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The Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association will hold the first of their LPVA Second Fridays next Friday (April 10). Every month on the 2nd Friday, participating tasting rooms will be open 5-8 PM for tasting around a common theme.

Next Friday is "Toast the Taxman," offering you a chance to try some wine and receive a 6% discount to cover your sales tax on all wine purchases.

Ciccone Vineyards Tasting Room Manager Jaclyn Eikey says "This is not business as usual - I think we're all looking forward to creating an exclusive opportunity for intimate evenings at our tasting rooms. We have so much variety that I know everyone will find something new & fun!"

May 10 will be Mom's Night Out (with deals on limo service for that special lady) and June will be Premium Pour, featuring rare and top shelf wines. You can get all the details and a list of participating wineries at the link above!

Click to see the poster bigger!

Tom Karas recently published an article about the Empire Community Wind Energy Project through the Institute Daily from the Michigan Land Use Institute. It's worth a look about this very interesting effort that's under way in Empire. From their web site:

The Community Wind Energy Project seeks to engage the public in the research and development process of wind energy projects that have a net benefit to the community. We are a group of citizens concerned with the future reliability and sustainability of our energy sources. Community wind projects are locally-owned, commercial-scale wind energy developments that optimize local benefits.

It is our vision that Empire becomes 100% powered by a clean, renewable, and local energy: the wind. With the help and resources of the community members we can do this in the most effective and sensitive manner. The Empire area has ample wind resources to power the entire village or township, and we will be investigating how to do this socially, politically, economically, and environmentally with net benefits to all.

I think that community energy is a topic that we'll all be talking about here in Leelanau County and Northern Michigan - congratulations to the folks in Empire for blazing the trail!

Photo: Storm on the beach! by jsorbieus

Craig (cyoas55) has a great shot for anyone who's feeling twinges of cabin fever: just close your eyes and whisper, there's no place like home.

Be sure to check this out bigger, and if it's not enough, check out his Sleeping Bear slideshow.

Have a great weekend!

Every Saturday afternoon in April at 1 PM you can meet a park ranger at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center in Empire (just off M-72) for a fun and educational nature walk. You'll get a brief introduction to the topic and then follow the car caravan a short distance to where the walk will begin. Here are the topics:

April 4- The Great Melt Down –The melting of the winter snowpack provides an opportunity to travel back in time and investigate the melting of the great continental glaciers. Scientists have called Sleeping Bear Dunes, “The most complete record of glacial history preserved in the National Park Service.” Let the sands, rocks, and topography reveal the very foundation of the Lakeshore.

April 11 - Wonderful Waterfowl – Some birds have been here all winter and some are just returning, but all are wonderful! Spend some time viewing the Lakeshore’s ducks, geese, and swans. Learn their names and habits. If you have binoculars, bring them along, but the Lakeshore will also have pairs to loan.

April 18– A Hidden Treat –Just as wildflowers and wildlife emerge after tough Northern Michigan winters, so too did the early settlers. Discover a hidden 1880s farm and appreciate the hardships and life of farming settlers.

April 25- National Junior Ranger Day! – Special morning and afternoon activities for everyone to earn their Junior Ranger badge. Details on this and other National Park Week celebration events will be announced separately.

Participants need only purchase the park entrance pass or have an annual pass to join in the fun. Reservations are not required, but are suggested for groups. Please call 231-326-5134, extension 328, for details.

Photo: Ranger Peg Burman identifies migratory birds in the park (courtesy National Park Service)

Empire Beach, photo by Summerfrost Photography (Nick & Kourt)

News from the Week

Probably the top story from the week was the posting on an online petition to purchase & redevelop Sugar Loaf that now has over 500 signatures! Other stories included a look at smelt season, BlogTalkRadio featuring Leelanau food producers, 4 Spring Concerts featuring Lynn Miles, Chris Smither, Harry Manx & John Gorka and a cool photo from Empire!

The Week's Weather

The week's weather wasn't quite as warm or as sunny as the week before, but it was still pretty nice for March!

March 19, 2009: Partly sunny, flurries & 30 (33/23)
March 20, 2009: Sunny & upper 30s (41/13)
March 21, 2009: Light overnight snow, then partly sunny & upper 40s (51/31)
March 22, 2009: Mostly sunny & 40s (47/29)
March 23, 2009: Partly sunny & 40s (45/27)
March 24, 2009: Cloudy, windy, light rain (w/ a bit of overnight freezing rain) & 40s  (50/34)
March 25, 2009: Early clouds and light rain, afternoon sun & 50s  (56/39)

Explore Leelanau News & Events

Get more events (and add your own) at the Leelanau Calendar. Check out today's weather, the Leelanau News Archive from March 2008.

