Tucked away in the hilly heart of Leelanau County are two under-the-radar, off-the-beaten path towns that need to be moved up on your list of destinations. Maple City and Cedar are especially great Leelanau hubs if you’re a family with younger children looking for a more relaxed vibe, but still plenty to do.
Polka Fest has fresh legs this year. For the first time, Michigan-made vodka and Polish beer will be served in Cedar. Native son Rifino Valentine, who developed the wildly successful, high-quality Valentine Vodka spirits brand in Detroit, will return “home” and toast to his roots. Cedar has an energetic new booster in Kathleen Bittner Koch, a 37-year-old Hamtramck native who moved here five years ago to buy a farm.
Greg Kowalski, the “Godfather of Hamtramck History” will visit Cedar (the little Poland of the north) for a book signing on Saturday, May 25, from 10 am-6 pm, and Sunday, May 26, from noon until 4 pm, at the Polish Art Center in Cedar.
The Polish Art Center in Cedar is offering pisanki egg decorating classes on the next three Sundays between now and Easter. The art of egg decorating is a treasured Polish tradition each spring.
The air is alive with small town energy as visitors to Cedar are carried from shop to shop by friendly locals and unique treasures. This Michigan town is a marriage of the natural beauty of National Park land and the familiar bustle of Leelanau County. Home to a variety of stores, eateries, and sights, a day-trip to Cedar is one to remember.
Kathleen Bittner wears a garland of amber around her collar like a regal monarch, and her light eyes peer out happily behind delicate black frames as she welcomes customers into her store. She’s the benevolent queen of her domain, the Polish Art Center, and knows her kingdom well. Point to an object, and she’ll tell you the folk history, from which part of Poland it originates, and how it works. As Bittner watches her customers poke around the food section of her store, she doesn’t hesitate to call merrily, “Try one! They’re on my counter! You can try one, they’re delicious. It’s apricot marmalade. It’s really, really good.”