Several Glen Arbor residents who frequently run or paint in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District expressed chagrin at the National Park’s decision in late July to mow down wildflower fields at the Olsen and Dechow farmsteads. The concerned locals claimed the fields were mowed at the height of pollinator season, with monarch butterfly migration—and the Port Oneida Fair—just weeks away. Read here for the Park’s response.
Lively Acres is excited to announce the first annual Backyard Blues, Brews & BBQ this August 7-8 at their Backyard event space. Located in the shadow of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, on M-72 a few miles east of Empire, Lively Acres is a beautiful setting for world-class blues music, down-home BBQ and satisfying brews. Tickets are on sale now for the event, headlined by Detroit-based and nationally acclaimed Thornetta Davis, along with other Michigan talent. Lively Acres will serve a home-cooked barbeque meal from local meats and produce, served with northern Michigan beer and wine. The venue has RV and tent camping onsite, a working farm, and a full-service farm market.
A visit to the Manitou Islands requires focus and strategy to navigate abundant poison ivy, black flies, mosquitos, and ticks. Although many fall in love at first sight with this pair of remote islands in northern Lake Michigan, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, some may wonder what the draw is, as they disembark onto either of these windswept, buggy, and vegetation-dense islands, writes Abby Chatfield. With the Manitou Islands all but closed to visitors this year (unless you have a private boat)—as the National Lakeshore rebuilds the docks, we are reflecting on the Manitous with an ongoing series about experiences we’ve had on the islands.
Two forest stewards bring to life the world of Northern Michigan’s woodland 250 years before—at the time of the nation’s founding—and after. Woodland Home: A History Of A Place takes place at the Glen Arbor Arts Center on August 1 at 11 am, with Dave Fenlon, Interpretive Park Ranger with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; and Mae Wright, Tribal Historic Preservation Officers with the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. The program is free and is offered as part of the GAAC’s American Tree exhibit.
Lace up your running shoes for one of Michigan’s most scenic race courses. The 16th Annual Port Oneida Run will take place on Saturday, August 1, a fundraising event hosted by the nonprofit park partner Sleeping Bear Forever (formerly Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear). Click here to register.
For more than two decades, the Port Oneida Fair during the first weekend in August has stood out as a memorable part of the Leelanau summer experience. However, the Sun reported in late June that this year’s event, Aug. 7-8, will be the final Port Oneida Fair. Public attendance at the Port Oneida Fair peaked at 4,392 visitors in 2012, according to the National Lakeshore’s count. Only once since then has the number topped 4,000 (4,140 showed in 2017). In fact, the tally dipped below 3,000 after 2019 and never rebounded. According to Park metrics, only 2,000 attended last year’s fair—less than half of the 2012 peak.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore hosted a naturalization ceremony on July 21, 2016, for 20 new United States citizens, who hail from 15 different countries. They are white, black and brown; their names and native country religions are Protestant, Catholic and Muslim. Like American immigrants for the last 238 years, they are hardworking, creative and devoted to their new nation.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So said Juliet in the Bard’s most famous work. But would Leelanau really be such a land of delight if that’s not what its name really meant? Spoiler alert: The name Leelanau doesn’t come from any Native American source. That’s despite the stories that have sprung up around it, some of which were spread by the person who came up with the name. Many of the county’s locations have stories surrounding their names. Start with Sleeping Bear Dunes, the story of which is well-known. Mama bear and her cubs swam across Lake Michigan to escape a forest fire. When Mama reached shore, she looked back, waiting for her cubs. She eventually became the sand dunes, while the cubs became the Manitou Islands.
The catastrophic wildfires in Minnesota and Canada, and resulting poor air quality over Michigan, has prompted local businesses and organizations to cancel the following events in Leelanau County today. Those cancelations include: Tour de Tart, Empire Anchor Day’s Friday night movie, Beach Bards bonfire, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore ranger programs, Lake Street Studios today, Glen Arbor Arts Center at Thoreson Farm Studio, and Leelanau Conservancy outdoor events. We’ll update this list throughout the day and the weekend.
A horse is a horse, of course, of course but what image does “equestrian club member” conjure up? Affluence, designer gear and prestige speak to the stereotype that one local club is turning on its head. Founded just over a year and a half ago, the Sleeping Bear Equestrian Club achieves a unique goal for Northern Michigan: creating one organization where every kind of horse enthusiast—regardless of discipline, experience level or even horse ownership—is welcome. The club serves the regions of Leelanau, Benzie, Antrim and Grand Traverse. Debunking the myth that equestrians require deep pockets, its membership rates start at $10.