Glen Arbor Sun

May 22, 2008

House the bikers, feed the bikers

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

On Sunday, May 25, roadside onlookers throughout the county will catch bike racers zooming by during the fourth annual Tour de Leelanau (moved from the fall to Memorial Day weekend this year to get a leg up on other national bike races). Among other feats, the pedalers will climb the steep grade at Inspiration Point, zoom toward the Glen Lake Narrows; drop down Wilco Road from the Empire Bluffs Trailhead, and sprint through both Empire and Glen Arbor, with speeds anticipated to reach 55 miles an hour. Oh, but don’t forget the most grueling part of the race, the 400-yard climb at a 21-percent grade up Tower Road near Maple City (known locally as “Nagly Wal,” Polish for “tower of pain”).

Photo by John Russell

Some county locals, though, will enjoy an even closer-up view of the athletes flocking to Leelanau County from around the continent. Last year the Tour issued the call for local families to host bike teams, provide lodging and, most importantly, feed them the day of the race.

As Glen Arborites Bill and Dottie Thompson learned, what seems like a hearty breakfast for most just won’t cut it before a draining bike race (69.5 miles for the women, 109.5 miles for the men). The Thompsons, who own the White Gull Inn, had prepared plenty of eggs and sausage casserole for their guests, Aaron’s Cycling Team, in advance of last fall’s race.

“I thought I had prepared a real good breakfast for them. But they said, ‘We don’t need protein, we need carbs!’ So Bill ran across the street to the grocery store and began making French toast like a madman. The racers ate so much French toast and doughnuts, I couldn’t believe it.”

Kathy and Jim Koch, of Suttons Bay, echoed that sentiment. Last year they hosted the Cheer Wine team, including rider Laura Van Gilder, the top-ranked woman’s cyclist in the country (she finished second last fall), who faces random drug tests because she is so highly ranked and because of the doping scandals that have tainted the sport in recent years. Kathy says that the team ate everything she had prepared for them the morning of the race: (dense) oatmeal bread, toast, eggs, tons of fruit and juice. “Some of them even brought their oatmeal too, to eat on the side.”

Fast forward to after the race, when the fatigue from the race grips the body. Part-time Maple City resident Jim Hennessey, who hosted a team from Toronto last year, came home that evening and found the guys “sitting around drinking beer and telling war stories.” He could tell from how close the discarded empty bottles were to the full ones that the racers hadn’t moved even five feet in hours, they were so exhausted. In fact, the youngest one on the team was fast asleep on the couch. A good day’s work.

Posted by editor at 02:13 AM | Comments (0)

Park unveils revamped General Management Plan to public

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

In early June, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service) will hold three identical public meetings on consecutive days to present four action alternatives, including the Park’s “preferred alternative,” for a new General Management Plan (GMP), and solicit public comments in the process. The Park will hold meetings on June 3 at Platte River Elementary School in Honor; June 4 at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City; and June 5 at the Glen Arbor Township Hall — all from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The public can also comment on the alternatives at the Park’s website, www.nps.gov/slbe, until June 13.

Photo by Don Miller

This public comment period represents the beginning of the fourth, and final, stage in developing a new GMP. The Park is still working off its original 1979 plan, and the last Wilderness Study was conducted in 1981. A 2002 attempt to revise the GMP was botched after the public voiced heated opposition to re-labeling certain areas of the Park as “wilderness” and closing county roads within the park were the Road Commission ever to legally abandon them. Assistant Superintendent Tom Ulrich admits that the public’s reaction to the Park’s “preferred alternative” this time around has been much more supportive.

The preferred plan is a combination of three earlier alternatives, labeled A, B and C, from round three of the process, and comments gathered since early 2006. In many ways the plan represents an aboutface from the controversial push toward wilderness six years ago.

The current preferred plan calls for recreational improvement such as zoning for a bike path parallel to M-22 and M-109 within the Park’s jurisdiction; a bay-to-bay hiking path stretching from Platte Bay to Good Harbor Bay, encompassing approximately 30 miles, and potentially three additional campgrounds along that route (plus one more on North Manitou Island); trails near the Bow Lakes east of Big Glen Lake; improved access to the Crystal River and to Little Glen Lake across the road from the Dune Climb, and a guarantee that all county roads within the Park currently open to the public will remain that way forever. One of those, Esch Road, is the conduit to a remote (yet popular among locals) Lake Michigan beach. Parking there could be improved, potentially on par with what’s happened at North Bar Lake, where the Park has paved the parking area, turning it into a popular, and crowded destination during the summer months.

The only curbing of recreational use in the Park’s preferred alternative is on Bass Lake, north of Glen Arbor, where motorboats would no longer be allowed.

“The preferred alternative formalizes some things we’re already doing now, like promoting historical zones,” says Ulrich. The Port Oneida Rural Historic District, for example, would be considered an Experience History Zone and not wilderness. “Instead of emphasizing nature and solitude — a wilderness designation would call for the least amount of mechanical intrusion — we’d no longer be constrained by that,” Ulrich adds. Under “Experience History” Port Oneida could be rehabbed somewhat for modern use (the grass at the Basch farm could be cut with a lawnmower, for example), whereas under “Experience Nature” it would only be preserved. The Park would also continue to promote creative partnerships and other types of philanthropy that utilize and maintain Port Oneida farmsteads.

Ulrich stresses, though, that any changes within the Park requiring development, and thus money, would take years before Congressional approval is acquired.

Other notable news expected in the Park this summer includes a push to re-light the lighthouse on South Manitou Island in connection with the 50-year anniversary of the light going out. The Manitou Island Memorial Society is attempting to raise $46,500, which will be met with Park federal matching funds. In addition, the Nature Conservancy is working to eliminate invasive Baby’s Breath at the south end of the Park.

Read our coverage of the Park’s controversial 2002 General Management
Plan preferred alternative on our website at: http://www.glenarborsun.com/archives/2002/07/wilderness_dune.html

Posted by editor at 02:04 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2008

Election 2008: A (presidential) race comes full circle

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

Cape Coast Castle, a haunting old slavery fort on the Atlantic shores of Ghana, was converted into a museum in the 1990s with help from the Smithsonian Institution and is now a tourist destination for, notably, African Americans to make their ancestral journey homeward and, quite possibly, back to the musty dungeons where their forefathers were held in shackles awaiting the Atlantic Passage.

But what I found most interesting during a visit to Cape Coast Castle in 2002 was a video at the conclusion of the guided tour offering a chronological journey through history — beginning with daily life before the European conquest and ending with modern-day African American heroes in the United States. The local fishermen, who hollowed out felled trees to make canoes and painted spiritual symbols on them, morph into prisoners packed into ships filled to the scuppers, sailing west, toward centuries of plantation slavery. Eventually their faces radiate hope as the video progresses, throwing off the chains, winning their freedom, marching, voting, and morphing into the likes of Frederick Douglas, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali — heroes for both Africans and African Americans, we are to believe.

Yet, sadly, the bond between Africans and African Americans is not so simple, and those two communities haven’t done enough throughout history to help one another. The undertaking by African Americans in the 1820’s to return east and build their own nation, Liberia, proved a bloody failure; middle-class or wealthy African Americans who visit Cape Coast Castle today are called “ubrunis” (white people) by the locals, who perceive them as foreigners; when an African war refugee is resettled in an American city and given government handouts today (this according to my fiancé, who works at a refugee resettlement agency in Chicago), their disenfranchised and jobless ancestral brethren in the neighborhood sometimes react in jealousy.

Could one man heal those deep wounds, simply because of his racial lineage, and simply by becoming the next president of the United States? That’s the question on my mind as African-American Democratic voters line up to cast their ballots this election primary season. Illinois’ junior Senator Barack Obama may need their support to unseat New York Senator Hillary Clinton, whose husband won the overwhelming trust of the African-American community during his presidency in the ‘90s, and to win the general election in November.

Will blacks see Barack as one of their own, even though his father was Kenyan and his mother hails from Kansas? Will they back the candidate who pulled off a stunning victory in white-bread Iowa and has excited young Caucasians across America? Do they even have enough trust in the political system still holding their necks like a noose? And will their votes be counted this time?

A friend of mine, local musician Crispin Campbell asked his African-American friends in Inkster, a downtrodden neighborhood near Detroit, what they thought of Obama’s candidacy (he visited them before the primary season began), and their alarming response spoke volumes about the level of black disenfranchisement in American politics today. “Forget it,” he was told with a shake of the head. “Whites are never gonna let a black man become president.”

This is a community for the most part stuck in a deep, desperate and impoverished rut. The haunting images of black New Orleans’ residents waiting on their rooftops for helicopters (the national guard arrived five days after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city) — or being tear-gassed as they gathered at City Hall in late 2007 for the right to reclaim their homes in the Ninth Ward — is only the tip of the iceberg. As many as one-third of all young African-American males of incarceration age are in prison or on parole, many for crimes as ridiculous as possessing small amounts of marijuana (Iowa, the location of Obama’s first primary victory, by the way, has the largest rate of incarcerating blacks over whites in the nation).

And yet many leaders who represent the African-American community at the grassroots level (not you, Oprah), such as the Reverand Al Sharpton, have yet to back the first bid for the White House by a black man who has a shot at winning in November.

The charges that Barack Obama — his speeches, his message and his politics — are too white (and centrist, and vague) are nothing new. And given the state of the black community, they must be respected. After all, in Obama’s Iowa victory speech, he intentionally mentioned “red states” before “blue states,” and he buried the lines about Dr. King and Selma, Alabama, and water hoses in the middle of a speech that focused more on unity and hope than it did on accountability for racism, illegal wars and unsustainable environmental policy.

That’s because Obama doesn’t just represent hope for African-Americans (and Africans). He represents hope for all Americans (and people everywhere in the world) who are weary of eight years of sucker punches and attacks on the Constitution, and logic, from the Bush administration.

Laura Washington, an African-American columnist for In These Times magazine in Chicago — where Obama’s activism and political credentials were forged — wrote last August: “Playing petty plantation politics may feather a few nests and puff up some chests, but Obama is looking to turn the black political equation upside down. If he goes all the way, black politics will never be the same. That’s a good thing.”

She continues: “The Obama candidacy is dead in the water if he adopts a sectarian agenda. Until now, African-American presidential candidates have made little serious effort to extend their attention beyond the base. This is one big reason why black politicians usually crash and burn when they seek office in white majority districts.”

Obama has already passed that threshold. Just imagine if the American people, black and white, give him the chance to deliver his own “I have a dream” speech from Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day, a year from now.

(Editor's note: The print version of this story incorrectly reported that Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. has yet to back Obama. In fact, Jackson, Sr. endorsed Obama on March 29, 2007, and his son, Jesse Jackson, Jr. works on Obama's national presidential campaign. We regret the error.)

Posted by editor at 02:03 AM | Comments (0)

November 08, 2007

Holiday Marketplace

Check out the Holiday Marketplace at the Glen Arbor Township Hall on the weekend following Thanksgiving, opening at 7 p.m. on Friday evening, Nov. 23, and running through Saturday, Nov. 24, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The Holiday Marketplace follows Glen Arbor's famed Pajama Party sale at various stores around town from 5-7 a.m. (yikes) on Friday, Nov. 23. You'll be sleepwalking!"

Photo by Joanne Rettke

Glen Lake Community Library holds children’s holiday book drive
Press release

A special holiday tradition continues as the Glen Lake Community Library kicks off its ninth annual call for children’s books, November 14-December 15. The Friends of the Library, in cooperation with Glen Lake School’s Parenting Communities program, are seeking donations of new books for children in our community whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season. Kathy Bartell, the coordinator for the “Parenting Communities” program for the Glen Lake Schools compiles a “wish list” of boys and girls from preschool through age 11. She calls on such groups as Head Start and the Glen Lake Elementary School as well as her own “Parenting Communities” program for names of families that need assistance. Any family can find themselves in hard times and the goal is to make sure the children still have some holiday joy in the form of a special book. The list is available at the Glen Lake Library in Empire and at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor. Donors are asked to purchase a book for a child on this list and deliver it gift-wrapped to the library by December 15. The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor will kindly provide a 20 percent discount on any books purchased for this program. Last year, over 120 books were donated. The list grows longer every year, so please help us bring the joy of books to these children for the holidays. The best part of this Book Drive is that we know all the books go to children in our own community. Thank you for your continued support.

Posted by editor at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2007

Zoom, Zoom!

Check out the third annual Tour de Leelanau as it peddles by you on Saturday, September 15. The race will travel through most of the county. Learn where by visiting www.tourdeleelanau.com.

Photo courtesy of Iceman Productions

Look for our coverage of holiday shopping, winter sports including the Empire & Glen Arbor Winterfests and Michigan's early presidential primary election in our winter issues of the Glen Arbor Sun. Thanks for reading!

Posted by editor at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

Exquisite tastes draw a big crowd to Epicurean Classic

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

You’ve heard this before: northern Michigan is on the map. You know some of the reasons why. Pristine beaches, azure waters, rolling hills, unpretentious locals, bike races and a great local film festival.

Add world-class cuisine to the list. In mid-September thousands of foodies will converge on the Hagerty Center in Traverse City for the fourth annual Epicurean Classic and enjoy local wines from both the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas, fine cheeses, cigars, tender game meat, succulent desserts and appearances by nationally known chefs and cookbook authors.

Photos by Andy McFarlane, AbsoluteMichigan

Local co-founders Mark Dressler and Matt Sutherland, both of whom work in publishing, “realized with our connections in the industry, being on a first-name basis with people, we could draw in top talent,” says Sutherland. And top talent they’ve drawn. Of all the delectable dishes featured the past three years, Sutherland remembers most a whole quail drizzled with 40-year-old balsamic vinegar, courtesy of Mario Batali, a food star, restaurant owner and TV personality. The truffles from Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire are also etched in his memory. And the ox tail marinated in spices from the Gods that I remember from last year’s Classic wasn’t too shabby either.

The greatest complement Sutherland has received? “Marcel Biro, the personal chef of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, told me this is the best-run food event he’s ever attended.”

You’ll also find plenty of local Leelanau County fair at the Epicurean Classic, which opens on Thursday, Sept. 13 and reaches its climax with the Grand Reception at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15. Timothy Young of Food for Thought (“Canning Secrets”) and Chris and Heather Sack of the Great Lakes Tea & Spice Company (“Tea 101”) will both teach classes on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Local chef, and occasional Glen Arbor SunM recipe contributor Nancy Krcek Allen will encourage attendees to “Ferment On It For a While” at 10 a.m. On Friday at 2:30 p.m., learn about “Grilling Wild Fowl” with North chef Greg Murphy. And before you satisfy your palette at Saturday night’s tasting Reception, check out “Entertaining the Fruit: The Art of Chutneys, Salsas and Compotes” with Cherry Republic’s Jason Homa, and “French Food for All” with La Becasse’s Guillaume Hazael-Massieux.

By all means, wash down those tender morsels with a little local wine. This year, the wineries of the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas and Andy McFarlane, the man behind AbsoluteMichigan and Leelanau.com, are teaming up with the Michigan Land Use Institute’s Taste the Local Difference to present a northern Michigan Wine and Food Pavilion at the Epicurean Classic. Friday and Saturday afternoons will offer themed tastings featuring roses and light reds, sweeter table wines, crisp, aromatic whites, full, complex whites, dessert wines and bold reds. The wines will be presented by the winemakers and paired with locally produced cheeses, meats, fresh fruits and baked goods. Regional wines will also be served at the opening and closing receptions.

Check out the full schedule, information and prices for this grand event, online, at www.epicureanclassic.com. Mmm … Cheers!

Posted by editor at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

Celebrating “Empire anchor” Mike Vanderberg with Dunegrass originals

From staff reports

A benefit for the family of Mike Vanderberg and a celebration of his life will take place at two locations in Empire on his birthday, Sunday, September 30, with music from noon until 10 p.m. at Johnson’s Park and an early dinner at the Town Hall beginning at 2 p.m. The main dish will be supplied; in the spirit of a community potluck, please bring a side dish to pass; donations for food and entertainment are encouraged; items (including memorabilia from past Dunegrass Festivals) will be auctioned and raffled off. Local musicians and artists — including Third Coast, Cabin Fever, Wrangler, Song of the Lakes, the Jelly Roll Blues Band, the Corvairs and the Beach Bards — many of whom performed at early Dunegrass Festivals in the mid-‘90s, will entertain the crowd all day-long. Vanderberg, who passed away on August 11, founded the popular annual Dunegrass Festival and was the instigator behind numerous aspects of Empire life.

The following is local Emily Lanier’s favorite memory of Mike:

I want to share this important story, for it’s about an angel who recently found his way home. I had been working at the gas station in Empire, this “one-flashing-stoplight-town,” for a few months during the off-season, and though it was a boring gig, I enjoyed being the new girl in town because I got a chance to meet many of the town’s locals.

The reason we moved here and escaped from the concrete jungle was because we loved the area so much as well as the small society around us. It was so eclectic, and everyone worked side by side despite their social differences; this place seemed to be about humanity at its purest form: every type of colorful character, all in this beautiful place in the dunes.

Of course, being the new kid, I got stuck on the night shift, so things were extremely lonely during the long, dark winter months ... and I learned what everyone in the small town smoked, drank or drove before even learning their names. It got to the point where I got excited when I met a customer, any customer, which meant a brief intermission from the solitude that most of my shifts consisted of.

One particularly gloomy night, I was propped up behind the counter listening to my burned CDs and drinking coffee, trying to pass the time, when Mike Vanderberg, one of the locals, came in for his usual pick-me-up. I liked Mike. He was a kind, middle-aged man who seemed to be a big part of the local color. He didn’t really seem to know who I was, but he was always kind, and I liked listening to him talk about whatever he was up to that day. He especially enjoyed making little creations around town, ice sculptures mostly, but he was always up to something for fun, for the enjoyment of others.

As I rang him up, he randomly asked me, “Hey ... do you remember when you were still in school, and for Valentine’s Day you had to get those boxes of valentines and give them to the kids in your class?” I chuckled, remembering those days, as he continued, “I think as adults we should all still have to do that now.” Mike always came up with these random thoughts. I don’t know if it was the long, depressing winter getting to me, but I flashed back to how much I hated having to do that, and told him why.

“Well Mike, there were always two reasons that this had the potential to suck. And I speak from experience … either you were the one who got the valentine from the class dork, or you were the class dork, and I always fell into both those categories.” We laughed, and he went on his merry way. This conversation came and went in my mind, and I returned to my music and my coffee, and tried to pass the time away, “thinking spring.”

A few weeks later, the day before Valentine’s Day, one of the local kids was hanging out in the store picking out candy and chatting with me about which of his favorite horror and action movies I had seen (he was just as bored in the middle of winter as the rest of us), when in Mike came. He walked up to us in one of the aisles, and asked me “Hey, do you work tomorrow?” Seeing no relevance as to why he was even asking, I answered with a smile, “Nope! I got the day off.” Mike immediately pulled this pale blue piece of folded construction paper out of his coat, handed it to me and skipped away quickly behind the aisle where he pretended to be shy, peeking out from the shelving. I was so confused. All I could do was laugh as I looked down … and what I saw was cool. This man in his mid-fifties had remembered our conversation from weeks before about the valentine cards, and had made me a valentine out of construction paper and a glue stick. Half of a heart was glued to the front of it with a band-aid over it made out of crafts, and it said “I’m Half FAST without you” … and on the inside, “PLEASE Be Mine! Signed, The Class Dork”

I started crying. I don’t know why, but no one has ever done anything like that for me. It was so awesome, so random, and it made not just my day, but my entire winter. Mike beamed with happiness because he knew he had done something good. Though I was only the new gas station clerk in town, he put effort into doing something that made me feel like the most special person in the world, even if just for a moment. And the best was how he acted like the class dork, hiding behind a rack of juju bee’s while I realized what he’d given me. What a heartwarming way for him to say, “welcome to the neighborhood, kid … you’re one of us now.” I went home that night with a ray of sunshine, and that valentine was placed on the fridge, where it stayed until about a month ago, making me smile every time I looked at it.

Since the long winter shifts at the gas station, we have come to learn a lot more about Mike Vanderberg and his family. They have a large family, many blood-related but many just family by association, because that’s the kind of people they are. They live in a house right in the middle of Empire, a town that seems it would lack something without them there. No parade, it seems, has ever rolled down Main Street without at least one colorful and fun float built by the Vanderbergs and friends. The Dunegrass Festival, which only took place in Empire because of Mike and his family, was a major part of his life.

Every single person in Empire has a story like mine — a valentine given just to them, a smile that was sent their way from Mike just when they needed it most. He seemed to live for his kids and wife, and for making people happy. He had the heart of a child, and the spirit of an angel. He became a very special part of my life, and I looked forward to my run-ins with him. I even got to introduce him to a friend at Empire’s Asparagus Festival (where, of course, Mike and friends were busy making asparagus heads out of cardboard and green tissue paper for them to wave around or wear in the parade).

After learning of Mike’s passing I spent the next evening with some mutual friends, drinking and toasting to his life, laughing and crying together about how he touched the lives of us all. I came home, drunk and exhausted from the emotions, and on my counter I found the valentine. There it was, smiling at me the way Mike always smiled.

Now you drive through quiet Empire going north on M-22, and off to the left you see the field, only weeks ago filled with happy people, music and tents, and now just covered in flowers. How ironic — or how fitting — that his life ended in the very field where one of his life’s passions took place every year.

I am told that every year on September 30, Mike’s birthday, he would jump in Lake Michigan. And so this year, we’ll all jump in with him.

Posted by editor at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)

Haunted Hayride returns to Empire

The Empire Eagles will hold their Haunted Hayride at 3805 E Empire Highway (M-72 near Gilbert Road) on two upcoming weekends: October 19 & 20 and 26 & 27.

The goblins and ghosts arrive at 7:30 p.m. and charge $10 per victim. Be afraid. Be very afraid!!!

Photo courtesy of Laura Sielaff

The Glen Arbor Sun staff will take a break and catch up on sleep after publishing 8 issues since Memorial Day weekend.

We'll print two more editions before next summer: a Holiday issue on November 7 and a Winter Sports issue on January 13.

Enjoy your hibernation!

Posted by editor at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2007

Tireless Connie Binsfeld looks forward to Narrows Bridgewalk

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

Connie Binsfeld, the Burdickville resident and former lieutenant governor of Michigan under John Engler, hasn’t missed a single Labor Day Bridgewalk, and she doesn’t plan on watching from the sidelines this year either. The popular annual trek across the Carl Oleson Jr. Memorial Bridge, which splits Big and Little Glen Lake at the Narrows on M-22, officially marks the end of summer, and will take place this year at noon on Monday, September 3.

Binsfeld has led the procession throughout the Bridgewalk’s first 10 years, either on foot or riding in a golf cart or a sheriff’s squad car, and though she isn’t as mobile as she was during her 28 years in public office (she retired in 1998), 2007 shouldn’t be any different.

“For us the Bridgewalk is nostalgic. For over 50 years we’ve crossed that bridge, since the days when we lived on Little Glen Lake,” says Binsfeld. “Longtime residents and newcomers alike both enjoy the walk.” Binsfeld’s favorite Bridgewalk memory was in 2000, when a ceremony to celebrate the millennium unfolded and flowers were thrown into the lake as a tribute “to those who came before us.”

The t-shirts commemorating this year’s Bridgewalk are designed by local artist Lois Saltsman, printed by Roger Poppa at Petoskey Pete’s and available for purchase at Dune Wear and T’nT Video in Glen Arbor, Roman Jones in Empire and at the event itself. Proceeds benefit the Boy Scouts. As usual, the Bridgewalk will end for lunch at the Narrows Deli on the south side of the bridge.

From the Glen Arbor Sun archives: an interview with Connie Binsfeld, August 1998, the same year she was elected to the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame

“My mother really didn’t want me to run for public office. She was always real patriotic, giving American flags to all her students. Yet when I told her I was running for the Michigan House of Representatives, she said, ‘Oh dear, I wish you wouldn’t do that. Those politicians — they’re just not very good people. I wish you wouldn’t become one of them.’ My mother sent me a news clipping from the local newspaper when I was elected, that encouraged politicians to ‘stick their thumbs in their mouths the first six months they're in office.’ She eventually came down to Lansing, got her picture taken with former Governor (William) Milliken and changed her mind.

“People asked me to run for County Commissioner when the Park bill passed [39] years ago. We were concerned about protecting what we had, and still helping the National Park. It was an interesting time; people were against all the planning and zoning. Before they could do what they wanted, now the Park was coming in. We had to create a marriage between the Park and the people.”

