Food, folks, farm and fun—plus a festival or two. Those are all part of the plan at the Lively Farm, a.k.a. Backyard Burdickville, f.k.a. the Eagles property on M-72 just east of Empire. Lively NeighborFood Market is set to debut Memorial Day weekend, pending any surprises with the buildout or weather. The brainchild of Jim and Kelly Lively is the latest addition to the property, which has also served as home to the LivelyLands music festival and the Lively Farm, a CSA farm.
The fields at Backyard Burdickville in Empire Township will come to life once again with the sound of music. The LivelyLands Music Festival returns, Aug. 20-22, to the former Empire Eagles’ campground on M-72, which the Lively family purchased in 2019. LivelyLands was canceled last year during the COVID-19 shutdown. With guitar picking and beautiful maladies crooning through the fields and forests, this intimate, “backyard” festival carries the legacy of Leelanau County summer music festivals.
The scent of cinnamon suffuses the air. Is this a spice shop? A tea emporium? Nope, it’s Jane Lively’s hoop house shed for sprouting seedlings at the Lively Farm off Bow Road above Burdickville. Dozens of plastic pots line the shelves, all sprinkled with the red spice that kills any bacteria in the soil, thus enhancing germination. It’s just one more sign of the phenomenal growth occurring within the Lively family’s many new business ventures that include the Lively Farm, the Backyard Burdickville Campground, and the next LivelyLands weekend music festival coming in August.