The Downtown Traverse City Association will host their fall Downtown Art Walk next Friday (Sep 21) from 5 – 9 pm. You're invited to enjoy art, refreshments, food and music while supporting local and regional artists. In addition to artwork on display in 20 stores & galleries and a chance to particpate in the creation of new art, there will also be a number of public art displays that will remain through Saturday.
Refreshments (including Leelanau wines) will be offered at various locations throughout the evening and you can purchase a commemorative wine glass with a portion of the proceeds benefiting a Downtown Public Art Initiative. You can contact the Downtown Traverse City Association at 922-2050 for further information.
Photo courtesy Belstone Gallery
Sunset with Kayak by rdmegr
News from the Week
As is usually the case this time of year, the news from the week was mainly events: this weekend's Traverse Epicurean Classic and Leland Heritage Celebration long with next weekends Harvest Stompede Vineyard Run & Walk and associated wine trail tour. We did take a look at photographer Gary Howe's web of online photography - you should too - and post some of our own surfing photos and video from Tuesday's wild winds.
The Week's Weather
Where did summer go and when is it coming back??? The weather started very summery ... then Monday rolled in like October 30th.
September 6, 2007: Mostly sunny, breezy & upper 80s (88Ëš/73Ëš)
September 7, 2007: Mostly cloudy, light rain & upper 70s (78Ëš/63Ëš)
September 8, 2007: Sunny & upper 70s (78Ëš/52Ëš)
September 9, 2007: Partly sunny & 60s (71Ëš/52Ëš)
September 10, 2007: Mostly cloudy, light rain & upper 50s (60Ëš/52Ëš)
September 11, 2007: Mostly cloudy, very windy, some heavy rain & upper 50s (63Ëš/46Ëš)
September 12, 2007: Mostly cloudy, some rain & upper 50s (59Ëš/43Ëš)
Click for the Leelanau news archive from September 2006!
Between getting my first surfboard (Jamie says make that OUR surfboard) and the fall weather patterns here that seem to pile up the big waves, I've been spending a lot of time in or near the water.
Yesterday, a few brave souls (of which I was not one) took to the raging waters of Lake Michigan. You can also check out this brief video from yesterday at YouTube and this feature on surfing in Michigan and the Great Lakes from Absolute Michigan.
Photo credit: Pyramid Break II by Andy McFarlane (wallpaper sized version)
Our area has a lot of great photographers, and one of these is Gary Howe. You've seen his work in all kinds of regional and national publications (including a recent photo feature on Mario Batali in the New York Times). Gary also provides photographic services for a number of area nonprofit organizations including the Chiapas Water Project, Traverse City Film Festival and the Great Lakes Bioneers.
Gary also has a photo blog called Life on Earth where you can see his photos of everything from surfing off Van’s Beach in Leland in late August to polar bear dipping in Empire in February, and closeup looks at caterpillars on North Manitou and the 2007 Traverse City Film Festival.
You can view & purchase some of Gary Howe's work at Digital Railroad and get information about his photographic services at glhowe.com.
The annual Traverse Epicurean Classic takes place next Thursday - Saturday (Sep 13-15) at the Hagerty Center on Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City.
It's an amazing celebration of food & wine with classes and food from some of the world's finest chefs and culinary experts. I have a number of photos from last year that give something of a flavor for the event, but I have to say to you: "If you love food, you need to attend this event."Â
The chef in the photo above is Perry Harmon, who makes some wonderful biscotti!
Photo credit: Melges Regatta on Traverse Bay by Jim Sorbie
News from the Week
After a week off that featured a pretty cool photo interlude, I returned to my favorite place in the world to find that Leelanau had also become the New York Time' favorite place in the world. We also had an article on Suttons Bay's Labor Day festivities and on the upcoming Tour de Leelanau bike race.
The Week's Weather
The week's weather was great if you're a wine grape or a beach lover, and there are plenty of both in the area! When the mercury hits 85, I'm tempted to complain ... then I think about this and close my mouth.
August 30, 2007: Mostly sunny & 70s (75Ëš/53Ëš)
August 31, 2007: Partly sunny & low 70s (73Ëš/48Ëš)
September 1, 2007: Mostly sunny & low 80s (82Ëš/52Ëš)
September 2, 2007: Sunny, windy & low 80s (82Ëš/63Ëš)
September 3, 2007: Sunny & upper 70s (78Ëš/60Ëš)
September 4, 2007: Mostly sunny & upper 80s (87Ëš/57Ëš)
September 5, 2007: Partly sunny & upper 80s (87Ëš/57Ëš)
Click for the Leelanau news archive from September 2006!
The annual Tour de Leelanau bike race will be held next Saturday (Sep 15). The Tour de Leelanau is a point to point open road race for the top professional and amateur cyclists in the Midwest. The men's course is 109 miles long and starts in Leland at 1 PM. The women's race is 69 miles and starts at the Homestead around 2 - 2:30 PM. Both races wind all over the county and finish at the Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown.
This year's Tour de Leelanau is sanctioned by USA Cycling and held under permit by the United States Cycling Federation making it one of the nation's premier road biking races! You can get much, much more information at the Tour de Leelanau website and see more photos of Michigan's most scenic bicycle race at the tour de leelanau tag on Flickr (view slideshow) and also in the Tour de Leelanau group on Flickr.
The New York Times seems to have a thing for Leelanau lately. In For Mario Batali, It’s Molto Michigan a few weeks ago, they took a visit to the renown chef's Leelanau vacation home (complete with video slideshow with photos by Gary Howe and a tasty pizza recipe).
Then last week they looked at the tourism and real estate market in Leland in A Lower Peninsula Spot Draws a Wider Crowd.
Mark Carlson, a real estate agent and manager of the Leland office of Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors, said Leland essentially has four types of properties, with varying degrees of cost and no set architectural style.
First in price and demand are beachfront and waterfront houses and lots; whether they are on Lake Leelanau or Lake Michigan, price per frontage foot remains basically the same, with a range of $2,500 to $12,500 and total prices from $1 million to $5 million, Mr. Carlson said. Then there are houses with water or sunset views, followed by inland properties that contain small farms or vineyards, which start at around $4,000 per acre, though vineyards can bring as much as $10,000. Last, there are the houses and bungalows within Leland itself, not on the water or in view of it but a short walk away, which start at around $250,000.
My first suspicion was one writer trying to justify a vacation home but that's apparently not the case. Thanks to all who passed these links along!
Photo credit: 'Janice Sue' by John Levanen
