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Here's a pre-1970 photo of the harbor - quite a change from today!

Check out Don's photo of the Leland Harbor bigger!

The Bluebird in Leland is hosting the second annual Fishtown Benefit Brunch this Sunday, October 28th. Tickets are $30/person ($10 for children 12 and under), and include a buffet brunch and your choice of beverage plus door prizes, music and fun.

Proceeds support the Fishtown Preservation Society and their vital mission to preserve and protect Fishtown. Tickets can be purchased at: The Fishtown Preservation Society Office (next to the Leland Library), The Bluebird, Reflections in Fishtown, Tampico in Leland and Case-Daniels & Rae in Suttons Bay. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.fishtownmi.org.

After the ticket is purchased, call the Bluebird at 231-256-9081 to reserve your spot between 10:00am and 2:00pm. This is a popular brunch and seating is limited, so reserve your place early!

Photo credit: Leland MI 1950s Fishtown Docks and Commercial Fish Tug and Nets before major Tourism by UpNorth Memories - Donald (Don) Harrison

More from Fishtown on Leelanau.com.

The annual Leland Heritage Celebration takes place September 15th, 2012. 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

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!" (more...)

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.

Check out the favorite Leelanau spots of chef Mario Batali courtesy Pure Michigan.

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 9, 2012) 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 this year's participating wineries and food vendors!

Wineries
Acoustic Draft Mead
Bel Lago
Black Star Farms
Bower's Harbor
Chateau Chantal
Chateau Fontaine
Ciccone
Circa Estate
Good Harbor
Good Neighbor Organic Vineyard
Peninsula Cellars
Raftshol Vineyards
Brengman Brothers
Silver Leaf
Verterra
Willow

Local Beer: Shorts Brewing

Food Vendors
The Bluebird
Corky's (the Vineyard Inn)
The Cove
Grocer's Daughter Chocolates
Leelanau Cheese
Martha's Leelanau Table
Pleva's
The Red Heads
Stone House Bread
Village Cheese Shop
Village Inn

View Photos from the Leland Wine & Food Festival

The 2012 Poster is titled "Remembering the Cottonwood" and was painted by Greg Sobran. Click for details and to purchase.  For more information on Leelanau County's wineries, visit the Leelanau Peninsula Vintner's Association site at LPWines.com.

Via the Leland Chamber of Commerce...

Here's a nice video feature by UpNorthLive.com on the history of the village of Leland entitled The Story of Leland. It begins:

In its beginnings, Leland, Michigan was one of the oldest and largest Ottawa villages on the Leelanau Peninsula. The site where the Leland River meets Lake Michigan was a natural spot for white settlers from Europe to migrate during the 1-30s. Antoine Manseau and his son settled on the land, building a dam and a sawmill along the river. The area was completely forested with hardwoods, maple, beech, cedar and pine. Using those ripe and previously untouched hardwoods, construction of the dam raised the water levels and Lake Leelanau was created. The new body of water allowed for boats to come in and out carrying lumber and other supplies and it wasn't long before other industry moved into the area, including the Leland Lake Superior Iron Works and commercial fishing.

The photo is the kilns for the Lake Superior Iron Works. Watch the whole video below!

If you're in Fishtown in Leland this summer, keep an eye peeled for the resident otters. Zoe Allen-Wickler shot this great video of a couple of otters at play.

Otters in Fishtown! from Fishtown Preservation on Vimeo.

This photo shows Bill Carlson tending the smoker in Fishtown, sometime in the 1970s. It was taken by Paul Serratoni, and the funny thing is that it's not all that different today.

One of the reasons for that is the work of the Fishtown Preservation Society. You can help support their work through the Benefit Brunch at the Bluebird next Sunday (October 23) from 10 AM - 2 PM.

For $30/person, you can enjoy a buffet brunch with your choice of mimosa / bloody mary / wine, plus door prizes, music and fun – and all while supporting Fishtown preservation efforts! Click the link above for more information and ticket locations or to purchase your tickets online.

Here's something that I stumbled upon on my way to find something else. This fascinating video produced for the Fishtown Preservation Society takes you on a 3D through, around and uder the shanties in Fishtown and is pretty darned cool! It was produced by Midwestern Consulting using a high-definition laser scanner and you can read all about the process in Scanning a Fishy Business.