Posted by editor at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

Manitou Music Festival finale showcases Ann Arbor Violinist

From staff reports

The Manitou Music Festival is delighted to host what will be an enchanted evening of music with a performance by classical violinist Gabriel Bolkosky and pianist Michele Cooker. The concert is set for Thursday August 30 at 8 p.m. at The Leelanau School north of Glen Arbor. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $18 at the door. They are available for purchase at the Glen Arbor Arts Association and Lake Street Studios in Glen Arbor, Cedar City Market in Cedar and Oryana Food Cooperative in Traverse City.

Gabriel Bolkosky has been praised for the way he “takes audiences into his confidence and includes them” and described as having “the serenity of a master without a hint of coldness.”

He is executive director of The Phoenix Ensemble, an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit arts organization dedicated to helping artists and the educational community. His debut solo album, “This and That,” was released in 2005 to critical acclaim and features both jazz and classical music. Other recordings include explorations of klezmer with “Into the Freylakh (The Shape of Klez to Come),” of the nuevo tango music of Astor Piazzolla (“The Oblivion Project Live”), children’s folk music with the children’s-music group Gemini (“The Orchestra Is Here to Play”), and contemporary music of composers such as Xenakis and Boulez with his former group Non Sequitur (Non Sequitur).

Bolkosky is a sought-after guest artist, performer, and teacher at schools and workshops throughout North America, including at Harvard, Dartmouth, Brandeis and Princeton and many Suzuki institutes. He has also taught workshops on improvisation and composition to nearly 5,000 students in Aspen, Colorado and the Walden School in New Hampshire.

He previously served as assistant director for Strings Attached, an intensive string program for children in inner-city Cleveland, and as assistant to Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In Ann Arbor, Bolkosky directs one of The Phoenix Ensemble’s signature events, PhoenixPhest!, an annual amateur chamber-music festival held each May, and maintains a private violin studio.

This past April, Gabriel joined forces with local cellist Crispin Campbell, original founder of the Manitou Music Festival, and Grammy award winning pianist, Paul Sullivan to create the Solar Trio that performed this past April in venues around the state.

Joining Gabriel onstage is the gifted pianist, Michele Cooker. Michele has performed in concert series and participated in festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. She has appeared on PBS and has performed programs broadcast live for WFMT-radio in Chicago and the CBC in Canada. Ms. Cooker teaches piano privately at the Kerrytown Concert House, where she is a member of the Board. This combination of violin and piano will indeed be one ‘enchanting evening’ of music.

Posted by editor at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

August 09, 2007

The circus is coming!

From staff reports

For the first time this decade, the circus is returning to southern Leelanau County. Hosted by the Empire Sleeping Bear Eagle’s Club # 4404, the Kelly Miller Circus will arrive at the Eagles’ property on M-72 east of Empire for one day on Saturday, August 18 and raise the tent between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Everyone is invited to come out and watch the animals being unloaded and fed, as the elephants raise the big top. Guides will be furnished for school groups and anyone attending.

The traditional “old style” circus will present two performances at 2 and 5:30. The Kelly Miller Circus’ performance this season promises to be more exciting than ever with many new acts and entertainers to amaze and amuse you. Buy your tickets in advance and save by emailing laurasielaff2@hotmail.com.

Empire Lion’s Club member Hal Pendleton brought the circus to town the last time, he remembers, in 1998 or ‘99. In fact, the Lion’s Club sponsored them five times during the ‘90s. “Kelly Miller present people-type acts,” Hal remembers. “Trapeze, clowns, with some animals but (other than elephants) they’re not too big on that.” In the past, the circus has been held in Empire close to the corner of M-72 and M-22, where the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters now sits. One particular year Hal remembers his wife Frances was allowed to ride an elephant bareback into the center ring as the sponsors were introduced. “If you’ve ever ridden on a circus elephant bareback, you’ll remember it,” he attests. “The back of the elephant is like my chin after not shaving for three or four days. You can feel it right through a pair of jeans!”

Kelly Prechtl remembers the first time she attended the circus in Empire, as an eight-year-old girl. “This was the first time I had ever seen an elephant, and it was so different than what I had expected from TV. It was so big and I remember being scared, but not wanting my mom to know I was scared so that she would still let me ride it. When I got on I realized the skin was so leathery and thick, but its ears were really smooth. I have to admit that the smell was strong like a horse barn, but the excitement that I felt was like Christmas! I remember that was the first time that I felt really brave.”

Posted by editor at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)

Reenacting the pre-industrial era at Port Oneida

From staff reports

The Port Oneida Rural Historic District in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park) will come alive Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, during the sixth annual Port Oneida Fair. The two-day event will showcase the crafts, skills and traditions that made rural life productive and enjoyable in the late 19th and early 20th century. The fair, sponsored by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and five other partner groups, will take place at five farms and a one-room schoolhouse. Part of the enjoyment of the fair is moving between the farms by walking through the fields, biking, taking a shuttle bus or horse and wagon. There is no admission charge to the fair, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Additional detailed information can be found at www.leelanau.com/fair. Among the new features added to this year’s fair are an antique fire truck and a visit by Mark Twain.

As part of this year’s Fair, the Manitou Music Festival will also present Nobody’s Darlin’ in concert on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at the outdoor stage behind Lake Street Studios in Glen Arbor. According to festival director TJ Ewing, “Nobody’s Darlin’ are a perfect fit as a capstone concert for the Port Oneida Fair. This all-woman, five-piece, string band, based in Grand Rapids, specializes in Old Time Americana, Bluegrass, Gospel, and throws in some classic country tunes just for fun.” Watching a performance by Nobody’s Darlin’ conjures up the essence of a simpler time, before electric guitars and pyrotechnics. The sound of Nobody’s Darlin’ strong female voices meld fluidly over acoustic instruments that resonate true string instrument tones. Their music successfully blends old timey, country and bluegrass in a refreshingly authentic way. The “Darlin’s” influences include The Carter Family, Doc Watson, Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, Split Lip Rayfield, Dolly Parton and Jimmie Rogers.

Concert tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased in advance at the Glen Arbor Art Association, Lake Street Studios, Cedar City Market, and Oryana Food Coop in Traverse City, or at the door. For more information visit www.manitoumusicfestival.com or call the Glen Arbor Art Association at 334-6112.

Last year the Port Oneida Fair was visited by Civil War re-enactors. The cavalry, the heavy artillery, the infantry and the sharpshooters all marched into Leelanau County, and all but the cavalry will be back this year. Many of the early settlers in Port Oneida and Northwest Lower Michigan were veterans of the Civil War. The war was a major event in their lives and the lives of their families. The Civil War units demonstrate authentic uniforms and equipment and show their camps and drills. The soldiers will also talk about their experiences during the war. The soldiers will be accompanied by military band, Women’s Aid Societies from both the North and South and a peddler who traveled with the army. This is a rare opportunity to experience living history in this part of the state.

In addition to the Civil War re-enactors, over 100 exhibitors will demonstrate early farm skills and crafts from barn building to quilt making. On hand will be spinners, blacksmiths, buggy makers, potters, broom makers, weavers and many more. Each exhibitor is happy to explain their craft while you watch them work. A favorite each year are the big gentle oxen who will be mowing hay, followed by a team of work horses raking and loading the hay on to a wagon. Kids can help unload the wagon and build a haystack. There will be lots of other activities for kids to try such as traditional games and toys. Everyone will also be able to experience some of the daily chores like cutting wood or washing clothes by hand. Traditional community bands, fiddlers and a variety of other musicians will provide music during both days of the fair.

The Port Oneida Rural Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, showcases life at the turn of the century through a community of 18 farmsteads from the late 1800s to mid 1900s. The District is the largest historic agricultural community fully protected by government ownership in the nation. The Port Oneida community has stories to tell about the pioneer and maritime past of Northern Lower Michigan. Over the years, these farms and cultural resources have been loved by many for what they add to the pastoral Leelanau landscape. Now these historic buildings and meadows are interpreting history through such events as the Port Oneida Fair.

Posted by editor at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)

Young novelists return to Glen Arbor Art Association

By Corin Blust
Sun contributor

Even though they were lucky enough to be artists in residence at the Glen Arbor Art Association last summer, Jeremiah Chamberlin and Natalie Bakopoulos have decided to return this August for another residency in Glen Arbor. They will occupy the apartment in the relatively new Art Association building from August 12 -25 and use the time here to make progress on their first novels. The pair will read from their work at a presentation, free and open to the public, on August 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Art Center between the Leelanau Coffee Roasters and Lake Street Studios.

Jeremiah, who knew from childhood that he wanted to be a writer, grew up near Interlochen, about half an hour southeast of Glen Arbor. He studied creative writing in high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where his parents have worked for 30 years.

After high school Jeremiah continued his craft at the University of Michigan, a decision influenced by a visit from Charles Baxter, a professor in the English department there. When Jeremiah heard Baxter read at Interlochen he knew he wanted to study with the professor. “The language transported me right out of my body,” he recalls. “When it was over, I came back to my body and I knew I had to study with him.” After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in 1997 and his MFA in 2004, between which he lived in Madison, Wisconsin and was writer-in-residence at Interlochen in ’02, Jeremiah became a writing lecturer in the English Department at U-M.

Natalie, whose father is Greek and mother is Ukrainian, spent her childhood in a “close-knit immigrant community in a suburb of Detroit.” She received a degree in Zoology from Michigan State University then continued to receive her Masters in Fine Arts from U-M. She began graduate school studying physiology but realized that “the urge to become a writer was something I couldn’t ignore. As a child I read so much, it would be a beautiful day and I would be inside reading — I have always loved language and literature.” Natalie also teaches in the English department in Ann Arbor.

One of the remarkable things about a residency at the Glen Arbor Art Association is that the only obligation an artist has during their time here is to make progress on their work — a rare opportunity that can produce stunningly productive results. “We did two months of work in two weeks” during the couple’s stay last summer, Jeremiah attests.

Both he and Natalie blame this amazing productivity on the freedom from everyday chores the new setting provides them. “It’s almost like a Monastic retreat,” says Jeremiah. “The Art Association really gives the valuable gift of time and space to writers and artists,” adds Natalie.

The opportunity to be in Glen Arbor is especially fitting for Jeremiah, whose first historical novel is set right here in Leelanau County. His book will “follow the struggles of one cherry farming family as history marches past them,” with a special focus on the lives of the two brothers in the family from 1957 until the early 1990s.

Writing a piece of historical fiction based on the Leelanau Peninsula while in Ann Arbor may provide “objectivity and perspective” on the area, but Jeremiah loves the opportunity to “touch base with the place,” something that can prove to stimulate a rich landmine of ideas.

One evening while driving back to Glen Arbor from dinner with friends in nearby Frankfort, Jeremiah and Natalie crossed the Narrows Bridge separating Big from Little Glen Lake and suddenly “a whole scene was set off by the environment; I could see my characters driving across the piece of land, too, and interacting with it,” he remembers.

For Jeremiah, being in Leelanau County “recharges your imagination. It’s about the small details you notice when you are actually in a place,” such as the way the islands in Lake Michigan seem to change their appearance from the shore every day depending on the weather, or “the way a walk on the beach actually smells,” he explains.

Even though his novel is “still evolving,” Jeremiah has already planned to examine how migrant labor, Vietnam, and other political, environmental and economic events change the family in his novel. He will read an excerpt from the finished parts of the book during the couple’s presentation at the Art Center.

Natalie’s work, which is also historical fiction, is set in Athens from 1967 to 1974. In her book Natalie examines the way a family deals with the right-wing military dictatorship that seized power in Greece during those years. “It’s all about the way politics can shape the life of a family and their reactions to the regime,” explains Natalie, whose own father came to the United States from Athens in 1966.

Although Natalie’s novel is not set in northern Michigan, she finds being in Glen Arbor a welcome change of scenery from Ann Arbor. She explains, “in Ann Arbor it’s really easy to get immersed in research — I could spend all day in the library looking up little details.” She likes to be surrounded by the beauty of this area, and also to get away from the temptation of looking up things like “what kind of refrigerator the family would have used in their house during the time period of the novel.”

Aside from the opportunity to work and spend time in the peace and beauty of our area, the couple also looks forward to being in our midst again. “For me, the most important thing is the sense of community, where everyone’s so casual and you can stop by people’s houses and have a bonfire in the backyard,” says Natalie. Last summer, “everyone I met was so genuine, and wanted to ask us questions and find out what we were doing. We felt welcome right away, and that’s why we’re coming back.”

Jeremiah Chamberlin and Natalie Bakopoulos will read excerpts from their novels in progress at the Art Center in Glen Arbor on Tuesday, August 21. The presentation, which is free, starts at 7:30 p.m.

Posted by editor at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)

Jan Krist and Jim Bizer, Los Gatos and Aoife Clancy headline Manitou Festival

From staff reports

The Manitou Music Festival will present two gifted Michigan songwriters, Jan Krist and Jim Bizer, at its concert on Thursday, August 16 at 8 p.m. on the graduation green at The Leelanau School north of Glen Arbor. Detroit-born Jan Krist is a well-established veteran of the acoustic music scene. Jan’s musical gifts have been recognized by Billboard Magazine, Entertainment Weekly Magazine, Dirty Linen, Image Journal and others. With 13 nominations and four Detroit Metro Music Awards under her belt, Krist has proven herself to be a Detroit area favorite. She can also claim the honor of being a finalist at the Kerrville song writing competition, in Kerrville, Texas, an annual event which helped to launch the careers of Lyle Lovett and Nancy Griffith.

Los Gatos return to the Manitou Music Festival on August 18

Krist takes her ordinary, plain Jane demeanor and all the elements we’ve learned to take for granted (six strings and common time) and lets us know, this is not your ordinary woman with a guitar, even if it is.

Joining Jan Krist is award-winning songwriter and dynamic performer, Jim Bizer.

Combining a vast musical knowledge with thoughtful and humorous lyrical ideas, Jim concocts songs that are both beautiful and startling. Against a musical kaleidoscope of jazz, blues, country, reggae and god-knows-what-else, he sings about faith, rivers, insanity and a few things you’ve probably never heard before in a song. He leads his audience to many places; you never quite know what will come out of his mouth, or his guitar, next.

Starting his professional career at age 14, Jim has performed literally thousands of times, mostly around the Midwest and his native Detroit. He’s been a “cover” musician, a session player and a composer for radio and television, but his first love is playing his guitar and singing his songs for all who listen. With a comfortable rapport and an intimate delivery, he is equally at home in the house concert or on the festival stage.

Jim is a masterful performer and a superb guitarist, but it is his songwriting that has recently earned accolades: His song “We Are All Connected,” a moving 9/11 testament, won the grand prize in the Great American Song Contest and led to an appearance at the Mountain Stage New Song Festival in West Virginia. Jim has been a finalist (three times!) in the New Folk songwriting competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival, and made his Kerrville main stage debut in June 2005.

On Saturday, August 18 at 7:30 p.m. the Manitou Music Festival will welcome back the Los Gatos jazz ensemble to the Lake Street Studio Stage in Glen Arbor. The brainchild of drummer and multi-percussionist Pete Siers, Los Gatos began as a Latin Jazz Ensemble in the fall of 1992. The concept of a small group combined with traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms has positioned Los Gatos as consistent crowd pleasers. In fact the band has been performing every Thursday night at Ann Arbor’s Firefly Club since 2001, all the while amassing a large following. In addition to leader Pete Siers, the group also includes vibes player Gary Kocher, bassist Kurt Krahnke, pianist Brian Di Blassio, and percussionist Al Di Blassio. They are inspired by the music of Cal Tjader, the late San Francisco vibes player who ignited the 50s mambo craze.

Pete Siers was born in Saginaw and began studying piano at age six, but quickly moved focus to drums and percussion. Pete earned a degree in Music Education from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, where he studied under the direction of Dr. Bruce Early and Rupert Kettle. As a member of the Aquinas College Jazz Ensemble, Pete was honored with several awards for outstanding soloist and outstanding rhythm section player. In 1988, Pete moved to Ann Arbor to work with acclaimed pianist Eddie Russ. Pete is an original member of the award winning Paul Keller Orchestra, which plays original, obscure and classic big band material from all periods of jazz history.

Los Gatos have release two CDs: Cats Got Your Tongue! and Vol II Insight. These recordings are enjoying airplay across the country as well as regular jazz programming on WDET and WEMU in Southern Michigan.

The Manitou Music Festival will also bring a little bit of Ireland to Glen Arbor with a performance by the gifted singer, Aoife Clancy on Wednesday, August 22 at 8 p.m. at the Lake Street Studio Stage. Opening for Aoife Clancy will be local singer and musician Jenny Thomas. Aoife Clancy(pronounced ‘Eefa’) brings a refreshing new voice to folk music, one that ranges from traditional Irish songs to ballads and contemporary folk. Aoife comes from the small town of Carrick-on-Suir, in Co Tipperary, Ireland, where her musical career began at an early age. Her father Bobby Clancy of the legendary Clancy Brothers, placed a guitar in her hands at age 10, and by age 14 was playing with her father in nearby pubs.

She later moved to Dublin, where she studied drama at the Gaiety School of Acting. After a season at the Gaiety, Aoife was invited to do a tour of Australia. There she performed at festivals and concerts sharing the stage with some of Ireland’s greatest performers, including Christy Moore and the Furey Brothers. Her performances also include a Caribbean cruises with the Clancy Brothers, the Milwaukee Irish Festival and a seven-week tour of the United States with the renowned Paddy Noonan Show.

In 1995 Aoife was asked to join the acclaimed group “Cherish the Ladies,” which is one of the most sought-after Irish American groups in history. For the past four years Aoife has toured extensively doing no less than two hundred dates a year throughout the United States and Europe. She has been a featured soloist with orchestras such as the Boston Pops and Cincinnati Pops and while performing with Cherish the Ladies, collaborated with the Boston Pops on their Grammy nominated Celtic album.

Now with seven recordings under her belt in the last decade, Aoife has clearly established herself as one of the Divas of Irish and contemporary Folk Music. As one reviewer remarked, “she has a breadth of styles that make her concerts fascinating. Her singing would melt packed ice with its warmth and richness” — Mike Jackson, Canberra Times.

Currently, Aoife is touring with her own band in support of her two Rego solo releases and her latest Appleseed release “Silvery Moon”. When she comes to a town near you, be sure not to miss this totally enchanting performer.

Tickets for all concerts are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the Glen Arbor Art Association and Lake Street Studio in Glen Arbor, Cedar City Market in Cedar and Oryana Food Cooperative in Traverse City.

Posted by editor at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2007

Dunegrass Festival springs from one unique family

By Nadine Gilmer
Sun contributor

Empire is home to many colorful and interesting families, and a walk down Front Street reveals as much. But the Vanderberg family, the founders of the Dunegrass Festival, just might take the cake. Nestled between the town’s eclectic shops and popular library, their front yard has featured eye-popping sites through the years: a graffiti-painted school bus, intricate snow sculptures, even a teepee. The latest is a hole, which was once a driftwood sculpture, and will soon become a waterscape. The Vanderbergs have never failed to surprise their neighbors.

“We’re experimenters,” says Mike, who with his wife Carol has three daughters. “We try not to leave a big imprint, but bring new things to light.” And the Vanderbergs definitely pull that off. From alternative schools, to the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass & Blues Festival, they illuminate new acts for the entire community, and region. “We specialize in taking our talents and expanding, and creating whatever we want with our parents as our base,” says Alice, 21, the second daughter of three. Her 15-year-old sister, Ashley, takes it a step further. “Everybody in Leelanau County knows where I live,” boasts Ashley. Their house is “the safe house. It’s where everybody goes when they need somewhere to stay.”

Over the years the Vanderbergs have harbored all sorts of people in their “safe house” and treated them like a family. This house is the center of activity for “the pod,” as Mike puts it. Amelia, 24, the oldest daughter, explains that the idea of the pod “springs from dolphins’ family groups. It’s called a pod because once a dolphin is part of a pod it never leaves.”

Mike and Carol Vanderberg, who were high school sweethearts, moved to Empire in 1980 from Bay City to run the town drugstore that Mike bought. “We’ve known each other for 40 years,” explains Carol. More recently, Mike has worked at Deering’s Market, and he now runs a production and recording studio out of the Blue Heron across from the town hall. The Vanderbergs have owned the Blue Heron since 1987 and have used it for many interesting endeavors. It was an alternative school for a while, an art gallery, a shop, and now a studio.

But by far, the Vanderberg’s most popular venture has been the Dunegrass Festival. “Back in ’92 we started thinking about having a festival,” remembers Mike, “Back then there wasn’t really a place for local artists.” After pondering the idea, he called a few of his musical friends together, and their brainstorming and initiative gave birth a year later to the annual, popular music festival that draws thousands of revelers to Empire the first weekend of August. “I didn’t think anybody would come,” admits Carol. “I wanted nothing to do with it, and the first day it happened I looked over the hill and saw 800-1,000 people.” Since that day 15 years ago she and the three girls have played a huge part in the festival. “(We were) licking stamps for hours,” Alice recalls about the days before more households had computers. “If I had a box of memories, Dunegrass would be a BIG part of it,” says Ashley.

What Mike calls “a good idea that turned out well,” has ballooned in size since the early ‘90s. “The first year was less than 1,000 people, but last year total attendance was 6,000, and this year we expect more.” Dunegrass has grown from a one-day festival to a four-day event, and it keeps expanding. “We try to bring new things every year,” says Mike. For instance, the past three festivals have all featured beautiful sand sculptures that last for months, built by artists from Florida. Check out the festival’s website, www.dunegrassfestival.com, for a list of bands, and events, between August 2-5.

The Vanderbergs have Grassroots Productions to thank for the expansion of Dunegrass and opening it up to more national acts over the last couple years. According to Carol, “(Grassroots Productions) does the booking and advertising, and we take care of everything in Empire.” Putting the festival together now requires five people working fulltime and 200 to 300 volunteers every year.

“Through Dunegrass I feel like we’ve been able to bring together a crowd of people for a good cause,” says Mike. “The universe is a much better place for having Dunegrass (despite that) we’ve never made money on it, but that’s not its purpose.” Carol boils the festival down to “a party for 2,000 or so of our closest friends.”

Every year the Vanderbergs seem to touch more and more people, from their immediate family, to the pod at their home, to the Empire community, to thousands of Dunegrass revelers. As Mike says every summer as the festival nears, “this year is going to be huge.”

“Almost too much for Empire to handle,” Ashley responds. And yet, it always does.

Posted by editor at 02:18 AM | Comments (0)

Brazilian Capoeira dances into Leelanau County

By Corin Blust
Sun contributor

The word Capoeira (pronounced KAP-oooo-ERA) can be defined as two separate things in Portuguese. It can refer to a small, remote clearing in a field of grass or sugarcane, or it can mean a style of ritualistic, playful dance that emerged in Brazilian culture during slavery. These two things are connected: the clearing in the field was frequently a place where Capoeiristas practiced their dance, which needed to be held in secret.

But why did it need to be secret? Capoeira is not just a beautiful dance; it was originally a way for oppressed slaves to work toward liberating themselves. By engaging in Capoeira, (in Portuguese to practice Capoeira is said “jogar Capoeira,” or in English “play Capoeira”) the slaves had found an artistic outlet while improving their agility, strength, fighting skills and flexibility — elements that greatly improved their chances of fleeing servitude. “It was a way to build up resistance,” Helio Conceição, the local Capoeira master, tells me in his thick Brazilian accent with a little help from his wife, Alita Townsend. “And also a way of expression for the slaves.” Helio (pronounced EL-IO) teaches a style called Capoeira Urbana, or “Capoeira from the streets,” a form that tries to keep with the original street approach to the dance, at the Leelanau Center for Contemplative Arts (formerly Union/Yoga) in nearby Lake Leelanau.

Since Capoeira was originally a slave activity that carried with it unpleasant connotations of gritty oppression, fear, and violence in Brazilian society, the slave owners had it outlawed. However, it was still practiced by determined members of society; its popularity actually grew in the time of its prohibition.

Capoeira was not made legal again until 1942, when a presentation in front of Brazilian dictator Getulio Vargas caused him to reconsider the taboos surrounding the dance. “When he saw the presentation, he realized that Capoeira was an art and a sport that was practiced by all members of society — doctors, lawyers and street kids. It became a good thing for Brazil,” explains Helio.

