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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

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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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!

Crains Detroit Business has an interesting feature about how an old warehouse at the Grand Traverse Commons could become the hub for our region's local-food movement:

Discussion is percolating about developing the Commons into a regional food hub, with a year-round indoor farmer's market, processing centers and even a restaurant incubator with test kitchens — all housed in a building that used to prepare food for hospital patients and staff.

J.T. "Chip" Hoagland of Cherry Capital Foods in Traverse City is part of an ad-hoc group led by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments, a regional economic planning organization.

"There's a warehouse and bakery building that had lots of coolers that was the centerpiece for food production on campus," Hoagland said. "The basic configuration is there."

One function for the potential food hub: Supplying the Traverse City Area Public Schools with fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Rob Sirrine, an educator with the Michigan State University Extension in Grand Traverse County and a champion of using the Commons as a food hub, said equipment is going to be purchased in the next three months that will process locally produced food and deliver it to the schools by this fall. For now, the processing will happen at Cherry Capital Foods, with a shift to the Commons if funding from a state grant goes through.

Read on for more about plans for the Grand Traverse Regional Market.

"What does this have to do with Leelanau?" you might ask. It's pretty simple - Leelanau is one of the farming engines that's driving our regional local food economy and efforts like this help small farmers get good prices for their food and get that food to consumers!

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.

Here's a few ideas to help make your Thanksgiving holiday a little more local ... and a lot tastier!

It all starts with the turkey. I'm not sure if the folks at Hubbell's Farm or Haymaker Poultry Co. have any left, but I do know that one great place to get a tasty turkey is Biehl's Circle B Turkey Ranch. You can order them at the Merc in Leland and Oryana in Traverse City (and probably elsewhere as well). Don't forget to check the local produce and products at your favorite store - the Merc, Anderson's in Glen Arbor, Cedar City Market, Hanson's in Suttons Bay and Oryana and Burritt's Market in Traverse City all feature a lot of great food that hasn't traveled too far. There's a indoor farmers market at the Grand Traverse Commons every Saturday from 10 AM - 2 PM. If last week is any guide, there will be PLENTY of potatoes, squash and also lots of greens! If anyone has other ideas to localize your table, post them in the comments!

Once you have your bird and some ingredients, you need to think about how you're going to put it all together. Elizabeth Edwards at MyNorth/Traverse Magazine put together a collection of some of their best Thanksgiving recipes.

We asked Lee Lutes, winemaker at Black Star Farms to share some of his thoughts on wine pairings with the items below.

Two tasty appetizers are a Wild Game Sausage on Apple Slices with Cranberry Butter, with which Lee recommends a lighter red like Pinot Noir or Gamay Noir, and with the Wedge of Raclette Served With Spiced Walnuts and Pear Chips, he calls for something delicate maybe a bubbly (may we recommend Black Star Farms' really excellent Bubbly Nouveau when it's bottled) or a Pinot Grigio or a Pinot Blanc. Two tasty side dishes that really in season are Honey Roasted Root Vegetables and Buttermilk Biscuits with Pumpkin Butter. You'll be in great shape with Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Blanc or Auxerrois. For dessert, how about a Plum Almond Tart, with which Lee would pair any of their Sirius dessert wines and also Ice wines.

See more thoughts on how make it a Michigan Thanksgiving on Absolute Michigan.

photo credit: Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash by carianoff

Absolute Michigan has 2 pairs of tickets to give away for the event and we want to make sure everyone who reads Leelanau.com has a chance to enjoy this great event in our backyard. You must be 21 to enter and all you have to do is send your name as you want us to display it in an email to win@absolutemichigan.com. Include anything you want to say about Michigan food, drink or music. We'll draw the winners on Thursday morning!

This Friday, October 12 from 5-10 PM at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons you can enjoy a celebration of the bounty of Michigan at the October Festival at the Commons with Greensky Bluegrass from Porterhouse Productions.

The event features a food truck rally along with wines from Black Star Farms, ciders from Left Foot Charley and 19 great seasonal ales. In addition to full meals, the food trucks will be selling tasting portions and all the libations, food & music is 100% Michigan! Even better, 100% of the alcohol sales support the great work of Bay Area Recycling for Charities.

There's also a Silent Disco with DJ Dominate, glow in the dark LED disc golf, bonfires & heated tents. And speaking of that Michigan music, acts include Lindsey Lou and the Flatbellies, the Joshua Davis Band and Greensky Bluegrass - all Michiganders and all very good. Greensky Bluegrass all hail from Michigan and regularly light up stages across the nation with some of the finest names in bluegrass & music.

Tickets are available online where you can also see a promo video - $20 in advance or $25 day of event. Here's Greensky Bluegrass absolutely tearing it up with Scott Law.

via Leland Chamber of Commerce

The Leland Public Schools in conjunction with MSU Extension and the Leelanau Farmers Markets Association will hold their Annual Indoors Farmers Market on Thursday, October 4th from 9 am to 1pm in the Leland High School Gym.

The farmers market will showcase local fruits and vegetables and other locally made products. This market is open to the public and all products are available for sale. Please stop by to support local farmers and the Leland Public Schools.

For further information contact MSU Extension at 231-256-9888 or msue45@msu.edu.

The annual Harvest Festival at Leelanau State Park will be held this Saturday, September 22nd from 9 AM - 4 PM. It features all kinds of activities for all ages including cider making, a bee keeper display, a blacksmith, pumpkin bowling, crafts vendors, a small farm market and hay rides through the campground.

The South Fox Island Lighthouse preservation group will also be cooking up their world famous pancake breakfast this morning and then brats and hot dogs all afternoon. The event is dependant on weather and other factors and you can call (231) 386-5422 for more information.

photo credit: The Grand Traverse Lighthouse [2/2] by jimflix!

The TC Ticker reports that a fifth-generation of the Carlson family has purchased Fishtown's anchor business, Carlson's Fisheries.

Sources tell The Ticker that Bill Carlson, who has operated the historic fishery in Fishtown since the late 1960s, and his wife, Jennifer, have sold Fishtown's flagship – Carlson's fishery – to Bill’s nephew, Nels Carlson, and his business partner Joe Campo.

The new enterprise will continue to operate out of the iconic fishery shanty. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Fishtown has had continual commercial fishing activity since the second half of the 19th century… and the Carlsons have been an ongoing part of this history in Leland since 1905, when they built a shanty on the north side of the river,” says Amanda Holmes, executive director of the Fishtown Preservation Society (FPS), a nonprofit organization which took over ownership of the historic fishing village in 2006 to preserve its heritage.

Holmes says the sale sets an “optimistic tone” for the future. “We do not want to think about what it would mean if this sale had not gone through, except to say that those who have been involved in Fishtown over the years have had to adjust and adapt – and Fishtown has survived,” Holmes says.

Read on at the Ticker for more including a photo of the Carlsons at the purchase. Photo credit: carlson's fisheres by oldbrushes.

Here's a short video of the crew at Carlson's cleaning a mess of whitefish (fish guts warning!) that includes Bill Carlson and (I'm pretty sure) Nels as the first guy on the left.