The Leelanau News Blog
leelanau county news • traverse city news • michigan news

You're invited to Leland for a special one night sale next Wednesday (Oct 3), with shops & restaurants throughout the village offering sales, fun and refreshments

Participating stores including Molly's, Blackbird, Whim du Jour, Manitou Outfitters, Leelanau Books, Harbor House Trading Co, Leland Toy Co, Tampico, River & Main, Americana Collection, Pixie Room, Cyber Espress-o, Sassi, The Bluebird, Fish Hook, Niki's Harbor Fare, Haystacks and Fishtown stores!

More about Leland on the Leland Chamber of Commerce web site. Photo courtesy Rick Lahman. View larger in the Fishtown photo gallery at lelandmi.com.

The 3rd annual Annual Fall for Art in Leelanau Gallery Tour is held Columbus Day weekend and offers a chance to take a driving tour through the county while visiting over 20 galleries featuring the work of area artists (list of participating galleries on the Fall for Art web site).

Start your tour by picking up a descriptive brochure at any participating gallery displaying the bright yellow FALL FOR ART sign. Each gallery will be happy to sign your tour brochure to ensure your entry in the prize drawing at the end of the tour.This year the tour takes place October 5, 10-5 pm, October 6, 10-5 pm, and October 7, 10-2 pm, with the concluding reception and prize drawing Sunday, October 7th at 3 pm at The Leland Lodge. For more information please call (231) 334-4230.

Photo: Ready for the picking by Andy McFarlane

News from the Week

Most of the news was again fall event listings, but there was a detailed report on the 2007 Tour de Leelanau that featured photos, results, video and a biker's account of the race. In less than happy news, we also took a look at metallic sulfide mining, a threat to Michigan's rivers and Great Lakes.

Weather

Fall color is coming on fast - more and more yellows and reds (still a lot of green though). The weather was up and down and highlighted by an amazing weekend and a record-hot day.

September 20, 2007: Partly sunny & upper 60s (70Ëš/55Ëš)
September 21, 2007: Mostly cloudy, some rain & 80s (84Ëš/61Ëš)
September 22, 2007: Mostly sunny & low 70s (74Ëš/52Ëš)
September 23, 2007: Sunny & upper 70s (79Ëš/48Ëš)
September 24, 2007: Sunny & upper 80s (89Ëš/57Ëš) Record High!
September 25, 2007: Mostly cloudy, some rain & upper 70s (79Ëš/63Ëš)
September 26, 2007: Mostly cloudy, light rain & 60 (63Ëš/46Ëš)

Feel free to post your comment about things that are happening: events, bird sightings, fun stuff you did, etc. Click for the Leelanau news archive from September 2006!

The area of this proposed sulfide mine is wide open, unpaved and unpowered. It is situated right in the middle of the largest undeveloped tract in all of Michigan. Its rivers and streams feed Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. What a terrible place for a mine. What a terrible threat to the Great Lakes.
-Former Michigan Governor William G. Milliken

On and off over the past few years, I've been working with some people who have themselves been working very hard to sound the alarm about a frightening and risky technology that goes by the very unsexy name of "metallic sulfide mining". Maybe if it was called "acid mining" or you could just hold up pictures like the one to the right, it would have been easier for Save the Wild UP to rouse alarm and outrage among Michigan's citizens. We are talking about a technology that has NEVER failed to pollute water when located in close proximity, that is being located in close proximity to Lake Superior, greatest of the Great Lakes.

Big Bay, the Salmon Trout River and the Yellow Dog Plains seem pretty remote way up there on the northern shore of Michigan. However, once the first mine has been permitted, others will surely follow. Some targeted sites like Menominee are on Lake Michigan, from whose bountiful waters and wild beaches many of us draw not just our livelihoods, but also a good measure of our joy.

I invite you to watch the video below with one of the founders of Save the Wild U.P., former Leelanau resident Dick Huey. Then come out to the Hagerty Center in Traverse City for the After Work Jam Session with Josh Davis this Friday (Sep 28) at 5:30 to hear some music and talk about what can be done to stop a destructive and ravaging industry that has no business in the Great Lakes.

Photo credit: Acid Mine Drainage at Sudbury, Ontario from Save the Wild U.P. Many more photos in the Save the Wild UP group (including some from recent public comment hearings) and much more information at savethewildup.org.

