Sometime this month, the 1,364,835th visitor to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2012 will arrive at the Dune Climb, hike to Pyramid Point, or perhaps bike the Heritage Trail and enjoy its stunning autumnal beauty. In doing so, that visitor will officially make this the busiest year ever for the Glen Arbor region, the most profitable for local businesses, and perhaps the most hectic one too.
Dorothy Brooks of East Lansing plans to use her Glen Arbor Art Association two-week residency to “write a series of poems (10-15) with Lake Michigan as theme: seen from my own unique perspective.” Brooks has spent many summers in northern Michigan on its lakes, rivers and woods and now wants to “breathe the lake” and absorb and record what she finds.
“Saturdays at the Lakeshore” programs take place every Saturday from Sept. 15 through Oct. 27. Meet at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire on M-72 at 1 p.m. to meet the Park Ranger who will lead the hike. Then, car caravan a short distance to where the walk will begin. Each week, a different topic and location in the park will be featured. All are welcome. Each program will be no more than a mile and a half round trip and will conclude by 3 p.m.
Steven Walker of Westerville, Ohio, will make a presentation about his Artist-in-Residence experience at the Glen Arbor Art Association on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. Born in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and raised in Richmond, Va., Walker is a prolific and dedicated “nature” artist. He received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and began a career in illustration. Soon thereafter he began teaching at VCU and then pursued his MFA at Marywood University. He began to exhibit his work in galleries and was well received. His many accomplishments include awards in plein air painting and landscape competitions. He won a blue ribbon in the Ohio Plein Air competition. His work is in many private collections such as Boy Scouts of America, Dominion Resources and the United State Air Force. He has been in many solo and group exhibitions.
Matt and Keegan Myers’ M-22 brand is back in the news, but for the wrong reasons. The iconic logo, of course, graces t-shirts, hats, coffee cups, bumper stickers, wine, and other items sold at retail stores in Traverse City and in Glen Arbor. The Myers brothers, who live on Old Mission Peninsula and run the annual M-22 Challenge, have made a killing since trademarking the logo about a decade ago. Sales reached $2 million this year, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Bill Janis, CEO of Traverse City-based Century Inc., won the Chevy Volt raffle on Saturday at Cherry Republic. The raffle was held in support of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, a multi-use and bike trail which connects the Dune Climb with Glen Arbor and will one day stretch 27 miles, from the Leelanau-Benzie County Line to Good Harbor. 1,200 tickets were sold, each costing $100, which generated $120,000 for the next portion of the Heritage Trail — the Dune Climb to Empire leg — which advocates hope will be complete by next summer.
Are you a visual artist interested in exploring a new medium? Are you a quilter, but do not think you are an artist, or want to expand beyond the traditional? The Glen Arbor Art Association (GAAA) is offering a special Fabric Art workshop this September. “The Quilt as Art: Introduction to Non-Traditional, Contemporary Quilt Making” will be a two-day weekend event Sept. 8-9 at the GAAA building in Glen Arbor.
Genuine Leelanau, a nonprofit charitable organization serving children and families of Leelanau County for the past 20 or so years, is hosting their annual gala, the Laundry Party, on Thursday, September 6 at the gracious Simpson home, overlooking Good Harbor Bay. The Laundry Project, GL’s most notable charitable recipient, supplies funds and laundry supplies for families who cannot afford to use a laundromat. Proceeds from the Laundry Party fill the coffers for this project’s annual budget. Tickets are available for $50 each through any GL member. Laundry Party guests will enjoy sumptuous food and drink, the opportunity to bid on two outrageously eclectic birdhouses sculpted by Dewey Blocksma, great community, and a classically fabulous Leelanau view. Party starts at 6 PM, 110 Highland Dr., off M22 behind the Good Harbor Vineyard tasting room. Guests are invited to bring a large box of diapers for the local free pantries. For more information contact GL member Sandra Carden, (231) 256-9027.
The Leelanau Press, a nonprofit publishing company, is undertaking a major effort to recognize the work of artists who have painted in this unique northern Michigan gem. A future publication, Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, and a major exhibition at the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City will celebrate what has recently been media-designated as America’s Most Beautiful Place.
Artists have long known what others were to learn when the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park was designated by viewers of Good Morning America as “the most beautiful place in America”.