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Looking to spruce up your garden or your yard? Two area communities have plant sales this weekend!

Cedar's Perennial Plant Sale is Saturday, May 25 from 9 AM - 3 PM. Hundreds of perennial and wildflower plants are ready for planting in your garden. Beautify your home with plants that attract butterflies and birds. Prices start at $2.00 with over 500 plants and 50 varieties. This is their major fundraiser of the year to support 265 days per year of free, educational, healthy and intergenerational fun.

The Annual Plant Sale on the Village Green in Leland is on tap for Memorial Day Weekend as well! Now is your chance to purchase native ferns, trillium, and more along with a selection of native trees and shrubs provided by locally owned Four Season Nursery, who will be on hand to answer questions about going native.

Sale runs Friday, May 24th and Saturday May 25th; hours 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. All proceeds help maintain the Village Green and assist with other Conservancy projects. The Wildflower Rescue Committee continually seeks new sites on which to dig. If you are building a home, driveway, addition, or know of someone who is, please contact the WRC so they may have a chance to remove these precious wildflowers before the excavators arrive! Contact Patty Shea: 256-9249 or Joanie Woods: 256-7154.

Photo credit: 20090429_0107_copy(Blood Root) by jsorbieus

The 2013 Cedar Polka Fest will be held July 4-7, 2013. Highlights include a parade on Saturday at noon, softball tournament, a polka mass and (of course) polka under the big, big tent with the big names of polka including the Cynor Classic Polka Band, Craig Ebel & Dy Versa, Jimmy J's Polka Band, the Frank Moravcik Band, Ray Watkowski Family Band and Pan Franek & Zosia.

Thursday, July 4, 2013
The annual Cedar Polka Festival begins with the flag raising ceremony at 5:00 p.m. Music and dancing begins immediately after the ceremony. Music TBA.

Friday, July 5, 2013
Sidewalk Chalk Art at 10 am, meet at the Town Hall. Music and dancing beings at 2 pm.

Saturday, July 6, 2013
Polka Fest Parade begins at noon at the Solon Twp. Hall. All participants should be at the Solon Twp. Hall by 11:30 am sharp.

Music and dancing begins at 2 pm and runs until 1 am.

Sunday, July 7, 2013
Polka Mass celebrated with Father Ken Stachnik at 11 am under the tent followed by the traditional Polish Procession of Our Lady of Czestochwa immediately after the mass. Music and dancing resumes at 1 pm.

For Info Phone: (231) 228-3378 or email cedarchamber@gmail.com.

The photo is Polka Dancing in Krakow by beastiekeith. Check out the Library of Congress Local Legacies and the Leelanau.com/map Cedar Polka Fest location

Local restaurateurs and Northern Michigan breweries will show off their best as Glen Arbor kicks off the summer season with the annual Glen Arbor BBQ & Brew Festival on Saturday, June 15th from 2-8 PM.

“Now that the sun is finally shining,” says Chamber of Commerce Event Coordinator, Mason Query, “we are excited to set up the big tent right in the middle of town and have a great party!”

Participating restaurants include Art’s Tavern, Cherry Republic, Blu and Western Avenue Grill. You can wash all that great barbeque down with beer selections from Short’s, Bell’s, Schmohz, North Peak, Jolly Pumpkin, Founders, Cheboygan and Right Brain and more! There will also be non-alcoholic choices from Great Lakes Tea & Spice, Bay Lavender, Cherry Republic and Northwoods Soda.

Live music by Erratixz will get you moving on the dance floor with hits from the ‘70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today. Admission is $15 per person, which includes four tickets to use toward the purchase of any food or beverage.

Order in advance to be entered in a Glen Arbor weekend giveaway sponsored by Leelanau Vacation Rentals!

The 10th Annual Empire Asparagus Festival will be held May 17-18, 2013 and features a slew of asparagus-themed events including a Street Dance & Pig Roast from 7-10 PM Friday, a fun run (or walk), Asparagus Eats/Wine and Beer Tasting,  Asparagus recipe contest, the Asparagus Parade, chalk art, music & dance and kids games and a 7 PM Finale Fun Food with Live Music on Saturday night. You can get all the details on the tasty eats and drinks below!

