Jackson Atwater Thomson posted this great shot to the Leelanau (dot com) pool on Flickr and we'd like to wish everyone a very happy & safe Halloween.

Today on Absolute Michigan we featured the spooky tale of the Michigan Dogman which area filmmaker Rich Brauer is turning into a feature film! Be sure to check out our Leelanau Halloween events and also see a lot of fun stuff at absolutemichigan.com/ghost and Halloween on Michigan in Pictures.

The annual Leland Heritage Celebration takes place September 17. This annual event is free and open to the public. Highlights include the Leelanau Historical Museum's "Wooden Boats on the Wall", Van's Garage antique car show, and the Fishtown Preservation Society offering music and festivities in Fishtown.

There will also be an exhibit titled "Windows on Leelanau; Past, Present, and Future" will be the featured for the Leelanau Community Cultural Center at the Old Art Building. Exhibit hours are 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and 12 to 4 pm on Sunday. The exhibit will feature original works of art using the window as a view on Leelanau. Artists will use the window as a metaphor beyond its mere architectural aspect. This will be a fun and creative exhibit by Leelanau artists.

The Leland Township Library gets into the act as well with their annual Fall Used Book Sale on the lawn at the Library. They will be featuring a display of the books of Leelanau County authors and books about Leelanau County. Library Director Sylvia Merz says, "We are always amazed at the number of authors who either currently or once upon a time called Leelanau County home. We’ve pulled as many volumes as we have and they will be featured on Saturday for visitors to browse and check out as they enjoy the events!"

Also check out the Leland Heritage Celebration photo gallery for photos from past celebrations.

• July 2, 4 PM, performance of patriotic music by the Northport Community Band at the Glen Arbor Athletic Club.
• July 3, 10 AM: Flag Raising Ceremony at Old Settler’s Park in Burdickville.
• Jul3 3, Dusk: Leland Fireworks, at Hancock Field
• July 4, 7-11 AM: Glen Arbor Fire & Rescue Association Pancake Breakfast at Glen Arbor Town Hall
• July 4, 10:30 AM: Glen Arbor Art Association for patriotic bike decorating
• July 4: Glen Arbor parade, line up at noon at Glen Haven, Glen Arbor at about 1 PM
• Leland parade at 3 PM on July 4th
• Glen Lake Boat Parade, 4 PM at the Glen Lake Yacht Club, Big Glen Lake on July 4th
• Fireworks at Northport on July 4th (dusk)

PS: If you like fireworks, check out Michigan Loves Fireworks and these pictures from the Detroit Freedom Festival show on Michigan in Pictures - amazing!!

Thursday, June 30, 2011
The 29th 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 1, 2011
Sidewalk Chalk Art at 10 am, meet at the Town Hall. Music and dancing beings at 2 pm.

Saturday, July 2, 2011
Face painting at 10:30am, at the Town Hall. Polka Fest Parade beings 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 4, 2010
Polka Mass celebrated with Bishop Cooney begins at 11 am under the tent. Music and dancing resumes at 1 pm .

Admissions (per person)
Thursday - $5.00
Fri. & Sat. - $10.00
Sunday - $5.00
3 Day Pass - $20.00
Ages 13-20 - 1/2 price when accompanied by parent
Ages 12 & Under - Free when accompanied by parent

Bands subject to change. Space available for rent on the tennis court.

For Info Phone: (231) 228-3378 or (231) 228-5562

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

Participating wineries will be offering a full glass of wine with a well-presented and substantial tapas dish in their tasting room. You can purchase tickets online for $11 for any or all of the three seatings (roughly 6-7, 7-8 and 8-9). Many of our wineries are working with chefs to prepare and serve the pairing, and the event is designed to be a high-class food offering, catering to culinary aficionados.

2011 Small Plates Pairings

Black Star Farms
Wild mushroom dusted sea scallop with a bundle of truffle oil infused fries wrapped in prosciutto, asparagus tips and smoked yellow tomato coulis paired with 2010 Sur Lie Chardonnay.

Chateau Fontaine
Assorted Pates, Proscuitto, Sausage, Rillette, accompanied by a selection of Cheeses,Veggies,Bread, Crackers, and Mustards. Rillette is a shredded duck/pork mixture served warm and it is paired with 2010 Woodland White.

Ciccone Winery
Tony Ciccone (Owner/Vintner) will be attending the event featuring a Roasted pork loin with a sausage torteloni with black truffle cream from Tuscan Bistro paired with 2009 Tre Rossi.

Forty-Five North
Parmesan encrusted walleye over a bed of white wine risotto and an in season greenery prepared by Shawn Bottruff from the Bluebird. Perfectly pairing with the 2009 Pacific Rim Internationa Best of Class award winning Pinot Gris!

Gills Pier
Featuring a Costa Rican Chalupa & Beef Fajita Wraps paired with 2008 Leelanau Peninsula Merlot.