On Sunday, September 30th from 1-4 pm the Antique Appraisal Fair will be in full swing at the Suttons Bay Friendship Community Center (FCC) for the third consecutive year.

At the FCC Antique Appraisal Fair, one can learn about the history and value of a piece of antique furniture, jewelry, china, pottery, silverware, postcard, fishing tackle, or other curio for only $5.00. For the first time, categories for 2007 include antique firearm, and expert appraisers and experienced antique dealers have generously volunteered their time.

The old Grange Hall at 201 Broadway has been FCC’s home for the past 19 years. FCC Director, Peggy Core sees it as “a particularly appropriate location for an event that celebrates the history of familiar and unusual items that probably were used during the time the National Grange was formed.” Grange halls such as the one in Suttons Bay have functioned since 1867 as rural community centers where neighbors could meet for educational events, dances, potlucks, town meetings, and other gatherings and activities … like an Antique Appraisal Fair!

This year’s event will feature a "BUY AND SELL” arena. Sellers can bring in an antique item, provide a brief description of it, set an asking price, and display it in the BUY & SELL arena. When someone purchases it, the Center receives a percentage of the sale price and the seller gets a check for the bigger share. Buy & Sell Forms will be available for pick up prior to or at the Fair. There is no charge to come in and listen to the evaluations or to purchase from the "buy and sell" arena. Visitors are sure to hear plenty of interesting conversations and useful facts. For further information, call FCC Director, Peggy Core at 271-4630.

Photo credit: Antique Clock by John Levanen

The Leelanau Community Cultural Center is sponsoring the seventh annual Fiber Festival opening on Friday, October 5th from 5 to 8 pm and Saturday, October 6th from 10 am to 5 pm at the Old Art Building in Leland. 17 artists with original fiber art will exhibit and sell their work in mediums of paper, wearable art (clothing), tapestry & woven handbags, weaving, quilts, knits, fiber sculpture, art dolls and basketry. Admission is free and open to the public.

This year’s featured artist is the legendary fiber artist, Mary Turak of Glen Arbor. Share her enthusiasm for knitting wearable art using multi-fiber yarns and original designs.

Fiber Festival exhibitors are Kathie Briggs, fiber art dolls and quilts; Doris Guffey, cashawls; Linda Kustra, hand knit wearables; Krys Lieffers, hand woven rugs; Ann Loveless, landscape quilts; Krystal Ann Miller, original design tapestry handbags; Majel Chance Obata, hand made paper journals and boxes; Helen Raphael, Native American basketry; Chris Roosien, hand painted yarn & original patterns; Rebecca Ashley Ross and Julie Funk, boiled wool items; Marie Scott, basketry, knitting and crochet; Lynn Spitz-Nagel, hand spun woven animals and folk people; Amy Tyler, hand spun yarns & knitted items; Cheryl VanZee, kids sweaters and hats; Barbara Waddell, paper, pendants and woven items; Kristin Underhill Welch, felted vessels.

New this year, the Fiber Institute will introduce a week of exploring the fiber arts with a series of workshops on paper making, basket making, fabric painting, spinning yarns and flax, knitting, fabric collage doll and a Stone Soup quilt! The workshops are scheduled from Monday, October 1 through Friday, October 5. Classes are listed at www.oldartbuilding.com or call 231-256-2131 for a brochure.

The 2007 Leelanau County CROP Walk will be held this Sunday (Sep 23) at 2 PM at the Omena Presbyterian Church.

The CROP Walk (CROP: Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) supports many causes around the world. 25% of all the proceeds raised at the walk come back to help procure food for the Leelanau Christian Neighbors Food Pantry, with the rest supporting both domestic and international poverty-reducing efforts.

"It still surprises some Americans that there are people here in the richest nation in the world who go to bed hungry because they cannot afford to buy food," says Rev. John L. McCullough, executive director and CEO of Church World Service. "These local CROP Hunger Walks, organized by individuals and faith communities in cities and towns all across the U.S., raise awareness about hunger and give people a way to help both in their own communities and around the world."

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture report "Household Food Security in the United States, 2005," 11 percent of U.S. homes did not have access "to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members" at least some time during the year.

