State, federal and local dignitaries and other supporters of the proposed Cedar River Waterway & Park project are expected to attend Saturday’s noon rededication ceremony of Cedar’s refurbished and repainted red pedestrian/snowmobile bridge.
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“Hey, I’ve got an idea.” Any conversation with Cedar area resident Marco Dedenbach will most likely include these buoyant words. For many people, ideas are ephemeral wisps that flicker and die. For the bearded redhead with the ready smile, they’re a call to action. He doesn’t spend much time wondering and worrying about the “ifs” or the “yeah, buts.” For him, it’s all about the how—and most importantly, the who.
Board members of the Cedar Polka Fest decided during their meeting last night to cancel the annual festival, which had been moved from mid-June to September in hopes that the COVID-19 global pandemic would be under control by then. Instead Coronavirus infections are rising in much of the United States and spreading through parts of Leelanau County.
Polka Fest has fresh legs this year. For the first time, Michigan-made vodka and Polish beer will be served in Cedar. Native son Rifino Valentine, who developed the wildly successful, high-quality Valentine Vodka spirits brand in Detroit, will return “home” and toast to his roots. Cedar has an energetic new booster in Kathleen Bittner Koch, a 37-year-old Hamtramck native who moved here five years ago to buy a farm.
Having tested the waters in other climes, Leelanau County local Mike Gauthier boomeranged back home from South Carolina for good in 2002. He has been slingin’ beers and mixin’ drinks behind the bar at Art’s Tavern since 2008.
Greg Kowalski, the “Godfather of Hamtramck History” will visit Cedar (the little Poland of the north) for a book signing on Saturday, May 25, from 10 am-6 pm, and Sunday, May 26, from noon until 4 pm, at the Polish Art Center in Cedar.
The Polish Art Center in Cedar is offering pisanki egg decorating classes on the next three Sundays between now and Easter. The art of egg decorating is a treasured Polish tradition each spring.
Pigs, goats, chickens, guinea hens, ducks, cats, and a couple small children roam the pastures, pathways, and vegetable patch of the Polish Heritage Farm in Cedar. “We came up five years ago [from Hamtramck, a Detroit neighborhood]. We had this vision: doing a farm and raising our kids on a farm, knowing where their food came from,” bubbles Kathleen Bittner Koch.
The “Heavenly” Garden Walk will be held Saturday, Sept. 8, from noon until 6 p.m. at Fr. Ken and Ray Stachnik’s home at 9059 Nelson Street in Cedar. A donation of $15 per person is requested. A tour of the Cedar Fire Station will follow the garden walk. All proceeds benefit the Cedar Fire and Rescue Equipment Fund. Questions may be directed to Ray Pleva at 231- 631-5150.
Victoria Creek has long been a staple of Cedar, and it is about to undergo some significant improvements. The Cedar Community Marina project is set to begin construction in the spring of 2019, bringing with it major changes and a new standard for Cedar’s future.