An Empire group attempting to revive the “community center” in the old schoolhouse across the street from the Township Hall. According to Lea Ann Sterling, the group will hold its fourth gathering on Sunday, March 18. In the past, the group has hosted a Halloween party, a Christmas potluck with Santa and a Teen Night. The group aspires to renovate the old Empire School.
Longtime northern Michigan musical favorite Claudia Schmidt will play a house concert at the Shiffman home in Empire on Thursday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. Schmidt now lives in Minneapolis, so this is a special homecoming for “the creative noisemaker”.
Northern Michiganders, and residents of Leelanau and Benzie counties in particular, faced the worst snowstorm in decades this past weekend. Old Man Winter threw one of his last tantrums of the season Friday night, and by 8 p.m. much of the area had lost electricity. Here are a few perspectives from your northern Michigan neighbors on how they weathered the great winter storm of 2012.
Are you nuts if you jump through frozen ice into a frigid lake in February? Perhaps. But if you jump, take a victory lap, and then jump again, you’re definitely nuts! Check out this video of Empire resident Gerry Shiffman (with Jack Gyr and others) taking part in the annual Polar Dip as part of Empire’s Winterfest this past weekend.
The county’s best-kept winter sport secret isn’t skiing, snowboarding, or the best ice fishing hideaway: it’s the weekly Zumba classes at the Empire Township Hall. The 5:45-7 p.m.
It was the time of Winterfest, mid-February, in the village of Empire, when temperatures dipped well below the freezing mark. Snow had been shoveled to clear an area for ice-skating on South Bar Lake. Earlier in the day a fire truck had been there to spray a fine mist of water making a smooth surface.
The fifth annual Roy Taghon Memorial Snowmobile Ride begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Empire Airport and continues to the Maple City Fitness Center, behind Kerby’s Bar and Grill, at 172 W. Burdickville Road, Maple City.
Louise Hilton, daughter of Empire residents Ann and Emerson Hilton, met Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus at the Empire Holiday dinner last month.
Sleeping Bear Gallery owner Heather Caverly hopes to bring an artist colony to Empire. Caverly purchased the Empire Clipper Building across Front Street from the Village Office in January and, together with curator Becky Willis, she aims to turn it into a haven that features artists in residence, demonstrations and lectures and, of course, displays of unique art including metals, wood, glass, fibers, paintings, sculptures, ceramics and photography. Caverly and her husband Mark live in the newly renovated area behind the gallery, and Willis occupies the apartment upstairs.
Welcome to the Secret Garden, a renowned seasonal gallery of fine art and handcrafts located in Empire, Michigan (home of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore—Voted “The Most Beautiful Place in America”). We feature the work of more than 200 artists and craftspeople in a diverse collection of wall art, jewelry, pottery, wearables, ornaments, paper goods, home wares, and children’s toys.