Endurance Evolution and On The Ground have teamed up to raise funds to build a library in a remote village in Ethiopia. Area runners are invited to run The Solstice Run, which will travel from the northern tip of the Leelanau Peninsula to the beaches of West Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City. Runners can choose the a full 40 miles, 20 miles, or a four-person relay (roughly 10 miles per runner).
I first laid eyes on you over a decade ago. My wife, Susi, and I rented a house on a little beach for a week. The next year it was two weeks, the next year three, then four. I couldn’t resist. I was hooked.
Guillaume and Brook Hazael-Massieux are spreading their wings. The owners of the legendary La Becasse (“the woodcock”) French country restaurant in Burdickville are humming this week into their second nest at 118 Cass Street in downtown Traverse City named Bistro Foufou (“hummingbird”). Their new eatery is the fruit of a three-year process that finally ripened last winter when they negotiated the purchase of Hanna Bistro, a prime location just a block off Front St. in the busy center of Traverse City.
When I spoke on the phone recently with Derek Bailey, current chair of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and now Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, he was crossing the Mackinac Bridge and returning home to Traverse City. The tires on his 2005 Saturn VUE hummed loudly as he passed over the rumble strips on the majestic arch that connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
Next Tuesday is Election Day, albeit an “off-year” election. Nevertheless, Leelanau County voters can continue to support Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) public transit by voting in favor of a millage that would begin in 2013 and continue through 2017.
Some of the poorest children in Guatemala City will be the beneficiaries of a special event happening at The Children’s House in Traverse City on Friday, Oct. 14, when Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage host their sixth annual Fiesta in support of Safe Passage. The local event celebrates our community’s commitment to bring hope and opportunity to more than 550 children of families living in unimaginable poverty at Guatemala City’s garbage dump.
Ever since Wednesday, August 17, Northern Michiganders have both embraced and grappled with the news that the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and surrounding region are considered the “most beautiful place in America” — at least according to 22 percent of 100,000 voters who participated in the ABC show Good Morning America’s online competition the second week of August.
The 2011 Traverse City Wine & Art Festival takes place Saturday, Aug. 20, from 3-10 p.m. on the beautiful front lawn at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, rain or shine. This is Michigan’s premier celebration of wine, art, food and music, offering an incredible opportunity to taste wines from 24 wineries as you dance, dine, and see extraordinary performers, art and artists.
Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage will sponsor the second annual Esperanza 5K run on Aug. 13 at 10 a.m. (registration at 9) at the Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City. “Esperanza” is the Spanish word for “hope”. Safe Passage is an internationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to bringing hope and opportunity to children of the Guatemala City garbage dump community.
The Michigan Land Use Institute and its transit partners have published an attractive brochure listing all bus routes connecting Traverse City with six surrounding counties. It lists exact times and locales for boarding buses serving dozens of cities and villages.