A feature by Susan Bayer Ward titled The Empire Strikes Back... With Asparagus explains:

There's a reason Empire touts itself as the apex of asparagus-a vegetable whose short growing season begins in early May and flows into June. The area's sandy soil, plentitude of water and temperate microclimate-fostered by Lake Michigan, make this the perfect place to nurture wild and farmed asparagus. In fact, Michigan ranks third behind California and Washington as a producer of this commercial crop which garners the state a surprising $29 million annually.

Truth be told, only one local farmer, Harry Norconk, runs a 240-acre asparagus-growing business south of town. But what the heck, this slender green harbinger of spring grows wild all over the place. And while surrounding towns, for years, positioned themselves as prime purveyors of cherries, morel mushrooms and wines, Empire decided to become the Valhalla of that savory veggie-the asparagus.

Also see Stalking Local Asparagus in Empire from MyNorth.com.

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4-H members from across the county will gather at Suttons Bay High School on Saturday, April 6th, from 9:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. for their annual 4-H showcase. The public is invited and encouraged to participate.

The 4-H Expo  features educational displays, live animals, chess matches and demonstrations by 4-H members. The 4-H clubs will also offer a variety of fun, hands-on activities for visitors of all ages.

Each year the members take on a community project, reflecting the 4-H philosophy of service to others. This year, members and the public are invited to bring individually wrapped child friendly foods like fruit snacks, cheese and crackers packs, fruit cups, cans of tuna, chicken or soup, small boxes of cereal, etc. to donate to an organization in our area called "Blessings in a Backpack". This organization feeds local children on weekends during the school year.

The 4-H Expo is free and open to the public. Lunch concessions will be available onsite. For further information contact the Leelanau MSU Extension office at 256-9888.

The 13th Annual Glen Arbor Winterfest takes place on Saturday, February 16, 2013.

The festivities start bright and early at 7am with the Perch Fishing Contest with prizes for 1st through 4th place catches. All participants will bring their biggest catches from Big and Little Glen to the Sportsman Shop at 1pm, and winners will be crowned. Entry fee for this event is $20, and all ages are welcome to participate.

Next door on the deck at Boonedocks, things heat up with the Chili Cookoff, on the corner of M-22 and Ray Street in Glen Arbor. Local businesses and proud individuals will compete to earn chili bragging rights and 1st or 2nd place awards in both traditional and non-traditional chili categories. Last year Boonedocks and Anderson’s IGA took top honors in their categories; all event-goers choose the winners, so taste carefully! Admission is $10 per person, which includes unlimited chili samples. All proceeds from this event go directly to the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce's Glen Lake Scholarship Fund. This is a family friendly event, and although there’s plenty of hot chili and crackling fire pits, just be sure to dress warmly! If you'd like to participate, the entry fee is $25 per chili. Winners will be crowned as the event wraps up around 3pm.

To register for the Perch Fishing Contest, visit the Sportsman Shop. You can also download fishing & chili cookoff entry forms from the Glen Arbor Winterfest website. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter (@VisitGlenArbor) for info, photos and updates leading up to and on the day of the event. Contact GL Chamber Marketing Director Molly Connolly at info@visitglenarbor.com or by calling 231-680-0623. Here's a video from a couple of years ago to enjoy as well!

The 4th annual Traverse City Microbrew & Music Festival will take place this Saturday (February 9, 2013) from 4-10 PM at the Sara Hardy Parking Lot at Cass Street & Grandview Parkway.

It's a celebration of microbrews including beer, wine, cider, mead and non-alcoholic brews that features live music with the Lowdown Brass Band, The Crane Wives (video below), The Ragbirds, Funkton, Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys, the Chardon Polka Band and others. There's also brew-friendly food including ribs tacos and even venison burgers! For more details click the poster.

Click the poster for details and don't miss Traverse City Beer Week with specials, tap takeovers and more at Traverse City brewpubs all week and a Blues at the Crossroads: Muddy & the Wolf  on Friday. It's a tribute by the Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kim Wilson with Tinsley Ellis, James Cotton, Jody Williams and Bob Margolin at the City Opera House.

Get all the details & tickets at tcbeerfest.com and also on their Facebook.