Helio began Capoeira with his uncle under a big mango tree in Salvador Bahía, Brazil, when he was “maybe five years old.” When he was ready to begin a formal education in Capoeira, Helio went into the Capoeira Kilombolas School, which unfortunately cost his family seven cruzeros per month, or about two U.S. dollars; an amount that he couldn’t afford.

So, Helio said with a smile, “I paid only the first month, and then I found ways to never pay again.” His determination to practice this art in the face of extreme poverty earned him a scholarship at the first Capoeira academy in the world, Associaco de Capoeira Mestre Bimba in Salvador, Brazil. There, Helio was able to become part of a dedicated community of Capoeiristas that influenced his life in a positive manner. “I have never taken any drugs,” said Helio, “Capoeira kept me healthy, it’s a form of healthy street culture.”

Who should take Capoeira? “All people!” says Helio. It’s an extremely healthy, intensive full-body workout that improves agility, strength, flexibility and precision. The class offered in Lake Leelanau will be strictly for adults, though children’s classes are available in Traverse City at Sacred Space Yoga.

“There was a 72-year-old World War II veteran who came to Brazil every year to practice Capoeira, and he looked 55 because of the art,” Helio and Alita tell me. It’s very good for the body. “You won’t realize how great of a workout you got until the next day,” Alita says.

To play Capoeira, the participants arrange themselves in a circle, called a roda, and players go into the middle of the circle in pairs to dance, fight and show off their moves. This circular construction was once very important to the game because it shielded the inner players from the eyes of the law.

Today the circle is still important because it “keeps the energy focused on the players and in the circle. Everybody feels high from the good energy,” said Alita, who grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan near Empire.

The sound of the berimbau infuses the game with its twangy vibrations. The berimbau is a Brazilian instrument that consists of a length of wire stretched across a bowed piece of wood with a hollowed out gourd facing the player near the lower end of the bow. It is held vertically and it is played by holding a small metal disk against the inside of the wire with one hand while hitting a thin stick on the outside with the other hand.

Erin Abernathy, a musically talented girl who works at Sweeter Song farm in Maple City and got to try Helio’s berimbau “thought the berimbau was a surprisingly challenging instrument to hold and play.” Helio, of course, makes it look effortless.

Other sounds involved in the play of Capoeira are the pandero, a tambourine-like instrument, and the clapping and singing of the participants, which combine to create an energy-packed environment that will revitalize the soul.

Classes are offered at the Leelanau Center for Contemplative Arts in Lake Leelanau from 7:30 to 9 p.m. and are limited to those 15 years and older. Drop-ins cost $15 or $90 for seven weeks. Kids classes are being held in Traverse City at Sacred Space Yoga on Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m. The cost is $50 for four weeks. Helio would like to offer more classes, especially for kids, so if you have a time or place that you would like to see a Capoeira class held please email him at serenocapoeira@gmail.com or visit www.capoeiraurbana.org for more information.

Posted by editor at 02:14 AM | Comments (0)

Manitou Music Festival presents Northwinds Trio and Whit Hill and the Postcards

Press release

The Manitou Music Festival is excited to present a performance by the classical ensemble, The Northwinds Trio comprised of oboe, clarinet and bassoon performers. This combination of instruments offers a rich, yet homogeneous sound. The members of the ensemble: Gretchen Morse, Stephanie Wernli and Melissa Kritzer bring a wealth of experience and training to the music they perform. The program will showcase works by Haydn, Morse, Canteloube, D’Rivera and Milhaud.

Gretchen Morse received her Doctorate in Oboe Performance from Michigan State University in 1994. She plays Oboe and English Horn in the Lansing Symphony and has performed with many other orchestras throughout Michigan and the United States. Stephanie Wernli lives in East Lansing, and in 2006 she completed a three-year fellowship with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Stephanie has a Masters of Music from DePaul University, where she studied with Larry Combs. Melissa Kritzer holds degrees from Northwestern University and Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She will begin a Doctor of Musical Arts at Michigan State University in the fall.

The Manitou Music Festival invites you to an evening of fine music and exquisite instrumental performance. The performance is set for Sunday, July 29 at 8 p.m. at the Lake Street Studio Stage in Glen Arbor. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door.

The next performance in the Festival’s summer-long lineup features Whit Hill and the Postcards. The performance is set for Wednesday August 8 at 8 p.m. at the Lake Street Studio Stage. Whitley Hill was born and raised in New York City, the child of Southern-born actors: a WASP from Mississippi and an Armenian from the moonshine mountains of West Virginia. A child actor herself, she performed at New York’s famed La Mama Theater, with the New York City Shakespeare Festival and the New York City Opera. She is a drama graduate of NYC’s High School for Performing Arts and has a degree in dance from the University of Michigan. For years she was a professional dancer and choreographer; her dances have been commissioned and performed by companies across the country

But she really likes music. As a singer, Whit was a member of the renowned folk band Dick Siegel and the Na-Nas, with whom she toured the country — from New York’s Bottom Line to the Vancouver Music Festival. A prolific songwriter, Whit formed the Postcards in 2001. The band’s two albums, “We Are Here” (2003) and “Farsighted” (2006) have received wide critical acclaim. Whit plays a Martin guitar and loves it very much. Other interesting things about Whitley: Her Armenian grandfather owned a saloon in West Virginia called the Sanitary Lunch. She once unintentionally delivered a friend’s baby by herself. Her dad was on the Sopranos.

Whit Hill and the Postcards was formed in the winter of the year 2001 in order to bring interesting, literate and unexpectedly beautiful alt-country music to the good people of the greater Detroit area. The Postcards are: Singer/songwriter Whitley Hill, Singer/keyboardist/guitarist/husband Al Hill, Bass player Patrick Prouty, and Drummer Chuck Navyac.

Whitley’s husband Al Hill’s credits are too numerous to fully recount here, but in brief, this native son of Ann Arbor has toured the country with his band, the Love Butlers, and is currently music director for soul legend Bettye Lavette with whom he tours internationally. Al’s album “Willie Mae,” co-written with Whitley, was voted Best Blues CD by the Detroit/Windsor Blues Society, and helped the Love Butlers win the 2000 “Best Unsigned Band” competition at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago. Patrick Prouty is a graduate of Wayne State University’s music department, and also tours with Bettye Lavette. Chuck Navyac is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan Department of music.

Manitou Music Festival’s summer of the arts is delighted to presenting Whit Hill and the Postcards in concert on August 8 at 8 p.m. The performance is at the Lake Street Studio Stage. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Tickets for both concerts are available at the Glen Arbor Art Association, Lake Street Studios in Glen Arbor, Cedar City Market in Cedar and Oryana Food Cooperative in Traverse City. More information may be found at www.manitoumusicfestival.com.

Posted by editor at 01:44 AM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2007

Arts Collage returns to Lake Street Studios for second go-round

By Corin Blust
Sun contributor

The Glen Arbor art scene is traditionally dominated by landscape paintings and folk music, but during the second annual Arts Collage at the Lake Street Studios on July 21, Harry Fried will share something different with our community. Fried has organized a unique event that includes a wide array of diverse artistic media: modern dance, spoken word poetry, independent film, fusion and jazz music, and more.

After renovating the stage behind the Lake Street Studios last summer, Fried decided that the kind of things shown there would center exclusively on art. Tired of the typical commercialistic venues whose true goal in presenting an artist is to sell beer or food, Fried just wants to sell art to his patrons, and hopefully open their minds about the incredible local performers we have in our area.

One of the most important criteria that Fried follows when organizing this event is to give his audience the feeling of an intimate setting. “Most people see performance on television, so they don’t get to meet the performer, they don’t get any kind of personal interaction with the performer or the performance — that’s the normal perspective that the mainstream media gives us on this type of thing,” says Fried.

Performance has a much stronger impact when the artists are right there in real life, not digitized and manipulated by the camera. At the Arts Collage, the audience is given an opportunity to feel included in art on a level that is becoming rare in our world of mega concert venues and Hollywood films. “We aim to give the audience a look at the other stuff right in their own backyard — they might even know some of the performers,” he explains.

The evening will include Mika Perrine, poets from the Beach Bards Bonfire, Jazz North, Gen Obata, The Uborigines, Andrea Maio and Alexandance. All of the performers “have their own take on what can happen in a space,” says Fried.

Mika Perrine is a short fiction writer and graduate student at the University of Michigan where she studies English language and literature [Her partner Matthew McGovern’s pottery was on display at the Center Gallery last month and featured in the June 14 issue of the Glen Arbor Sun]. She will be sharing excerpts from her recent writing. The Arts Collage will also feature spoken word poetry courtesy of the Beach Bards, who perform at the Bonfire during Friday nights in the summer on The Leelanau School beach north of Glen Arbor. “We might not have noticed, but there are some incredible spoken word poets in our community,” explains Fried.

Jazz North is an ensemble of jazz musicians who hail from Leelanau County, while Gen Obata is a folk and roots artist who performs mainly in the St. Louis area. He takes traditional American folk music and infuses it with his own original perspective, writing many songs himself. The Uborigines are a group from Ann Arbor that includes Fried himself. Their sound is a fusion of contemporary musical styles that should be a great addition to the lineup.

It is rare to see independent film in Leelanau County, but Andrea Maio is a local artist who will be showing a clip of her work. Originally from Ann Arbor, Maio has contributed to National Public Radio’s “This American Life,” and is returning to the Collage for her second year. Maio’s contribution last year — a virtual journey down the Mississippi River — was riveting.

This special evening will also include a modern dance performance. “It’s bizarre that you can’t go into a nightclub and see a modern dance performance,” says Fried, who believes that contemporary modern dance is ignored far too often in the world of performance. Leaving out dance from the spectrum is “like walking into a forest and not hearing any birds, or seeing no leaves on the trees, but that’s what the landscape of performance has been for years. I can’t explain it but I can offer an antidote to it.”

Fried’s antidote is in the form of Alexandance, a modern dance duo who will be performing an original composition at the Collage. After meeting at the University of Michigan while studying dance, Alexandra Burley and Alexander Springer discovered that they had a natural harmony, and founded Alexandance in September, 2006. They have performed for renowned artists such as Alexandra Beller, Leyya Tawil, Doug Varone, the Umbigada Dance Company in Colombia and the Leopold Group in San Francisco.

“I think the Arts Collage brings a really refreshing sense of community back to Glen Arbor, allowing us to experience the art together,” says Hannah Clark, a Glen Arbor native who is planning to attend the unique event.

The Arts Collage is on Saturday, July 21, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the stage at Lake Street Studios in Glen Arbor, across from Cherry Republic. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Tickets are available at Lake Street Studios, or by visiting www.glenarborart.org/mmf_index.asp.

Posted by editor at 06:15 PM | Comments (0)

Sigue Adelante! Guatemalan non-profit Safe Passage moves forward, in Hanley’s spirit

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

Safe Passage, one of the most successful non-profits in Central America and the guiding light of hope for families living and scavenging for food on the periphery of Guatemala City’s enormous garbage dump, is alive and well despite the death of its founder Hanley Denning in a car accident last January. The Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage, the local branch of the organization known throughout Guatemala as Camino Seguro, will hold their third annual Fiesta fundraiser on Tuesday, July 17 from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City.

This year’s event, a “Journey to Guatemala,” will feature a “virtual visit” to Safe Passage, live music, food and drink, silent and live auctions of Guatemalan arts and crafts, as well as a short film tribute to Hanley by Leslie Iwerks, whose documentary “Recycled Life” about families in the garbage dump was nominated for an Academy Award. The auction will include art made by the children of Safe Passage, and guests can also buy an “Angel of Hope” like the one Hanley carried on her keychain.

In the wake of Hanley’s passing, northern Michigan locals are playing increasingly important roles in the brain trust of Safe Passage, which now helps almost 600 local children leave the dump’s squalid conditions and pursue an education unimaginable to most in Guatemala’s impoverished, desperate capital. Half a dozen Safe Passage children were recently accepted into some of Guatemala’s most competitive private schools; and Safe Passage was recognized and visited this spring by both U.S. First Lady Laura Bush and Guatemalan First Lady Wendy Berger.

Sharon Workman, of Cedar, was recently named Chair of the Board of Directors at Safe Passage, replacing outgoing Chairman Paul Sutherland of the Traverse City-based Financial Investment Management Group, who started our area’s relationship with Camino Seguro when he met Hanley on an airplane — an event that changed his life. “Like most people who met Hanley, I was so moved by her dedication to these children, and by the difference Safe Passage was making in their lives, I knew I had to stay involved,” says Workman. In the past two years, over 40 area residents have traveled to Guatemala as volunteers on service-learning trips. And Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) just announced a new educational partnership with the organization. Professor Mary Pierce, who returned from a visit to Safe Passage in late June, explains, “It is our hope that we would send students and interested staff and faculty, on a rotating basis, to do volunteer work. It would be an invaluable opportunity for the College to provide this rich and rewarding learning experience for our students.”

Maggie Cassem (who has 10-year-old twins adopted from Guatemala) and her 17-year-old daughter Kaitlynn of Cedar — a future doctor who performed dental hygiene work with the children —were among the locals who embarked on a service-learning trip in February, just three weeks after Hanley’s passing. “I thought I had seen poverty from being down there before to adopt,” says Maggie. “I thought I was somewhat prepared for it. But I just cried when I saw [the people competing with the vultures in the dump for food]. It’s unbelievable what they have to go through to put a meal on the table.”

What struck Wendy Martin, a retired Glen Lake schoolteacher who also visited in February, was the contrast between the dump and its desperation, and the program and the hope it fosters. “You snap a photo of the dump and then turn around and here is this program that offers so much hope, so much faith in the future. [The prevailing mood was not about Hanley’s] death or about how the dump is taking over the city and all human life around it. The new children’s guarderia [daycare] is immaculate. You could eat off the floor in that place, and the kids there are singing, smiling and reading. The overwhelming feeling was one of hope and possibilities.”

Hanley Denning, a native of Yarmouth, Maine and graduate of Bowdoin College, founded Safe Passage in 1999 when she sold her car and computer and returned to Guatemala City to fund a drop-in center for tutoring and shelter. The organization quickly grew into a comprehensive support program that guides children into school and on to graduation. But Hanley, the guiding light of hope for families in the garbage dump, perished on the night of January 18 as she was returning from the capital to her home in nearby Antigua after attending meetings to establish the guarderia so that children in Safe Passage could leave their younger siblings in good hands while continuing their studies. Also killed in the accident was her driver Bayron Aroldo Chiquito de Leon, who was at the wheel.

To those children and their families, Hanley was akin to Mother Teresa. In fact, she was often referred to in the Guatemalan media as the “angel of the garbage dump”. As the news of her passing spread through Guatemala City’s poorest slums, mourners gathered throughout the night at the hospital, and crowds packed the streets at a memorial service later that week, especially grieving mothers with young children. “Before meeting her, I never would have imagined that my children would go far in their studies,” Yolanda Campos, a 33-year-old mother of Safe Passage kids, told the national Prensa Libre.

Hanley twice graced our presence in northern Michigan, most recently at last summer’s Fiesta at the Haggerty Center. Great Lakes Friends has raised over $50,000 for Safe Passage since Hanley’s first visit in 2005. Today, nearly 600 children who live around the Guatemala City dump spend their mornings or afternoons at the program where they receive assistance with school work, a healthy meal (often the only one they eat each day), access to a medical clinic, exposure to the arts, and vocational programs in a caring and safe environment. Many of the children in the program are the first in their families to attend school.

“I want the next president of Guatemala to come out of Safe Passage,” says Paul Sutherland.

Tickets to this year’s “Journey to Guatemala” Fiesta on July 17 at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City are $25 each and can be reserved ahead of time by calling (231) 590-6072 or emailing safepassageglf@yahoo.com. More information about Safe Passage is available at www.safepassage.org. If you’re unable to make it, donations in honor of Hanley Denning — to continue her legacy and sustain Safe Passage – can be sent to Great Lakes Friends, P.O. Box 621, Traverse City, MI.

Posted by editor at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2007

Independence Day Events

Sunday, July 1: Pancake Breakfast, Glen Arbor Towship Hall, 8 a.m.-noon.
Northport Community Band Independence Day Concert, at Glen Arbor Athletic Club, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, July 4: Flag Raising at Old Settler’s Park, 10 a.m. Glen Arbor Fourth of July parade, noon downtown (11 am: Parade lineup in Glen Haven Noon: Annual Fourth of July Parade, usually arrives in Glen Arbor at 12:30. Kazoo Corps, line up at the Christian Science Church parking lot around noon.)Second annual boat parade, 4 p.m., Narrows Bridge at Glen Lakes

July 5-8: Cedar Polka Fest, for more information visit www.leelanau.com/cedar/polka.html

photo by Joanne Rettke

Posted by editor at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2007

“Sunshine” comes to Glen Arbor

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor

In the 1950s there was a performer who made the rounds of the town and country elementary schools in Oceana County every year. His name was Louie Parsons, he was a big gangly guy with glasses, and his puppet show was the highlight of the year out at Benona School, the consolidated K-8 country school planted in a cow pasture in 1956 where I was in the first kindergarten class. He set up a portable puppet stage with a tiny curtain, he always had an assistant for the extra hands, and the puppets he’d made himself performed classic children’s tales in the lunch/recreation room that had a shuffleboard court blended into the floor tiles. Somehow there was always an apple in the story played by a small red rubber ball (the one you used to play Jax). Every year the ball escaped the clutches of a puppet and bounced into the crowd, accidentally-on-purpose, and the wide-eyed little kid who caught it felt very lucky indeed.

Between the puppet shows Louie played the piano. With hands flying and knees bouncing he played rollicking Fats Waller “stride” piano and sang funny lyrics. Then he turned his back to the piano, faced the crowd, reached his big hands behind him, and played a boogie-woogie — backwards! We kids were anxious for the next puppet show, but you could see on the faces of the teachers that it was amazing, and remembering now how he played piano backwards, I realize it was something astonishing that we just took for granted. When Justice of the Peace Howard Garver closed his barber shop and stopped performing shotgun weddings in downtown Shelby, Louie Parsons moved his puppet show stage into the back room of the storefront and let us kids come in for free on some summer Saturdays to be the audience as he prepared his new shows for another school year. The red apple bounced off the stage, Louie played the piano backwards, and we took it all as given and thought “it is what it is.”

Just as astonishing, and not to be taken for granted, is the amazing line-up of music coming to Glen Arbor this summer for the Manitou Music Festival. The result of a collaboration between the Glen Arbor Art Association, Three Musketeers Productions, Connemara Concerts and The Leelanau School, and sponsored in part by Art’s Tavern, Cherry Republic, Anderson’s Market, Traverse City State Bank and the Glen Arbor-Sleeping Bear Chamber of Commerce, 14 shows will fill the town with music between the Summer Solstice and Labor Day. Several shows will happen at the newly renovated Studio Stage behind the Lake Street Studios (across from Cherry Republic) in the “live” center of Glen Arbor. Included on the festival are the annual free Dune Climb concert, a Northport Community Band concert (on the lawn next to the Glen Arbor Athletic Club), an Art’s Collage concert, and a series of top-shelf folk shows, some on the graduation green at The Leelanau School. (See the complete Manitou Music Festival 2007 schedule at www.manitoumusicfestival.com.)

The first concert on June 23 at The Leelanau School is an absolute must-see. Jonathan Edwards will be in town teaching a singing-songwriting workshop all day Saturday before performing on the green at 8 p.m. Saturday night. The cost for the day-long workshop is cheap and is due to the initiative of Patrick Niemisto and Adair Corell, two of the founders of the regional Songwriters in the Round group — local folk musicians who have been performing round-robin shows monthly for 10 years at the Horizon Shine Café in Traverse City.

You will surely remember Jonathan Edward’s 1970s political pop hit “Sunshine”:

“Sunshine go away today, I don’t feel much like dancin’. Some man’s gone, he’s tried to run my life, Don’t know what he’s askin’. Several locals met Jonathan two summers ago at the Hiawatha Music Festival when he wandered into the Niemisto camp and sat around the fire pickin’ for half the night. He is down-to-earth and full of stories from his long career in music, and Jonathan is also brilliant and engaging, with incredible songs and tremendous energy on-stage. Hopefully he’ll arrive early enough to be at the first Beach Bards Bonfire of the season on The Leelanau School Beach on Friday night, June 22 (children’s hour at 8:30, poems, stories and music continue at 10, $1 per being). After the concert Saturday night Jonathan and the singer-songwriters will share music around the bonfire on the beach.

So, this will be a robust season of music in Glen Arbor, and you don’t want to take it for granted and miss something astonishing. Mark your calendars now! Great musicians from all over the country will be in town, and you can reserve tickets by calling the Glen Arbor Art Association at 231-334-6112: How much does it cost? I’ll buy it. The time is all we’ve lost. I’ll try it! Don’t miss it! It is what it is. Sunshine come on back another day. I promise you I’ll be singin’. This old world she’s gonna turn around, brand new bells’ll be ringin’!

Posted by editor at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

Glen Arbor to host Girls Night Out

Thursday, June 21 will mark the first Girls Night Out, presented by the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce. The event, to be held at the Glen Arbor town hall from 6-9 p.m., will showcase area businesses specificaly catering to women. Local women and visitors alike are invited to sample the local fare, and to bring many friends. It is hoped that this will be an annual event to kick off summer.

Photo By Don Miller

Posted by editor at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2007

Park considers public input on eve of new Management Plan

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service) will hold three public meetings this week, May 1-3, to solicit public input about the three “Preferred Alternatives” suggested in a recent newsletter, toward developing a new General Management Plan that would guide the Park for decades to come.

The photo looks west across the Glen Lakes toward the Dune Climb and Lake Michigan. Photo by Don Miller.

The public meetings will be held on Tuesday, May 1 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Platte River Elementary School (11434 Main St.) in nearby Honor, MI; Wednesday, May 2 from 6-8:30 at the Glen Arbor Township Hall; and Thursday, May 3 from 5:30-8 at the Traverse Area District Library (610 Woodmere Ave.) in Traverse City.

“The upcoming public meetings allow for (comments in the venue of a public meeting), and afford an additional opportunity for the public to talk directly to the planning team,” Park Superintendent Dusty Shultz said in a recent press release. “It’s very important to me that we continue to stay as transparent as possible and provide whatever clarification the public needs during the planning process.”

The National Lakeshore last attempted to choose a General Management Plan in 2002, but the Preferred Alternative favored by the Park proved unpopular with the northern Michigan public — since it called for closing virtually all dune and trail access outside of the Dune Climb itself, and would have shifted overall focus away from human recreation and toward wilderness preservation — that it was eventually scrapped. (You can read a guest editorial by a Park insider published in the Glen Arbor Sun on July 18, 2002, calling for the public to reject that Alternative).

The Park is currently following the 1981 Wilderness Recommendation to determine what areas of the Lakeshore should be accessible to the public, and to what measure, and what areas should be set aside as wilderness. Yet the Park admits these 1981 guidelines are out of date and need to be amended.

Of the three Preferred Alternatives to be presented this week, Alternative A calls for approximately 3,000 extra acres of the Park to be classified as wilderness, mostly in the Sleeping Bear Plateau west of the Dune Climb and Glen Haven; Alternative B calls for eliminating the wilderness designation everywhere except North Manitou Island, and highlights recreational opportunities; and Alternative C calls for “concentrating visitor use in selected areas” while promoting “more natural, primitive conditions” elsewhere in the Park.

The National Lakeshore has set an unofficial deadline for public comments of May 14, though the new Preferred Alternative won’t be finalized before 2008. If you’re unable to attend any of this week’s public meetings, you can view the alternatives and comment on the Park’s website.

Posted by editor at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

November 09, 2006

Glen Lake Library holds holiday book drive, “Stories & More”

From staff reports

A special holiday tradition continues as we kick off our eight annual call for children’s books on November 15. The Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library, in cooperation with Glen Lake School’s “Parenting Communities” program (formerly the “Way To Grow” program), are seeking donations of new books for children in our community whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season.

Kathy Bartell, the coordinator for the “Parenting Communities” program for the Glen Lake Schools compiles a “wish list” of boys and girls from preschool through age 11. She calls on such groups as Head Start and the Glen Lake Elementary School as well as her own “Parenting Communities” program for names of families that need assistance. Any family can find themselves in hard times and the goal is to make sure the kids still have some holiday joy in the form of a special book. The list is available at the Glen Lake Library in Empire and at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor. Donors are asked to purchase a book for a child on this list and deliver it gift-wrapped to the library by December 15. The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor will kindly provide a 20 percent discount on any books purchased for this program. Last year, over 100 books were donated. The list grows longer every year, so please help us bring the joy of books to these children for the holidays. The best part of this Book Drive is that we know all the books go to children in our own community.

