Leelanau School

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Lanphier Observatory celebrates 50 years

This summer marks the 50th summer of stargazing at The Leelanau School’s Lanphier Observatory. Open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday nights from June 24 to Aug. 20, from dusk to midnight (clear skies permitting, $5 for adults and $4 for students), this gift from Charles “Chick” Lanphier five decades ago has inspired and astonished thousands of summer guests and generations of high school students as they viewed the heavens through the powerful 14-inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegranian reflecting telescope and learned the constellations twinkling over Sleeping Bear Bay.

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Glen Arbor Players open 2026 season

The Glen Arbor Players open their 2026 season on Friday, May 22, at 7 pm at The Leelanau School auditorium with the play “Love Letters” by A.R. Gurney. This Pulitzer Prize-nominated play tracks, through letters, the lifelong friendship between characters Andy Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner. The play, directed by GAP veteran Teddy House, celebrates the joys, trials, triumphs and heartbreaks of their lives.

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Renovated Leelanau School auditorium welcomes Glen Arbor Players

Goodbye analog; hello digital! Exciting changes have happened in The Leelanau School’s auditorium, and no one is more enthusiastic about them than the Glen Arbor Players. The theater group’s 2026 season starts this spring as Phase 1 of auditorium renovations, funded by grant money and generous community donations, has just been completed.

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Glen Arbor Players present The Half-Life of Marie Curie

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.  

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Leelanau School hosts Small Farm conference

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.”

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Glen Lake Woman’s Club holds July 4 flag raising at Old Settlers Park

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.

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Celebrating songs of Leelanau: Laura Hood’s “Eddy Up”

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.

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Celebrating songs of Leelanau: Les Dalgliesh’s “The Ways of Leelanau”

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.”

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Leelanau School hosts holiday cheer

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.

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Leelanau School opens Charles E. Scripps Creativity Center

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.

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