The Glen Arbor Players will stage their third production of the 2025 season with a play brimming with wit, wisdom and passion: The Half-Life of Marie Curie. The play was written by Lauren Gunderson and is directed by Bob Boles. The play will be performed at The Leelanau School on two weekends: September 12-13 at 7:30 pm and 2 pm on Sunday, Sept. 14, as well as on Sept. 19 and 20 at 7:30 pm. Jean Jenkins and Janet Stipicevich will portray Ms. Curie and Ms. Ayrton, respectively.
Farmers today face a number of challenges. Climate change, increasing costs for land, seeds, insurance and staffing, and development pressure all weigh on an endeavor that has always operated on thin margins. Any advantage they can accrue will help. Enter the annual Small Farm Conference, taking place Aug. 18-19 at the Leelanau School. Christina Marbury, community engagement specialist for Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology, says the conference will be beneficial for most anyone connected with the land, from small-scale growers to those interested in sustainable practices or ways in which they can diversity their offerings to make a profit. “It’s great for farmers, of course,” says Marbury. “Also people interested in farming, (those) growing at home—there’s a nice variety of business focus.”
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.
Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with Laura Hood’s “Eddy Up,” which the retired music teacher and Cedar resident first wrote for The Leelanau School’s graduating class of 2000. For the past 25 years, Hood has performed “Eddy Up” as the benediction music at the school’s graduation ceremony, sending the graduating seniors off into the big wide world, and giving the families and school community a moment to reflect on the growth and pride of such an important transition in life.
Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with Les Dalgliesh’s “The Ways of Leelanau,” which the singer-songwriter occasionally performed at the Leelanau School’s graduation ceremony held in early June at the private boarding school next to The Homestead resort. “My time at Leelanau was a time of learning and growth for the students—and for me. ‘The Ways of Leelanau’ became a kind of context that fostered learning, growth, and connection for all of us.”
The Leelanau School, the private school located just north of Glen Arbor on 1 Old Homestead Rd, invites the community to join in an evening of holiday cheer on Friday, Dec. 13, from 7:30-9:30 pm. Stop by the school’s auditorium for music and sing-along at 7:30, a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol at 8 by local actors Don Kuehlhorn and Drew Gibson, followed by cookies and punch at 9. The event is free, but reservations are requested by visiting leelanau.org/scrooge.
The Leelanau School recently dedicated the newly constructed Charles E. Scripps Jr. Creativity Center on its Glen Arbor campus. The Center will house the school’s ceramics studio, newly donated woodworking shop, and new Laser Engraving program. The project was inspired and funded through the generosity of Charles E. Scripps Jr. of Montana, a Leelanau parent and grandparent. Mr. Scripps shares Leelanau’s passion for hands-on and entrepreneurial learning experiences. Applied arts allow students to learn elements of creativity and design while acquiring the discipline required to turn ideas into reality.
Laura and Bruce Hood have finished their teaching careers at the Leelanau School after 31 years. Bruce delivered an emotional graduation speech at the school’s 93rd commencement ceremony on June 1 that included these words: “I believe our lives, like careers, are made from the moments, the unpredictable times that happen when you are together, that fill in all the time between the milestones, those moments that you will remember for the rest of your life, the ones that shaped who you are and set you on a course for who you will become. Our challenge is to live those moments, to understand them for what they are before they become only memories…” What a bunch of moments and memories these master teachers have shared with more than three decades of students!
Living in Leelanau invites the wearing of many hats, with individuals often finding themselves sitting on multiple boards, working more than one job, or filling numerous needs throughout our small communities. Many of the most successful businesses also operate in this way, meeting multiple needs under one roof: the coffee shop that is also a music venue, the vintage store with the art club, the restaurant with an inn above. At one such multi-functional establishment—Farm Club—writer Mae Stier sat down to talk with Elijah Nykamp, who is himself a wearer of many hypothetical hats. Owner of the clothing studio and shop Nykamping in Suttons Bay, Nykamp is the designer and sewist of all the clothing he creates. Not only does he design and create beautiful, wearable pieces, he is also a community builder, frequently partnering with other artists.
In October of 2021, the first snow frosted the maples still ablaze with red and orange color. Art instructor Kaz McCue from the Leelanau School saw the opportunity to take his Photography 2 class for a ride. They got great photos, and when Kaz sent one of the best to his wife Pam, an art teacher at St. Johns Country Day in Orange Park, Fla., she replied, “This would make a great puzzle!”