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Glen Arbor Chili Cook-Off on, Perch Fishing canceled
Upcoming EventYou’re invited to Winterfest in Glen Arbor. The Chili Cook-Off will be on the deck at Boonedocks on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 12-3 pm, or until the chili runs out. This sizzling event promises a flavorful showdown and celebration of winter in Northern Michigan! Dress for the weather. Due to the current conditions and weather forecast, the Perch Fishing Contest has been canceled.
Suttons Bay celebrates winter with annual Yeti Fest
Upcoming EventThe Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce proudly presents the 2024 Yeti Fest dubbed “The Best Yeti Fest This Side of the Himalayas”. The event takes place on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm and features a chili cook-off and fun events throughout the Village for the whole family. Yeti Central headquarters will be located at the VI Grill event space adjacent to the bar. Stop in to receive an event map, commemorative Yeti merchandise and day-of tickets. Enjoy a variety of activities within walking distance.
Happy Hour at Fischer’s Tavern
Business Feature, Upcoming EventFischer’s Happy Hour Tavern, the popular destination on M-22 south of Northport, reopened this past November after closing in December 2022 following 51 years in business. Tonight, Fischer’s will host “Live From the Happy Hour”—a private (now sold-out) concert featuring Elizabeth Landry, Joe Wilson and Caul Bluhm. Landry shared what Fischer’s has meant to her over the years, as a community destination and as a music venue.
Black Star Farms hosts open house, Feb. 17
Business Feature, Upcoming EventOn Saturday, Feb. 17, Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay will open its doors to the community and beyond with a complimentary property-wide showcase. Its 106 acres encompass everything from a vineyard and tasting room to a boutique inn, restaurant and hiking trails. The venues will be showcased as much as the food and beverages. Members of the Black Star team will be on hand to guide guests through various offerings at the sprawling property.
French Valley Vineyard hosts Tamale Thursdays through the winter
Business Feature, Upcoming EventFrench Valley Vineyard brings the fiesta to your Thursdays from 4-7 pm all winter long, with sizzling live music and mouthwatering tamales from Spanglish. The musical lineup includes: Chris Skellenger on Feb. 8, Rhett & Jon on Feb. 15, the Duges on Feb. 22, and Dennis Palmer on Feb. 29. French Valley’s sister winery, Bel Lago, hosts Folgarelli’s Lasagna Saturdays from noon-5 pm each Saturday through February. Saturday, Feb. 10, will also feature a Super Soup-er Supper from 1-4 pm.
Early February Hoar Frost mesmerizes Leelanau
Photo Spread“Hoar frost,” a feathery frost that forms as a result of specific climate conditions, covered trees and branches throughout Leelanau County on Sunday, Feb. 4, inspiring countless photos and conversations. The prematurely melting snow and the impacts of global warming on northern Michigan’s winter created a layer of fog that blanketed the region in an eery but beautiful landscape. According to the Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, “the word ‘hoar’ comes from old English and refers to the old age appearance of the frost: the way the ice crystals form makes it look like white hair or a beard.
Luke Woltanski headlines Live Music Friday at Cherry Public House
Upcoming EventLuke Woltanski kicks off Live Music Fridays this month at Cherry Public House with a performance tonight from 5-8 pm. The Glen Arbor Sun featured Woltanski in an August 2016 story, which you can read here. Subsequent performances include Woltanski and John Piatek on Feb. 9, Patrick Niemisto and Chris Skellenger on Feb 16, and Skellenger and Paul Koss on Feb 23. Cherry Public House also hosts a trivia night on Sunday evenings from 5-7 pm.
Glen Arbor part-time resident publishes memoir of Palestinian journey
Local Personality, Upcoming EventJohn Farah, a longtime dentist in Ann Arbor who lives part-time at The Homestead in Glen Arbor, has published a memoir about his journey from Jerusalem to Michigan. He’ll hold a book reading and signing for “Imagine: A Palestinian Journey” on Feb. 2 in Ann Arbor. Farah wrote most of the book during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I started it to let my kids and family know about my journey,” he said. “A Palestinian growing up in Israel, sympathetic to Jews suffering in Europe and always feeling because of their history they will do the right thing towards Palestinians.”
Twin Flames, a Suttons Bay cult, an inferno of controversy
Investigative Article, Local PersonalityPerhaps no Spring 2020 COVID-19 transplants to Leelanau County were as mysterious, and now as controversial, as Jeff and Shaleia Ayan, the Suttons Bay residents and relationship coach gurus behind Twin Flames Universe, which a December 2020 Vanity Fair article called “a sort of therapeutic-spiritual reality show.” Last week the streaming service Netflix launched a scathing, three-part documentary series titled “Escaping Twin Flames,” which casts the Ayans’ online community as a cult whose leaders prey upon members and charge them thousands of dollars while pressing them into toxic relationships and manipulating their emotional and mental health struggles. Twin Flames has also attracted negative national press from Vice and Time magazine.
Nicaraguan priest meets Pope in Rome after taking refuge in Empire
Dispatch from Afar, Investigative Article, Local PersonalityPriest José Luis Díaz Cruz and Sergio Jose Cárdenas Flores, political asylees from Nicaragua, have been living in the rectory at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in Empire since March after they escaped the autocratic Ortega regime, which has cracked down on dissent and persecuted the Roman Catholic Church. Originally from the city of Matagalpa, Díaz and Cárdenas were among dozens imprisoned for six months in the capital of Managua after living under house arrest in their church last August. In February, they were among 222 political prisoners flown to the United States after being forced to relinquish their Nicaraguan citizenship. “We’re offering them a safe place to be,” said Rev. Ken Stachnik at St. Philip Neri. “This is important because it’s in the gospel. We are watching out for those who are lost and have no place to go.” The push to bring the Nicaraguans to northern Michigan came from Reverend Wayne Dziekan with the Diocese of Gaylord and who co-directs the Justice and Peace Advocacy Center, an organization which helps asylees and migrant workers in northern Michigan. Matagalpa and Gaylord are sister diocese.