L. Mawby
Chicken Pad Thai with spicy green curry sauce (pick your “heat” level) prepared by 22 Vines Restaurant. This will be paired with 2 different ‘sec’ sparkling wines – Wet and Consort.

Silver Leaf
Petite crab cakes with a red pepper coulis paired with Silver Leaf Chardonnay 2009.

The 2011 Poster is titled "Fishtown from the Bridge" and was painted by Phil Fisher (click for website - new window). You can purchase the poster online along with posters from years past from the Leland Chamber's online store!

Mark your calendar for the annual Leland Wine & Food Festival. The festival is a northern Michigan tradition held on the second Saturday in June (June 11, 2011) from noon til 6pm.

Come enjoy a day near the Leland Harbor and Leland's historic Fishtown tasting wines from local wineries and tasting the specialties from local restaurants and vendors. There's also live music in the park all day and of course plenty of beautiful views of Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands.

Admission is $12 and includes an etched wine glass and two tickets for wine tasting. Additional wine tasting tickets are available. Food vendors accept cash only and here's a list of last year's participating Wineries and Food Vendors (we will update when we get info!):

Wineries
Bel Lago
Black Star Farms
Chateau Fontaine
Ciccone Vineyards
45 North
Gill's Pier Winery
Good Harbor Vineyards
Raftshol
Silver Leaf
Willow
Bowers Harbor
Chateau Chantal
Chateau Grand Traverse
Peninsula Winery
Circa
Chateau de Leelanau

Local Beer: Shorts Brewing

Food Vendors
Bluebird Restaurant
Leland Lodge
Corky’s (Vineyard Inn)
Plevas
Village Inn
Drive Thru BBQ
The Cove
Martha’s Leelanau Table
Leelanau Cheese
Village Cheese Shanty
Stone House Bread

View Photos from the Leland Wine & Food Festival

For more information on Leelanau County's wineries, visit the Leelanau Peninsula Vintner's Association site at LPWines.com

Photo credit: On the Lawn by farlane

For added fun, event participants are encouraged to keep their pajamas on when they set out in the morning and try to win one of the prizes that many of the wineries will be offering. In addition to the pajama contest, 'fancy hats' are part of the judging as well!

The Grand Prize package features 2 nights lodging at The Homestead in Glen Arbor during any season of the year, dinner for two at La Becasse in Maple City, Sunday brunch for two at the Bluebird in Leland, a wood fired pizza from Hearth & Vine Cafe and a pair of tickets to any LPVA Weekend tour or the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival. LPVA wineries are each offering prizes and there's also a chance to win 2 tix to S&S 2012 with 2 nights at Cambria Suites with the new Founder's Choice award!

Click here for pairings & all the prizes!

Photo credit: Chateau de Leelanau by zakzorah and May, 2010 Sip & Savor- Leelanau Peninsula by catrina90

"Those who know me know that I like to dream big, and go big," The Donald explained. "Michigan has really been hurting and I wanted to make a statement that it's time for Michigan to go big or go home. I chose Maple City because everyone knows that you can't beat the jerky at Gabe's and also because I found out that Maple City residents spend an average of $67 per year more on pet recreation than the national average."

Long-time Maple City resident Lois Flaska expressed a common sentiment, telling us "Well like everyone else, it's taking some getting used to for me when I take Mr. Fluffles for a walk and all of the sudden bam! there's this giant building up there and I think I'm in New York or something.

It's really nice that Mr. Trump is offering a 50% discount to all Maple City residents on pet grooming - Mr. Fluffles really loves his new 'do!"

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Pyramids Unearthed tells of a dramatic discovery made by a kindergarten class at Pyramid Point.

Strange Tourist is a dramatic account of a "tourist" who came from a looong way!

Leelanau County isn't the only part of Michigan to experience odd events. Click for Jeff Daniels to star in Chrysler Emigrated from Escanaba commercials, Bank bailout "tweak" to spur auto industry and Canadian Freeze Ray Wreaks Havok on Michigan!

Performers for this family friendly event will be Song of the Lakes and a new act, the Young Sullys, an Irish family band with 6 kids ages 6 to 14 years old who have been thrilling audiences across the state of Michigan with their Irish songs and performance. The evening will also feature the top 5 Junior & Adult Finalists who are seeking "The Best Singer In Traverse City Award" in the 31st annual Danny Boy Singing Contest.

The first round of the Danny Boy contest will be held on March 10, 5 p.m. at Lars Hockstad Auditorium at Central Grade School. Slots are limited to 25 for each division, so sign up now!

Proceeds support the Father Fred Foundation. Admission is $10 in advance or $15 at the door with youths 14 and under free! Get your tickets at the Father Fred Foundation, North Peak or Kilkenny's!

For more check out the Danny Boy Contest and Lucky Leprechaun Event on Facebook!

To get you in the mood, here's Andy Williams singing Danny Boy via YouTube!

This event benefits programs at the Leelanau Children's Center and is always a great time!

Click the flyer to the right for all the details!