“Stories & More,” a weekly program of stories and activities for preschoolers, is held on Thursdays at 11 a.m. at the Glen Lake Community library and continues throughout the school year.

Posted by editor at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)

Community Thanksgiving: America Unchained!

From staff reports

On November 18, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, communities around the country will celebrate America Unchained! — a national event sponsored by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), that urges communities to “unchain themselves” and to shop only at locally owned independent businesses for the day. AMIBA is inviting all independent retailers, independent business alliances, and independent trade associations to join in the third annual event.

Photo by Ryan Romeike

“We timed America Unchained! deliberately and strategically,” said Jennifer Rockne, AMIBA director. “Our goal is to get the public’s attention before the onset of the annual holiday shopping frenzy — before their attention is colonized by events and the advertising barrage.” America Unchained! focuses on community economics by helping citizens recognize the fiscal benefit of shopping at local independent businesses — and to think about the impact of where they choose to spend their dollars, not only for the upcoming holiday season, but every day.

“The media love to use ‘Black Friday’ to depict the nature of holiday shopping, but their chosen image is of shoppers exiting chain stores with armloads. It’s a soulless, superficial portrayal,” said Rockne. “America Unchained! primarily is a media event that carries a strong educational message about community economics and provides a way to remind people that independent businesses are part of the holiday shopping experience — and a better one all around.... We’d like to shift more holiday spending to independent businesses, but we also want to restore some humanity and meaning to the act of giving a gift.”

As in previous years, a key focus of the America Unchained! event is the findings of Civic Economics’ Andersonville Study and "”Economic Impact Analysis — A Case Study: Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers”, both of which clearly illustrate that local retailers return more economic value to the community than do chain retailers.

“We know, through economic impact studies such as the Austin Independent Business Alliance’s, Andersonville and Mid-Coast Maine, that communities are huge beneficiaries when people shop locally owned,” Rockne continued, “so focusing on community economics is a useful bridge for this campaign that gives the act of gift-giving added meaning.”

America Unchained! evolved out of a 2003 event, Austin Unchained, which was held by the Austin Independent Business Alliance, an AMIBA affiliate headed by Steve Bercu of BookPeople. Austin alliance members organized the event to demonstrate that even one day of shopping at locally owned businesses would have a significant economic impact on the city.

In conjunction with the event, the Austin Independent Business Alliance commissioned “An Analysis of the Potential Economic Impact of Austin Unchained,” a study conducted by Civics Economics that indicated its expectations were correct. “The economic impact of a successful Austin Unchained event will be measured in the millions of dollars,” the report said. “This is the equivalent of dozens of new jobs in our community from a single day of changed consumer behavior.”

“The Austin Independent Business Alliance generated substantial local media exposure to drum up community support and participation,” Rockne said. “Combined with their posters, fliers, t-shirts, the word got out and the community joined in to inject millions into Austin's economy.” AMIBA hopes that its national campaign will multiply that effect with each participating community and continue to spread the collective message.

“The media love this event because it’s edgy, and its timeliness is perfect, both for the pertinence of the local versus chain issue and for its proximity to the holiday shopping season,” Rockne explained.

AMIBA provides templates for posters, a logo, button designs, press releases and more for local customization. All of the materials will soon be available for download from the AMIBA website, www.amiba.net. AMIBA also encourages participants to develop their own organizational items.

Posted by editor at 05:30 PM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2006

Annual smorgasbord unveils the food spread

From staff reports

The Glen Arbor Women’s Club will hold its annual smorgasbord and raffle on Saturday, October 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the Township Hall.

Raffle tickets cost $5 for six of $1 each. Prizes include: a framed watercolor painting by Ted Peterson; a weekend rental for two from Leelanau Vacation Rentals; a signed print by Kristin Hurlin; a handmade quilt by Marilyn Mook; a hand-knitted sweater from The Yarn Shop; a peace pole designed by Peace Pole Makers USA; a Beachstone watch from Becky Thatcher Designs; a two-night stay including golf or skiing at The Homestead.

Proceeds from last year’s event supported the following community programs: $5,000 for three scholarships for Glen Lake High School graduates; $330 for Glen Lake High School’s freshman leadership camp; $200 for Glen Lake High School’s Close-Up; $50 for The Leelanau School activity fund; $25 for Glen Lake Fire and Rescue; and $200 for soccer player Emily Hubbell.

In English, the word “smorgasbord” is known as any buffet with a variety of dishes. The Swedish word smörgåsbord is a combination of the word smörgås, which means sandwich (or literally “buttered”) and bord, which means table; so a smörgåsbord is literally a sandwich table. This is a bit of a misnomer, since there is a lot more than sandwiches on it.

A traditional Swedish smörgåsbord consists of both hot and cold dishes. It is customary to begin with the cold fish dishes (generally various forms of herring, salmon, eel etc), continue with the other cold dishes, and round off with the hot dishes (of course including meatballs, and other Swedish specialties).

Admission to the Women’s Club smorgasbord costs $12 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under.

Wikipedia.org contributed to this report.

Posted by editor at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)

Field of Screams Annual Haunted Hayride

Travel through the haunted forest on a tractor-pulled haywagon. Enjoy eerie theatrics, startling events, ghouls and spooks. Everyone is welcome, small children at parents discretion. Celebtrate Halloween with a night of fright!

Two Fridays and two Saturdays before Halloween: October 20, 21, 27 and 28 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. each night.

$10 per victim, refreshments for survivors.

Sponsored by Empire Eagles. M-72 one mile West of 669.

Call (231) 325-6021 or email hauntedhayride@hotmail.com.

Posted by editor at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2006

Los Gatos to purr through Lake Street Studios

From staff reports

As part of the resurgence of performance art at the Lake Street Studios, and for this year’s Glen Arbor Art Association benefit concert, the Los Gatos will perform behind the studios across the street from Cherry Republic on Saturday, August 19 at 7:30 p.m. Los Gatos is a Latin jazz ensemble led by percussionist Pete Sears and also featuring a kunga, bass and keyboard. “They are a quintet with vibes,” says Harry Fried, who put together this concert. “Very happening, upbeat and danceable.” Los Gatos are the house band at Ann Arbor’s well-known Firefly Club and play everything from Latin versions of jazz standards to salsa music.

“This is the closest you’ll get to riding a Central American chicken bus in Glen Arbor,” Harry predicts.

Tickets for the Los Gatos concert cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door for adults and $10 in advance or $17 at the door for students. Admission is free for children 12 and under. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Lake Street Studios or at the Glen Arbor Art Association until August 12. Bring chairs and blankets.

Posted by editor at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2006

Dunegrass Festival ’06 tops the charts

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

This region has hosted some pretty bitchin’ musical acts over the years, but never have we seen a lineup this juicy: Electric Hot Tuna, Song of the Lakes, the Neptune Quartet, Steppin’ In It, Seth Bernard & Daisy May and wait, listen to this, Greg Brown and Iris Dement! Do not miss this year’s Dunegrass Festival, August 4-6 in the heart of Empire.

Jeremiah Sequoia and the crew at Grassroots Productions took over the Dunegrass Festival last year and brought it back from the brink of closing down, and now they have one heck of an encore on tap. Rest assured, the Village of Empire will be the envy of folk and bluegrass lovers all over the country.

Photos by Kali Coles

That’s right, Greg Brown, one of the most popular male folksingers in America, will visit our town — he of the kindred Midwestern spirit with the Ozarks voice, the poet’s tongue and child’s demeanor. Short of Bob Dylan, himself (pre-1965), what more could we want?

Music aficionados should also recognize the other names on tap for the three-day festival (check out the lineup at www.dunegrassfestival.com). Electric Hot Tuna played here last year. The Neptune Quartet and Song of the Lakes are well-known northern Michigan bands with mileage and charisma. Seth and Daisy and the boys from Steppin’ In It have wowed every crowd they’ve met in Michigan.

Throw in the local gangs Cabin Fever, the New Third Coast and K. Jones and the Benzie Playboyz and you’ve got a small-town aura that connects this star-studded festival with past Dunegrass blasts.

Last year’s highlight Vince Welnick, who passed away earlier this summer, will be remembered during the final act on Friday night with a Tom Constanten & Friends Tribute. Tom and Vince both played with the Grateful Dead during the famed band’s early days (As we speak Vince is up in heaven jamming with Jerry!). And Saturday night runs late with Electric Hot Tuna and Cornmeal jamming late into the night.

But for folk music lovers, Sunday is the day. Settle into a lawn chair or picnic blanket, chow down on some of the great, and healthy food the vendors sell, and enjoy Seth and Daisy (played Empire’s Asparagus Festival in May), Song of the Lakes, the Neptune Quartet, Iris DeMent, Steppin’ In It, and Greg Brown.

Tickets are more expensive this year, and that reflects the quality of the music. Pre-sold weekend passes cost $75 ($90 at the gate), Friday and Saturday only $45, Saturday and Sunday only $55, Friday only $25 ($30 at the gate), Saturday only $30 ($35 at the gate), Sunday only $30 ($35 at the gate). Weekend camping passes cost $15, $10 for Saturday and Sunday, and $5 for Sunday only. Buy tickets locally at East Shore Market in Beulah, Cedar City Market in Cedar, the Cabbage Shed in Elberta, Deering’s Market in Empire, Kejara’s Bridge in Lake Leelanau, Café Bliss in Suttons Bay, or Horizon Books and Oryana Natural Foods in Traverse City or visit www.dunegrassfestival.com.

Posted by editor at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

Lake Street Studios bring back performance with Arts Collage

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

The action is returning to the Lake Street Studios. On Saturday, July 29, the Studios, across from Cherry Republic on Glen Arbor’s Lake Street, will hold their first ever Arts Collage, featuring visual arts, wine tasting, readings, live music, multimedia entertainment and even a “performance philosopher.”

The Studios’ Center Gallery is known for its art openings every Friday of the summer, but the Arts Collage offers visitors a chance to learn more about the process. Stop by between 12-4 p.m. for the visual arts program (free admission) and watch the experts in action to learn about blacksmithing, glass bead making, fiber arts, ceramics, pastels and painting. Meanwhile, just up the street the Cottage Book Shop will host youth readings and storytelling.

J & I Wines will hold a free wine tasting in the Center Gallery from 6-7 p.m., and the real fun begins with the performing arts program from 7-11 p.m. (admission $5). Bring lawn chairs and find a spot on the green behind the Studios as a contemporary urban fusion band called the Urbaniginies warm up the night, followed by performance philosopher Paul Spence. The second set features readings by Jerry Dennis and Keith Taylor and original folk music by Gen Obata.

The Arts Collage will reach its crescendo after 9:30 p.m. with a multimedia performance by filmmaker and artist Andrea Maio and jazz and poetry by The Turtlenecks.

The brains behind this cool and unique gathering is Harry Fried, who splits his time between Ann Arbor and Glen Arbor and is married to Allison Stupka, one of the daughters of the late Suzanne Wilson, who was a stalwart on the Glen Arbor art scene before passing away two years ago.

Since the Glen Arbor Art Association and the Lake Street Studios split up and went their separate ways, the Studios have lost their classroom aspect and emphasis on performing arts, Harry feels. The Manitou Music Festival became part of the Art Association, and the stage behind the Lake Street Studios has hardly been used while the Studios have been devoted largely to the visual arts and Friday night openings.

But at the art opening and memorial for Suzanne Wilson last year Allison invited the Ellen Rowe Quartet to play, and that got Harry thinking. “The music started here at the Studios, and over the last 20 years that stage has featured many great acts, concerts and plays. I’ve always been impressed that a little town like Glen Arbor could find the quality that has come here.

Harry began re-conceptualizing the stage as another studio. “We are an art center after all, so we should have a broad palette of offerings that will appear on stage throughout the summer: readings, music of all different styles and theater.”

The Arts Collage on July 29 is the culmination of that vision, to be followed by a Latin jazz concert on August 19 featuring the hot Ann Arbor band Los Gatos.

Tickets can be purchased at the Lake Street Studios and parking is available at the Leelanau Coffee Roasting Company.

Posted by editor at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)

Friends of Library hold popular annual book sale

By Jane Greiner
Sun contributor

Thousands of good used books will be offered for sale at the popular Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library book sale on August 3-5. Each year crowds of book lovers flock to the Glen Arbor Town Hall to look over the tables of books and pick out armloads of mysteries, bestsellers, popular fiction and nonfiction, all for fifty cents to $1 each. There are also individually priced children’s books, DVDs, CDs, games and puzzles and collectible books.

Thursday, August 3 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Preview Party with wine, hors d’oeuvres, lemonade and cookies. Your $5 admission ticket gets you first choice of all the books plus and an opportunity to bid in the silent auction on special autographed and unusual books.

Friday August 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regular sale, free admission.

Saturday August 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular sale in the morning. Bargain Bag sale after 2 p.m. Fill a grocery bag with books for one low price.

Friends volunteer Lyn Becker reports that this year finding the books you like will be easier because all the books have been “exceptionally well organized with nonfiction books divided into categories and fiction books alphabetized by author.”

She said that members have been “been busy sorting books into categories and pricing them all year.”

All profits support the library through purchases such as new library shelves and on-going commitments for new books, DVDs and periodicals.

Library director David Diller said that the Friends “work on the book sale throughout the year, pretty actively, and mostly right here at the library.” Then, as the date approaches, “they recruit extra people to help get the books to and from the sale. So, it’s a big group effort.” He sees it as a major library event. “It definitely helps us financially.”

Posted by editor at 07:29 PM | Comments (0)

Civil War units highlight Port Oneida Fair

Press release

The cavalry is coming. So is the heavy artillery, the infantry, and the sharpshooters. Civil War re-enactors will highlight this year’s Port Oneida Fair.

On Friday August 4 and Saturday August 5 the Port Oneida Rural Historic District of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host the fifth annual Port Oneida Fair. The two-day event showcases the crafts, skills and activities that made rural life productive and enjoyable in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Many of the early settlers in Port Oneida and Northwest Lower Michigan were veterans of the Civil War. The war was a major event in their lives and the lives of their families. The Civil War units will demonstrate authentic uniforms and equipment and show their camps and drills. The soldiers will also talk about their experiences during the war. The soldiers will be accompanied by military band, Women’s Aid Societies from both the North and South and a peddler who traveled with the army. This is a rare opportunity to experience living history in this part of the state.

In addition to the Civil War re-enactors, over 100 exhibitors will demonstrate early farm skills and crafts from barn building to quilt making. On hand will be spinners, blacksmiths, buggy makers, potters, broom makers, weavers and many more. Each exhibitor is happy to explain their craft while you watch them work. A favorite each year are the big gentle oxen who will be mowing hay, followed by a team of work horses raking and loading the hay on to a wagon. Kids can help unload the wagon and build a haystack. There will be lots of other activities for kids to try such as traditional games and toys. Everyone will also be able to experience some of the daily chores like cutting wood or washing clothes by hand.

Traditional community bands, fiddlers and a variety of other musicians will provide music during both days of the fair.

The Fair is sponsored by The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes with a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Several local partner groups help with the planning and presentation of the fair along with many volunteers. The event takes place at five historic farms and a one-room school house in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, located four miles north of Glen Arbor in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Fair hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day with special events taking place periodically. There will be an abundance of activities at each of the six locations so moving between the fair sites by horse and wagon, trolley, bike or just walking across the fields is a special part of the fun of the Port Oneida Fair.

The Port Oneida Rural Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, showcases life at the turn of the century through a community of eighteen farmsteads from the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s. The District is the largest historic agricultural community fully protected by government ownership in the nation. The Port Oneida community has stories to tell about the pioneer and maritime past of Northern Lower Michigan. Over the years, these farms and cultural resources have been loved by many for what they add to the pastoral Leelanau landscape. Now these historic buildings and meadows are interpreting history through such events as the Port Oneida Fair.

A Stone That Rises:
Inspired by the lives of Elizabeth and Carston Burfiend

By Anne-Marie Oomen, music by Norm Wheeler

Elizabeth:

“What could I say? A clear day, and the schooner is way out, coming in. The cordwood stacked high, all down the beach. And I think, well maybe it will bring some good fabric for a baby dress, or some salt. Maybe … and I see the white ship coming closer and closer, riding the wind, and steam engine puffing, and my husband and this Thomas Kelderhouse standing at the dock, and I look for the name. Oneida. Thomas, he struts, talks with the Captain, and tells everyone the name of the town is Port Oneida. (Music Out) That night, when the house gets quiet, I find the word in the big book of English. Oneida. The name of an Indian people, the word for the great stone that come to them wherever they went, a stone for the Oneida. That’s what their name for the people means. The stone that showed wherever they settled. A stone is a hard thing, and we have the stones that rise and break the plow blades. I know that kind of stone. But a stone big enough to stand for a people. It would be our great pyramid bluff. Ah, it could be, a great bluff standing for the people. This Thomas, he would make his town, but we had the stone.”

Posted by editor at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2006

The Greencards, an American Composer, Prairie Winds open festival

From staff reports

The Manitou Music Festival, under the auspices of the Glen Arbor Art Association, will kick off its 2006 season with the traditional Dune Climb Concert in collaboration with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Sunday, July 16, at 7 p.m.

The headlining act this year is The Greencards, a “new grass” acoustic band whose members crossed continents to collide deep in the heart of Texas, quickly making a name for themselves in the Austin music scene. Their passion was so strong they crossed oceans and continents to chase down the driving rhythm and high harmonies of bluegrass in the land where it was born. But because of their backgrounds they couldn’t help but infuse their brand of bluegrass with a different, more global energy.

After releasing their first album, Movin’ On, Aussies Kym Warner (mandolin, vocals) and Carol Young (bass, vocals) and Brit Eamon McLoughlin quickly made a name for themselves and masterfully played one of the most energetic sets of the 2004 Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Though they’re steeped in the tradition of bluegrass, The Greencards weave influences as disparate as Bob Dylan, Ricky Skaggs and The Beatles into a compelling new brand of acoustic music. They honor the past, but refuse to live in it. That’s why they continue to push at the boundaries of bluegrass and Americana music.

The Greencards’ second record, Weather and Water, is a seamless blend of old and new. The opening “Ghost of Who We Were,” featuring Young’s aching vocals is a plaintive tour de force that echoes Alison Krauss at her melodically melancholy best. “Almost Home” is a fluid instrumental that showcases the band’s musical prowess. The centerpiece of the album — chronologically, musically and emotionally — is “Time.” This standout track, a meditation on past experiences, mixes dreamy harmonies and a melody that rolls along like a lazy river.

Fitting, because this season the Manitou Music Festival will honor the theme “Weather and Water” throughout its concerts.

An American Composer: Edward Joseph Collins

The Manitou Music Festival’s opening chamber concert on July 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Glen Lake Community Reformed Church will reunite three performers: violinist Michelle Makarski, pianist Maria Meirelles and cellist Debra Fayroian, who also directs the festival. The trio will collaborate in a performance of Brahms Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op.101. This concert is also devoted to the music of American Composer, Edward Joseph Collins (1886-1951) with his suite for cello and arabesque for violin. With elegance and sweet remembrance the evening is a classical reunion of musicians and brings together a composer and his youngest son who resides in Leland

“This concert came from a discussion last summer with (the composer’s son) Ed Collins,” says Fayroian. “I was impressed with beauty of his father’s compositions and I did some research on him. Fayroian goes on to call Collins Sr. a very important composer in American classical music. He taught in Chicago, Berlin and the famous Bayreuth festival in Bavaria. Fayroian intends to feature some notes on the composer at the concert.

Prairie Winds & More

The Prairie Winds makes a return appearance to the Manitou Music Festival on July 27 at 7:30 p.m., also at the Glen Lake Community Reformed Church, with a multi-media concert featuring a performance of the French silent film, Cavalcade d'Amour (1939) with music by Darius Milhaud. Absorb the sounds of the exquisite music by French composer Darius Milhaud while viewing this short romantic comedy film (which they’ve promised Fayroian is G-rated). The film is divided into three sections, each depicting a romance occurring within the walls of the Chateau de Champs. Other works on the program will include the Carmen Suite by Georges Bizet and music of Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla.

Since their debut in 1996, The Prairie Winds have captivated audiences throughout the United States with performances that present the finest wind quintet literature in concert programs that entertain as well as enlighten. In addition to their busy touring schedule, the quintet also has an active radio presence: recent broadcasts include full-length concerts for Chicago's WFMT-FM “Live from Studio One” program and for listeners of Minnesota Public Radio. These musicians blend powerful musical technique with humor and intriguing background information to create what one critic called “a unique approach to the shaping of the concert experience (that) is sure to keep them in demand.”

What’s also new this year is the Manitou Music Festival using the Glen Lake Reformed Church over previous venues for its classical concerts. “It’s a larger area and we don’t have to share the space with other events,” Fayroian points out. “It’s a better listening environment too. The sound is beautiful.”

Posted by editor at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)

Northern Michiganders give Guatemalan children a Safe Passage

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

GUATEMALA CITY — The children’s Christmas pageant at Safe Passage, near the dump in this gritty urban hell, resembled similar pageants all across the United States last December. Kids dressed up in costumes made of brown crate paper or wings made out of yarn string, and danced in front of their proud mothers. They were what they deserved to be — children.

Safe Passage (Camino Seguro in Spanish), now one of the most successful, non-governmental children’s aid organizations in Central America, offers a way for children who all but grow up scavenging for food alongside vultures in the garbage dump to return to school while not worrying about the source of their next meal, and eventually work toward economic self-sufficiency for them and their families.

Over the last year a handful of northern Michigan philanthropists have formed the Great Lakes Friends of Safe Passage, a local chapter devoted to helping the efforts in Guatemala City and nearby Antigua, and nearly 20 members of our community have traveled to Guatemala to witness the poverty there and learn about the programs that now offer hope to so many children. Some took photos to help raise awareness; some sponsored children; some volunteered their labor to improve infrastructure; some gave medical services and supplies — but all brought hope to the children of Safe Passage. And these northern Michiganders returned home even more inspired to work together as a community to support Safe Passage.

The Great Lake Friends will welcome back Safe Passage founder Hanley Denning on Wednesday, July 19 for a celebration and fundraising event at the Hagerty Conference Center in downtown Traverse City. A native of Maine, Denning spearheaded Safe Passage after she traveled to Guatemala in 1999 and felt compelled to take action when she saw families living around the city’s enormous garbage dump in Zone 3, scavenging for food or anything they could sell to survive. Children worked alongside their parents or were left unsupervised in the streets. Not in school, unable to read or write, these children faced the same bleak future endured by their parents.

Starting in a small chapel next to the dump, Denning offered a safe place for children to drop in and get a healthy meal, gradually building an innovative educational program. Today, over 500 children are served, from preschool to high school, receiving comprehensive support and tutoring as they attend school and work toward economic self-sufficiency. Safe Passage is a community of local and international volunteers and a Guatemalan staff working to provide hope and assistance to families living in the dump. State of the art facilities now provide a safe refuge where children come daily to gain the confidence and skills needed to obtain stable jobs and lead their families out of the cycle of poverty.

“One little boy (at the Christmas pageant) was mad he didn’t get a costume, so he blew his nose on someone else’s costume,” remembers Lorraine Beers, who represented a delegation from the Traverse City Rotary Club in mid-December along with her husband Mack, Jim Modrall and Amy Borer. The quartet spent four days in Guatemala, touring the project sites, the classrooms and the workshops, and trying to comprehend the horrors of growing up scavenging for food in the dump in an atmosphere of complete desperation.

In the evenings, Lorraine, Mack, Jim and Amy washed the grime off their hands and sipped Chilean red wine at Safe Passage’s cozy hotel, Lazos Fuertes, while reflecting on what they had seen and learned each day. “I’m not sure how yet, but our life has changed after this experience,” Mack reflected. “Seeing what we have causes a pain in your heart,” answered Lorraine. “But that pain wants to make you do more.”

The big question on everyone’s minds was how to convey to people back in northern Michigan the gravity of what they saw and experienced here. About 100 Traverse City Rotarians generously donated crucial supplies for the kids: everything from soccer balls, to toothpaste, to lice shampoo, and Lorraine, Mack, Jim and Amy arrived in Guatemala with 400 pounds worth of supplies in eight suitcases. “It’s great to know that those who can’t come down here will at least contribute supplies,” reflected Jim.

