festival. This event is a great way for families, friends, teams, businesses and organizations to express their festivity, all while supporting a great cause. Whether highlighting your favorite thing to do in Michigan, representing a family tradition, or supporting a cause, each Strolling Lights tree is a blank slate ready to be decorated.