Tickets are still available for Leelanau County resident Joshua Davis’ concert on Saturday, April 15, at the Old Art Building in Leland. “There are so many reasons I love the Old Art Building besides the fact that it’s a quick drive for me,” Davis told the Glen Arbor Sun. “I love the history of the building. I love the community that supports it. I love that it embraces all mediums of art, and the sound (there) is killer. It’s one of those really special venues.”
In the age of 24 hour news and hyped headlines, local journalism tackles stories that directly impact our day-to-day lives. Join Leelanau Indivisible and the League of Women Voters of Leelanau County on Saturday, April 8, at 10 a.m. for a virtual conversation via Zoom to learn how local media is relevant now more than ever.
The Manitou Music series is one of the most enduring and significant programs of the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC). Each year, to commemorate the music series, the GAAC selects a painting representative of Leelanau County and the surrounding area for its annual poster. This year the honor has been bestowed upon Randi Ford, a landscape artist based in Grand Rapids. Ford’s painting, entitled Path Through Time (2021), is a vibrant and lyrical rendition of the Arcadia Dunes and its surrounding azure waters. Ford’s love of nature—northern Michigan and Lake Michigan, in particular—is abundantly clear from her acrylic works. Ford exclusively paints landscapes. The outdoors provides deep and endless inspiration. Her intention is to capture the energy and spirit of nature, and share it with her audience.
Parallel 45 Theatre returns to the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC) with a dose of magical realism. A performance of “Smokefall” takes place on Wednesday, March 22, at 6 pm in the GAAC main gallery. Tickets are $10. Seating is by reservation and limited.
New York Times best-selling author Dan Egan writes about the source of great bounty—and now great peril—all over the world in his new book The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance. He’ll visit the Traverse City Opera House on Friday, March 10, at 7 pm, for an event co-hosted by the National Writers Series and the International Affairs Forum at Northwestern Michigan College. Patrick Shea, environmental reporter at Interlochen Public Radio, will be the event’s guest host.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in partnership with Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear will host Maple Sugaring Days at the Dechow and Olsen Farms in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District on Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5 from 10 am-3 pm each day. Join park rangers, volunteers, and special presenters at this new event to learn the history of maple sugaring and the process of making maple syrup from start to finish.
How can a creative practice help one navigate the grief that accompanies the death of a loved one? This topic is explored during Exploring Grief Through Creativity, a Glen Arbor Arts Center retreat focused on increasing wellness through creativity. The retreat takes place March 11, from 9 am-5 pm at Pine Street Studios, next door to GAAC. The cost is $175, including all materials, breakfast, and lunch. Pre-registration is required. Space is limited to 12 participants.
“The Feral Housewife” is the nom de guerre of Mary Beth Acosta, a longtime Leelanau County resident, whose collage work is on display at the Glen Arbor Arts Center until April 23. The word “feral,” generally, is defined in one of two ways: “of, relating to, or suggestive of a wild beast,” or “having escaped from domestication and become wild.” The latter definition of “feral” is that which resonates with Acosta. Indeed, she playfully sees herself as “feral.” Acosta’s exhibit at the GAAC includes a retrospective of nine collage works that reference American culture from the 1940s through the 1960s, with an emphasis on female domesticity and Detroit automotive design. Her body of work is, essentially, a reflection on the ethos of those decades, and, also a parodic critique thereof.
Grand Rapids artist Randi Ford’s acrylic-on-canvas painting “Path Through Time” is the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s 2023 Manitou Music poster image. Ford’s painting was selected by the GAAC’s Manitou Music Poster Committee from a field of 40 entries. The 2023 poster can be viewed and purchased online at GlenArborArt.org and the GAAC office.
In honor of Black History Month, the National Writers Series will welcome author and radio broadcaster Alvin Hall, to discuss his latest book, Driving the Green Book. Using the historic guide for Black travelers, Hall tells stories of safe havens for Black Americans in a hostile “Whites Only” country. He drove from New York to Detroit to New Orleans. The event is available via livestreame or in-person at the City Opera House at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23.