Great Lakes Friends provides a way for everyone to get involved, learn, and help. Michigan locals can sponsor a child or a teacher, make presentations, or collect school supplies and other needed items for people from our community to deliver when visiting Safe Passage. Students can travel to Guatemala, learn Spanish, and help those in need. And, for the hundreds of Michigan families who have adopted Guatemalan babies, Safe Passage offers a way to reconnect with their child’s roots and aid their countrymen.

The Great Lakes Friends Fiesta on July 19 will feature Guatemalan food, music by 3 Hour Tour, the Original 3rd Coast, and other local musicians, as well as a Silent Auction with Guatemalan handcrafts and an amazing array of services and items donated from local artists and businesses. The cost of admission is $25. Please call (231) 590-6072 or email safepassageglf@yahoo.com for more information.

Posted by editor at 05:58 PM | Comments (0)

Beth Bricker, Lake Street Studios diversify the art

By Corin Blust
Sun contributor

If you’ve ever stepped into the Lake Street Studios, across the street from Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, chances are you’ve spoken with Beth Bricker, part of a family team that runs the Forest Gallery on the building’s south side.

“I talk to everybody, way too much,” says Bricker. “I want people to remember [the gallery as a place where] they felt so good the last time they came here that they want to come back.”

This welcoming atmosphere is extremely important to Beth. “I really want you and your grandma and your little baby sister to be able to come in here and hang out,” she told me. “I would just be horrified if someone called us a slick gallery.”

The Lake Street Studios are, in fact, far from slick. Beth manages to make the small space comfortable and intriguing — the perfect mix of relaxed Leelanau County funk and breathtaking fine art.

The galleries are still in the process of becoming a place where Beth, her parents Ben and Ananda, her sister Cherrie Stege, and Harry Fried and Allison Stupka, feel completely confident about taking over. The passing of Suzanne Wilson (Allison’s mother) two years ago left a void in the business around which the Brickers are still trying to figure out how to work.

“Suzanne picked the artists, she contacted the artists, she had relationships with the artists. She traveled everywhere — she’d go to Argentina and Whales and find someone who wanted to come up here and show,” says Beth. “She was wonderful at establishing a feeling of community for the artists with whom she worked.”

Because Suzanne was such an integral part of the gallery, Beth doesn’t want to automatically fill the space that she left behind. Instead of attempting to follow in Suzanne’s footsteps, the Beth and her partners are trying to run the Lake Street Studios as their own business without trying to replace Suzanne. In an effort to take new directions, this year they chose to show more local artists in the Center Gallery than they ever have before.

“We are exhibiting lots of local artists, and many of them are just straight up Glen Arbor artists, which is pretty exciting,” says Beth. “We haven’t done that for a long time, if ever. There are fabulous artists [in Leelanau County] that are hiding out there in the woods.”

The Center Gallery, which is located between Nori Obata’s space in the North Gallery (where Suzanne once worked) and the Bricker family’s Forest Gallery to the south, features a new show from a different artist each week. The Center Gallery is a completely blank room with a gray concrete floor, white walls and a black table.

“The life that comes out of there is just cool,” says Beth. “One week there were bright, almost neon colors: paintings, quilts, and a copper enamel sculpture. It was vibrant. Then we had Kirsten Hurlin’s work, which is fabulous, but more reserved. It changes the room.” Beth looks forward to being a part of this transformation each week.

Beth Bricker’s own work will be exhibited in the Center Gallery from July 21 to the 27.

“I paint right now in acrylics, and I also do pastels,” she said. Beth is a third generation professional artist, and has explored a variety of media throughout her career. Aside from painting, she studied weaving and metalsmithing during her time at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. This summer she is also teaching a watercolor class for children at the Glen Arbor Art Association.

Even though Bricker and her partners are still finding their own path at the Lake Street Studios, they have put together some remarkable new events for the summer. The Arts Collage on July 28 will highlight a full day of events, starting with an afternoon of artist demonstrations in the galleries and studios. The early evening will feature a wine tasting in the Center Gallery, followed by an on-stage performance at night behind the Lake Street Studios.

“We fixed up the stage real nice, and we are going to have musicians, a performing philosopher and an art film. It’s going to be so cool!” Beth says.

On August 19, Los Gatos, an Ann Arbor Latin Jazz band, will also perform on the Studios’ newly renovated stage.

“That’s going to be really hopping,” Beth says. People should bring their dancing shoes for an evening of hot Latin music behind the Studios.

Stop by the Lake Street Studios this summer and check out the great local art, or attend one of these exciting events and enjoy the benefits of having such reputable studios in our community.

Posted by editor at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2006

Singing in the Summertime

By F. Josephine Arrowood
Sun contributor

Do you remember the pure fun of singing as a child? Growing up in the 1960s, some of my earliest memories include kids sitting on the floor around a nun with a guitar, belting out, “If I Had a Hammer,” and “This Land is Your Land.” At the playground, my sister and I would soar on swings, while our voices flew above the tree leaves, raucously chorusing, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Feelin’ Groovy,” and “The Sound of Music.”

Somehow, as we grew older, the notion of singing as fun became lost in performance and judgment, talent shows and celebrity. Now, rather than gathering around an accompanist to sing, many people gather around the television to watch the wannabe stars of American Idol, or hunker down in concert seats while others make merry with their professional voices.

Photo by Ginger Campbell

Dick DeVinney of Glen Arbor aims to change this trend, in Leelanau County, at least. Three years ago, the intrepid choir director began Summer Singers, sponsored by the Glen Arbor Arts Association, as a way to offer musical participation to anyone who wanted to sing, regardless of their experience or perceived ability.

“The number one thing you need to bring to the Singers is enthusiasm,” Dick explains. “There is no typical [music] person in our group; it’s open to anyone who wants to come,” even if they can’t make all the practices, due to family commitments or travel. Dick notes that choir members come from all over the area, including Northport, Benzie and Traverse City, to take part in the weekly “sing out” at the host site in Burdickville’s Community Reformed Church.

Dick brings a wealth of musical knowledge, experience, and people skills to this joyful endeavor. He retired to Glen Arbor several years ago, after several concurrent musical careers in Grand Rapids. He taught music theory and computer music at Grand Rapids Community College full-time; was organist and choir director at an area Methodist church; led adult choirs on two tours of Europe; and wrote concert reviews and music features for the Grand Rapids Press. In his so-called retirement, he and his wife Marian own and operate Synchronicity Art Gallery in Glen Arbor, and he is the organist at Leland’s Community United Methodist Church.

Dick emphasizes that the Summer Singers is not about him, but about creating a great mix of people who love to sing. This year, he hopes to expand the musical repertoire, including works by John Rutter; Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia”; a vocal jazz piece, “Autumn Leaves,” arranged by Traverse City Central High School’s music director Jeff Cobb; and the traditional “You Go to My Head,” which he hopes will both challenge and delight participants.

Choir practice can be bewildering to the novice singer, including references to half steps, treble and bass clefs, sharps and flats. However, this need not be cause for alarm. Music is pattern, rhythm, a secret language that becomes more accessible the more it’s practiced. And the reward is pure euphoria, ascending in a physical wave from the solar plexus and out of the throat on the wings of a poignant line of melody or robust harmony.

Developing the skill of active listening also proves useful, although it requires concentration to discern others’ sung notes. During a particularly enthusiastic song rehearsal last summer, Dick stopped the group to briefly discuss listening. “When others are singing loudly, the tendency is to try to sing more and more loudly, too, but soon you can’t hear what your fellow singers are doing. If you sing more quietly, you’ll actually be a better group, because you’ll be able to hear what everyone else is doing.”

Listening also helps tremendously at the beginning of a song. There is a mysterious alchemy that occurs when a choir simultaneously nails the opening notes, as they pull that A, G, or C out of thin air. Asked how this serendipity happens, Dick smiles like the Mona Lisa and says, “It just comes together.”

Veteran Summer Singers tenor Dick Kay of Empire states that, “I do this because it’s fun!” although he comes from a singing background that was limited to long-ago school choirs, and more recently, the Leelanau Community Choir, which meets in Suttons Bay in winter.

Alto Joellen Evans of Cedar recounts some of the gifts that music has brought into the lives of her family. “I met my husband John in a church choir in the Detroit area when I was 15, and he was 16. Our high school had a strong music program, and both John and I got scholarships to Interlochen [Music Camp] in singing. All of our children have had many opportunities in life because of music, and two of our kids became music teachers.”

The recently retired postmistress of Maple City is also an accomplished choir director, leading 45 adult Sunday singers in four-part harmony at the Leland Methodist Church for over 30 years. She describes her husband (and fellow Summer Singer) John as “my star tenor,” and it’s clear from the warmth and affection in her voice that music has woven strong bonds into their decades-long marital collaboration. (John also plays trombone in the Encore Winds, and has been a frequent pit orchestra member at Glen Lake High School’s musicals.)

Joellen reflects on the importance of singing as a lifelong passion and avocation. “After working hard all day, often the last thing I wanted to do was go to choir practice! I felt like I could be dragged kicking and screaming there — but five minutes into practice, it’s heavenly!”

She continues, “There is nothing quite as intimate as singing with other people. It’s a real sharing of who you are, even with people who are totally opposite of what your belief systems are. You’re in it together, as strong as your weakest singer, so people pull together to help each other out.” A Shaker hymn, performed by the 2005 Summer Singers, perhaps sums up the feeling best:

“…and when we find ourselves in a place just right,
we will be in the valley of love and delight.”

Summer Singers will meet for eight Tuesdays, beginning June 20 until August 8, from 7-9 p.m. at the Glen Lake Reformed Church in Burdickville (this is not a church singing group; the church has kindly lent its space to the Singers for a third year). ALL ARE WELCOME regardless of experience or ability. Contact Dick DeVinney at 334-7695 for more information.

Posted by editor at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)

Library plans summer activities for kids

By Jane Greiner
Sun contributor

The Glen Lake Library in Empire aims to help make reading a year-round activity for area children. Library director David Diller said that the library has two programs starting this month which are designed to encourage kids to read as a part of their summer activities.

“So much is going on in the summer,” Diller said, “I wanted to make some options available.”

Summer Kids Program

This program consists of a weekly library event or activity such as a magic show or a writing workshop for youngsters. These events vary in content and age groups. “Of course, kids of all ages are welcome, Diller said. “No one will be turned away at the door.”

Diller noted that Bonnie Kay’s program for preschoolers called “Stories and More” has been very successful over the past three years. By scheduling the summer program in the same time slot, he hopes that the Thursday morning schedule, which worked well during the school year, will continue to be favorable for reading activities during the summer months.

All the sessions will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursdays at the library except the August 1 writing workshop, which will be held at the Cottage Bookshop in Glen Arbor.

Kids Calendar

June 22 Learn about Great Lakes fish with biologist Todd Kalish of the Michigan DNR. (Best for ages 3 and up.)

June 29 Aquatic tales and fun with Sharon Wiles (Pre-kindergarden)

July 6 Katharine Robey presents her new book “Hare and the Big Green Lawn”. (ages 4-8)

July 13 Juggling and Magic with Ben Spitzer. (All ages)

July 20 Bird stories and activities with Amy Juhala. (PreK)

July 27 Stories and More with Bonnie Kay. (PreK)

August 1 Meet authors Lynn Rae Perkins and Chris Raschka, at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor. (All ages)

August 10 Creative movement with Hughthir White. (K — 3 grade)

August 17 Writing workshop with Dawna Dziedzic and Dianne Glupker, authors of “Green Lights of Michigan”. (Grades 3 and up)

Summer Reading Club

Diller said the Library is also setting up a summer reading club in which children are given a notebook and invited to keep track of the books they read over summer vacation. The intention is to continue good reading habits through the summer. If they read 10 books, they get to pick a book to keep from a selection the library will have available. If they read 20 books, they get a Glen Lake Library book bag as well.

Anyone with questions can call the library at (231) 326-5361. Or check the new library website at www.glenlakelibrary.net. The website will carry information on the library, a calendar of events, and access to the on-line card catalog.

Posted by editor at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)

Movies that you need to see

By Josh Burrows
Sun contributor

Dwight D. Eisenhower was heard to remark: “God help this country when somebody sits at this desk that doesn’t know as much about the military as I do.” As the man who masterminded the single most massive invasion in history, that sets a pretty high bar for the White House’s current occupant. After all, if the president who christened the Military Industrial Complex felt powerless before it, imagine the troubles of the one who deals with its three-quarters-of-a-trillion-dollars-a-year grandchild, affectionately named “The Global War on Terror.”

History buffs, documentary fans, and anyone who’s thinking about joining the military might want to check out Why We Fight, a new film by Eugene Jarecki which will be shown at Kejara’s Bridge in Lake Leelanau on Tuesday, June 20, as part of the eclectic restaurant’s monthly alternative film series. Jareki, the filmmaker behind The Trials of Henry Kissinger, brings us an excellent documentary, presenting an issue that touches nearly every facet of our lives. In fact, if you’ve ever driven on an interstate, you’ve benefited from our defense budget.

Not surprisingly, defense affects an amazing amount of your elected leader’s decisions. This country’s defense spending dwarfs the money Congress gets to spend on other programs. The words “Defense Budget” may not sound quite as scary as, for example, Global Warming, but by focusing as Jarecki does, on the lives of people caught up in the machine, the CIA analysts and Pentagon staffers, and also the soldiers and pilots on the front lines, he manages to bring real depth to an issue that might otherwise seem merely academic.

Last month’s films at Kejara’s Bridge included another excellent documentary, Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary, which examines the life of several migrants who have decided to brave the gangs, corrupt police and dangers of riding open-air on a train for a chance to come to the United States and Canada. Every year, several hundred would-be immigrants die crossing the southern border of the United States. Surprisingly, what may seem like the most dangerous leg of the trip is actually the home stretch for many. By the time they make it to the border they are already among a select few survivors — only 10 percent of those that left their homes. These brave immigrants have come hundreds of miles from their homes in Central America and southern Mexico, braving danger the entire way.

Posted by editor at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2006

National Park to spruce up Port Oneida

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

At long last, the check is on its way. After waiting for over a decade the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (our local branch of the National Park Service) will finally get funds of $1.1 million from Washington to restore, rehabilitate and promote the Port Oneida rural historic district, located four miles north of Glen Arbor off M-22.

Sometime after the construction actually begins in 2011 the Lakeshore will erect, or convert one of Port Oneida’s existing barns into, a visitor contact station kiosk that welcomes folks, either as they approach the historic district from M-22 or after they turn west onto Port Oneida Road. Several smaller parking lots may be built, or the Lakeshore may confine all cars to one larger lot, to accommodate the flow of visitors, which will inevitably increase as more money is pumped into Port Oneida. In addition, the Lakeshore will restore 12 of the 22 structures in the district (the Park owns 20 of them) and utilize one of the old farms for staff housing while attempting to also preserve their historical legacy.

Local concern at two public meetings at the old Port Oneida schoolhouse in early May focused on whether opening up Port Oneida to more tourism might overwhelm the cherished district, or at least the unique experience of a day walking in its pastoral beauty, largely untouched by the traffic and development we’ve seen elsewhere in Leelanau County in the past couple decades.

One local resident likened the dilemma to a Catch-22, in that the Park needs to give people access to the Lakeshore to assure them that their public funds are well spent, but more visitors to a place like Port Oneida could well damage the experience, not to mention the nature and the historic farmsteads. “Do we really have to invite it?” she asked.

Another commenter worried that increasing the flow of people to Port Oneida might overcrowd its pristine Lake Michigan beaches, turning them into another North Bar Lake — once a favorite and well-hidden beach north of Empire where the Lakeshore has since built a giant parking lot that welcomes tourists by the busload and makes North Bar seem, at least by northern Michigan standards, as crowded as Miami Beach.

But the Lakeshore’s Assistant Superintendent Tom Ulrich sought to assure concerned locals on May 3 that nothing in the revitalized Port Oneida district will be paved over, and other park interpreters told me that the parking lots will be small and unthreatening to the visitor’s overall experience — built for no more than 4-6 vehicles, or 10-16 cars in the case of a larger lot — similar to the gravel parking lot at the trailhead for Pyramid Point, which is further down Port Oneida Road.

“Those who remember long, solitary hikes through Port Oneida without seeing another soul will notice the difference, but most will not,” I was told.

Much of the discussion at the public meetings focused on where to put the parking, the staff housing and the visitor contact station kiosk, and that will inevitably carry over into a public comment period, still months away, following the Lakeshore’s development of alternatives and an environmental assessment.

Look for more coverage of Port Oneida in future issues of the Glen Arbor Sun. Reach the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at (231) 326-5314.

Posted by editor at 05:46 PM | Comments (0)

April 22, 2006

Glen Arbor Sun to resume publishing on Memorial Day

Welcome back, northern Michigan beach lovers,

We'll kick off our eleventh season of producing the Glen Arbor Sun newspaper on May 25, just before the tourists arrive in beautiful Leelanau County for Memorial Day weekend. Thereafter, look for news from our area in local restaurants, grocery stores and boutiques, or here on our website, every two weeks until mid-fall. We'll print two issues in June, two in July, two in August, one in September, and one in November.

In our upcoming issues look for news on what the National Park will do with Port Oneida; a series on hardworking Latino immigrants in Leelanau County; local companies that produce organic, fair trade food products; young, progressive leaders in our area; local wine coverage; the scoop on the new Traverse City Beach Bums minor league baseball team; more coverage of Lake Leelanau, Leland and Suttons Bay as we expand north; a day in the life of a family in Empire's New Neighborhood contrasted with a day in the life of a family living at Glen Arbor's ritzy Le Bear Resort; and, as always, Nancy Allen's food columns.

Enjoy! And if you'd like to be added to our e-mail list each time we post new content to the site, please write to us.

Photo credit: Sarah Eichberger

Posted by editor at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2005

Dirt piles dwarf Empire no more

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor

Darlene Friend at the Empire Village Office says Front Street will be paved by November 15, the opening day of gun deer season when the asphalt company closes down. “We really wanted to have the asphalt done by winter, and they’re pretty close to being on time. When the water sample we sent on Halloween is approved by the Great Lakes Water Quality Lab in Lake Ann,” Darlene continues, “they can build the well house and start connecting homes to the system.”

Joe Sullivan, superintendent of the water main and storm infiltration project for CJ’s Excavating, says everything should be done by December 1. “You always find things in the ground you didn’t know was there in these old towns,” Joe tells me. “But nothing worth anything. The village DPW and the people have been real patient, and that helps a lot. Now there’s a new water main and big storm infiltrators under the street. The storm water will percolate down into the ground and not into the creeks and lakes.”

The Village of Empire received a grant of $242K from the Clean Michigan Initiatives and got a $650K USDA Rural Development loan. The last water system project was in 1980. Empire’s first village water system was a used one purchased from the village of Lake Ann in 1895 after a big fire there.

Darlene continues work on the M-22 road project slated for Fall 2006 or Spring 2007 when the big dirt piles will return to Empire. They will come with a $650K MDOT grant just signed by Governor Granholm that includes infiltrators, new pavement and sidewalks, and a green space as part of the M-22 Heritage Route designation.

Posted by editor at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

Glen Lake Community Library holds seventh annual book drive

Donations accepted November 14 through December 14
Press release

A special holiday tradition continues as we kick off our annual call for children's books. The Friends of the Library, in cooperation with Glen Lake School’s “Parenting Communities” program (formerly the “Way To Grow” program), are seeking donations of new books for children in our community whose families are in need of assistance this holiday season. Kathy Bartell, the coordinator for the “Parenting Communities” program for Glen Lake School compiles a “wish list” of boys and girls from preschool through age 11. She calls on such groups as Head Start and the Glen Lake Elementary School as well as her own “Parenting Communities” program for names of families that need assistance. Any family can find themselves in hard times, and the goal is to make sure the kids still have some holiday joy in the form of a special book. The list is available at the Glen Lake Library in Empire and at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor. Donors are asked to purchase a book for a child on this list and deliver it gift-wrapped to the library by December 14. The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor will kindly provide a 20 percent discount on any books purchased for this program. Last year, over 100 books were donated. The list grows longer every year, so please help us bring the joy of books to these children for the holidays.

Posted by editor at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2005

Dunegrass revelers prepare to party again

Empire folk festival brings in nationally known acts

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

Just when it looked like Empire’s eclectic annual music festival might brown and die like an undernourished field during a scorching August, the Dunegrass Festival suddenly has a new lease on life. Stephen Volas and Jeremiah Sequoia (great name!) of Grassroots Productions in nearby Beulah have teamed up with the Vanderberg family in Empire, which founded the festival 12 years ago, to bring us this year’s two-day extravaganza on Friday and Saturday, August 5 and 6.

“I talked with Mike about taking this from a regional festival that it always has been and turning it into a major headliner,” Volas recalls. “We’d stick with local artists, but also attract Midwestern hits. Dunegrass had never made money in the past, and the financial burden on the community had grown too great, but the expectations this year are for a sell-out.”

So kick off your office shoes, fill up your coolers and picnic baskets, and drive over to the Village of Empire for two days of great tunes, dancing in the field, or just napping on a blanket. Tickets cost $50 for a two-day camping pass, $45 if you just want to party until dusk, or $25 for a one-day pass. Children under 12 get in free. Buy your tickets locally at Deering’s Market in Empire, Cedar City Market in Cedar, Kejara’s Bridge in Lake Leelanau, East Shore Market in Beulah or the Cabbage Shed in Elberta. Or find them online at www.jambasetickets.com.

Dunegrass follows a host of other rockin’ music festivals in northern Michigan, including Bliss Fest in Cross Village, Spirit of the Woods in Brethren and Hiawatha in Marquette.

But the acts Volas, Sequoia and Vanderberg have put together this year are out of this world. You’ll hear the hot local bands, The New Third Coast, heartfelt songs inspired by the beauty all around us; Claudia Schmidt, the self-described “creative noisemaker; and K. Jones & the Benzie Playboys, northern Michigan-style Cajun music (no, really!), Friday, followed on Saturday by Cabin Fever (dance an Irish jig) and the Neptune Quartet, which would make Frank Zappa and Hank Williams smile.

From outside of town Grassroots Productions is bringing in Leadfoot, a bluegrass band from Chicago; the Rastafarian boys Rootstand; a southern rock group named Mr. Blotto (Friday); followed by incredible songwriters from Grand Rapids named Potato Moon; the Two High String Band; Delta blues master Chris Smither; Hot Tuna (the remnants of Jefferson Airplane); and to send everyone home happy, Vince Welnick, who played with the Grateful Dead in the early 1990’s and hopes to reincarnate Jerry Garcia’s spirit on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Sound like too much to handle? Treat yourself to a bratwurst or a chocolate-covered cheesecake at one of the vendor stands. Or jump into a game of hacky-sack with the Deadheads, and then trek down to Empire’s public beach for a jump in Lake Michigan’s holy waters. But whatever you do, show up and get ready for a good time in the Dunegrass.

Posted by editor at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

Susan Werner sings her way into Glen Arbor

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor

The Manitou Music Festival brings the enormous talent of folk & jazz performer Susan Werner to Glen Arbor for a concert at the Leelanau School on Sunday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are only $15, and patrons are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for what promises to be a delightful evening of music.

A breakthrough singer-songwriter in the mid-90s, Susan Werner has toured with countless luminaries including Joan Armatrading and Richard Thompson. Werner also appeared on the Peter, Paul & Mary Lifelines special seen nationally on PBS. Her 2002 release new non-fiction, received numerous accolades for its insightful social commentary and introspective stories. That's why The Boston Herald said, "If the Grammy Folks knew what they were doing, it would be near the top of the list in next year's Contemporary Folk category."

Susan visited Leelanau County once before to sing in the dunes at Leelanau State Park for the wedding ceremony of her friends Dana McConnell and Walter Elder, summer residents of Empire. This time she brings her wit, charm, and incredible jazz chops to Glen Arbor to showcase original compositions in the style of the Great American Songbook. Susan’s poetic lyrics are clever, deft, and lovely, and her amazing voice ranges from smoky torch-song sexy, to the brassy back-slapping banter of Midwestern bonhomie. Susan is a huge talent with a compelling presence, so this is one show you absolutely must not miss. Arrive early and be prepared to be blown away!

Here are some notes on Susan’s recent CD I Can't Be New:

"Werner's lyrics are pure poetry" — Philadelphia Daily News

George Gershwin. Cole Porter. Richard Rodgers. Billy Strayhorn. The Golden Age of Popular Song. A bygone era. No one can write tunes like that anymore. Or has Susan Werner added a new chapter to the Great American Songbook?

