Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will lead a conversation on clean water at Cherry Republic’s Glen Arbor campus on Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
Prolific local poet, memoirist, essayist and playwright Anne-Marie Oomen creates an enduring sense of place and history. From her memoirs about growing up in Oceana County (100 miles south of Leelanau), to poems that capture the magic of the Sleeping Bear Dunes and the western Michigan lakeshore, to history plays that re-create local characters and bygone times, Oomen’s work is always infused with images of the hills and the forests, the barns and the orchards, and the dirt and the compost of her native land. This summer two of Oomen’s history pieces will be performed as part of the Port Oneida Fair, sponsored by Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear and the Port Oneida Fair Committee with a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council.
The Port Oneida Fair returns to the Port Oneida Rural Historic District of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Friday and Saturday, August 12-13, following a two-year COVID-19 hiatus. Beginning at 10 a.m. each day, and running until 4 p.m., visitors are invited to step back in time to actively experience life as it was in this once active community of robust farms of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The fair promotes the preservation of rural traditional skills, crafts, landscapes, and communities of the Upper Great Lakes Region through education and artistic expression.
The Old Art Building in Leland will host acoustic songwriter and singer Miriam Picó Younce and her husband Ryan Younce on Thursday, Aug. 4, at 7 p.m. for a free evening of positive, inter-generational music. This family-friendly performance includes some cover tunes along with an array of Miriam’s originals. We caught up with Miriam to ask about this concert, about her inspiration and muse, about the various artistic mediums she marries in her work, and about her perfect northern Michigan summer day.
The Glen Arbor Arts Center will host the Beach Bards, Leelanau County’s hometown wordsmiths, for an evening of poetry, stories and music about flags on August 2 from 7-9 p.m. The event takes place in the forest grove behind the Arts Center. This special edition of the Beach Bards is open to poets and writers of any skill level. Bring a poem or story to share. No pre-registration is required.
From staff reports Michigan’s redistricting process has created a new 103rd District, which includes Leelanau County, greater Traverse City, and a sliver of Benzie County. Leelanau previously fell in the 101st District, which included Benzie, Manistee and Mason counties running down the Lake Michigan coastline. Two Democratic challengers are running in this year’s primary election […]
The Glen Lake Fire Department’s station # 1 will host an open house on Saturday, July 30, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The location is 6401 W. State St. in Glen Arbor.
The TC Dance Project returns once again to Leelanau County’s historic barns and pastoral landscape. In collaboration with the Glen Arbor Arts Center, the dance performance will be held on Saturday, July 30, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Nash Road Red Barn near Maple City—on property owned by an Arts Center board member.
On July 28, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library hold their biennial Home Tour featuring six beautiful area homes. The cost is $25 per person. Proceeds will support the purchase of general and special collections, fund programs for children, teens, and adults, fund special purchases at the request of the Library Director and Library Board, and sponsor the sale of used books inside the Library and outdoors at “pop-up” sales. Here are descriptions of those six homes featured on this year’s Home Tour.
From staff reports
The North Manitou Light Keepers (NMLK) will host its annual Lightkeeper Rally and Crib Cruise in Leland on July 28. This fun and engaging event is open to all and gathers people to share community, learn about restoration efforts and plans for the North Manitou Shoal Light (also called “the Crib”), and take an evening cruise on board the Mishe-Mokwa to see and learn more about the lighthouse.
“People really enjoy getting together and imagining the fun things we can do with the lighthouse while also honoring its history and those who have worked there,” said Daniel Oginsky, NMLK president. “The Crib Cruise is a great time, taking an evening boat ride out into one of America’s most beautiful places and telling fun and interesting stories, people have loved it,” he added.
The Lightkeeper Rally will be from 4-6 p.m. at Main Street Gallery (307 South Main Street in Leland). Light food and drinks will be served by the Leland River, while attendees mingle and NMLK members discuss the status of restoration efforts and plans for the Crib. There is no registration or cost to attend the Lightkeeper Rally.
The Crib Cruise will depart on board the Mishe-Mokwa, operated by Manitou Island Transit, at 6:30 p.m. from Historic Fishtown in Leland. The Mishe-Mokwa will cruise out to the lighthouse, which is eight miles from Leland Harbor and near the Manitou Islands. It will then gently circle the lighthouse while NMLK members tell stories about the Crib, its history, and its future. The cost of the Crib Cruise is $45 per person, with any net proceeds going to support the restoration of the Crib. To attend the Crib Cruise, visit www.northmanitoulightkeepers.org/cribcruise.
The North Manitou Light Keepers is a nonprofit organization founded in 2016. Its mission is to restore the North Manitou Shoal Light Station, make it and its history available to the public for education and appreciation, and cultivate an active community of stewardship for this piece of Michigan maritime history that stands amidst one of America’s most beautiful locations.