luke woltanski

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Afternoon-long fundraiser concert returns to Lively Acres

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It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The Lively neighborhood, that is, as the compound on M-72 readies to host Lively NeighborFest 2026 on May 24. Jim Lively says the event is an opportunity for neighbors to gather together around local food and music, while supporting two local non-profits, the Empire Area Community Center (EACC) and LIFT (Leelanau Investing For Teens). “The beautiful thing is it’s the second annual NeighborFest. It’s just like last year, except better,” he says with a laugh. Part campground, part farm market and camp store, part restaurant and part concert venue, the site also is home to the Lively Farm. Add it all up, and you’ve got the perfect site for a day-long party.

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Cellist Crispin Campbell delights in the unexpected

As principal cellist of the Traverse City Philharmonic, Crispin Campbell plays to audiences ready for music by Brahms, Bach and Beethoven. That’s not what the audience will hear at the July 24 concert at The Homestead. Campbell and his cohorts, pianist Steve Stargardt and dobro player Joe Wilson, will be playing music familiar to fans of BB King, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Keith Jarrett, or down-home country music. Most of all with the improvisational flair and approach of jazz. Campbell says he started exploring improvisation around the year 2000. “I began creating my own music and teaching improvisation for string players,” he explains. “I’m really driven to not play the same way twice. That’s intriguing.”

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Democracy in Leelanau: what unites us in politically divided times

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In the run-up to the heated and divisive Nov. 5 presidential election, we decided to produce a series of short video profiles which featured Leelanau County residents of different generations, different genders, and different political persuasions. The goal was to explore what unites us—what traits we have in common—in these politically divided times. We asked 10 residents the following questions: “What do you like about living in Leelanau County?”; “What are your favorite autumn traditions?”; “What are you eating these days?” and “What does living in a democracy mean to you?” The message in these video profiles is to show that—while your neighbor or your family member might display a different political yard sign and vote differently than you—we have more in common than we think, and we should remember and embrace what binds us together despite the caustic atmosphere around the election campaigns.

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What unifies us in politically divided times. Life and democracy in Leelanau

“What do you like about living in Leelanau County?” “What are your favorite autumn traditions?” “What are you eating these days?” “What does living in a democracy mean to you?” These are the questions we’re asking a few County residents as we explore what unifies us in these politically divided times with the Nov. 5 presidential election looming just days away. The message in these short video profiles is to show that—while your neighbor or your family member might display a different political yard sign and vote differently than you—we have more in common than we think, and we should remember and embrace what binds us together despite the caustic atmosphere around the election campaigns. Our first video features musician Luke Woltanski, who lives in Maple City.

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Luke Woltanski headlines Live Music Friday at Cherry Public House

Luke Woltanski kicks off Live Music Fridays this month at Cherry Public House with a performance tonight from 5-8 pm. The Glen Arbor Sun featured Woltanski in an August 2016 story, which you can read here. Subsequent performances include Woltanski and John Piatek on Feb. 9, Patrick Niemisto and Chris Skellenger on Feb 16, and Skellenger and Paul Koss on Feb  23. Cherry Public House also hosts a trivia night on Sunday evenings from 5-7 pm.

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“Imagination writes the rules” with musician Luke Woltanski

At the age of 18, musician Luke Woltanski has attained several significant accomplishments: Named one of Plainwell High School’s “Top 16 of 2016,” the Allegan County native and seasonal Glen Arbor resident graduated this spring with a 4.0 grade point average; was a National Honor Society member; Academic All-State varsity swimmer; and member of the internationally renowned Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus. He heads to Hillsdale College this fall, with plans to major in pre-med and possibly minor in musical theater. Oh, and in his theoretical spare time, he has created three albums of original alternative folk music, with a fourth in progress — on which he sings and plays a wide variety of instruments — that he recorded and mastered himself, and now sells through the Glen Lake Artists Gallery, iTunes, cdbaby.com, Amazon and Spotify.

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