Writing a review for a dear friend is always a risk because, well, what if you don’t like the book? Fortunately, it is an honor and pleasure to review Jacob Wheeler’s beautiful first book Between light and Shadow: A Guatemalan Girl’s Journey through Adoption (University of Nebraska Press, April 2011).

The fifth annual Running Bear Run on July 26 was another huge success with a picture perfect day and 700 runners in attendance. There were 555 runners in the 5K and 145 kids in the half mile Kids’ Run. A great time was had by all.

For those who seek treasures within the pages of a good book (or, perhaps, in this electronic age, a movie, CD, or audiobook), ye need look no further than the Glen Arbor Township Hall, where the Annual Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library Vintage Book Sale will take place on August 10-12.

This letter represents the views of an informal group of citizens who are concerned about the impact that your sewage system is having on Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth’s Aunt Helen Westie Wetterholt, a frequent contributor to the Glen Arbor Sun, and an Empire mainstay who passed away in May, at 93 years old. Read her obituary below.

It’s almost 10 p.m. and the hottest July 20th on record here since 1977. Undaunted, humans are thicker than mosquitoes on the deck above the beach at The Leelanau School’s C.H. Lanphier Observatory.

All the hot weather we’ve had led me to re-read the 19th century Boizard letters written during the winter time in Glen Arbor. Exploring how some early white settlers got through the cold, snowy winters here offered an instructive perspective on the heat. I also wanted to continue to mine the letters for references to the Civil War, as the Boizard letters offer many informative first-hand descriptions.

Traverse City artist Joe De Luca will remember his recent travels through the Italian cities of Tuscany, Pompeii and Herculaneum in a series of mixed media panels on exhibit at the Center Gallery/Lake Street Studios on Lake Street in Glen Arbor. The show opens Aug. 5 with a 6 p.m. reception.

Reading a Bonnie Jo Campbell book is like sitting down for a cuppa, or a cold one, with your very best gal pal. You can let loose and relax, kick off your shoes, loosen your girdle, because she does, her story does, the way it weaves in and around you and floats you along, easy, easy. Just like a river.

The Leelanau Conservancy will hold its Annual Picnic and Auction on Thursday, Aug. 4 at the Rex Dobson Ruby Ellen Farm on Center Highway near Traverse City. The picnic begins at 5 p.m. and features a silent and live auction, as well as pre-picnic field trips, a Kids Tent and a short program that includes recognizing the Conservancy’s “Volunteer of the Year” and “Business Partner of the Year.” A local foods-focused meal will be served, along with local wines. Tickets are $30 for adults until Aug. 1, when the price goes up to $35.