The Leelanau Conservancy will hold its annual "Friends" picnic and auction this Thursday (Aug 2) at Woolsey Airport near Northport. Proceeds from the auction benefit Conservancy protection efforts in Leelanau County.
In addition to Leelanau wines and food, there will be silent & live auction with almost 150 items including items for home & garden, art, food and services. The Enterprise also has a feature on one of the most sought-after items: a wine tasting, cooking lesson and dinner with noted chef and Conservancy supporter Mario Batali.
You can bid online and get more details about auction items and the event at the Leelanau Conservancy web site.
The Woolsey Memorial Airport is a public airport located three miles Northeast of Northport. The runway is turf, and there is no control tower. The airport is closed from November to March when the runway is covered with snow.
Every year they host the Woolsey Airport Fly-in and Pancake Breakfast which features some great planes from every era ... and pancakes.
Photo credit: Funky Airport by johnwilli
Lat/Long: 45-09-53.9970N / 085-34-18.3040W
Elevation: 628 ft. / 191.4 m (surveyed)
The exhibit is open to the public 10 AM - 5 PM today, tomorrow and Wednesday at the Old Art Building and features a wide range of Leelanau artists working in everything from painting and photography to jewelry and sculpture.
It's a great exhibit and I really encourage you to check it out!!
With all the events and otters and what-not we almost missed this article on Leelanau Communications' Jeremy Steck in the Enterprise.
Read Web designer appreciates working in his home county.
You might also enjoy checking out Jeremy's awesome Leelanau & Michigan sports blog:
The 15th annual Sleeping Bear Dunegrass & Blues Festival (aka "Dunegrass") takes place August 2-5 in Empire. The festival has some incredible nationally known talent this year including David Grisman, Railroad Earth, Yonder Mountain String Band and Keller Williams. There's also some great regional acts like The Biddies, Steppin' in It and Earthwork Music.
In addition to camping, food and clothing vendors and of course swimming at the Empire Beach, this year's festival offers 3 stages, meaning there will probably not be a dull moment to be found.
For ticket sales, complete schedule and links to all the performers web sites, visit the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass & Blues Festival.
Photo credit:Â Dunegrass and Blues Music Festival - 2006 by simply, Diann (click that link for her great set of photos!)
Photo credit: Sunfish by Andy McFarlane
News from the Week
The top story of the week (at least for the under 6 set) is our exclusive video of the otter family at the Leland Harbor (I was informed by one reader that after watching it, her daughter now wants to be a baby otter). We also linked to a neat Leelanau Drive slideshow and profiled upcoming Art Leelanau Benefit, the Northport Community Art Center's production of The Sound of Music and the Traverse City Film Festival.
The Week's Weather
The weather started cool but hot is now fully back in fashion.
July 19, 2007: Cloudy, cool & showers (70Ëš/61Ëš)
July 20, 2007: Mostly sunny, breezy & upper 60s (70Ëš/53Ëš)
July 21, 2007: Sunny & 70s (75Ëš/46Ëš)
July 22, 2007: Sunny & 80s (82Ëš/50Ëš)
July 23, 2007: Sunny & mid 80s (86Ëš/55Ëš)
July 24, 2007: Mostly sunny & mid 80s (84Ëš/61Ëš)
July 25, 2007: Mostly sunny & upper 80s (88Ëš/62Ëš)
The 3rd annual Traverse City Film Festival takes place July 31 - August 5th and will screen over 60 films in a variety of categories this year, including American Independent Cinema, New Foreign Cinema, Dangerous Docs, and Overlooked & Outstanding Films.
Highlights include dedicated matinee screenings of Children's and Native American films; Midnight Madness, a selection of new cult-favorite horror films playing at special midnight showings; select screenings of classic films including a 40 th anniversary celebration of "The Graduate" and a screening of "The Bridge on the River Kwai" on its 50th anniversary and 4 free films at the Open Space: E.T., Grease, North by Northwest and Raiders of the Lost Ark. There are also a variety of panels discussing film & filmmaking, some great music and enough parties to keep the paparazzi in you pacified.
If you've never been, you should go - this is a wonderful event that will make you smile at the energy it brings to Traverse City and our region. Tickets are still available and you can get loads and loads more information at the Traverse City Film Festival web site and also in the Filmgoer Guide from Traverse Magazine.
Photo credit: The State Lives by Darrin Wassom
Here's a video of 2 adult otters with their 3 pups in the Leland Harbor from Saturday night.
The Northport Community Arts Center presents The Sound of Music July 26, 27, 28, August 2, 3, 4 at 8:00 pm; July 29, August 5 at 3:00 pm (Sundays).
The musical story of the von Trapp family and their escape from Austria just prior to World War II broke all box office records and won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 1959-60. The production features a full cast, live orchestra, professional direction, lighting, sound and set design and is most definitely a family and kid-friendly event!
For information, call 386-5001 or visit the NCAC web site.
The other day Cher Fettes drove from Empire to Northport for the Gallery Walk. Along the way, she stuck her camera out of the sunroof and clicked away. To view the results, click for her Off the top slideshow and then change the speed in the bottom left to fast. It's just like a summer drive ... only faster. Astute viewers may notice a little extra back-and-forth - we're guessing she'll remember the concert tickets next time!
Cher and her husband Tom own Cheyenne Glass in Empire.
