Visit the Glen Lake Community Library in Empire on Feb. 23 at 7 pm to learn about the environmental health of our Great Lakes in a presentation by the Inland Seas Education Association. ISEA staff will describe the various monitoring activities they perform during their excursions on Grand Traverse Bay, and demonstrate some of the specialized equipment they use in this work. You can also learn about the various volunteer opportunities available with this dynamic local organization.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cherry Republic’s 31 Days of Giving annual campaign, which runs through December. Throughout the past decade, the Glen Arbor-based company has provided grants to dozens of well-deserving organizations—“from loyal stewards of our climate to big-hearted groups that care for our neighbors who need a bit of a hand up during difficult times,” the company wrote in a news release. We caught up with Sara Harding, Cherry Republic’s vice president of climate and community impact, to learn more about the giving campaign.
In early October last year, I stopped by the iconic Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor to introduce myself—a local author whose book is carried there—and to sign copies. Entering the historic log cabin is literally a mood-altering experience. The open door beckons bookworms young and old. Inside, it’s chockful of books and sundry novelties, its walls notably displaying color-popping Greg Sobran prints of area landmarks. Indeed, Cottage Book Shop is the epitome of cozy.
How is Empire still Empire? It’s one of the main hubs for the Sleeping Bear Dunes, it has epic beaches, and it’s right along one of the most beautiful stretches of road in the entire region. Yet, the town of Empire remains solidly quaint, comfortable, and relaxed. Sure, the crowds come through, and the beaches get busy, but the town simply swells with the ebb and flow, and returns to its steadfast self. There have been small additions with big, positive impacts over the years, but it’s truly remarkable how Empire has stayed a classic northern Michigan beach town. And for families with kids, it’s a place where they can be active, get dirty, and start fostering those uniquely vibrant lakeside memories.
On July 28, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library hold their biennial Home Tour featuring six beautiful area homes. The cost is $25 per person. Proceeds will support the purchase of general and special collections, fund programs for children, teens, and adults, fund special purchases at the request of the Library Director and Library Board, and sponsor the sale of used books inside the Library and outdoors at “pop-up” sales. Here are descriptions of those six homes featured on this year’s Home Tour.
The light and inviting new Glen Lake Community Library, which opened in Empire in September 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic, will host its first public exhibit and opening reception on Tuesday, June 29, from 6-7 p.m. for a show called “On the Precipice” which pairs 10 pastel paintings and 10 poems written in response to those paintings. The painter is Glen Arbor resident Linda Alice Dewey, and the poet is Empire resident Anne-Marie Oomen.
“It’s so beautiful, it almost brings tears to my eyes,” Glen Lake Community Library director David Diller overheard a former volunteer say recently when she toured the spacious, light and inviting new library, which reopened on September 8 on 10115 W. Front Street in downtown Empire.
The Glen Lake Community Library will host a presentation by Deb Lake of American Waste on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 7 pm, in the Empire Township Hall. Lake will discuss the company’s regional recycling program, it’s impact on waste reduction in Northern Michigan, and the various issues and trends in the recycling world. For more information, contact the library at 231-326-5361, or visit their website at GlenLakeLibrary.net.
The topic of housing in Leelanau County––and the lack of affordable housing––is one that seems to come up often for those who live here. Among my peers––entrepreneurs and workers in their late-20s to early-30s––housing discussions are often filled with a bit of discouragement.
The 2019 Biennial Home Tour is sponsored by the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library. The tour includes five residences encompassing diverse styles and locations: two homes on the Crystal River (one a warm lodge style and the other an artful contemporary style), an expansive home on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, a beautifully designed home on Fisher Lake, and a charming Homestead duplex.