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We at Leelanau.com hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving with safe travels and good food and company. See you on Monday!

Photo: Last apples in the orchard by Jim Sorbie.

There's a lot of holiday happenings coming up - here's a list of some of them and check the Leelanau Calendar for more!

Cedar offers you a chance to Make It, Take it on Friday (Nov 28). Handmade gift kits will be available to purchase at any shop in Cedar, then you may attend a class to learn how to put the gift together! There's also the Cedar Christmas Party on Sunday, December 7, 1-3 pm at the Solon Twp Hall - call 228-3426  for details!

Empire will hold the 1st Annual Empire Artisan Marketplace at the Empire Town Hall on November 29, 2008 from 12noon to 5pm with local artisans selling crafts such as jewelry, pottery, fiber arts, clothing, handcrafted brooms, tin ware, wreaths and much more. There's also the tree lighting Friday evening. Visit the Empire Chamber for more.

Glen Arbor invites you to shop in your PJs on Friday (Nov 28) and come back for tree lighting, carols and the holiday marketplace preview. The marketplace continues on Saturday at the Glen Arbor Town Hall. More from the Glen Lake Chamber. There's also a free concert by the Leelanau Community Choir "Singing the Tidings of Christmas" at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Glen Arbor.

Leland gets in on the PJ shopping fun Friday from 8-10 am and there's also a book signing and breakfast buffet at the Library. The Old Art Building holds the annual Merry Marketplace next Saturday (Dec 6). Leland's holiday calendar also offers tree lighting and Santa's arrival (Dec 7), Ladies Shopping Night (Dec 11) and for all you Last Second Larrys, Men's Shopping Night on December 23.

Northport has their Merchant's Open House this Saturday (Nov 28) and there's a Holiday Open House at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse on Sunday, December 7 from noon - 4 PM. The annual Christmas Concert takes place on December 13th & 14th as well!

Suttons Bay welcomes Santa to town on Sunday, December 7. Also taking place on Sunday will be Antlers & Elves (with real live reindeer!) at Enerdyne and the Leelanau Community Choir makes another stop on their tour in Suttons Bay at 3 PM at the Suttons Bay Congregational Church.

Traverse City(ish) is the location of Pathfinder School's Holiday Art & Craft Show on December 13th and the first annual Traverse City Downtown Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk takes place on Thanksgiving - get the info here.

Did we miss something? Post it below!

The photo is Brilliant (blue) Books by Pentax K1000 Gal

The annual Christmas arts & crafts show will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2008 from 10 am to 4 pm at the Old Art Building in Leland at the Old Art Building in Leland. This year's Merry Marketplace features  20 local artisans with fresh and dried holiday wreaths, herbal soaps and lotions, jewelry, specialty foods, pottery, woven wheat, cards, pillows, kids’ and American girl doll clothes, and many hand knit items.  There's also complimentary cookies and coffee!

Local artisans include Dee Glass, Annie McFarlane, Cheryl Van Zee, Julie Sanco, Mary Turak, Kit Knowles, Kathy Powell, Sharecare, Victoria Gallup, Ted Gilmer, Bernadette Denoyer, Mike Hulbert, Charlotte Seeley, Lisa Perrine Brown, Kathy Lattimore, Lisa Psenka, Sally Buchanan, Melody Jakubiak, Elizabeth Munro and Tony Turczyn.

This event is sponsored by the Leelanau Community Cultural Center. For more information please call 256-2131.

Photo credit: Yule by Duane Romanell. This photo is more than just atmosphere. It has a well crafted essay on the roots Yule that you may find enjoyable. Check it out.

Cher has a pair of photos that show that Leelanau cherry trees can bring the beauty in late fall as well as spring. Check 'em out "background big" by clicking the photos!

Have a great weekend!

From the "News you might have been able to write by looking out the window" department comes a report from the Traverse City Record-Eagle that the first part of this winter may pack the biggest punch. They quote meteorologist Keith Berger of the National Weather Service in Gaylord as saying:

"The last couple of years we've had a mild start to winter and more snow in the latter half, but it looks like it might switch that this year.

What we're thinking it's going to look like is the first part of winter will be a touch on the cooler side with a good amount of snow, maybe slightly above normal. The last half of winter may be more mild, from mid- to late-January through February and March, it may be less snowy and a bit above normal temperatures."

Photo: Ohhhh Baby it's cold outside! by jsorbieus

One bright spot is that ski resorts around the state are opening early!

The Bufka Farm by John Levanen

News from the Week

In addition to some Thanksgiving weekend events, we had Ken Scott's cool time lapse of the South Manitou Island Lighthouse and looked at the 150th anniversary of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

The Week's Weather

Cold. Snow. Wind. These may not be a few of our favorite things, but they were basically all we had last week. Looking ahead, we see a troubling pattern.

November 13, 2008: Light rain & 40s (50/44)
November 14, 2008: Heavy rain & 40s (50/40)
November 15, 2008: Rain/snow mix and 30s (42/32)
November 16, 2008: Flurries & low 30s (34/30)
November 17, 2008: Snow (2"), wind & 20s (31/25)
November 18, 2008: Light snow & 20s (30/21)
November 19, 2008: Light snow & 30s (36/25)

Click for the Leelanau News Archive from November 2007.

The annual Glen Arbor Pajama Party & Sale is held the morning after Thanksgiving (Friday, Nov 28) from 5-7 AM and features shoppers in their PJs and bargains galore! Glen Arbor also holds their annual Tree Lighting and Carols followed by a preview of the Holiday Market Place. More information on area shops & stores from the Glen Arbor area chamber.

Leland's PJ Party will be held Friday as well with stores open 8-10 AM with special sales, clever display of PJ's and pre-holiday discounts. More about Leland from the Leland Chamber of Commerce.

When you're done with those, throw on some regular clothes and head up to Northport for their merchant open house.

This month the Traverse City Record-Eagle celebrates its 150th anniversary (check that link for their 40 page commemorative issue):

Traverse City, 1858: Rutted, muddy streets framed by wooden store fronts that touted dry goods and hardware. Saw blades screeched as they ripped into virgin white pine. American Indians camped on the mouth of the Boardman River.

And that November, 150 years ago, a businessman named Morgan Bates printed the initial edition of the Grand Traverse Herald. In doing so, he helped give birth to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Photo of Morgan Bates courtesy Traverse Area Historical Society.

In celebration of this milestone, the State Theatre is presenting five newspaper-themed movies. Citizen Kane and Newsies have already played.  Tonight you can see Deadline - U.S.A., Wednesday is The Year of Living Dangerously and Thursday is All the President's Men.

Village shops and businesses in Suttons Bay will be open this Sunday (Nov 23) from noon to 4 PM for their annual Holiday Open House. They would like to thank their customers for their patronage through the year with refreshments and activities during this traditionally festive afternoon.

More about the village and merchants from the Suttons Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

This weekend only (November 15th & 16th), Leland Public School presents "Fools" by Neil Simon. It's the story of Leon Tolchinsky, an ambitious young school teacher who arrives in the village of Kulyenchikov and discovers that the town is suffering under a 200-year curse of stupidity.

Performances are Saturday at 2 PM & 7 PM and Sunday at 7 PM. Tickets are available at the door or in advance by calling 256-9857.