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One of the highlights of living or vacationing in Leelanau County during the summer is the proliferation of fresh fruits and vegetables and locally produced meats, cheeses, honey, maple syrup, jams and jellies, flowers and baked goods found at roadside stands and farmers markets. For many, a weekly, or twice weekly, visit to one of the county’s five farmers markets is a tradition, not only for purchasing local products but for chatting with vendors, socializing with other customers (and dogs!) and taking photos.

Glen Arbor’s upscale clothing scene is expanding store by store, innovative brand after innovative brand. This summer Pierre and Anne Pujos opened Flea—a spinoff of their boutique, The Exchange, which opened last July next to the Old Schoolhouse across M-22 from the Town Hall.

The Sleeping Bear Ale Trail celebrates half a dozen (relatively) new breweries along the M-22 and US-31 corridors in Leelanau and Benzie counties. Patrons could foreseeably visit all six over the course of a weekend. The Ale Trail complement’s the region’s already well-established wine tourism pilgrimages and traditional drinking holes.

The Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay is pleased to announce the new season of the Bay Film Series 2014-2015. The program offers a fine selection of award-winning films from around the world which have played at international film festivals in the United States and abroad. The series runs September through April and features one film per month—that’s eight great films you won’t want to miss.

The Bay Film Series presents “The Rocket” February 9-11 at The Bay Theatre in downtown Suttons Bay. This award-winning film from Laos/Thailand features 10-year-old Ahlo who is targeted by his grandmother to be a symbol of bad luck to his family and village. After disaster strikes his family he struggles to hold the trust of his father as they are forced off their land. Ahlo leads a misfit band of relatives and friends on a journey across a beautiful landscape once ravaged by war as he seeks to prove his goodness and find his family’s respect.

The Leelanau Conservancy is hosting a free Speaker Series and Kids Harvest Party event at the Suttons Bay High School on Saturday, Oct. 19 from 3 to 5 p.m. The event, “Farming and Food: Past, Present, and Future” is Part Two of the Conservancy’s Leelanau: Looking Ahead Speaker Series.

The Bay Film Series begins its new season of foreign films this Sunday, Sept. 15, with “Renoir” a biographical drama about famous French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Set on the French Riviera in 1915, a young and radiantly beautiful young woman enters the life of the aging artist capturing his attention, as well as that of his son, Jean’s. She becomes Renoir’s last model.

“Harvest is the long-awaited moment when we pluck plump, ripe fruit from the vines. The grapes are handpicked after long months of carefully tending to the vines to ensure a vintage of quality wines with the unique character for which our region is known for,” says Matt Gregory of Chateau de Leelanau and President of the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail. “It’s an exciting time in the winemaking process, and we invite you to celebrate with us during our Harvest Stompede event.”

This week, under little fanfare, Leelanau County celebrated it’s 150th birthday. That is, on Feb. 27, 1863, the Michigan State Legislature create the county of Leelanau with three townships — Centerville, Glen Arbor and Leelanau. The peninsula that looks like the mitten’s pinky finger had previously been part of Grand Traverse County (along with what is now Benzie County).

The Bay Film Series presents the Danish film A Royal Affair from January 13-15. This little known piece of European history tells the true story of an ordinary man who wins the queen’s heart and starts a revolution. Centering on the intriguing love triangle between the ever more insane Danish King Christian VII, the royal physician who is a man of enlightenment and idealism Struensee and the young but strong Queen Caroline Mathilda. A Royal Affair is the gripping tale of brave idealists who risk everything in their pursuit of freedom for their people.