Sleeping Bear Surf holds plastics cleanup at Platte River mouth

Join The Cleanup Club and Sleeping Bear Surf on Saturday, April 27, from 10 am-noon for a cleanup at the Platte River mouth in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, as we work together to protect our Great Lakes from plastic pollution in celebration of Earth Month. Click here to RSVP.

Read more
/by

Leelanau Clean Water holds storytelling event at Little Traverse Inn

Come enjoy “Bubbling Up,” an evening of tales of water told live on-stage at the Little Traverse Inn on Saturday, April 27, at 7 pm. A $10 voluntary donation at the door goes to support the nonprofit Leelanau Clean Water. Emcee Taylor Moore will invite six storytellers to share true personal stories about water.

Read more
/by

“Sugar bear” trapped near Empire, relocated by DNR

The black bear that gained national press last week after it briefly broke into Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire and made off with a 50-pound bag of sugar apparently has a taste for chickens, too. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) caught the bear in a live trap today on Joshua Evan Fast’s property on Stormer Road, about 2.5 miles southeast of downtown Empire. Fast told the Sun that the bear had eaten 16 of his chickens over the past two weeks after breaking the door to their chicken coop.

Read more
/by

Crystal River culvert work along County Road 675 to resume this fall

Grand Traverse Engineering and Construction and the Leelanau County Road Commission have announced that roadwork to improve Crystal River stream crossings along County Road 675, northeast of Glen Arbor, will resume late this summer or early this fall. The culverts where kayakers on the Crystal River gleefully “shoot the tube” are next on the list. Click here to read more and to view a map of the project.

Read more
/by

Leelanau Conservancy holds Earth Week events

As the climate warms and our world responds, Leelanau witnesses the familiar signs of spring’s arrival—a season now marked by changing weather patterns and ecological shifts. In recognition of these changes, the Leelanau Conservancy invites all to partake in Earth Week 2024. Amid concerns of climate disruption, the Conservancy’s annual series of events aims to foster community resilience and environmental stewardship. From April 22-28 the Conservancy will engage in hikes, volunteer opportunities, and community gatherings, all emphasized by a collective commitment to mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect Leelanau for generations to come.

Read more
/by

A double date leads to a Galla-Popa double wedding

Wedding couples of the late 1930s and early 1940s in rural northern Michigan braved hurdles that most modern couples have never faced. These brides and grooms survived the devastating economic and social challenges of The Great Depression only to witness the eve of a second world war. Unimaginable, yet these persevering couples endured and thrived. Rebecca Carlson narrates the Galla-Popa double wedding of July 1941, as part of her ongoing series on Leelanau farming families.

Read more
/by

V Gallery fills Tamarack Gallery void in Omena

,

Hillary and Matt Voight are proprietors of a new Omena art gallery called V Gallery, which is located in the former Tamarack space and is set to open this May. In 2023, the Leelanau art community entered a void in representation as three prominent art galleries closed their doors. One was Tamarack Gallery, founded by David and Sally Viskochil more than 45 years ago and beloved by art lovers from around the world. “As I walked through the door to meet Matt and Hillary, I knew I was experiencing a unique moment in time, a mere blip between the old guard and the new generation representing art here in Northern Michigan,” writes Abby Chatfield in this story the Sun published in our April 11 print edition.

Read more
/by

Black bear enters Empire chocolate shop, devours bag of sugar

,

A black bear has visited Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire on five consecutive evenings this week, rummaged through a dumpster and spreading garbage around the village, and pulling open the back door and devouring a 50-pound bag of sugar. On Tuesday night, April 16, around 10:30 pm, the bear entered the beloved chocolate shop for no more than 20 seconds, stole the sugar and returned to the sidewalk to eat it. It touched nothing else in the shop, not even the small, chocolate bears on display by the checkout counter.

Read more
/by

Leelanau Energy Futures Task Force celebrates Earth Day with panel discussion on microplastics

In keeping with the national theme for Earth Day 2024, “Planet vs. Plastics,” the Leelanau County Energy Futures Task Force will host a panel discussion in observation of Earth Day in Leelanau entitled: “Microplastics: They’re in Our Air, Water, Land and Us” on Monday, April 22, from 3-5 pm in the Munnecke Room of the Leland Township Library, located at 203 East Cedar Street in Leland.

Read more
/by

Glen Lake Restaurant Week celebrates 10 years: founders Randy and Mari Chamberlain announce retirement from Blu

,

Glen Lake Restaurant Week, which runs April 26-May 4 and offers diverse culinary options and special prices at restaurants throughout the Glen Arbor region, started with a simple idea proposed by Blu owners Randy and Mari Chamberlain more than a decade ago: why not hold an event in the spring that brings more commerce to the region during the off-season? “I raised my hand, suggested a restaurant week for Glen Arbor, and they nominated me as chairman,” said Randy. “It’s been a nice springboard for us every year. Now we’re nearly fully staffed from Restaurant week through October. It’s been fun to watch the success.” The Chamberlains recently announced their retirement from Blu, effective April 1, with son Brandon taking over as the new owner. Chef Todd M Thompson will manage the kitchen. Thompson and Randy have worked together since the 1990s. Blu reopened for the season on April 12.

Read more
/by