I Can't Be New (Koch Records), is Werner's fourth nationally released recording, and while chartering somewhat new territory in style, it offers the same high quality writing that her fans have come to expect. Werner performs 12 original compositions in the songbook style. And in this nod to the composers of standards, she's breathed new and brilliant life into the popular song tradition, one that many thought was a closed book.

"This is a songwriter's record. I'd describe the aim of this project as Carole King's Tapestry meets Ella Fitzgerald's Cole Porter Songbook," Werner suggests. "I listened to Ella and a lot of Julie London when recording this thing. Julie London, especially, she could read down a ballad so simply and beautifully, you'd just fall over and die."

However, Werner cautions, this isn't a record for jazz purists: "The purists want old songs done in a new way,” Werner says. “These are all new songs done in an old way." And if standards have become the measure for all other songs, "It's my secret hope, and I'd be overjoyed,” she adds, “if even one of these songs from the record becomes a standard."

With Werner's musical training (a Master's degree in classical voice) and live reputation as one of the most compelling performers on the touring circuit, writing and singing in such an intimate fashion was a bold departure. "The extroverted performer bends and serves the introverted writer on this record," Werner explains. "It was the most wonderful and rewarding challenge of my career." Visit Susan Werner online at: www.susanwerner.com, and we’ll see you at the Leelanau School Sunday evening, July 31, at 7:30

Posted by editor at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)

Fourth annual Port Oneida fair tells story of rural culture

By Susan Pocklington
Sun contributor

Each August, amid the pastoral setting of meadows, maples, barns, farmhouses and corncribs, the Port Oneida Rural Historic District awakens from its peaceful slumber and comes alive with activity true to the period when it was a community of robust settlers. Once again visitors are invited to step back in time at the two-day Port Oneida Fair on Friday and Saturday, August 5 and 6 to experience life as it was in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Funded by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and hours of donated volunteer time from local artisans and craftsmen, the event will showcase traditional rural crafts and life skills.

Visitors can take the trolley, drive, hike or bike to the seven unique historic sites where a variety of activities take place. One can almost imagine the life of these pioneers as the clip clop of horse and buggy is heard toting visitors down Port Oneida road on a scenic drive-by of the community’s historic homes, schoolhouses, barns and outbuildings. Timber framers, antique boat builders and quilt makers will be demonstrating their craft. Potters and blacksmiths will be hard at work. Children can try their hand at crosscut sawing and other farm implements. Oxen can be seen cutting hay in the fields while artists in the fields create paintings inspired by the cultural landscape. Or, take in a display of antique bicycles, cameras and phonographs. Learn about basket weaving, soapmaking, buttermaking, candle dipping, spinning, and fur trapping. Satisfy your curiosity and walk through many of the historic farmhouses and barns that will be open for tours.

Interpreting the history of the Port Oneida Community and its settlers is an important aspect of the fair. How did they live? What did they do? Who were the families that lived on these farms? Park rangers and local history experts will share these stories both on the trolley and at various farm sites. Food will be available or pack a picnic lunch to eat on the trail or in a farm meadow. Finally, rally up for the community barn dance on Saturday night for a taste of 1800’s entertainment.. The fair is presented by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes through a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the National Park Service, Glen Lake Schools, the Leelanau Historical Museum, Glen Arbor Art Association, Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear, Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce, Leelanau Conservation District and Shielding Tree Nature Center. For more information, call the Park at 326-5135 or visit www.leelanau.com/fair.

The Port Oneida Fair is made possible with the support of the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Susan Pocklington is the Administrative Coordinator for Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear.

Posted by editor at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2005

An Anchor from the depths is cause for celebration

By Helen Westie
Sun contributor

Empire’s biggest event of the year, the Anchor Day festival, will be held, as always, during the third Saturday in July, which falls this year on July 16. The celebration commemorates the raising of the village’s famous anchor from the depths of Lake Michigan in July of 1977, and its placement at the entrance to the Empire public beach. Who among the longtime residents of Empire will ever forget that exciting day? After all, news does spread like wildfire in a small town like ours.

Two weeks before the first Anchor Day, locals Doug Manning and Michelle Stryker discovered the anchor while canoeing off the shore. They saw the prize clearly in 18 feet of water and reported the rare find to Dave Taghon, who was village president at the time. Doug asked if the museum could use a freighter anchor attached to a large wooden beam. Taghon knew that any relic found in Great Lakes waters belongs to the State of Michigan, so he called the Dorsett Maritime Academy and Oberlin College with his dilemma. He was assured that, if the anchor was properly displayed, Empire could have it, and plans were made at once to raise the anchor.

Manning, Taghon, Tim Barr, Don (Skeet) Welch and John Preston (household names in these parts) collected barrels, chains and wood to construct a raft. Fred Arnold, a grandson of Mrs. Clagett, the dowager who lived on Storm Hill, and his friend Craig Hampton, were experienced divers, and they not only secured the anchor with ropes, but took underwater pictures. Upon seeing the raft for the first time, Chuck Westie arrived with a pole and an American flag to put on top it.

But as it turned out, the one-ton anchor and chain were too heavy to sit on the raft, so the anchor was attached underneath and floated to the shore that way. Taghon’s pontoon boat, meant to transport the anchor, was used to ferry the workers instead.

Jim Johnson, who owned a thriving business in Empire called Case Tractor Sales, loaned a bulldozer to Charlie Bennett, who dragged the anchor and beam the rest of the way on the beach.

Taghon filmed the whole saga with his eight-millimeter movie camera from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at which time the sunburned men posed alongside the anchor at its final resting place. The film was later converted to 16-millimeter tape, and a short video of the anchor raising will be shown this coming Anchor Day weekend from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Empire Museum, just north of town on M-22.

The high point of Anchor Saturday is always the parade. Even though it has grown in size and color, the parade still passes through town twice. The way it works is that the Empire Business Association chooses a theme, and notifies every business in town, encouraging them to provide a float. Recent themes include: “It’s a small world”, “Clowns”, “We’re Dune better than ever”, “Everything silver (for the 25th anniversary)”, “Celebrating the Great Lakes”, “Sailing”, “Millennium madness” and “Vote America”. This year we’ll celebrate (duh) “Everything about the Anchor”.

Events during the two-day festival include the Fun Run, a Pancake Breakfast on each day, a Farmer’s Market, a model airplane show, various activities at the library, kids games and races at the beach, a barbecue chicken dinner, a sailing regatta, and last but not least, the Anchor Day Street Dance and raffle.

Throughout Anchor Day’s history, Carol Vanderberg has organized the kids’ games and supervised them at the beach. Her husband Mike, of Dunegrass Festival fame, has served on numerous committees such as that of the Anchor Day dance.

The parade has drawn visitors from communities near and far. There are floats; there are horses; there are decorated bicycles; there are walkers in costume. To the delight of the children, many of the floats throw candy. To the delight of housewives, large double rolls of toilet paper are tossed from Jerry Decker’s “honey wagon” pumping truck. Sometimes, a sign on the pumper reads, “Your fudge is our sludge”.

For years a bright green antique car owned by Gil Haley of Glen Arbor has represented Michigan State University. Especially offensive to Ann Arborites and U-M fans is the desperate sign, “Michigan State is THE University of Michigan. This journalist happened to own a 1970 Ford Thunderbird, which was bright yellow with white leather seats. It was a Florida car and in mint condition. I would never have bought such an ostentatious car if it had not been such a bargain, at $1,500. Dubbed “The Banana Boat”, my ride was a counterweight to Haley’s ride. For two years I covered it with bright blue ribbons and “Go Blue” signs. Michigan State was once known as State Agricultural College. A sign on the Banana Boat read: “Cow College is now the udder university of Michigan”.

Every Empire stalwart remembers Chuck Westie’s disreputable, moth-eaten pelican, which appeared in the Anchor Day parade for many years. Chuck was fond of pelicans because of the myth that a mother pelican pierces her own breast and allows the blood to drip into the mouths of her babies, thus nourishing them. He had found this bird in a secondary store and often displayed it with a hat announcing the given year’s theme. Even after Westie’s death in 1994, the pelican kept appearing. His daughter, Libby Westie Brattin, wore a sandwich board as she pulled a wagon, in which sat the moth-eaten pelican. On the sandwich board read the old rhyme:

Oh what a bird is the pelican
His beak holds more than his belly can
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week
And I don’t know how
In the hell he can.

Dick Owen, who coordinated the Anchor Day parade until passing the torch on to young leader Ryan Deering two years ago, has the old bird in storage, and perhaps it will make an appearance in this year’s parade.

Upon further review, the staff of the Glen Arbor Sun reluctantly admits that Michigan State University does offer a decent education. – the Editors

Posted by editor at 11:31 PM | Comments (0)

“Ode to Joy” resonates through the Dunes

Press release

One of the most-anticipated events of the summer, the Manitou Music Festival's annual Dune Climb Concert, will be held Sunday, July 17, at 7 p.m. Free to the public, this popular event opens the Festival and is held at the base of the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb. Families are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets, and picnic suppers.

The concert, entitled “Ode to Joy”, features the virtuosity of the world-renowned California Guitar Trio, which will perform a whirlwind of instrumental styles fusing classical, rock, blues, jazz, world music and bluegrass, as well as the quintessential California musical genre surf music. "Ode to Joy" presents music celebrating our national spirit and closes with a gorgeous and energetic rendition of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The California Guitar Trio was featured on television coverage of the 1998 and 2000 Olympics and at the 2003 Grammy Awards. Their music was sent into outerspace as a wake-up for the Space Shuttle Endeavor's crew.

The always-popular band Songs of the Lakes, Traverse City's "musical ambassadors of the Great Lakes" will open the concert. Since forming in 1983 they have performed in over 1,000 concerts in festival settings or civic events in the United States and Europe. They have also been featured on a number of radio and television shows and have performed with symphony orchestras, choirs, classical and jazz players and dance troupes. Song of the Lakes will be featuring music from their new album "Poets Say".

The Manitou Music Festival is part of the Glen Arbor Art Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the arts in the Glen Lake area. The Dune Climb Concert is co-sponsored by the Traverse City Arts Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and is the result of a creative partnership with the National Park’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Posted by editor at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2005

Bicentennial Barn, turning 30, needs a facelift

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor

One of Leelanau County’s landmarks is preparing for a facelift. The patriotic paint job on the Bicentennial Barn near Good Harbor is fading, but hopefully the community spirit that initiated it is not. Owner Susan Shields and painter Dennis Gerathy are hatching a plan to restore it, and they are looking for volunteers to help.

A press release from 30 years ago sent to news media by Noble D. Travis, Chairman of the Leelanau County Bicentennial Commission, explains the original project: “The Commissioners enthusiastically endorsed the presentation of “Shalda Barn ‘76” (which is the painting of a full size barn with heroic murals) by Arlen and Sally Ramsay of The Leland Gallery. The Ramsay’s proposal had six specific points that contributed to its endorsement. First, it involved many people from all parts of the County. Second, it would be a lasting patriotic landmark. Third, it would be supported at little or no cost to the Commission by people who will share their resources with us. Fourth, the real benefactors would be the young people who actually make it happen. Fifth, it has the earmarks of being one of the state’s most outstanding tributes to our forefathers and the ideals of most Americans. Sixth, the condition of the barn and its location, on M-22 at County Road 669 in Cleveland Township, were perfect.”

With the approval of then-owner Mrs. Lewis Shalda, a huge community effort followed, but the project was carried out primarily by teams of art students from each of the county’s public schools under the direction of their art teachers. Mr. Ramsay’s original design featured “two wind blown flags, a historical map of the County, a portrait of George Washington; the south end of the barn shows the pioneer spirit of sharing the historic bounty of “The Little Finger,” and the today spirit of winter’s fun and summers blessing. He has integrated the silo into the design by painting it as a clump of trees, some with maple syrup buckets, and others with burnished red leaves that camouflage the red silo roof.”

Now 30 years of sun and storm have worn the burnish off the barn. The red-roofed silo blew down in the big wind of July, 1987, and was replaced with the unpainted concrete one. But the structure of the barn itself remains excellent. Jeff Reinhardt of Northport, “the barn guy,” has completed an inspection and recommended improvements. The doors, stairs, and some floorboards need work, but the foundation and all mortise and tenon joints are great. And the roof is in good shape. Susan Shields has slated the spring of 2006 for the interior improvements. But she hopes to begin the scraping and painting of the exterior this fall.

To the original six goals of the Ramsay proposal Susan is adding two more: to ensure that the future of the Bicentennial Barn is secure, especially for any rehabilitation required to ready it for its 50th birthday 20 years from now, and to ensure that the barn stays accessible to the public daily. “This barn belongs to the people of Leelanau County as a landmark, particularly to all of the people who have worked on it,” says Shields.

The barn is why Susan bought the property. A history and literature student from the University of Michigan, Shields was married in 1976 and honeymooned in Leelanau County. Through the years she frequently camped with her children at DH Day campground during the summer, and after her father’s death in 2000 Susan returned to “The County” to heal and rest. Father Bill told her one day as she cleaned the rectory in Empire that the property was for sale. “I bought it with hardly a glance at the farmhouse or the two cottages on Bass Lake that go with it,” she recalls. Of course it all needed work, and improvements to the house continue apace.

The plan for restoration of the barn is as follows: a design contest is proposed for the north wall. The names of the 1976 painters are no longer decipherable, so Shields hopes students will compete to create overlapping images about the future of Leelanau County. The east wall will remain the same, with George Washington and the flag restored. The south wall will retain its historical focus and include a combination of images, one showing the area’s settlement by Bohemians, and another picture representing the original Native Odawa/Ojibwe presence that the Tribe has promised to contribute. “The west wall will be images of the present in the county, sort of a you-are-here kind of thing,” Shields explains, “dunes, water, cherries, lighthouses, bears, those kinds of motifs.” And Shields has another creative idea: how about the silo as a spaceship? “We have an astronaut living in Suttons Bay, and many other scientists and authors who have made contributions to our culture live here,” Susan muses. “Perhaps we could find a way on the silo to celebrate the people we have ‘sent up’ to the world.” Ultimately the plan is to juxtapose the past, present and future of Leelanau County on the barn’s facades.

But who can make this happen? “Here’s the exciting part.” Susan says. While working on the gardens at Cherry Republic she met antique sign expert Dennis Gerathy. “He pulled up one day and said ‘I love that barn, let’s do something. You were born to buy that barn,’ he said, ‘and I was born to paint it!’” Gerathy is a member of a national group called the Letterhead Men. This professional association chooses one significant restoration project per year to which they dedicate their expertise, time and talent. “They don’t just use ordinary house paint,” Susan explains. “They have special matched colors and work with transparencies. We’ll have a jamboree when they come in June of 2006. It will be exciting to watch and to help them work.”

But the former images must be scraped off and the barn must first be primed. That’s where volunteers from around the county can pitch in. “We need to complete the scraping and priming if possible this fall,” Susan continues. “Anyone who was involved before or who wants to get involved now please contact the website www.restorethebarn.org or email me at restorethebarn@aol.com.”

Shields and Gerathy plan to host an organizational picnic on Labor Day, September 5, and call it the Labor of Love Day. Artists, painters, gofers, people with scaffolds and folks with paint scrapers are all needed for this effort. Please get involved in a project that will yield a big, tangible, colorful result for everyone to enjoy for many years to come.

Posted by editor at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

Cedar Polka Fest gets ready for season number 24

By Pat Stinson
Sun contributor

The community of Cedar is abuzz this week preparing for its biggest annual event: the renowned Cedar Polka Fest which begins this year with a flag-raising ceremony on Thursday, June 30, followed by music, dancing and special events until 9 p.m., Sunday, July 3.

Merchants are busy stocking their shelves and volunteers are readying the village for anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 festival goers who raise the usual pitch of polka fever in this peaceful Polish hamlet to fun and frenzied levels.

Sponsored by the Cedar Chamber of Commerce, the 24th annual festival promises the best in energetic polka music provided by talented Midwestern bands, dancing on one of the county’s biggest and arguably best dance floors, delicious Polish bratwursts, soft pretzels and beer, children’s games and activities, a parade, a softball tournament, and Sunday’s special Polka Folk Music Mass with Catholic Bishop Cooney and a polka band.

“We just work together to get it done,” says Polka Fest committee member Larry Bruckner, referring to a six-person committee assisted by interested Chamber members and a number of community-wide volunteers.

Using a Chamber-owned forklift to carry sections of dance floor from a storage area behind the chamber office to a designated spot under an enormous tent, Bruckner pauses long enough to point to an enormous bulletin board covered with pictures of past festivals and to share a few story nuggets. He says that today, one week before festival opening, is a more leisurely day for set up. Tomorrow, the real work begins. The dance floor still needs assembling, vendors will begin arriving, and all manner of details have yet to be finalized. Polka Fest Committee Chairman Frank Novak, whose duties are described as “everything under the tent,” coordinates with fellow committee members Ed Novak, Bob Dezelski, Judy Bugai, Larry Bruckner and Fred and Dan Peplinski, all of whom have been meeting once a month and contacting each other by phone for several months.

Bruckner, whose main duty is hiring the bands, also handles the festival parade. “A lot of people wait until the day of the parade to enter,” he says. “We don’t get excited. We just fit them in. We have a lot of old cars and jalopies, a polka band and lots of kids. Last year was our biggest; we had 30-something entries.”

When asked what his favorite festival event might be, Bruckner answers, “Once we raise the flag, and you hear the first drum beat, the music just makes it go.”

“I’m a polka (music) nut and that’s it,” he adds.

Though many young people attend the event and dance to polka music for a day or two, Bruckner says it’s debatable whether they will take the time to really learn how to polka. “Young kids are just happy to be out there jumping around, but to make them slow down, learn the beat…” his voice trails off.

The “old-style” beat is what drives polka music, with its accordion and concertina and now, the addition of brass. His concern is that the love of polka music and dancing could fade. While polka lessons are not offered during the festival, lessons are being given at the town hall in Cedar on June 24.

“Next year is our 25th,” he says. “We’ll have an extra special show band.”

Mark your 2006 calendar for Cedar’s Polka Fest, July 6-9.

For more information about this weekend’s Polka Fest, call 228-3378 or 228-5562. For information about the parade, call Greg at 922-1899.

POLKA FEST SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: JUNE 30 – JULY 3

Thursday, June 30
5 p.m. Flag-raising ceremony
5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dancing with music by The Casuals of Eastlake,
Ohio, and Virgil Baker of Rockford, Michigan

Friday, July 1
10 a.m. Sidewalk Chalk Art – Meet at the Town Hall
2 – 5:30 p.m. Dancing with music by The Casuals of Eastlake,
Ohio
5:30 p.m. – 1 a.m. Dancing and music by Alvin Styczynski of Pulaski,
Wisconsin and Honkey Hoppers of Tonawanda,
New York.

Saturday, July 2
10 a.m. Face Painting – Meet at the Town Hall
Noon Parade – Downtown Cedar
2 – 5:30 p.m. Dancing with music by Alvin Styczynski of Pulaski,
Wisconsin
5:30 p.m. – 1 a.m. Dancing with music by Honkey Hoppers of Tonawanda, New York, and Cady Homel of Chicago, Illinois
Sunday, July 3
11 a.m. Mass with Polka Music – Celebrated by Bishop Cooney with music by Pan Franek & Zosia Polka Towners of Muskegon, Michigan
1 – 9 p.m. Dancing with Music by Pan Franek & Zosia Polka Towners of Muskegon, Michigan

Posted by editor at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2004

Two can play that game

- from staff reports

On the occasion of its tenth year in existence next summer, the Glen Arbor Sun will give birth to a sister publication, down the road in Frankfort, in 2005. Two 1996 Leelanau School graduates and hungry entrepreneurs, Jordan Bates and Richard Taber, will spearhead the Benzie County publication, and hope for the same kind of support that our readers and advertisers have gracefully given our small-town paper over the years.

Let the free press continue to churn out news, and give communities a voice all across America for years to come!

Posted by editor at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2004

Meet the Indians Behind the Indian Legends

By Lois Beardslee
Sun contributor

Some of Leelanau County’s finest traditional basket-makers, quill-workers, artists and authors will be demonstrating and selling their products at the Native American Art Market on Saturday, August 7 at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center in Traverse City, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The group, which normally meets the third Saturday of every month, has made an exception this month due to the August 20-22 Pow Wow in Peshawbestown. The Heritage Center is located on 6th Street in the historic old Traverse City Library building. From downtown T.C., take Union Street south to Sixth St. It’s the first building on the right along the river, adjacent to the park. You may phone the center at 995-0313. There is currently an exhibit of Anishnabe, or Woodland Indian, culture in the upstairs gallery.

Some of the art forms we do are so rare that there have in recent decades been only one or two of us alive still doing them. For example, I was once one of only two people still making birch bark bitings, an art form in which we peel the bark thinner than typing paper, fold it, and create symmetrical images by bruising the bark with an eye tooth. Oddly, one favors either the right tooth or the left — depending upon one’s handedness — and the other artist had his dominant eyetooth pulled. (I’m not kidding!) Suddenly, I found myself the last living soul I knew of still creating an art form that dates back thousands of years. Aware of my own mortality, I began frantically dragging other Indians out into the woods. “I don’t want the responsibility,” I claimed, “I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.” Granted, we don’t have many busses in Leelanau County, but my point regarding the rarity and fragility of what we do remains intact.

Those of us who still make baskets have watched our predecessors pass away and have seen few people replace them. Part of this is simply because of the profoundly labor intensive nature of the work. For every hour put into making each basket, we spend at least an hour gathering and processing the materials. Sweetgrass, the strong, fragrant, rare grass that most of us use, must be picked one blade at a time, with two hands. We keep its locations secret and we respectfully ask that you refrain from asking us where to find it or to sell it to you. It is a precious resource, and a tremendous amount of responsibility goes along with knowing its secrets.

At the art market, you’ll find a nice selection of baskets, by Cindy John, Helen Raphael, me and others. Helen is an incredible black ash basket-maker, and just getting a peek at her full-sized baby bassinette with its dreamcatcher air vent is worth the trip. Potawatomi craftsman Hal Wiggins is usually present, with his beautiful hand-carved knives, pouches, and other unique bone and antler items. Alvina Marshall has gorgeous dreamcatchers and lots of other small items that are affordable for children as well as adults. Margaret David does exquisite beadwork in an old style that is well-respected by Native people. The selection is wonderful and includes prints, paintings, sculptures, cards, jewelry, beadwork, books, tapes, and purses. Some of us have items that are not for sale but merely for display. These include some rare quill baskets and a traditional backpack made of cedar bark fiber and porcupine fur cordage.

We’re never quite sure who will join us from month to month. Last time, Odawa author Simon Otto joined us and was signing books. Sometimes artists visit from as far away as Lansing or Sault Ste. Marie. When we’re lucky, Lyle James drops by with his paintings and prints. Even our children make and sell items, as we use this as an opportunity to teach them traditional skills as well as new ones.

Whether you are a resident or a visitor, we encourage you to visit us on August 7. It’s a chance to talk with us, see us interacting with our children (“if you hit me with that skunk pelt one more time, you’re grounded for life!”), and dispel any sense of otherness that you may have, if you’ve not grown up in close proximity to Native people. We love interacting with our neighbors, seeing old friends, and explaining the hows and whys of traditional arts. They are at the heart of our people.

Posted by editor at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)

Second Annual Glen Arbor Car Show

By Torin Yeager
Sun automobile correspondent

The sunlight filters softly through the trees, birds sing, and the scents of fresh flowers mingle with the perfume of motor oil…

Indeed, it is time for the second annual Glen Arbor Car Show, following in the tracks of last year’s highly successful inaugural event, sponsored by the Glen Lake — Sleeping Bear Area Chamber of Commerce. The upcoming display of classic automobiles on August 7th will feature 15 classes of cars and trucks, with participants judging the winners of first and second place trophies.

Many fine machines are expected to rumble, roar, or otherwise roll into town, but one will stand out from the crowd, if not for being an exotic auto, but for its driver. Brandon Mikowski, an 18-year-old senior at Glen Lake High School, is likely to be the youngest participant in the show, with a 1966 Ford Mustang.

Brandon “found” his light blue dream car last June at a Traverse City modular home dealership, of all places. Despite the odd location, a nearly all-original classic car for $6,500.00 was just too good to pass up.

“It had a Straight Six 200 Sprint engine with a three-speed automatic transmission and only 55,000 miles on it,” Brandon recalls almost reverently. “It’s not a speed demon, but it is a classic car.”

