This Week in Leelanau: July 2, 2010

Leelanau County 4th of July Extravaganza!

Through a variety of sources including the Leelanau Chamber, Glen Arbor Sun and MichiganFireworks.com, we’ve come up with our Leelanau Fourth of July event listings. Did we miss something? Post a comment letting us know below!

• 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, 3:30 PM at the Glen Lake Yacht Club, Big Glen Lake on July 4th
• Fireworks at Northport on July 4th (10:30 PM)

Photo courtesy Rick Lahmann/Leland Chamber of Commerce Somewhere along the line, I lost track of the Sugar Loaf Saga.

Apparently, there is a credible buyer named “Chuck” who may or may not be working with Liko Smith. Sort it out in the Leelanau Blog’s Sugar Loaf forum (52 comments this week alone).

That photo of 2 guys on a Tandem Downhill was taken by NutsyFagan. When people ask me why I think that Sugar Loaf is more than just a piece of property to be shuffled around like a game piece on a board, I think of photos like this.

The Glen Arbor Sun takes a hard look at gas companies who are acquiring mineral rights for “fracking”. If fracking freaks you out or you don’t know what it is, click over for tips about making sure you don’t come out on the wrong end of a deal! There’s also a great tribute to Ernie Harwell by Jack Layne!

OUR FEATURED SPONSOR…

The Traverse City Wine & Art Festival returns to the Village at Grand Traverse Commons on Saturday, August 21, 2010 from 3-10 PM. It’s a celebration of the wine, food and culture of Michigan’s wine coast, featuring wines from the wineries of the Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula and Traverse City along with a selection of Traverse City and Leelanau restaurants serving food & desserts, music and performance headlined by Larry McCray and May Erlewine & Seth Bernard, and artwork from 3 arts organizations and over 60 regional artists! Learn more at the TCWF Launch Party from 6-7:30 PM on July 16th at InsideOut Gallery. It will feature music, performance, food and wine along with giveaways from sponsors and a deal on tickets to the festival!

On Michigan in Pictures, we featured the toy camera photography of Mark O’Brien and Michigan Fireworks.

This week’s photo is Dream-350 by jakphoto. Check it out in his slideshow.

Want a chance to have YOUR photos featured here? Click the Flickr button above to join our photo group!

The Leelanau Calendar

If you’ve got a Leelanau event, you can add your information (for free) to the Leelanau Calendar. Not only will it be listed in this newsletter every week, but we may do a feature story on your event on Leelanau.com!

FEATURED EVENT
National Cherry Festival – July 3-10, 2010The National Cherry Festival features over 150 events including free air shows over the Bay, colorful parades & marching bands, music shows, sporting events, rides & carnival games on the midway, pie-eating contests and loads of luscious and LOCAL cherries.

Check out the 1964 Pleva’s Float!

Annual Cedar Polka Festival / Thursday – Sunday, July 1 – 4
The annual Cedar Polka Festival runs Thursday through Sunday (July 1-4). 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.

Second Generation Art Show
The Second Generation Art Show opening will be held from 4-8 PM this Friday, July 2nd at the Old Art Building in Leland. The exhibit will remain open from 10-6 on July 3rd, and features the second generation of seven artists tied to Leelanau County.

Leland School Reunion & Alumni Picnic Benefit – July 2
Leland Public School will hold an all-school reunion and benefit picnic on Friday, July 2, 2010 from 6:30 – 9 PM at Fountain Point Resort on Lake Leelanau.

Enjoy the summer sun with friends, family and alumni on the lawn of Fountain Point while listening to the music of Song of the Lakes. Alums of Leland Public School are invited to come on their own or to organize class reunion picnics, as are current students and their families and friends of Leland Public School.

2010 Leelanau Farmer’s Markets are underway in Glen Arbor, Lake Leelanau, Leland, Northport and Suttons Bay. They offer you a chance to get out and connect with farmers and other folks who produce food in Leelanau County. You can also connect with Leelanau Farmer’s Markets on Facebook!

Jul 2 – Northport Community Band/Manitou Music Festival Jul 2 – Art Exhibition: “Views of the Village” (Glen Arbor) Jul 2 – Sister Wilene at Northport’s Music in the Park Jul 2 – Art Exhibition: “Views of the Village” Jul 2 – Paint the Town in Cedar Jul 3 – Cedar’s Polka Festival Parade Jul 4 – Robbyn and Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen Jul 5 – Story Hour with the van Frankenhuzens Jul 7 – Meet “Drew” a Live Australian Parrot! Jul 8 – Emily St. John Mandel at Brilliant Books Jul 8 – Boatloads of Great Lakes Fun! Jul 9 – Into the Woods: Oil Paintings, Assemblages by Lynn Ulhmann Jul 9 – Jeff Tucker and On the Beach at Music in the Park Jul 9 – Robert Wangard Signing *** Jul 11 – Dune Climb Concert/Jeremy Kittel Band/Manitou Music Festival *** Jul 14 – Sister Wilene/Manitou Music Festival Jul 14 – NORTHPORT HOME TOUR Jul 16 – Sky, Land Garden – Paitings by Carol Spaulding Jul 16 – Sour Mash at Northport’s Music in the Park Jul 18 – Still on the Hill/Manitou Music Festival Jul 20 – Cedar River Kayaking Advertise on Leelanau.com – call us at 421-1172!

Support these and other sponsors of Leelanau.com!

Did we mention you could add your events for free? Get busy folks!

Now Playing at the Bay Theater in Suttons Bay: ‘Now Playing: ‘Toy Story 3’ (G). Coming soon: ‘Inception’ (PG-13), ‘Eat, Pray, Love (R), “Girl Who Played With Fire’ (NR) and information on the ‘The Bay Select Film Series 2010/2011’. Bay Theatre Gift Certificates: ‘Say it with a Movie’ gift certificates provide a memorable and enjoyable experience all year ’round. Check the web site for details!

The Weather…
Ken Scott took this shot of Garthe’s black sweet cherries, first of the season. They’re not organic, but these are!

It’s 63 degrees under sunny skies at 8:00 AM at Leelanau Coffee Roasting in Glen Arbor. The record high for a July 2nd is 100 degrees from 1966. We won’t get there today but we won’t get close to the low of 38 from 2001 either! Expect sunny skies with highs near 80 and gusty southwest winds today. More sun on Saturday with highs in the mid 80s. The forecast for Independence day is for partly to mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid 80s and partly sunny on Monday with a chance of showers and 80s again!

Click for the news & weather from last year!