Mark your calendar for the 2017 Port Oneida Fair at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where history comes alive at six historic sites. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 11-12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Port Oneida becomes a lively fun-filled location once again. This two-day event includes rural history demonstrations, activities, and special events each day. The event will end Saturday night with solar viewing and an astronomy party.
There are dozens of Leelanau County races that I love, but the Port Oneida Heritage Race takes the cake. This event offers three distances to choose from on August 5; the Homesteaders Hillier 5k, Tiller’s 10k, and Fast and Flat 4-Mile. I had the opportunity to catch up with Susan Pocklington, director of the nonprofit Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, and together we gushed about this amazing event.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will celebrate its second ever Astronomy Day at the Dune Climb. The event will take place on Saturday, July 29. All astronomy events are free with a park pass.
This year in the Glen Arbor Sun we’re publishing a series on the living legacy of the Native Americans. A desire to push back against the rise of xenophobia in contemporary America is not the only reason we chose to examine the living legacy of the local Odawa and Ojibwe among us. Across civil society in Northern Michigan, and throughout the nation, it seems that more and more people are interested in learning the Native perspective on this land and the human history it has witnessed.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is requesting public comment on increasing both entrance fees and camping fees beginning January 1, 2018.
It’s the event the community has been waiting for The Glen Lake Community Library’s Home Tour includes five diverse residences that span the architectural sphere, from an old log cabin on Inspiration Point built in the 1920s to a “green” home built two years ago. These and three other unique homes will be open to the community for the tour. One of the homes is a gorgeous farmhouse complete with barns and gardens, all accessible. There is a beautiful Nantucket-style country home on Big Glen Lake, and a charming summer cottage on Little Glen. Something for everyone, to be sure.
The sky is the limit at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore). Join park rangers and astronomers from the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) on Saturday, June 24, at the Dune Climb parking lot. On this date, two events offer you opportunities to focus on the sky. The first event is from 4- 6 p.m., and will allow visitors to safely view our closest star, the Sun, using a solar telescope. The second event will be from 9-11 p.m., and is a great chance to view distant galaxies and star clusters, as well as the evening planets of Jupiter and Saturn. Please park in the row furthest from the dunes with your headlights facing M-109.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is partnering with area government agencies and private organizations to host a free water adventure expo on Saturday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Platte Point at the end of Lake Michigan Road.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is providing outdoor educational field trips in May and June. The National Lakeshore is an outstanding natural classroom that provides endless educational opportunities. Your students have the opportunity to learn about science and history in a hands-on, experiential format.
A new National Park Service report shows that 1,683,554 visitors to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2016 spent $183 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 2,872 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $231 million.