Mikowski has long been a fan of classic cars, and particularly of Mustangs. “My love of cars began when I first saw my uncle’s collection of classic cars,” says Brandon. “I like all classics, but it was the Ford Mustang which I feel to be ahead of its time in that it was the sports car that anyone could own. Now I own one, too.”

Due to the lucky timing of his purchase last year, Brandon was able to participate in a number of local car shows, including the Northwestern Michigan Fair, the Maple City Car Show, and of course, the 2003 Glen Arbor Car Show. “I enjoy being able to see machines that are rarely seen on the road anymore. Historic cars are a dying breed because steel has an unfortunate tendency to rust away, so it is good to know that some of them are still taken care of so well,” says Brandon. “The Glen Arbor Car Show is definitely the best show I have participated in; there was live entertainment, friendly registration, fair judging, just a great environment.”

Mikowski was able to get input from his much older peers in Glen Arbor, not only about Mustangs, but other classic cars as well. “I learned a lot about better presentation of the machine to best educate viewers about my car,” says Brandon. “Everyone was very helpful and friendly, and the worst I heard was, ‘You’re too young to have a car like that.’”

Regardless of age, all are welcome to enter their automobiles at the Glen Arbor Car Show, which will take place on Saturday, August 7th, from noon to 3 p.m., located. Pre-registration by August 1st costs $10 and registration between 10 a.m. and noon on the day of the event costs $15. Line up behind the Glen Arbor Township Hall on Oak Street and M-22. All proceeds will benefit the Chamber’s Scholarship Fund. Vendor space is also available. For more information, please call Bob and Teddy House, the event organizers, at (231) 228-3424.

Posted by editor at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2004

Fanfare for the Sleeping Bear at Dune Climb kicks off Manitou Music Festival

from staff reports

The Glen Arbor Art Association’s Manitou Music Festival has a new director this year, but the quality and diversity of the concerts that will resonate from the Glen Arbor area this summer haven’t changed. Debra Fayroian, a cellist in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, takes over for Crispin Campbell, a cellist at the Interlochen Arts Academy who founded the summer music series 13 years ago and turned it into an extravaganza that many of us mark on our calendars even before the birds return.

“We’re very excited to have an artist with her qualifications,” says David Early of the GAAA. “She is an accomplished cellist who has run music programs in the Detroit area.”

As usual, the annual Dune Climb concert will ring in the festival, to be held this year on Sunday, July 18 at 7 p.m. at the dune’s well-known location on M-109 near Glen Haven. The Bill Lucas Jazz Quartet will play the world premier of Fanfare for the Sleeping Bear, a tribute to the great dune through the voice of brass chorale, to go with classics from the Avatar Bass Quintet. In addition, renowned local poet Anne-Marie Oomen will read poetry inspired by the legend of the Sleeping Bear Dune.

“We’re grateful to have the opportunity to work with the Park in this cooperative endeavor and happy to provide family entertainment and excellent music in a natural setting,” Early continues.

The Dune Climb concert is the result of a successful “creative partnership” between the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the non-profit Glen Arbor Art Association. The family-friendly event is free of charge, yet the National Park Service charges to park in the Dune Climb lot. Overflowing parking will be available along M-109 for no charge. People are encouraged to bring folding chairs, blankets and picnics.

The Manitou Music Festival’s Chamber Music Series opens in Leland on Monday, July 19, but comes to Glen Arbor the following night, July 20, at The Leelanau School one mile north of town. Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m., featuring music by the Nuance Quartet — all members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Tickets for this even are $15.

Then on Sunday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m. at The Leelanau School, the jazzy-folk group Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem opens the first of three “get-down, roots” gigs, which the Manitou Music Festival has always interspersed well with classical music. Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem are “ambassadors of a new kind of American acoustic music rich in four-part harmonies, recycled percussion and instrumental wizardry.”

Keep your schedule open for August 8, when one of the most sought-after acts in Michigan, Steppin’ In It concludes the 2004 Manitou Music Festival with an outdoor benefit concert at Thoreson Farm. You won’t want to miss this one.

For more information please call the Glen Arbor Art Association at 334-6112 or visit the web at glenarborart.org. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore branch of the National Park Service can be reached at the Empire Visitor’s Center at 326-5314.

Posted by editor at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2004

The Leelanau School to celebrate 75th Anniversary

From staff reports

A seventy-five year-old wise man full of lessons for its many children, yet still boasting ageless enthusiasm.

The Leelanau School, the fine institute of learning, located on quite possibly the most beautiful campus in the world, is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year on the banks of Sleeping Bear Bay, one mile north of Glen Arbor.

This year’s birthday bash will culminate on campus during Alumni Weekend 2004, June 25-27, when Helen Huey and the late Tom Hilton will be inducted into Leelanau’s Hall of Fame. Helen and her late husband, Art “Major”, were stalwarts in the school’s early history, and oversaw its separation from what is now the booming Homestead Resort next door (as chronicled in the August 15, 2002 issue of the Glen Arbor Sun) Helen and Tom will be honored for their many years of service to The Leelanau School in a ceremony that will take place on Saturday evening, June 26th.

Leelanau alumni, as well as members of the community interested in the school and the role it has played in Glen Arbor’s history are welcome. To make reservations for this event, please contact Fiffy Petty in the alumni office at 334-5848.

The gala on June 26th follows a year of festivities celebrating the school’s diamond anniversary. Over 200 guests from surrounding communities attended an open house at Leelanau on Saturday, May 8th. Guests and prospective students were entertained by music, drama and storytelling performances throughout the afternoon. Other events included campus and observatory tours, a student art show, a voyageur canoe display, an international food fair, a bio-diesel fuel production and auto demonstration, a bottle rocket construction and launching, and the climbing wall demonstration. Guest musician Michael Gould performed throughout the day on Zen flutes from Japan.

At the end of the festivities, alumnus Willis Hawkins, from the first graduation class in 1932, cut the anniversary cakes. The two cakes (shaped as a ‘7’ and ‘5’) weighed over 300 pounds and were 6 feet x 2 feet each. Needless to say, there was enough cake for all to enjoy.

The Leelanau School was founded by Cora and William “Skipper” Beals of St. Louis, Missouri, and opened its doors on September 16, 1929 with 15 boys in grades 7-10. Today, Leelanau is a private, college-preparatory, boarding and day school for both boys and girls in grades 9-12.

Posted by editor at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2004

Empire displays community “Spear-It”

By Ashlea Turner
Sun staff writer

For asparagus lovers, a drizzly spring day was fitting for the 1st Annual Empire Asparagus Festival held last Saturday, May 22nd. Folks from all over the region came to celebrate the town’s new favorite vegetable, asparagus. At the climax of the asparagus harvest season, Empire partied for hours with a whole day’s worth of events.

The day kicked off with a rainy fun run/walk, attended by over 20 adults, children and pets. The 2.5-mile route meandered through the village, passing by many community garden plots filled with young asparagus. Robin Johnson and Heidi Skinner, both village residents, planted over 100 donated asparagus crowns, as well as complimentary perennials and annuals.

After the tour many asparagus-loving children attended a wealth of kids’ games and activities, including a popular asparagus spear-throwing contest. While the kids were having fun throwing their food around, parents indulged in some deliciously rich cream of asparagus soup, provided by Joe’s Friendly Tavern. Holly and Judy Decker, owners of the Cottonwood Inn Bed & Breakfast in Empire, served it up ‘til the last drop was consumed by thankful patrons.

While consuming the homemade soup, many festival visitors wandered through the classic car show, finding themselves in awe not only of the wonderful automobiles, but of the owners’ spirits on a damp day. Moving east on Front Street, hungry visitors attended the Asparagus Recipe Contest in the Town Hall, where they were able to sample 18 asparagus-based dishes. Over 40 people anxiously waited for the judges to make their decisions before they were able to sample and vote in the “People’s Choice” category. The “People’s Choice” award went to Richard Cooper for his asparagus and morel soup.

For over 30 poetry lovers, the “Ode to Asparagus” poetry contest reading was the place to be in the afternoon. People between the ages of 9 and 90, from Michigan, Idaho, Great Britain and beyond submitted over 50 poems for the contest. The adult winner of the contest was Michael Delp, a poet and instructor at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Wild asparagus, cooked asparagus and, of course, asparagus pee were themes that resonated in many poems.

A highlight for many came at 2 p.m. with the Asparagus Festival Parade, featuring over 20 different “spear-ited” floats and costumes. In Empire, parades go around twice because it’s just too much fun to go around only once. So onlookers were able to catch a second glimpse of the creative floats, as they miraculously escaped the rain.

The most popular event of the day, however, was the Lion’s Club Chicken & Asparagus Dinner, along with a wine tasting featuring three local wineries, Black Star Farms, Ciccone and Bel Lago. The TC Kitchen Band performed to a full house in the Town Hall as people from all over continued to file in. All in all, over 300 people were served fresh asparagus and chicken dinners.

Organizers aspire to make the Empire Asparagus Festival an annual event and continue to celebrate the first commercial crop to be harvested in the area. Who knows? Maybe next year will feature an asparagus-eating contest? Better start practicing now!

An Asparagus Life
- by Michael Delp

At night I lie down in the garden,
the full moon rising like a beacon,
turn my head toward the wisdom of asparagus,
their long spears curling secrets into my ears:

Rain coming soon.
A river asleep under the field.
A flyrod gentle as wind hidden in the barn.
June, a month of high clouds and dense fog.
And on the table at noon tomorrow,
that asparagus pie my wife is dreaming.

Posted by editor at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2003

Smart Growth Coalition focuses on Leelanau

By Ashlea Turner
Sun staff writer

Although many people want life in their communities to stay just as it is, change and growth are inevitable. This concept has hit home in the last decade with Leelanau County residents. With a population growth rate of 27 percent in the last decade alone, our home has become one of the fastest growing areas in Michigan. About 500 new people a year are quickly discovering what an amazing place Leelanau County is when they find a home here. The natural environment is beautiful, the villages are quaint, the people are friendly and the overall quality of life here is tough to beat, so this kind of growth should come as no surprise. One word comes to mind -- inevitable.

According to the Michigan Land Use Institute, an extremely effective nonprofit land use policy organization located in Benzie County (with offices in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Traverse City), Leelanau’s rapid growth is offering “new opportunities for the region’s young people, who are finding satisfying work at home rather than traveling to distant cities. But growth is also producing dissatisfying outcomes -- more water pollution, loss of farmland and open space, traffic congestion and a quickening pace of life.”

Though some people believe that these side effects are also inevitable and “that’s just the price we’ll have to pay”, The Michigan Land Use Institute, along with an increasing number of local citizens, doesn’t agree. In response to Leelanau’s potential for growing pains, the MLUI is proactively helping to organize and empower concerned citizens across the county, in the form of a “Leelanau Smart Growth Coalition.” Through education, collaboration and empowerment, the Coalition hopes to make certain that the “peninsula’s rapid development is environmentally sensible and economically sustainable.”

What’s particularly striking about this Coalition is how different it is from traditional activist groups in its extreme diversity. This bipartisan and active Coalition is currently made up of local government officials, farmers, business leaders, professionals, conservationists, and plenty more. So what brings all these different types of people together? The simple answer is a love of Leelanau County. The more complex answer is a strong desire to work with others to encourage the incorporation of the Ten Core Principles of Smart Growth. They are as follows:

Smart Growth

- Fosters distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
- Preserves open space, farmland, scenic beauty and valuable natural areas
- Strengthens and directs development towards existing communities, where infrastructure and other services are already available
- Mixes land uses
- Takes advantage of compact building design
- Creates a range of housing choices and opportunities
- Creates walkable neighborhoods
- Provides a variety of transportation choices
- Makes development decisions predictable, fair and cost effective
- Encourages broad community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

In order to educate and empower citizens and officials alike about change and growth in their communities, the MLUI Smart Growth Coalition will host quarterly meetings across the county, “inviting leaders to share knowledge about development issues facing the county and gain the comfort to work together.” To find out when the next meeting will be in your area or to find out more information about the Coalition, visit www.mlui.org/leelanau (Or read next year’s issues of the Glen Arbor Sun for expanded coverage of the Smart Growth Coalition -- Ed.)

Will Smart Growth one day be as inevitable as sprawl is today? On the Michigan state level, there is already bipartisan leadership working to advance Smart Growth policies in the legislature, according to the MLUI. Many township and village planning commissions across the state are also adopting Smart Growth policies in their Master Plans, including many already underway in Leelanau County. Many local government officials are hardworking and thoughtful, but they can’t do everything and they certainly shouldn’t do it alone, without public input. Thankfully, the MLUI is here to provide a vehicle for public concern in Leelanau County’s future.

Posted by editor at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)

July 31, 2003

Dunegrass Festival doubles up

- from staff reports

Endurance is the unofficial theme for this year’s Dunegrass Festival, to be held this weekend, August 1 and 2, in the open field behind the St. Philip Neri Church in downtown Empire. Revelers have enjoyed this day of music and dance so much over the years that festival organizers Mike Vanderberg and his daughter Amelia decided to stretch it out over two days.

Gates will open to the “pre-festival” at 5 p.m. on Friday – a laid-back prelude to Saturday’s musical lineup. Goers can enjoy a fire pit, drum circle, pot luck and Open Mic until 11 p.m., after which they are encouraged to pitch a tent and camp on festival grounds.

Get some sleep, for Saturday is time to dance. Various local and downstate bands will alternately rock and woo the crowd from the early afternoon until late at night. Saturday’s festivities will also include various arts & crafts and food booths, a kids’ tent, and the opportunity to paint a school bus. It is yet to be determined whether the Bay Area Transportation Authority will provide a shuttle bus to ferry tired, sweaty partiers to the Empire beach for a life-saving dip in Lake Michigan.

Dunegrass Festival schedule of events:

Friday
Gates open, 5 p.m.
Open Mic until 11 p.m.

Saturday
Open Mic in early afternoon
New Third Coast, 3 p.m.
Break for Church service, 4:15 p.m.
Horn Dogs, 5:30
Green Sky Bluegrass, 7 p.m.
Soldiers Reggae, 9 p.m.

Beach Bards as masters of ceremonies

Times are subject to change as musical vibes fluctuate

Posted by editor at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)

Taking off the sandles and Steppin’ In It

By Jacob R. Wheeler
Sun editor

You don’t want to be caught napping in your lawn chair when Joe Wilson starts going mad on his fiddle or when lyricist Joshua Davis morphs into a young Woody Guthrie. The Glen Arbor Art Association encourages you to bring chairs and prepare to picnic at the Steppin’ In It concert on August 3 at the Thoreson Farm, on Thoreson Road between Glen Arbor and Port Oneida Road. But don’t catch yourself sitting when you should be steppin’, or stompin’, or groovin’. This roots-folk-country-bluegrass-calypso-cajun-swing band from Lansing will make you glad you have two hips and know how to use them.

Steppin’ In It just opened at Interlochen for folk music tycoon Greg Brown, who thought highly enough of them to bring the four guys on stage for a jamboree encore. They recently rocked the U.P. from dusk ‘til dawn on the dancin’ stage and then around their campfire at the Hiawatha Music Festival. Ask anyone who’s witnessed Steppin’ In It for an assessment and you won’t get much more than a grin out of them because they’re probably still out of breath.

Between Joe and Andy Wilson, and Davis and Dominic Suchyta, you’ll hear the upright bass, triangle, dobro, steel guitar, fiddle, acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, and amazing harmonica – basically a cornucopia of sounds. And there’s no better setting for this jam than outside in the National Park. Thoreson Farm belongs to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore but is managed and used by the Association as a non-profit creative partnership. For years the Association’s Manitou Music Festival has held concerts at the Dune Climb, but this will be the first at one of Leelanau County’s numerous old farmsteads. In case of rain, this concert will be moved to The Leelanau School just north of Glen Arbor.

The Festival concludes four days later, on August 7, with a Claudia Schmidt performance outside on The Leelanau School’s Graduation Green. Schmidt’s concert in Glen Arbor has become an annual event, and her local fan base has soared since she moved to the area from Beaver Island several years ago. “Claudia’s style is a mix of her own unique compositions coupled with jazz standards,” says Festival Director Crispin Campbell. “Claudia is a hugely talented, improvising singer, who uses her voice as if it were a musical instrument. She also has a gift of language, so her original songs make for a witty and moving performance.”

Schmidt’s roots are as a folk musician, but her repertoire is a kaleidoscope of sounds, from blues to ballads to classical. She will be accompanied by the Aurora Quintet – five household names at the Manitou Music Festival who will play Mozart and Brahms. They are violinists John Lindsey and Marla Rathbun, viola players David Holland and George Myers and Campbell on cello. Campbell is the festival’s founding director and a pioneer in bringing live music to Glen Arbor. He will step down after this concert, having fathered the festival throughout its 13-year existence.

Posted by editor at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)

Creating a common vision of the future for Glen Arbor Township

Press release

Three town meetings will be conducted over the next 12 months in Glen Arbor Township. They offer unique and exciting opportunities for area citizens to chart a common future for the Township. The town meetings are a part of a project to update the Future Land Use Plan of the Township and offer everyone the opportunity to visualize a better community and take the first steps toward achieving that vision. The first town meeting will identify the aspirations and desires of Township residents (seasonal and year-around) regarding the future character of the Township, and serve to dramatically shape the preparation of a new Future Land Use Plan for Glen Arbor Township.

All citizens of Glen Arbor Township are invited to attend. The first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 14 at 7 p.m., and will take place at the Glen Arbor Township Hall, 6394 Western Avenue.

The first town meeting will include a “futuring” session where participants will explore the future potential of the area. The meeting begins with a journey into the past, helping everyone to understand the changes that have resulted in present conditions. Participants are then broken into small groups and asked to identify what makes them proud about the community and what makes them sorry. Each group selects two or three of its proudest “prouds” and sorriest “sorries” for presentation to other groups. Next, project consultants will present local trends and conditions facing the community. Finally, participants will again break into groups and be asked to visualize how they would like to see Glen Arbor Township evolve in the next 20 years.

A second town meeting to be held in November will focus on the results of citizen opinion surveys and on draft goals and objectives for the Township’s Future Land Use Plan project. The final town meeting will address the draft Future Land Use Plan and will likely take place in August 2004.

The town meeting on August 14 is your opportunity to help shape the plans and policies which will affect the development of your community for years to come. Don’t miss this opportunity to translate your ideas into action. Come to the town meeting, bring your friends and help chart the future direction of Glen Arbor Township. If you have any questions about the meeting, contact the Glen Arbor Township Planning Commission: Terry Gretzema at 334-6140 or Lance Roman at 334-4590.

Posted by editor at 06:12 PM | Comments (0)

Old Settlers Park becomes officially historic

By Torin Yeager
Sun staff writer

Leelanau County is home to a rich history, and soon Old Settlers park of Burdickville will join the list of historic sites in Michigan.

The park was founded with the purchase of two properties in 1912 and 1917, as a result of a picnic held on August 3, 1893 in honor of two of the area’s original homesteaders: Kasson Freeman Jr. and John Fisher. The date happened to be the birthday of Kasson Freeman as well as the anniversary of John Fisher’s landing in what is now Glen Arbor. The picnic, known at first as the Pioneer Picnic, and then later called the Old Settlers Picnic, was held in Burdickville, but not on the grounds where the park now sits. Not until 1904 was the picnic held in the present-day park, and the event has been held at the Old Settlers Park ever since. The old Methodist chapel on the park property, which was built in 1893 and has housed numerous denominations, is just one of many historic parts of Old Settlers. Other structures with stories to tell include the gazebo, which began as a speaker’s stand around 1911, and the “Grub Shack”, from which food is served during the picnic.

The driving force behind Old Settlers’ new historic status is Dottie M. Lanham, a member of the Old Settlers Picnic Association and the Leelanau County Parks and Recreation Commission. “My great grandparents came to Burdickville from Ireland in 1888 and I have lived here all my life,” says Dottie. “I was baptized and went to Sunday school at the chapel on the park grounds. I have also attended nearly every Old Settlers Picnic since I was three or four, so the park has been a large part of my life. It is a unique piece of history, and I felt strongly that it should be recognized as an historical site.”

In 1999, Mrs. Lanham contacted the Michigan Historical Society at the state capitol, and was sent an application form for nominating the park to be a Michigan Historic Site. The requirements stated that the park had to be at least 50 years of age, which Old Settlers was easily able to fulfill. The criteria that came next, however, required far more work. Old Settlers had to show historical significance and integrity -- easily evident by the tradition of Old Settlers Picnics as well as by the presence of the old chapel -- but proving all this to the bureaucracy in Lansing was another matter. “I had to provide information regarding the history of the park, as well as photos of the present day property,” says Dottie. “But the photos had to be in black and white, no color allowed.” After Dottie had gathered all of the required items, including a roll or two of black and white film, she sent them to the Michigan Historical Society, and… “They lost the film,” laughs Dottie. “Then more information was required, and the pictures were found on somebody’s desk under a pile of papers!” After all that, the long waiting began for the application to go through the process of examination. Finally, after nearly four years of fulfilling the demands of the examiners in Lansing, and sometimes pestering them to stay on task, Dottie’s hard work and dedication paid off. The Historical Commission gave its approval for Old Settlers to become an historic site. As a result, the park will soon be marked by a large, double-posted metal sign that tells the story of Old Settlers and its picnic, keeping history alive for future generations of picnickers.

In order to preserve the history of Old Settlers, restoration has been necessary, while keeping the character of the park in mind. After its previous foundation began to crumble, the walls of the old Methodist chapel began to sink while the floor rose in the center of the church. Fortunately, the foundation was successfully replaced with materials that closely resembled the original structure, and the chapel was reset. The gazebo has also seen its share of change. After being completely destroyed by a tornado in 1987, it was rebuilt with a better roof, although the first gazebo in 1911 didn’t have any covering. The large maple trees that shade the landscape won’t last forever, but plenty of young saplings have been planted and will assume their role in the future. Through all this, the park has been remarkably well preserved, and it stands as a testament to all of the bold homesteaders who came to a wild Leelanau County during the Nineteenth century in search of a pleasant peninsula.

All are welcome to attend this year’s Old Settlers Picnic in historic Old Settlers Park on Sunday, August 3 and continue this grand tradition.

Posted by editor at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

July 17, 2003

Empire Fire Department saves Anchor Days

By Jacob R. Wheeler
Sun editor

As a local kid who grew up knowing his hometown as well as he does the palm of his hand, Ryan Deering wasn’t about to let Empire’s Anchor Days festival just wither and die. So when talk arose of canceling the annual party for all the trouble it’s worth, Deering, the town’s fire chief and son of Deerings Market proprietor Phil, insisted that the Fire Department sponsor Anchor Days, which will unfold this weekend, July 18 and 19.

“Growing up here I always remembered Anchor Days,” Deering recollects. “It wouldn’t be the same without the parade, and as a community event I thought the Fire Department should get involved.”

As the story goes, Anchor Days commemorates Doug Manning and Michelle Stryker-Deering-Hoch’s discovery of a gigantic anchor 26 years ago while they were peering through the depths of Lake Michigan just off the Empire shoreline. How and why it got there remains a mystery, but the town’s proud icon now sits for all to see (but not climb on) at the entrance to the public beach.

Anchor Days is Empire’s way to stand out, and the locals celebrate the festival every year with a parade on Saturday that drives twice down Main Street to afford kids ample opportunity to catch butterscotch drops, tootsie rolls and even toilet paper, which the Decker’s Pumping “honey wagon” generously tosses. Got your important papers?

Also unfolding on Saturday will be a 3-on-3 basketball tournament on the beach, a street dance in front of the Town Hall and a family movie evening at dusk at nearby Johnson’s Park. New to Anchor Days this year is a sidewalk chalk art festival for people of all ages from 7-8 p.m. on Friday. Chalk and prizes provided, just meet at the Town Hall.

Deering is excited about another addition to Anchor Days; what could be perceived as “a day in the life of an Empire fireman”. For one dollar you can don the protective gear and swing a sledgehammer at a fairly new Escort station wagon donated by the Lion’s Club. No, this is not wasteful, the car’s engine is blown out. Proceeds may go to buying the fire department new equipment.

Posted by editor at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)

The Glen Arbor Car Show: An Art Exhibition of a Different Kind

By Torin Yeager
Sun staff writer

Bright and early on Saturday, July 19th, the rumble of powerful engines and the glimmer of polished chrome will greet Glen Arbor, and it’s not the morning commute. The first annual Glen Arbor Car Show, sponsored by the Glen Arbor Chamber of Commerce, makes its debut this summer, rain or shine.

