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leelanau county news • traverse city news • michigan news

Julie and Walter Weeks won an Igloo at the Summer Auction fundraiser for the Leelanau Conservancy and Ken Scott put together a cool timelapse!

Click the photo to see Ken's star trail shot of the igloo bigger!

by Robert Lovik via Absolute Michigan...

The 2nd annual Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival is bringing some of America's top comedic talent to Northern Michigan February 10-13, and tickets are now on sale to what are sure to be sold out performances.

Bob Saget, this year's opening night performer, will kick things off on Thursday, February 10 at the City Opera House in front of an already almost sold-out crowd. Best known for his role on the sitcom "Full House" and as the long- running host of "America's Funniest Home Videos", Saget has developed a reputation in recent years as one of comedy's edgiest performers which will fit right in with the festival theme – Comedy is Dangerous.

Friday and Saturday night will feature performances by some of comedy's most respected and well-known faces in classic Traverse City venues like the State Theater and the Old Town Playhouse. This year's comedians include stars of stage and screen, Patton Oswalt, Jeffrey Ross, Caroline Rhea and Aubrey Plaza.

And this year, both of the festival hosts, Jeff Garlin and Michael Moore, will be performing. Jeff Garlin is best known for his role as Larry David's agent on the award-winning HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Jeff will be hosting a Hootenanny with Parks and Recreation's Aubrey Plaza and Brett Gelman while Michael will be playing the role of stand-up comic this year as he debuts brand new comedy material. Ted Alexandro and Joe DeRosa will share an hour time slot on Friday and Saturday night.

In addition to stand-up, there will also be family-friendly performances by Comedy 4 Kidz and ComedySportz, free late-night events, surprise guest performers and some of the funniest movies ever made showing in the historic State Theatre.

For more information and to buy tickets for all of this year's performances visitcomedyfesttc.org!

Photo credit: TCCF by Dan Sultana

Leelanau's L. Mawby winery has teamed up with Michigan By the Bottle for a Tweet & Taste on Tuesday, December 14 at 7 PM featuring two of their M. Lawrence wines, Fizz and Us. It's a chance to join MichiganByTheBottle, the winemakers, a master sommelier and several wine bloggers as they explore two sparkling wines from one of the nation's most respected sparkling wine makers.

It's easy to join in - just pick up one or more of the wines we are tasting at your local wine shop, at the winery tasting room, or at LMawby.com and then log on to Twitter on Tuesday. You can learn more about the event on Facebook and check out this great video for the complete low down on how it works:

Photo Credit: the best by n.elle

The annual fly-in and breakfast at Woolsey Memorial Airport (four miles north of Northport on County Road 629) will be held this Saturday (Aug 21) from 8 AM - noon. You may also drive-in of course and the breakfast fee is $8 adults ($4 children). In addition to small planes, there are also Coast Guard Helicopter and military aircraft (one year there was a C-130!), antique & custom cars and demonstrations and tours of aircraft. All in all, it's a great day!

Here's a great article on the history of Woolsey Airport from the Traverse City Record-Eagle. It begins:

Clinton F. Woolsey, a Northport native son born in 1894, was considered one of the nation's best pilots in the Army Air Corps in the 1920s. He died a hero when he and his co-pilot, John W. Benton, were killed in a 1927 mid-air collision near Buenos Aires during the first-ever U.S. international goodwill flight to 23 Central and South American countries. The 22,000-mile tour took two months. Buenos Aires was the halfway mark.

Woolsey probably could have parachuted to safety but apparently chose to ride his amphibian biplane down in an attempt to land because Benton was on the wing, without his chute, attempting to lower the landing gear by hand.

Photo Credit: Woolsey Airport by Geoff George

Also check out this report from 2004 on the Leland Report and also this nice collection of photos from the 2006 & 2007 Fly-in from Jim Sorbie.

This Friday, July 16th from 6 - 7:30, the second Traverse City Wine & Art Festival kicks off with a Launch Party at InsideOut Gallery, downtown Traverse City at 211 Garland Street. The free TCWF Launch Party will feature wine tasting, multimedia entertainment, giveaways from event sponsors and a one-night only chance to purchase wine festival tickets at a discounted rate!

There will be information available regarding the festival, upcoming promotional wine pours from the Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission and Traverse City along with eats, drinks and merriment. Visit the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival Launch Party on Facebook and share it with your friends!

As an added entertainment bonus the Inside Out Gallery will be hosting the eclectic and eccentric Fishtank Ensemble who are in the middle of their never-ending tour to support their brand new CD, “Woman in Sin”. Leaders in high-energy, cross-pollinated gypsy music, they bring their unique blend of Romanian, Gypsy jazz, Flamenco, Balkan, Turkish and Tango influenced music from California to you. All attendees of the Launch Party will receive the advance ticket rate for this one-of-a-kind show!

Photo: Lucky Kids by J.Renee.Photo

In northern Michigan, we are lucky to have The State theater in our location, because they bring us interesting and unique films. Coming Monday is Swim with Aliens, video shorts covering a wide range of topics, from Sunrise on the Boardman to Alien Invaders of our Waters. Coming next month is the Red Carpet Premiere of Christina! Summer would not be complete without a little polka music at the Annual Cedar Polka Festival. And although, you may have missed the Artist in Residence, Charles Murphy's Reception and Exhibit at the Old Art Building, he still has events this summer worth checking out.

