 | Leelanau.com Blog
|
Hot topics from the Leelanau Blog: Sleeping Bear Dunes on Good Morning America,
Mario Batali loves Leelanau, Leelanau Wine, Northern Lights | Sugar Loaf | Leelanau Cherries, Sleeping Bear Dunes
Rudy Malmquist was up in Leelanau last weekend on the Empire Bluffs.
This winter is amazing - if you snowshoe, ski or otherwise like to get out in the winter, conditions are amazing!
Jump into his slideshow for more, and also get more Empire Bluffs on Leelanau.com!
Photo: The Bluffs by Rudy Malmquist
Last weekend, Leelanau resident Leda Olmsted came across a rare phenomenon on the Lake Michigan shore at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. From a feature in the Grand Rapids Press:
Sleeping Bear Park Ranger Amie Lipscomb said no weird weather is required to create the ice boulders. The rounded ice forms the same way the rounded and smooth stones that wash up on the beach form. Chunks of ice break off from the large sheets that form over Lake Michigan. Waves tumble and pummel the ice, rounding and smoothing edges, Lipscomb said. The waves then wash the boulders up on shore.
Recent high winds have whipped up strong waves along Lake Michigan.
"Along the shoreline, lots of different ice formations form because of the waves crashing along the beach," Lipscomb said.
Leda also appeared on the Weather Channel!
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.
Ken's Shoreline Ice photo was taken on Saturday - click here for a shot with Ken to see the scale!
Amazing what Lake Michigan can do with a little wind and 12 degrees!
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:
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.
Leelanau celebrates wine, art & love the first weekend of February with the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association's Taste the Passion weekend.
The weekend starts with a special winter benefit for the Glen Arbor Art Association called Art From Michigan's Wine Country. on Friday evening (Feb 1) from 6-8 PM. The event takes place at The Homestead and features an invitational art exhibit, wine from the Leelanau Wine Trail and delectable small plates by Chef Jon Piombo. Proceeds from the evening will benefit three GAAA programs for area children: art scholarships, after school art classes, and the summer migrant children's art program. Participating artists include: Beth Bricker, Wendy Cheney, Celeste Crouch, Don Drabik, Harvey Gordon, Alex Helfers, Angela Saxon, and Rodger Skinner.
Your $20/advance reservation ($25 at the door) ticket includes: one glass of wine, small plates menu and coffee. Call The Homestead at 334-5100, to pre-purchase by January 30 and get more info at www.glenarborart.org or call 231-334-6112
Then enjoy Taste the Passion, a weekend wine tour (February 2 & 3) at 20 tasting rooms on the Leelanau Wine Trail. This annual event is a celebration of wine, chocolate and love. Tickets are just $30, and your ticket allows you to chart your own course, enjoying food and wine pairings at the wineries along the trail. Tickets are limited - click the link to order them today!
Photo credit: Friends at Silver Leaf by explortise - view more in his Taste the Passion slideshow!
Karl Bahle shared a great set of photos from the 50s and 60s on Facebook of snow in Suttons Bay. Click here to see them all on Facebook.
Remember when there was snow all winter? Plus side - the Bay Theatre is open all year now!
It's another year, and another winter that Sugar Loaf is no closer to re-opening.
Will this Leelanau icon ever return and offer scenes like this one from the 1970s on Waffle? Stay up-to-date at the Friends of Sugar Loaf group on Facebook.
Photo credit: NW Cedar MI Leelanau Days Gone By Skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain Resort... by UpNorth Memories - Donald (Don) Harrison
Powered by WordPress :: webdesign by Leelanau.com :: © 1996-2010 Manitou Publishing Co.
