The idea of opening a small market in Empire dawned on Mae Stier last spring after Deering’s Market closed. Shuttered was a lifeblood business in this close-knit town. For decades, community members had come to Deering’s to buy food and daily provisions, to cross paths and interact.
Here are the winners of this year’s Empire Asparagus Festival recipe contest, held earlier this month in Empire.
Here are the winners of this year’s Ode to Asparagus poetry contest at the Empire Asparagus Festival
Free to enter, this year’s Empire Asparagus Festival recipe competition on Saturday, May 19, is open to anyone who loves asparagus. Participants create asparagus dishes for the public to sample while competing for cash prizes.
The quirky local festival featuring the pungent green stalk returns to Leelanau. The Empire Asparagus Festival returns for its 15th delectable year.
The Glen Lake Library in Empire will once again host an Ode to Asparagus poetry contest as part of the upcoming Empire Asparagus Festival.
Winners of this year’s Empire Asparagus Festival poetry contest.
Those quirky posters you see every year promoting the Empire Asparagus Festival were illustrated by Tim Lewis, who passed away on Jan. 5 at age 79. A native of Midland, Lewis summered as a child in Empire, worked as an artist at the famous Push Pin Studios in New York City, then inherited and settled in his mother’s house on Lambkin Lane, circa 2001 (his mother was born in Empire in 1905). Lewis’ unique persona and art were symbolic of Empire, itself.
Photo by Ashlea Walter From staff reports The 14th annual Empire Asparagus Festival is set for May 19-20 in the quaint village with a quirky spirit. Festivities kick off on Friday with live music and a pig roast from 7-10 p.m. Dance, drink and be merry under the big tent downtown. The Traverse City-based funk, […]
One of the first harbingers of spring in the veggie world is asparagus, a popular early farmers market pick. People are so enthusiastic about asparagus, said third generation farmer Harry Norconk — who along with wife Barbara owns Norconk Asparagus Farm between Empire and Honor — that they begin inquiring about availability as early as April. “When you get a sunny day about 50 degrees, people start calling to ask when the asparagus will be ready,” he said.