On Aug. 9, the Beach Bards bonfire rounds out its 25th season of by-heart storytelling, poetry and music. The festival is held every Friday night from mid-June until early August at The Leelanau School beach one mile north of Glen Arbor. Children’s hour begins at 8 p.m. with slapstick, sing-along performer James “ Fuzz” Foster and the occasional appearance by Cherry Republic president Bob Sutherland.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB) was founded in 1998 in an attempt to halt the demolition of several buildings owned by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Some 15 years later, the organization continues a partnership with the National Park Service in which its volunteers maintain and restore those buildings.
This is a unique opportunity to meet more than 20 local authors at one time in one location, in the Pine Patch at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor (rain location across the street at Bethlehem Lutheran Church). On Friday, Aug. 2 between 2 and 4 p.m. the best of mystery, history, essay writers and artists will gather.
The Michigan Writers, started in 2001 by a group of area scribes (including Norm Wheeler, Joe VanderMeulen, Bronwyn Jones, and others), initially focused on collaborating to help each other improve their work and get published. But the roots of what would become a thriving regional writing network can be found in a small yet vibrant publication, founded around 1996 by Empire poet, essayist, playwright and teacher Anne-Marie Oomen.
On Sunday, July 29 at 8 p.m. the annual Arts Collage event will take place outdoors at the Studio Stage, located behind Lake Street Studios in Glen Arbor. The rain location is the Glen Arbor Town Hall. This year’s Arts Collage features guitarist Will Pearsall, poets Teresa Scollon and Anne-Marie Oomen and the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
“Chaotic Harmony,” an original theatrical dance production, celebrates the legacy of Gwen Frostic, regional artist and cultural icon. “Chaotic Harmony,” named after one of her 18 books, renders a fresh dance-based interpretation of Frostic’s work by choreographer and director, Gretchen Eichberger (Elberta, Mich.) and writer Anne-Marie Oomen (Empire). The production will premier as a gift to the community on Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and on Aug. 28 at 3 at the Meeting Hall of the Congregational Summer Assembly in Frankfort.
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 Lake Street Studios’ free annual Arts Collage, on Sunday, July 31, at 8 p.m. welcomes back the Ann Arbor Film Festival tour for the third year running. The Film Fest tour this year will emphasize innovative experimental documentaries and visual pieces, according to Arts Collage organizer Harry Fried, who promises a show that will be “both challenging and aesthetically captivating.”
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear offers the inspiration for creative writing in their Path to the Page Writing and Hiking workshop on Thursday, July 28 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. with instructor Anne-Marie Oomen of Interlochen Arts Academy. Participants will learn about the history of select farmsteads during their three-mile walk on the Bayview Trail through the Port Oneida Rural Historic District.
As a writer, activist, teacher and artist, Holly Wren Spaulding has suppressed society’s notion of cookie-cutter success while confidently choosing a less-traveled path that benefits her audience and community members. Most importantly she knows what she needs to feel fulfilled. Because Holly is a woman of numerous proverbial hats, she possesses a unique ability to shed inspiration on those who are passionate about so many things but can’t find the label that is often required for validation.