Seeking solitude, Ruth Rombaugh of Northport said goodbye to her family last May and stepped out on a 220-mile walk across Michigan. She would be spending the next three-and-a-half weeks making her solitary way from Empire to Oscoda along the Shore to Shore Trail on a journey of self-discovery. “
Mlive.com published a wonderful story on Sunday by our friend Kim Schneider, titled “State, national parks offer programs for artists”, which highlights what the local branch of the National Park service has contributed to our thriving local art scene.
Over in Empire, on Saturday, February 19, the crazy among us jumped into a hole carved in South Bar Lake. Word on the street is that those folks will thaw out by Memorial Day, in time for the tourists’ arrival. Here are photos from this year’s Empire Winterfest:
Both Empire’s and Glen Arbor’s annual Winterfests are coming up on Saturday, February 19. Take the Polar Plunge in Empire’s South Bar Lake, and come to Glen Arbor’s Perch Fishing contest from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. and the Chili Cookoff on the deck at Boone Docks from noon until 3 p.m.
Northern Michigan’s full service freshwater surf shop. Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak provides lessons, rentals and sales. Surfboards, stand-up paddle boards, skimboards, longboard completes, touring kayaks, wetsuits, lifestyle clothing and accessories. Beryl and Frank are all about encouraging free-ride play on the big water. They and their staff have been happily helping groms, families and people of all ages since 2004.
There is no better way to get outside and burn off some of those extra holiday calories than by joining a Park Ranger at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on a special holiday snowshoe hike on Sunday, Dec. 26 and/or Thursday, Dec. 30.
The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor reports that, through a generous response to a local book drive facilitated by the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library, new books will be given to over 240 needy local children this holiday season. But if you haven’t yet participated, the bookshop still has over 50 books — especially for preschoolers.
Start your Holiday shopping with Glen Arbor’s Pajama Party sales, Friday, Nov. 26, from 5-7 a.m. The Township Hall will host tree lighting and carols at 7 p.m. Return on Saturday for the Holiday Market Place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also on Saturday, don’t miss Empire’s Artisan Market Place from noon to 5 p.m. in the Empire Township Hall.
On a typical school day during the growing season, food service directors at both Glen Lake School and The Leelanau School are serving up as many locally grown, fresh ingredients as their budgets and time allow. They’re also teaching students to cook and, with the help of faculty, familiarizing them with the sources of their food.
Each fall, Empire residents Robert Foulkes and Robin Johnson travel from northern Michigan to southwest Ireland to labor on their 20 acres in County Cork along Glandore Harbor — also known in the native tongue as Cuan Daire or “Harbour of the Oaks.”