Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak, the beloved shop in Empire, will celebrate its 20th birthday this weekend, June 28-30, with “Beryl Days”—an homage to co-founder Beryl Skrocki, who passed away in October 2022 at age 61. The business is run by her husband Frank and their children, Ella, Reiss and Annabel. Click here for the full Beryl Days lineup. And read family friend Jim Lively’s reflections on Beryl, which the Sun published in 2022.
For nearly two decades Beryl Skrocki gently worked her way into the hearts of Empire community members, summer visitors and tourists with a unique style of silliness, compassion and joy that magically drew people to her, and also her surf shop and the Empire beach. Beryl’s life was as large as Lake Michigan, and her too-soon departure leaves an equally massive hole in her family and the Empire, surf and Great Lakes advocacy community. She passed away on October 13 at age 61. A public celebration of Beryl’s life will be held on Saturday, November 5, at noon at Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak in downtown Empire. Click here for more information and learn how to support the Skrocki family.
Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak in Empire teamed up with FLOW (For Love of Water), Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Surfrider NoMi, and S’well for an April 22 Earth Day beach cleanup at North Bar Lake.
Take a stand for the environment and observe Earth Day in Leelanau County on Friday, April 22, by attending a beach cleanup at North Bar Lake, a reading of the book “Great Lakes for Sale” at Bay Books, or the Leelanau Conservancy’s week of events.
This summer, Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak—the originators of Northern Michigan’s surf culture—celebrates a decade of being in business. Located in Empire, this family owned and operated shop is the region’s go-to for everything freshwater activity-related.
WaveJet Propulsion, a revolution in water sports, will take Empire by storm on June 21 as part of its 2013 WaveJet Experience Summer Tour. Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak shop invites people to come and watch WaveJet in action. Numerous boards will be available for demos at the Empire public beach from noon-6 p.m.