Author, activist and bioregionalist Stephanie Mills gave the following address as the keynote speaker at the 18th annual Freshwater Summit in Traverse City on Oct. 30, 2025. (Mills will appear with artist and community organizer Seth Bernard at the Grand Traverse Circuit from 6-8 pm on Jan. 14 for a program titled “Starting From and Staying With the Nature of Place.” The event is sponsored by the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation and TitleTrack.)
On Nov. 17, citizens packed a meeting at the Garfield Township Hall in Kalkaska County to oppose a proposed data center on Department of Natural Resources (DNR) land. Seth Bernard, an accomplished Northern Michigan musician and activist, found himself high-fiving and hugging local conservatives with whom he had previously argued on Facebook about politics and cultural issues. Bernard, who lives near a pristine wetland—a few miles from the proposed site—found common ground with his Trump-supporting neighbors in their vehement opposition to data centers and mistrust of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Genocide” is most commonly invoked in the past tense, used to describe an historical event. While genocides are underway they are often overshadowed by the larger context of war and can go unrecognized in the day to day, a civilian bombing here, a displacement there. Then there are refugee migrations, and forced famine. Most often it is from the safety of hindsight that a genocide be universally accepted as such and join the history books along side those of Armenia, Rwanda, Darfur, Cambodia, Germany and Srebrenica, to name just a few from recent history. Because in the past, due to the limits of gathering and disseminating information, many indicators of genocide of the past went unnoticed, the momentum of the killing would outpace the ability of society to identify a genocide and respond. Yet today we are watching in real time as it’s horrors unfold in Gaza. This is new terrain.
This week is Earth Week, with Earth Day honored on Tuesday, April 22. It’s also National Park Week. Events in Leelanau County include a rally on Tuesday at 3 pm in Empire to support Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore—which has faced deep spending cuts and a hiring freeze by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Leelanau Conservancy offers opportunities each day this week, starting tomorrow, to join hikes, volunteer, attend a trivia night, and learn about local efforts to preserve trees.
Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with Seth Bernard’s “Manitou,” an instrumental that he wrote in June 2019 during a residency sponsored by the Old Art Building in Leland. “I wrote this simple piece on acoustic guitar looking out over the islands near Van’s Beach around sundown,” said Bernard. “It’s a little magic carpet ride to that peaceful, serene, early summer Leelanau sunset vibe. Bernard returns to the Old Art Building on April 24 at 7 pm for an Earth Week-themed concert.
The storied Earthwork Harvest Gathering will meet for the last time this weekend in rural Missaukee County—about an hour southeast of Traverse City. For 22 years, thousands of musicians, artisans, and activists have flocked to Bob Bernard’s farm near Lake City to celebrate the end of summer, dance in the fields, and foster community. Bob’s son Seth, who grew up on the farm, is a well-known musician and activist who founded the Earthwork Music Collective. “For me it’s emotional just to think about this one being the last of its kind. I’m so proud to have been able to work with these folks through all these years, so many people who have inspired me to be a better human being. I just want to extend a hearty invitation for people to come out and experience some of the beauty of northern Michigan and some of this beautiful culture of active artisans and activists and music lovers who know how to have a really good time.”
What do you call someone who combines activism with health, wellness and mindfulness? Who founded a recording label and an all-things-to-all-people festival, both named for his family farm? Don’t forget to throw in gifts as a singer, songwriter and musician known for collaborating with others from across the musical spectrum, and plying those gifts for the benefit of others. The answer is Seth Bernard. One of Michigan’s favorite musical sons, he is returning to LivelyLands with cellist and good friend Jordan Hamilton in tow. They will open the festival’s new season June 16, a.k.a. Father’s Day. Groove-based world music jam band SoSoHiFi will close the show.
The fields at Backyard Burdickville in Empire Township will come to life once again with the sound of music. The LivelyLands Music Festival returns, Aug. 20-22, to the former Empire Eagles’ campground on M-72, which the Lively family purchased in 2019. LivelyLands was canceled last year during the COVID-19 shutdown. With guitar picking and beautiful maladies crooning through the fields and forests, this intimate, “backyard” festival carries the legacy of Leelanau County summer music festivals.
On June 22 the Leelanau Community Cultural Center (LCCC) at the Old Art Building will host a Solstice Celebration to honor the summer sun. The event will also celebrate the installation of the 20-kilowatt rooftop solar system made possible by a $60,000 grant received from All Points North Foundation.
The first annual LivelyLands is about to kick off, Aug. 25-27, at the 5-acre Lively farm off Bow Road, just one mile south of Big Glen Lake. Headlining acts include Austin favorite The Deer and northern Michigan songster Seth Bernard.