Old Art Building talk examines “Immigration in America: What the Data Really Shows”

Immigration is one of the most talked-about and divisive issues in America. Separating headlines from facts can feel overwhelming. On Thursday, April 9, from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Old Art Building in Leland, community members are invited to a free discussion that uses data to cut through confusion and show what the numbers actually say. The program is presented in partnership with Mobile Pathways, an award-winning technology nonprofit whose immigration analysis has been featured by major outlets in the United States and abroad and recognized internationally for its impact.

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Glen Lake Library plans Spring Break events

The Glen Lake Community Library in Empire will host a series of special events for area students during the week of Spring Break, from March 31 to April 4. Click here to view the library’s planned activities.

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Bay Theatre continues Made in Michigan Film Series

The Bay’s popular Made in Michigan series highlights great films made in the state and provides unique opportunities for audiences to connect directly with the filmmakers and/or special guests through post-screening Q&As. Made in Michigan continues on Sunday, March 29 at 4 pm with All Too Clear. This festival award winner and groundbreaking documentary explores the most significant ecological shift in the Great Lakes since the last ice age. Utilizing cutting-edge, custom-built underwater drones, filmmakers Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert—who will attend the screening—spent over 150 days capturing footage of a world that is becoming “all too clear” due to an army of quadrillions of invasive quagga mussels. This event is presented in partnership with Inland Seas Education Association.

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Members Create exhibit returns to Glen Arbor Arts Center

The Glen Arbor Arts Center’s annual Members Create exhibition opens March 20 at 5 pm with a public reception featuring the work of 31 current GAAC members. A showcase of members’ talent, Members Create runs through May 28. The exhibit includes work in a wide range of media: paint to fiber, clay to metal, sculpture, assemblage, collage and more. It may be viewed in person in the GAAC’s Main Gallery, or online at GlenArborArt.org/EXHIBITS.

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Billy Joel’s backing band to play at Leelanau Sands Casino

When Billy Joel was creating his hit records in the ’70s and ’80s, he wasn’t working by himself. While he wrote the bulk of the material and sang and played piano, he also led a band of top-flight musicians. Now The Lords of 52nd Street, featuring members of those recordings and tours, are performing Joel’s music, including a stop at Leelanau Sands Casino March 20. Guitarist Russell Javors says playing the music again with those who helped create it was a full-circle moment for him. “Lib and I have played together since we were kids, and with Doug since before Billy,” he says of drummer Liberty DeVitto and bassist Doug Stegmeyer.

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Glen Lake Woman’s Club Art Fair vendor deadline nears

March 22 is the deadline to submit a vendor application for the Glen Lake Woman’s Club Art Fair. The Art Fair will be held on July 15 at the Glen Arbor Township Hall. This annual, juried Art Fair features artists carefully selected to represent one-of-a kind art pieces for sale at the Township Hall. The Art Fair features artisans in many mediums including pottery, painting, textiles, woodworking, and jewelry.

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Bear Man’s lawyer questions Fishtown’s tax-exempt status, escalating Youth for Christ battle in Leland

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Business owners, local parents, and the Fishtown Preservation Society oppose Apollos Properties’ and Youth for Christ’s contentious bid for a special land use permit to create a youth ministry in a building they own in the heart of Leland’s business district. Now Youth for Christ is striking back and elevating the legal stakes of this battle playing out in a small Leelanau County town but with potential implications far beyond Northern Michigan. On March 10, Timothy White, an attorney with the Parker Harvey law firm, sent a letter on behalf of their client, Apollos owner Jim VanSteenhouse, to the Leland Township assessor and board of review. That letter questioned the charitable tax-exempt status of the Fishtown Preservation Society in the town’s historic district of fish shanties. The district includes VanSteenhouse’s property at at 110 North Lake St. where Youth for Christ wants a ministry.

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Glen Arbor hosts St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl, March 14

Glen Arbor will host its annual St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl on Saturday, March 14, from noon-7 pm with visits to local establishments, including: M22 Glen Arbor, Glen Arbor Wines, Boondocks, Cherry Public House, and Art’s Tavern.

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Sugar Moon’s Maple Syrup

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It’s that time of year again as many in northern Michigan, including here in Leelanau County, begin tapping the maple trees to reap their golden harvest. As Old Man Winter fades, maple trees offer us the first gift of the season—a pure, golden sap which through lots of hard work is transformed into the rich, sweet syrup beloved by many. The 2025, U.S. maple syrup industry produced 5.7 million gallons according to the USDA statistics service. Tapping Maple trees for their sap began long before Europeans settled in America. Early origins of maple sugaring are preserved in oral traditions of Anishinaabeg and other tribes of northern Michigan and northeastern North America. The Anishinaabe people began the deep connection to the tradition and referred to the season as Ziinzibaakwadoke Giizis (Sugar Moon). “We are celebrating a tradition that started with indigenous groups in the American Northeast and Great Lakes that included the Anishinaabe,” said William Derouin, Agricultural Manager at the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. This program has grown to include the GTB Sugarbush camp, which will be held in Peshawbestown on March 13-14 and March 20-21.

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National Lakeshore, Preserve Sleeping Bear host Maple Sugaring Days

March is maple sugaring time in northern Michigan. An annual Maple Sugaring Days event presented by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in partnership with Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear will be held over two days–March 7-8 at the Olsen and Dechow Farms. Saturday hours are 10 am-3 pm and Sunday hours are 11 am-3 pm. Maple Sugaring Days offers a variety of demonstrations and hands-on activities to get outdoors and learn about the history of maple sugaring.

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