<Leelanau Almanac for the Week of March 26 - April 1, 2009

Leelanau Almanac for the Week of March 12-18, 2009>

Acting as a private citizen, Leelanau County Commissioner David Shiflett has posted a petition to call on Leelanau governmental units to get control of Sugar Loaf. TV 9 &10 interviewed David about the petition last night.

"Every year that the Sugar Loaf resort remains closed, more and more people leave the area," says David Shiflett, Leelanau County Commissioner. "The businesses are floundering, their struggling to survive."

Shiflett decided -- on his own time -- to start an online petition to encourage the county to help private investors take over the resort.

"My personal belief is 'let's give it a whole new look, wipe the slate clean, start with a new plan and go from there.'"

Background (Preamble)

Since the winter of 2000, Sugar Loaf resort has been closed, resulting in a loss of the employment for over 300 people at the resort itself, not to mention the impact on the economy of Leelanau County, and the Grand Traverse region as a whole.

The residents, business owners, and tax payers can no longer accept the fate of what once was our economic engine. It's time to take control and form a public/private collaborative for re-development.

Petition

We, the undersigned Leelanau County tax payers, residents, visitors, and friends, call on Leelanau County's Landbank authority, Brownfield Redevelopment authority, Economic Development Corporation, with assistance from Leelanau County Board of Commission, Cleveland Twp. Board, Centerville Twp. Board, to take the necessary steps to get control of the lands, buildings, recreational facilities, and Infrastructure that make up the historical Sugar Loaf Resort Hotel, Ski Runs, Sugar Barn, and Sugar Loaf Service Company and Sewer Plant, including, if necessary, the formation of a nonprofit or municipal entity to manage the facility for the benefit of the entire community.

We urge all private and governmental entities, and all citizens, to come together in a joint effort to bring about the redevelopment of this significant community asset.

Click to read & sign the petition to Purchase & Redevelop Sugar Loaf.

Smelt season is here! Wikipedia's smelt entry explains:

Smelts are a family, Osmeridae, of small fish found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They are common in the North American Great Lakes, and in the lakes and seas of the northern part of Europe, and run in large schools along the coastline during their spring migration to their spawning streams.

It is one of the few fish that sportsmen are allowed to net, using dip nets, either along the coastline or in the streams. Some sportsmen also ice fish for smelt. Smelt are often fried and eaten whole.

In Michigan and other Great Lake states of USA, "smelt dipping" is a common group sport in the early spring months (when the stream water reaches approximately 4°C, 40-42f). Fish are spotted using a flashlight / headlamp (the best smelt dipping is in the middle of the night from 10:00pm - 2:00am) and scooped out of the water using a dip net made of nylon or metal mesh. The smelt are cleaned by removing the head and the entrails. Fins, scales, and bones of all but the largest of smelts are cooked without removal.

Never had smelt? You might want to head over to the 49th Annual Smelt Dinner next Friday (Apr 3) from 3-8 PM or until the smelt runs out! It takes place at the cedar Town Hall and is sponsored by the Cedar Rod and Gun Club.

My favorite smelt have always been at the Blue Bird and for dipping, Fishtown as a kid and Shalda Creek now - anyone have anything to add? Post it in the comments!

Photo: Smelt dipping near Houghton, MI April 2006

Eat, Drink & Be Merry on BlogTalkRadio is presenting a couple of Leelanau experts in their show this afternoon about Delicious, Healthy & Earth Friendly Foods at 2:30 PM TODAY.

You can tune into to listen to a diverse panel that includes folks including Timothy Young, President & Chef of Food For Thought and Mimi Wheeler, Owner & Chocolatier of Grocer's Daughter Chocolate. If you'd like to call in, the number is (914) 338-1784.

Photo: Wild Leeks (as in Wild Leek Relish) from Food for Thought

forestlady (Vicki) took this photo last spring in Empire.

Be sure to check this out in her Leelanau County set (slideshow), take a little trip south to Benzie County and view many more photos from around the state in her Michigan photo collections.

Connemara Concerts has an amazing series of four concerts in the next few weeks (click the poster to view bigger)

It starts on Thursday, March 26th with Lynn Miles at InsideOut Gallery in Traverse City at 8 PM. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

On Sunday, April 5th the fabulous Chris Smither returns to the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay at 4 PM. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Harry Manx is next up with a show on Monday, April 20 at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Traverse City at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

John Gorka finishes up the series on Thursday, May 7 with a show at 8 PM at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Tickets for all shows are available at Oryana and you can get more information by calling 941-8667.

I've seen 2 of the 4, heard the others and I have to say that this is a fantastic lineup! It was just about impossible to decide, but I picked one of John Gorka's happier songs, When She Kisses Me, featuring a woman who will hopefully play here again, Trina Hamlin. You might also like Land of the Bottom Line.