Week's Weather

June 16: Cloudy & 60 (65/54)
June 15: Rain & 67 (72/61)
June 14: Mostly cloudy & 65 (68/61)
June 13: Partly sunny & 68 (74/61)
June 12: Rain & 64 (68/59)
June 11: Rain & 66 (76/55)
June 10: Mostly cloudy & 60 (64/55)

Post your comments about the week's news, observations of the weather or the natural world or events below! You'll also want to check out the Leelanau Calendar and the latest news and features from Leelanau, Traverse City and the surrounding area in our blog! Here's the June 2009 archives, and Leelanau Almanac: June 3 - 9.

Once again the Grand Traverse Lighthouse and the Northport-Omena Chamber of Commerce are joining together for the Northport Lighthouse and Maritime Festival on Saturday, June 19 in Northport. The festival celebrates the lighthouse and Northport's maritime history and will be held at Haserot and Marina Parks from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. A few of the highlights of the festival include Nautical Silent Auction & Flea Market, maritime historical displays, a nautical arts and craft show, Model Sailboat Making & Pond Races, Historic Boats on Display, Northport Weather Tower Interpretation, and more. A memorial bench dedication will take place at 12 noon in honor of Northport Boat Builders, including Bill Livingston, Ted Craker, and Chris Telgard.

Also back for the festival is the annual Fish Boil dinner. Fresh whitefish, from Carlson's of Fishtown, is simmered with redskin potatoes and onions. Also available is slaw, corn on the cob, rolls, pie, and beverages. Dinner will be available from noon to 6:00pm for $15/person. New this year - you can buy a glass of wine or beer for $5 from the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum volunteers to enjoy with your meal.

Inland Seas Education Association will be offering 2 hour schooner cruises focusing on maritime history of Northport guided by the ship's crew and a guest faculty of local historians. The cost is $30 per person the day of the cruise or buy one get one at 50% off pre-paid by June 18th.

Photo: We'll keep a light on for you ~ by KT of Lake Orion

Visit Up North Rentals is hosting an Open House this week. Visit their new location at 600 W Front Street in Traverse City anytime between 1pm - 4pm for light refreshments. On Friday, they will have their official Ribbon Cutting, celebrating with hot dogs and burgers!

At your visit, learn about their summer photo contest, where you could win a FREE 3 night stay at one of their cottages or condos.

Visit Up North Rentals has properties available throughout northern Michigan. New properties added daily! Let them make one of their vacation homes, your home away from home.

"The Broneah Brothers," Matt and Keegan Meyers, are once again bringing us the M-22 Challenge to be held on June 12. The Challenge, which begins Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore park (aka Little Glen Lake Picnic Area), is multi-discipline event, with biking, running, and paddling, which is designed to challenge athletes against the natural terrain and environmental elements of the area.

The first leg requires athletes to bike approximately 17 miles around Big and Little Glen Lake. Bike highlights include a peddle through downtown Glen Arbor, sections along the Crystal River and the famous M-22, and of course, Inspiration Point. The Leelanau County Sheriffs Department will be leading the bikers in a “rolling enclosure” that will allow athletes use of the entire right lane of the roads.

For the second running portion, athletes will cross the street into the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Parkshore “Dune Climb” park and face a steep and sandy climb up the dune. The reward at the top is the view! Competitors will then catch their breath in a fun run down the dune and along a groomed trail to M-109. On the road, runners will sprint back to the event site and transition area to complete the approximate 2 mile run. Approximately half of the run will take place on pavement.

Transitioning from a run to the water, the third and final portion of the event has participants paddling out and back into Little Glen Lake for approximately 2 miles. Athletes are only allowed to use one (1) paddle to hand power their chosen craft (kayak, standup paddle board, anything else you can dream up! etc.) A two blade paddle is allowed, but in no way can the paddle be fixed to the craft.

The M-22 Challenge is a Zero-Waste event, "Green Certified" event, meaning every aspect of this event’s planning and operation is scrutinized to make sure that waste is not only minimized, but any wastes generated are able to be collected and processed via recycling/composting at local facilities.

Although registration for the event is sold out, volunteer opportunities are still available. And, of course, spectators are more than welcome to come and cheer on their favorites.

Be sure to check out the results from the 2009 M-22 Challenge and race photos!

Photo: M22 Challenge by Andy McFarlane

Photo: Barn in spring by Happyhiker4

We hope everyone had a fun and safe Memorial Weekend! Due to the short week, we only featured a couple of events. Next week is TART's Smart Commute Week. Check out alternative ways to get around town while enjoying free breakfasts and having fun. Speaking of fun, the annual Leland Wine & Food Festival is on June 12. Enjoy local food, wine, and music at the Leland Marina.

Week's Weather

June 2: Mostly cloudy & 64 (72/56)
June 1: Mostly sunny & 66 (85/47)
May 31: Rain & 65 (77/52)
May 30: Mostly sunny & 76 (91/60)
May 29: Mostly sunny & 65 (80/50)
May 28: Mostly sunny & 68 (80/56)
May 27: Mostly sunny & 77 (77/55)

Post your comments about the week's news, observations of the weather or the natural world or events below! You'll also want to check out the Leelanau Calendar and the latest news and features from Leelanau, Traverse City and the surrounding area in our blog! Here's the May 2009 and June 2009 archives, and Leelanau Almanac: Week of May 20 - 26.