Here's one of my favorite bands who will be there on Saturday, The Crane Wives from Grand Rapids. Enjoy!

MyNorth highlights the Leelanau Outdoor Center's 1st Annual Snowshoe Stampede. It takes place this Saturday (February 2nd) at 10:30 at the Leelanau Outdoor Center on Port Oneida.

There's a 5K Race and 1 Mile Snowflake Race for kids 12 and under, food & entertainment at the Lodge and proceeds go to Tuition Assistance for schools to attend the LOC, a great resource for outdoor education for area schools.

Early registration is $15 and includes lunch, Day of race registration is available at $20. Snowshoe rental is available as well: $12 for adults, $8 for kids.

The first-ever YetiFest takes place on Saturday, February 16, 2013 in Suttons Bay. The festival and fundraiser benefits Suttons Bay Schools, Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce, and TART. Here's the schedule:

• Yeti-Look Alike Contest ~ 9:00 am Registration starts at the school and continues until 1:00pm, Awards at 2:00 pm
• 4-4 Hockey Tournament ~ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm @ Corner of Lincoln and Broadway
• YetiFest™ Bicycle Hill Climb ~ 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Bahle Park, Awards at Water Wheel Park 2:00 pm
• Abominable Snowman Contest ~ 11:00 am – 1:30 pm @ Water Wheel Park, judging at 2:00 pm
• Chili Tasting ~ 11:30 am – 2:00 pm @ Water Wheel Park
• Yeti Story Time ~ 12:00 am @ the Suttons Bay Bingham District Library
• Kid’s Parade ~ 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Starting @ the Library, ending in Water Wheel Park
• Micro-Brew Tent ~ 11:30 am – 5:00 pm @ Water Wheel Park

Wondering about Leelanau's Yeti connection? Their Sightings page explains that:

Some evidence suggests that the Yeti so favored the cherry, or more precisely the Prunus cerasoides commonly known as The Wild Himalayan cherry. This species is a deciduous cherry tree found in East Asia and is a member of the family Rosaceae and the genus Prunus. Its range extends in the Himalayas from Himachal Pradesh in north-central India, to Southwest China and Burma. It grows in the temperate forests from 1,200–2,400 meters (3,900–7,900 ft.) in elevation.

This range interestingly coincides with the 45th parallel in the eastern hemisphere and it here that the hypothesis begins that the Yeti, in search of a vanishing favored food source began increasing their range to find a larger and more sustainable supply.

Read on for more and also see some photographic evidence of Yeti in Suttons Bay on Flickr.

via Michigan in Pictures...

National Pie Day ~ January 23, 2012, photo by Trish P. - K1000 Gal

Today (Wednesday, January 23rd) is National Pie Day. A whole day just for pie? The Pure Michigan Blog explains:

Created by the American Pie Council, ‘Pie Day’ is dedicated to celebrating America’s love of pie. And in Pure Michigan, we know and love pie. In fact, Michigan produces:

• More than 50 percent of the nation’s apple slices and is the largest supplier of apple slices used in commercially prepared apple pies.
• Roughly 75 percent of the country’s tart cherry crop every year. Those are the ones that go into pies, juice and preserves.
• 25 percent of the national highbush blueberry crop (110 – 180 million pounds)

While there are many flavors and variations of this classic American dessert, nothing makes for a better pie than using pure, fresh ingredients and fruits – Michigan’s surrounding Great Lakes and rolling hills create a perfect climate for fruit-growing and is a leading producer of many popular pie fruits that can be found in local bakeries as well as national store-bought brands.

To celebrate, Pure Michigan has teamed up with the Grand Traverse Pie Company to offer fans on Twitter the chance to win an entire pie every hour between 10 AM - 5 PM on the 23rd. Just tweet your favorite type of pie to both @PureMichigan and @GTPie. Tweets must include the hashtag #puremichiganpie and entrants must follow both Pure Michigan and Grand Traverse Pie Company on Twitter. Click through for more.

Trish made a peach/blueberry pie with Michigan fruit: Peaches from Steimel & Sons Farm in Suttons Bay and blueberries from Hazen's Farm in Howell. Click to see it on black  and get lots more tasty goodness in Trish's Michigan Harvest slideshow.