Among the many registrants so far, are a 1925 Packard, a 1959 Ford convertible, a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and a 1964 Dodge Dart GT, with many other cars expected to fill up Oak Street and M-22 by the Glen Arbor Athletic Club for the show. Registration at the show is $15, with checks payable to The Glen Arbor Chamber of Commerce. All proceeds will go to the Chamber Scholarship Fund. Spectators are welcome and encouraged to attend the show as well.

Why are so many people drawn to the allure of these “antique” machines? The car show’s main organizers, Bob and Teddy House, agree that people, “enjoy the nostalgia behind the event.” Every car has its’ own interesting story. “Lots of people enjoy just looking at the lines and colors of a fast car,” adds Bob, “but car enthusiasts at a show can appreciate how much hard work has gone into every tiny detail of a car, including the working parts of the engine that people often overlook. We grew up in a time of muscle cars, and it’s great to see how well people take care of their machines. It’s a big pastime for car aficionados, and some people even plan their summers around all of the shows. You will recognize faces and vehicles from one show to the next.”

Bob and Teddy have their own unique story of the automotive world. “Bob had a 1970 Mustang in high school, and he messed around with it using his knowledge from auto classes in school,” says Teddy. “He then went into Automotive Tech at college before working for Ford Motor Company, and he still reads magazines and manuals in addition to asking lots of questions to fine-tune his skills. After we met, I ended up going to a lot of car shows with him, and eventually we started helping out in the shows. That’s how I got my experience in judging cars. Car shows are just an art exhibition of a different kind.”

Bob’s own work of art in progress, a 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1, will be a close replica of his first Mustang, classic “calypso coral” red paint and all. It won’t be ready for the show this year, but it is, ”a lot further along than it looks”. A new interior, ram air, chrome engine fittings and racing slats, to name a few improvements, will soon grace the car, which has not been driven since 1989. Pity the cars that go up against this machine once it is ready.

For those who are inexperienced in the lingo of automobiles, here is a quick dictionary to help you give the impression of automotive competence:

Muscle car – This is a production car made between 1964 and 1972 that has a very powerful engine. Think of them as street-legal racecars.

Antique car – Any car that is 25 years old or more. For this year’s show, the latest model to qualify as an antique will be from 1978.

Original – This is the term for an unmodified car that retains the same parts it was built with in the factory.

Cubic Inch (Cu In) – The total displacement of an engine. Bigger is better.

Carburetor – A mechanism that mixes fuel and oxygen for a car’s engine to burn.

Ram air – An air “scoop” on the hood of a car that allows cool air to be funneled directly into the carburetor.

So now that you’re an expert in the automotive field, come and stroll the sidewalks and admire the results of car wax and a lot of hard work. If you don’t own a classic car, you can still enjoy the machines that will be present at the Glen Arbor Car Show, and bide your time until that old Honda Accord in the garage is old enough to display at the art exhibition on wheels.

Posted by editor at 10:23 PM | Comments (0)

“Awe-inspiring” Canadian singer-songwriter comes to Glen Arbor

- from staff reports

In a darkened bedroom, lit only by the amber glow from an old floor radio two young brothers, ages 6 and 12, listen to the country music broadcast from the Grand Ol' Opry, and practice their harmonies. Two years later, the youngest one, Garnet Rogers, is playing the definitive eight-year-old's version of "Desolation Row" on his ukelele. Soon he abandons that instrument to teach himself the flute, violin and guitar. 

Within 10 years and barely out of high school, Garnet is on the road as a full-time working musician with his older brother Stan. Together they form what has come to be accepted as one of the most influential acts in North American folk music.

The Glen Arbor Art Association is pleased to announce Garnet Rogers, one of Canada's most acclaimed singer-songwriters, as part of its Manitou Music Festival Concert Series, to be held Sunday July 20 at 7:30 p.m. on the graduation green at the Leelanau School north of Glen Arbor.

“I love playing in beautiful northern Michigan,” says Rogers, who speaks from experience. He has performed in Traverse City, Cadillac and Manistee before. “Certain types of people gravitate towards this area – people who want to escape from what some call civilization.” Whenever possible Rogers avoids playing gigs in big cities. “I dislike the added hassle and security issues at those kinds of venues, whereas performing in small towns is more relaxing. I’m also able to make contact with the local community and learn about what’s going on there.”

Since picking up the flute, violin and guitar, Rogers has established himself as "one of the major talents of our time". Hailed by the Boston Globe as a "charismatic performer and singer", Rogers is a man with a powerful physical presence, as he stands close to six and half feet tall, with a voice to match. With what the Washington Post calls his "smooth, dark baritone", his incredible range and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Rogers is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere.

His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate and highly sensitive with deep purpose. Cinematic in detail, his songs "give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart,” Kitchener Waterloo Record quips. An optimist at heart, Rogers sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of small, everyday victories. As memorable as his songs are, his over the top humor and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.

“Garnet Rogers is capable of awe-inspiring stuff-and that includes more than just music."

Rogers has been the featured performer on numerous television and radio programs, including Much Music, The Country Beat, Listen Up, Gabereau, Morningside, Mountain Stage, Central Michigan University’s Our Front Porch and All Things Considered. He has headlined at concert venues and festivals such as Wolf Trap, Lincoln Center, Art Park and the Dennos Museum Center. He has shared the stage with performers such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Billy Bragg, Bill Monroe, Ferron, Greg Brown and Guy Clark.

Resolutely independent, Garnet Rogers has turned down offers from major labels to do his music his own way. Amidst numerous albums produced over his musical career, perhaps the Boston Globe's review of Garnet's Sparrows Wing release best describes Rogers’ gift. It writes: "He mixes the powerful and the gentle and demonstrates his mastery off both...One of the major talents of our time."

John Gorka says of Garnet: "musically, I am a direct descendant of Stan and Garnet Rogers. Their music is my blood. When I listen to "Sparrows Wing" I not only hear Garnet's distinctive voice, I also hear him reclaiming his heritage as co-creator of what became known as Stan's Rogers' sound. Garnet is an eloquent songwriter and a passionately gifted musician who is commanding as both a singer and a performer.”

The summer twilight of July at the Leelanau School will offer the perfect moment for an audience to experience the magic of Garnet Rogers. Tickets for this concert are $15 and available at the door or by calling the Glen Arbor Art Association at 334-6112.

As part of Rogers’ ongoing commitment to the local community food banks, concertgoers are requested to consider bringing in non-perishable canned goods for donation to the Empire Food Bank.

“Making money is one thing, but being able to do something good for the local community is very important to me as well,” says Rogers.

Posted by editor at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)

July 03, 2003

Wash the paczki down with a cold one at Polka Fest

By Torin Yeager
Sun staff writer

Polka, kielbasa, beer galore! The 22nd annual Cedar Polka Fest, sponsored by the Cedar Chamber of Commerce, will bring a homesick Pole, or anyone else for that matter, back to Warsaw for four fun days of dancing, food and spirits in the Polish capitol of Leelanau County.

From July 3rd through July 6th, two large tents will grace the tennis court in downtown Cedar, one filled with people enjoying the latest polka tunes, as well as some old favorites. “There are two major types of polka,” says local Sonny Czerniak. “There is the traditional three-beat ‘oompa-oompa’ sound, which most people recall when they think of polka, and then there is the newer Chicago style, which is much faster and more energetic.” Both styles of polka will be played at the Polka Fest by bands from as far away as Chicago and Pennsylvania. A 40 by 80 foot wooden dance floor will be available for boogying, and newcomers to polka are welcome to try their luck as well. “It’s great fun for everyone on the dance floor, which is why I come every year,” says Czerniak.

In and around the tents are vendors of many fine Polish delicacies, such as kielbasa, also known as Polish sausage, which is a spicy blend of pork and veal. Also popular is paczki, pronounced “punch-key”, which is a delicious pastry resembling a jelly doughnut. Paczki-making actually has its own Polish holiday just before Catholic Lent, known as Fat Thursday (Fat Tuesday in the United States). On this day, all the sugar and other fattening substances in a Polish kitchen are used to make the sweet doughnuts, ridding the house of any tempting foods during a time of relative fasting. You may learn the secret of how to make a perfect paczki at a baking session on Friday at the Cedar Fire Department. Another ethnic delight is golabki, pronounced “glumpky”. This odd-sounding dish is made of spiced beef, pork, or veal wrapped in cabbage, then served with a sweet tomato sauce. A well-known Polish/German treat, sauerkraut, is also available at the Polka Fest. In case you’ve been out of the loop, sauerkraut is made of pickled cabbage, fermented in large vats, that is cooked and served alone or with many other Polish and German dishes.

Having a hard time convincing your stomach to go to Krakow with you? There are plenty of American foods available as well, such as hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and elephant ears from vendors’ stands. Oddly enough, most of these “normal” foods have their roots in European countries, including Poland.

Not to be forgotten are the truckloads of beer sent into the “Beer Tent”, which shares space with the other food vendors. Sponsored by Budweiser®, this portable bar helps raise money for the primary organizer: the Cedar Chamber of Commerce. Dozens of beer kegs are downed each night, but security officials will make certain that not one drop goes to any minors. “The security gets better every year, which makes it more enjoyable and safe for everyone,” says local mother Carole Mikowski.

Special events will be held each day, the first being a flag-raising ceremony on Thursday. Friday will bring the paczki baking, all of which will be sold during the remainder of the Polka Fest. On Saturday, a parade will coast by for the whole family to enjoy: Floats, classic cars and bands will all pass through downtown Cedar, not far from the tents. On Sunday the bishop from Gaylord will preside over a Mass on the Polka Fest grounds. Polka music by Pan Franek and Zosia Polka Towners will accompany the service, as will television cameras from the local news stations, making the event visible to all of northern Michigan.

Although the under-21 age group won’t have access to the Polka Fest after 8 p.m. without a parent, there are still plenty of activities during the day. Sidewalk chalk art will begin on Friday, followed on Saturday by face painting. A softball tournament will get into full swing for the Polka Fest, as well as various other games for children. Also, as the tents are located in a park, there is a playground too.

The Polka Fest is obviously about Polish heritage, but how did Cedar come to have such a large Polish community? According to the extensive research of Lucia Novak and the Leelanau Historical Museum, the first few Polish families came to the area in the late 1860’s, around 1868. They were simply scouting out the county for their relatives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, another large Polish community, in response to the Homestead Act of 1862. This act allowed land to be purchased at just $1.25 per acre for farming. The scouting families found the area to be to their liking, and so by the 1870’s a large wave of immigrants spilled into Centerville Township, but not directly to Cedar. The small farming community the Poles called home was Isadore, just 2 1/2 miles north of Cedar, which is now the home of the Holy Rosary Church. The Poles continued to live in Isadore until the first generation of immigrants began to retire. The succeeding generations moved to Cedar, then a near-treeless ghost of a logging town, and called it home. Isadore is now a ghost town except for the church, but the residents of Cedar are once again celebrating their heritage at the 22nd annual Polka Fest. Come on over, and bring on the paczki!

Posted by editor at 11:55 PM | Comments (0)

From “Bach to Brazil” Manitou Music Festival resonates through Dunes

By Jacob R. Wheeler
Sun editor

Now entering its 13th season, the Manitou Music Festival will once again play matchmaker for an unlikely trio of acts that seeks harmony despite their differences in style. The Manitou Festival Orchestra, led by conductor Mathew Hazelwood, the eclectic Neptune Quartet, and soloists from Interlochen Arts Academy will team up on Sunday, July 13 at 7 p.m., for a free concert at the Dune Climb in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to deliver a musical extravaganza that will vary from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 4 to a piece for the marimba composed by the Brazilian Rosauro.

The show-stopper, according to festival director Crispin Campbell, may be Chihiro Shibayama, a vibrant Japanese percussionist who just graduated from Interlochen and will bring a little Brazilian rhythm to Glen Arbor when her marimba resonates though the hot summer air. The Tokyo native will attend the prestigious Julliard School of Music in New York City in the fall. “She’s a stunning, dynamic performer,” says Campbell, who predicts that Shibayama may perform a solo piece in addition to her collaboration with the orchestra.

“The audience will be wowed by the warm, intimate sound of the marimba,” Hazelwood, the orchestra’s conductor, promised. The marimba, traditionally a Central American instrument, looks like a large xylophone. “For the Brazilian dance piece, the percussionist has to use 4 mallets – 2 in each hand, so the audience will be amazed both visually and auditorily.

“We’re performing Bach’s Brandenburg concerto because it has great rhythmic vitality,” said Campbell, who doesn’t rule out the possibility of the Dune Climb crowd marching down M-109, all the way to Rio de Janeiro in their rhythm-induced nirvana. “This concert is all about the relationship between serious music and popular music, to the point where they rub shoulders. It’s about rhythm.”

Hazelwood suggested this program. He is also the conductor of the Interlochen Art’s Academy Orchestra and former music director of the Battle Creek Symphony. Just as important for this gig, perhaps, Hazelwood lived in Columbia for nine years and played percussion with the Bogota Symphony Orchestra. So he knows hot-blooded Latin American music well.

Campbell’s own group, the Neptune Quartet, fits into this eclectic mix because they have also delved into Latin music lately. The crossover group, which also features Don Julin, Angelo Meli and Glenn Wolff, refuses to be labeled under one musical persona. The Neptune Quartet is influenced by jazz, Latin, folk as well as classical. “We call it Americana,” said Campbell, who brings the quartet back after it was received warmly at last year’s festival.

This festival may be a bittersweet one for Campbell, the founder of the Manitou Music Festival, who will step down as its director after this summer. “This festival has been a huge part of my life and I retain a lot of great memories,” he said. “But I need more time to pursue some of my own projects – to practice, take the Neptune Quartet to the next level, and travel with my wife Carol.

“Change is a good thing, and it’s time for someone else to give it energy.”

This is the fifth time a Manitou Music Festival concert will unfold at the Dune Climb, courtesy of a successful collaboration between the National Park Service and the Glen Arbor Art Association. The Park service seeks “creative partnerships” like this one in which it makes its land available to non-profit groups that foster educational opportunities within the community. This concert is also a gift from the Art Association, which foots the bill for the performers. The music is essentially free and open to the public, except for $7 the Park charges per vehicle parked at the Dune Climb.

Posted by editor at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

Bridge Construction Continues on M-22

By Jane Greiner
Sun staff writer

Will the new bridge over the Crystal River be completed by July 4th? “Absolutely not for the 4th,” said construction supervisor Dallas Wood of Milbocker & Sons Construction. We stood on the north side of the bridge while crews worked along the sides, and two cranes and a front-end loader worked behind us. American flags fluttered at the top of each crane. His best guess was that the bridge would be finished by the end of July. “I want it done just as much as everyone else does,” he said.

The job had been a tight one to start with for the Allegan-based construction company. Work began on January 27 in the worst of the winter. In addition, the site makes everything harder as there is no room to work.

Wood said he had about 15 men working during late June. His crews have varied from about 10 to 15 men according to what the job entails. They have been working six-day weeks most of the time since the project began, taking off only Memorial Day and one or two Saturdays.

The process of building the bridge does not divert water from the Crystal River. Wood did his best to explain the complicated process: First, heavy steel interlocking sections which look like giant red corrugated roofing are driven in, sandwiching each section of (future) bridge walls to form cofferdams. Concrete is then poured in underwater. That seals the walls. The water is pumped out, leaving an approximately six-foot wide dry area between the cofferdams for construction. The steel cofferdam pilings are cut off “to grade” and the footings are built inside the protected area. Finally, the actual bridge walls are built on top of the footings.

The walls are called retaining walls because their purpose is to keep the ground underneath the road leading to the bridge from spreading out to the sides or into the river. The 70-foot bridge spanning beams were hoisted in place by cranes. The entire bridge structure of retaining walls and span is close to 200 feet long from one end to the other.

A bright yellow turbidity curtain floating in the river around the construction helps keep silt from getting into the stream.

A brown silt fence surrounds the entire work site to help prevent dirt and silt on the site from spreading out into the nearby environment.

According to the MDOT website, the bridge will cost 2.2 million dollars and will include a stone façade and wrought iron railings. It will widen the road to allow for a pedestrian and bike path on both sides of the automobile lanes.

Posted by editor at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2003

Farmland Preservation Exhibit opens Friday at Cherry Republic, followed by grand opening on Sunday

By Jane Greiner
Sun contributor

Fifteen impressively large panels of photos ten feet wide and five feet tall will decorate the walls of the new timber frame building at Cherry Republic in downtown Glen Arbor for the opening of the Farmland Preservation Exhibit on Friday, June 27th. Read Greiner’s article on how Cherry Republic’s timber frame building went up.

The Farmland Preservation Exhibit is the product of a group including Cherry Republic, led by President Bob Sutherland, local photographer Carl Ganter and his wife, writer Eileen Ganter, and regional land conservancies. The exhibit is dedicated to saving Northern Michigan’s farms and orchards.

“This exhibit is about reaching out and touching people – both locals and tourists, and motivating their hearts as well as their minds,” said Eileen Ganter. “Because this is a national problem, not just a local one. This country loses approximately one million acres of farmland every year, and this project has grown on us over time as we have seen farmland disappear.”

The pictures feature days in the lives of area farm families as they struggle to keep their land in agriculture. Rex Dobson’s centennial farm in Leelanau County and the Lyon, Seibold and Ocanas farm families of Grand Traverse County are featured.

In addition the Ganters’ video documentary “With These Hands” blends numerous pictures, recordings and commentary into the stories of the four hard-working families.

“Our passion was to communicate what we ourselves had experienced with people who didn’t know these four families,” said Eileen Ganter. “These farming families represent something that is vanishing, even though they are essential to our national character. They don’t just nurture the land, they also nurture the community.”

Carl Ganter is an award-winning photojournalist and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared in magazines such as National Geographic, Time, Newsweek and Paris Match. He has also been featured on CBS, NBC and NPR.

Carl and Eileen will be present for the exhibit’s special grand opening party, which is planned for Sunday, June 29th from 3-5 p.m. Members of the four farm families are also expected to attend. Bob Sutherland and Cherry Republic staff will also attend, as well as representatives from the land conservancies. The public is invited, and refreshments will be available.

Sun editor Jacob R. Wheeler contributed to this report

Posted by editor at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)

August 01, 2002

DUNEGRASS FESTIVAL DANCES INTO TENTH YEAR

from staff reports

Get ready for some country jammin’ folks. The 10th annual Sleeping Bear Dunegrass & Blues Festival is upon us, and the facilitators don’t have to find a new location for the daylong party this year.

Show up early on Saturday, August 3, at the big field next to the ???? Church, off of M-22 in downtown Empire. The music and dancing last from 10 a.m. to nearly sunset, interspaced by eating breaks and trips to the nearby Empire beach. The shuttle bus as well as the usual vendors and arts and crafts fair will be there. The Beach Bards poetry troupe will MC us through the day as always. Advanced tickets cost $15, and can be picked up at various locations including Deerings Market in Empire, New Moon Records or Oryana Natural Foods in Traverse City, or by calling 326-5287. Tickets cost $20 at the gate.

Here’s the list of bands, with plugs from Amelia Vanderberg, enthusiastic environmentalist, current organizer and daughter of the festival’s founder, Mike Vanderberg:

Open mic, 10-11:30

Ryan Bodiford, 12-1
“Darn talented solo acoustic guitar player from Gaylord.”

Les Dalgliesh 1-2
“Local singer-songwriter who evokes joyful tears with his gentle voice.”

Green Sky Bluegrass 2-3
“fun people from Kalamazoo – great dancing music.”

Planet22 3-4
“band from Pennsylvania that has come to Dunegrass for years as kids. Creative musicians who play innovative music. Now it’s there turn to perform.”

The following bands are Dunegrass veterans.

Cabin Fever 4-5
“terrific folk-bluegrass band that has been here since beginning. These are locals who get ‘creepy’.”

K-Jones and the Benzie Playboys 5-6
“Cajun band fresh of a mighty performance at Bliss Festival three weeks ago.”

Mobile Cheifing Unit 6-7
“an up-and-coming reggae band from Kalamazoo that includes festival organizer Amelia Vanderberg.” What’s up with the name, Amelia?

Super Strain 7-last call, whenever we get tired!
“the best jam band currently on tour. Check ‘em at www.superstrain.com.”

Amelia was only 8 years old when the first Dunegrass Festival fell into place on the big field across M-72 from the Empire Visitors Center. Almost no one expected the festival to see its ten-year anniversary, especially two years ago when Dunegrass was not able to lease the original field any longer. Amelia credits her mother with asking the Empire Village Council for help in placing 1,500 people and an entire music festival – which generates plenty of money for the local community -- somewhere else in town. “It worked out well that the Deerings graciously allowed us to have the festival on its current sight,” Amelia says. “Things generally seem to fall into place with this festival, and we don’t have to worry about anything.”

Posted by editor at 08:38 PM | Comments (0)

July 18, 2002

Manitou Music Festival kicks into gear

Nationally Acclaimed Musicians Join Local Favorites

The first chamber concert of the season will be held at The Leelanau School in Glen Arbor on Thursday, July 18 at 7:30 pm.

Local musicians, Crispin Campbell, cello and Hal Grossman, violin will be joined by nationally renowned artists, Michael Heald, viola and Ann Arbor’s Michelle Cooker, piano for an evening of classic and romantic chamber music by Mozart and Fauré. The pieces to be performed will be Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G Minor K468 and Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C Minor Opus 15.

“This concert promises to be the musical equivalent of a French impressionist painting, since the audience will be totally bathed in the colors and senses”, states Crispin Campbell, Artistic Director of the Manitou Music Festival and Cellist for the chamber concert. “Mozart represents the ultimate balance of form and content with a highly dramatic operatic quality, while Fauré, who was deeply inspired by Mozart, symbolizes the same balance of form and content with an absolutely ravishing sense of French color”.

Nationally Recognized Singer and Songwriter, Claudia Schmidt to Perform

The Manitou Music Festival presents an evening of outdoor jazz on Sunday, July 21 outside on The Green at The Leelanau School in Glen Arbor.

Claudia Schmidt, a nationally recognized singer songwriter who has toured across the USA and in Europe will headline the event. Ms. Schmidt is a resident of Leelanau County. Although her roots are as a folk musician, her repertoire is a kaleidoscope of sounds from blues to ballads to classical. Ms. Schmidt will perform with the Mr. Natural Quartet, comprised of some of Michigan’s top jazz musicians: Ron Getz, guitar, Don Julin, mandolin, Randy Marsh, drums, and Dave Hay, bass.

“Claudia’s style is a mix of her own unique compositions coupled with jazz standards”, according to Crispin Campbell, Artistic Director of the Manitou Music Festival. “Claudia is a hugely talented, improvising singer, who uses her voice as if it were a music instrument. She also has a gift of language, so her original songs make for a witty and moving performance”.

Chicago Singers to Perform Chamber Opera in English

The Manitou Music Festival has scheduled its annual Opera Night with a “Comic Intermezzo”, a Chamber Opera in English. The concert will be held on Thursday, July 25 at The Leelanau School.

Chicago Singers, Peter Van de Graaf, baritone and Kathleen Van De Graaf, soprano will perform the piece, “Miride e Damari”, by Johann Adolphe Hasse with the Manitou Festival Opera Ensemble. The lighthearted farce is guaranteed to fill the audience with laughter.

“As far as we can determine, we're the first people to perform the work since the early 18th century”, boasts Peter Van de Graaf. “Even though we have been performing Baroque chamber operas (called "intermezzi") for the last 16 years, this one has become very special to us, since we've presented it more than any other, and the reason we've done it more than any other is because it's such a wonderful, funny piece”.

Acclaimed Jazz Musician, Harry Goldson to Perform

Leelanau county’s own Harry Goldson will perform jazz favorites outside on The Green at The Leelanau School in Glen Arbor.

A resident of Suttons Bay, jazz clarinetist Harry Goldson has thrilled sold-out audiences with his high-energy concert performances from Northern Michigan to Chicago to Los Angeles. For his July 28 show, he will perform classic jazz pieces ranging from music of Benny Goodman, to Miles Davis to Dave Brubeck.

“This is the first time I have performed for the Manitou Music Festival”, states Harry Goldson. “I consider this a unique opportunity to share my music with this audience and to present several new arrangements to the Glen Lake community”.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance at the Glen Arbor Art Association Office or at the door. Admission for Students and Children is free. For more information, contact the Glen Arbor Art Association at 334-6112, or visit www.glenarborart.org.

Posted by editor at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)