In what has become an annual tradition in the thousands of communities that participate, an interfaith, multi-cultural collection of CROP walkers encourage friends, neighbors, colleagues, merchants and places of worship to donate dollars to support their participation in walks of up to 10 km. Participants, many with readily identifiable red and white signs, range in age from babies in strollers to seniors--and even the occasional jogger.

Garrett Peltonen (Priority Health) won the men's race of the Tour de Leelanau with a time of 4:21:03. He finished just 18 seconds ahead of Ryan Roth (Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Scott Zwanski (Priority Health) finished third. In the women's race, Tina Pic (Priority Health) took the medal with a time of 3:17:58, defeating Laura van Gilder (UCI Cheerwine) in a photo finish with Julie Bellerose (Team Aberdeen) just 3 seconds behind.

They have posted complete results from the Tour de Leelanau web site, and we'll add links to other articles as they are published. Here's the Leelanau Enterprise story with some great photos. The article also says:

If things go as planned, the 2008 Tour de Leelanau will be held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Brown said with the Tour de Missouri endurance race being held over an eight-day period in September 2008, most of the professional race teams would not be available to compete in the Tour de Leelanau if it continues to be held on the third Saturday in September.

The photo above is In the peleton by John Clement Howe and you can get some great photos of the Tour de Leelanau from Flickr (slideshow) and check out a video of the start of the men's 2007 Tour de Leelanau and also the Herman Rd King of the Mountain on YouTube.

Robert Dobbie from the Wolverine Sports Club Elite Road Team has an entertaining racer's account of the Tour de Leelanau that you should definitely read for passages like this:

Tower Rd (mile 60) seemed shorter but steeper than last year, but I had pretty good legs for it. I also got an extra boost from what seemed like a hundred fans gathered Tour de France style at the top. We passed through single file to the sound of ear-ringing cheers and clanging bells. That was fun.

Empire Bluffs by williger

News from the Week

Once again the news was mostly events: the TC Downtown art walk, Little Artshram Harvest Festival Benefit and the Leelanau State Park Fall Harvest Festival. Bridging the gap between event and feature was the announcement of A Celebration of the Life & Times of Mike Vanderberg that includes some information about one of Empire's movers and shakers who recently passed away. There was also a feature from the Enterprise about Aviation in Leelanau in the 1920s.
The Week's Weather

Bob, I'll take Wildly Erratic Weather for $300 ... I'll also take some more of the sun & 70s! This is about the time of year when people start wondering what the trees are doing. We're starting to see some color change and while it always seems like we have more color early, I think we're on track for our usual early October peak. Stay tuned to Leelanau.com and our weekly email newsletter for updates!

September 13, 2007: Sunny, breezy & low 70s (73Ëš/45Ëš)
September 14, 2007: Mostly cloudy, windy, rain & 50s (68Ëš/45Ëš)
September 15, 2007: Partly sunny, breezy & 50 (66Ëš/42Ëš)
September 16, 2007: Mostly sunny & 60s (68Ëš/59Ëš)
September 17, 2007: Mostly cloudy, some rain & 70s (75Ëš/46Ëš)
September 18, 2007: Mostly sunny & 80s (86Ëš/61Ëš)
September 19, 2007: Sunny & 70s (75Ëš/61Ëš)

Click for the Leelanau news archive from September 2006!

On Sunday (September 30, 2007) there will be a celebration honoring the memory of Empire resident and Sleeping Bear Dunegrass & Blues Festival founder Mike Vanderberg.

The daylong event features live music at Johnson Park from noon - 10 PM from Dunegrass regulars including 3rd Coast, Cabin Fever, The Corvairs, Song of the Lakes, Beach Bards, The Wranglers, The Jelly Roll Blues Band, and more (no glass bottles please). There will also be kids games, a raffle and silent auction at the park and community potluck from 2 PM until it's gone (main dish provided).

You can make a donation at ANY Huntington Bank under "The Michael Vanderberg Family Fund" and for questions or to volunteer call 231.313.3474.

The Glen Arbor Sun (who provided the photo) has an article on the celebration and also a nice memorial piece by F. Josephine Arrowood called Mike Vanderberg: Free Thinker, Anarchist, Village Anchor - both of which I think you'll appreciate if you knew Mike ... or even if you didn't.