Every year on the Fourth of July at 10 am, groups gather to read the Declaration of Independence at each Post Office in Leelanau County. These videos feature readings of the Declaration at Post Offices in Glen Arbor and Empire on July 4, 2026—the semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth.
Join community members of all ages in celebrating the founding of our nation in a joyous and patriotic ceremony at 10 am on Saturday, July 4, at Old Settlers Picnic Grounds along the eastern shore of Big Glen Lake. The traditional raising of the flag by the Glen Lake Fire Department will be followed by a singalong of well-loved and familiar patriotic songs. The event is sponsored by the Glen Lake Woman’s Club. Air Force veteran Ed Peplinski will be this year’s featured speaker with an Independence Day speech titled, “Pulling Together as Americans through Gratitude.”
Cherries are still delicious, Lake Michigan is still wet, Ulysses S. Grant is still buried in Grant’s Tomb, and the Glen Arbor Fourth of July parade is still happening on—you guessed it—the Fourth. That’s despite an erroneous post on the Glen Arbor Township’s Facebook page, and a false local media report, which assigned the Fourth of July parade to July 2. Nope, it’s still on the Fourth. Here’s the lineup of what other events are scheduled for Independence Day weekend in Glen Arbor and around Leelanau County.
Join community members of all ages in celebrating the founding of our nation in a joyous and patriotic ceremony at 10 am, July 4, at Old Settlers Picnic Grounds on the western shore of Big Glen Lake. The traditional raising of the flag by the Glen Lake Fire Department will be led by Chief Bryan Ferguson and will be followed by a singalong of well-loved and familiar patriotic songs.
Before the parades, the picnics and the fireworks begin, a telltale sign of Fourth of July in Leelanau County are the flags flying aloft Deering Tree Service’s green crane truck and bucket truck on the busy corner of M-72 and Maple City Road. The Deering brothers who co-own the company—Josh, 43, Jack, 39, and Patrick, 34—have flown the Stars and Stripes 80 feet in the air each Independence Day ever since they moved to that intersection in 2012. Deering Tree Service, which turns 50 years old in 2023, has nearly 50 employees, and whoever drives the crane truck on that day is responsible for raising the flag.
No parades. No concerts. No fireworks in Leelanau County. This will be a quiet Fourth of July, a time to reflect on our nation, how we’re handling the current pandemic, and where we’re headed. But the Coronavirus hasn’t sacked all local Independence Day traditions. Even though we won’t do so in groups, on Saturday, the flag will be raised, and the Declaration of Independence will be celebrated.
“I’m flattered to be the Grand Marshal in this year’s parade,” says Bonnie Quick. “I thought it was only for famous old people,” she chuckles. Bonnie, at age 70, is the Glen Arbor Township Clerk, and has been since 1988, following two years as Deputy Clerk.
The Fourth of July flag raising ceremony, organized by the Glen Lake Woman’s Club, begins at 10 a.m. at the Old Settlers Picnic Grounds.
Come One, Come All to the community July 4 Flag Raising program in honor of the 241st birthday of America’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence, to be held Tuesday, July 4, at Old Settlers Picnic Grounds. This patriotic tradition has been organized by the Glen Lake Woman’s Club since 1970.
The Northport Community Band kicks off the Glen Arbor Art Association’s 2017 Manitou Music Festival season on Monday, July 3, at 7 p.m. with a musical evening celebrating Independence Day. This concert of patriotic and march favorites takes place on the Old School House lawn located in Glen Arbor on M-22 directly across from the Glen Arbor Township Hall.