This Week in Leelanau: October 14, 2010

Here’s all the news from this week in Leelanau!

This Week in Leelanau

As promised, we are giving away something cool to a random person on our email list this week as the latest of our “flash giveaways”

That thing is a couples ticket to the annual Toast the Season wine tour on the Leelanau Wine Trail (details below) and that person is James D.

I absolutely guarantee we will keep giving things away, so make sure you stay connected to Leelanau.com!

Fall Color Report: Fall color is excellent! While we might not be fully at peak of this weekend as there’s still green in spots, it could well be the best we get. Aspens are in full yellow and maples are showing a lot of yellow, orange and red.

Westmoreland Shipwreck Discovered

The other day, the Sleeping Bear Dunes blog tipped us off to a story from earlier in the summer that we missed: the discovery of the wreck of the Westmoreland, a vessel that foundered near South Manitou Island in a Lake Michigan winter storm on Dec. 7, 1854. I talked with diver Ross Richardson of Lake Ann about the discovery of the wreck and he told me that it was his intention to leave artifacts at the wreck, because it’s the law and also to give people the experience of diving an “underwater museum.”

Read all about it and see the photos on Leelanau.com.


Black Star Farms invites you to experience a truly unique agricultural destination that features two winery production facilities with adjacent tasting rooms, a distillery, Inn, and equestrian facility. The winery and distillery produce some of the most sought after and awarded Michigan wines and spirits while the luxurious inn is the perfect place to host private special events including weddings, corporate retreats, and family celebrations.Visit any of their three tasting rooms on the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas as well as TASTES of Black Star Farms in the Village at Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City or order online.

Down By The River Side by photoshoparama On Absolute Michigan we featured an amazing time-lapse photography project shot this summer on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Click that link and prepare to be amazed.

Michigan in Pictures, our daily Michigan photo blog, has a spooky photo that highlights Michigan haunted houses, corn mazes and scary attractions plus a whole bunch of Michigan fall color photos that you can see by clicking the photo above!

If you have a Michigan business, you can add your link for free to Michigan’s largest site for Michigan news & links, absolutemichigan.com!

Connect with us!Visit our Facebook Page! Join our photo group on Flickr

For the second week in a row, we turn to Ian Pettman for more fall color, this time from the Pierce Stocking Drive overlooking Glen Lake. You can’t bottle that blue !! Check it out big as can be and in his slideshow.

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

If you’d like to sponsor Leelanau.com and our weekly emails, please contact us at lci@leelanau.com or call 231-421-1172. Leelanau.com is a great way to connect with locals and travelers alike!

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
fall color near northport on the leelanau peninsula Northport Fall Festival & Northport Promise Chicken Dinner

The Northport Chamber of Commerce invites you to visit them this Saturday, October 16th for the annual Northport Fall Festival. Spend the day in the village enjoying the autumn colors, great shopping and crisp fall air with special activities including horse drawn rides. On Sunday from noon to 3 PM at Northport Public School, Rev. Marshall Collins and his wife Mary will prepare a traditional Southern style chicken dinner to benefit Northport Promise. More from Leelanau.com!

Run FOR Ethiopia – Saturday, October 16 < br />On the Ground hosts the Run FOR Ethiopia, a special evening of running, pasta and film on Saturday, October 16 at 5 PM at Food for Thought just south of Empire. You can choose between a 5k, 10k, or 1 mile fun run. Following the races, participants and their families can hang out on the farm and enjoy a post-race pasta dinner and the movie Black Gold. Funds raised will support an effort to build schools in Ethiopia. Click above to register and click here to read more and see the Black Gold Trailer.

Martha Graham’s American Document ~ October 23
ISLAND (Institute for Sustainable Living, Art, and Design) will present a new adaptation of Martha Graham’s American Document at the City Opera House in Traverse City on Saturday, October 23 at 8:00 pm. It will include excerpts from Michigan-born and Pulitzer-prize winning author, Bruce Catton’s Waiting for the Morning Train, a novel that describes growing up in northern Michigan. Much more information at the link above – tickets online at City Opera House or by calling 231- 941-8082.

Toast the Season Wine Tour
Grab that special someone or gather some friends for a mini-vacation for the annual Toast the Season wine tour. They offer two weekend options, November 6 and 7 or November 13 and 14, that make it easier to enjoy this tour featuring food & wine pairings at 18 Leelanau Peninsula wineries with holiday ornament and a gift bag featuring food & drink from the members of Sleeping Bear Gourmet! There’s lodging packages by area B&Bs, resorts and hotels too. Get tickets and more details about the event by visiting www.lpwines.com.

2010 Leelanau Farmer’s Markets continue in Northport on Friday mornings and in Empire and Suttons Bay on Saturday mornings with lots of great produce and products available. Apples anyone? See the complete list on their website and check them out on Facebook

Oct 14 – Pat Willard:Photographer
Oct 15 – Autumn Dunes Eco-Photo Tour Weekend
Oct 16 – Polka Fest
Oct 18 – Silversmithing Class
Oct 22 – Suttons Bay Art Walk
Oct 23 – Free Red Cross Babysitting Class
Oct 23 – Leland Fall Frenzy
Oct 26 – Public Session-Recycling and the Nov. 2 ballot question!
Oct 27 – Dancing in the Vines Alzheimer’s Charity Event
Oct 28 – An Evening With Sutton Foster
Oct 29 – Downtown Halloween Walk
Oct 29 – Harvest Wine Tour Weekend
Nov 5 – Vertical Tasting
Nov 5 – SwingShift and the Stars Dance-Off for Charity
Nov 6 – A Christmas Carol Ballet (and Nov 7)
Nov 6 – The Iceman Cometh
Nov 7 – Last Comic Standing

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: ‘Get Low’ (PG-13) ends tonight. Starting Friday, October 15th is The Social Network (PG-13). Coming soon: ‘Secretariat’ (PG), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and the second Bay Film Series presentation, ‘Alamar’ (NR). The Bay Film Series 2010/2011: Another year of great world cinema available right here in Suttons Bay, MI is now underway! The schedule for the film series has now been posted on the website. Don’t forget Community Movie Night at The Bay sponsored by Northern Lakes Community Mental Health on Wed Oct 27 @ 6:30 pm. Mid-Week Specials are back!! Tuesdays – Free Popcorn (one medium corn with ticket purchase), Wednesdays – $5.50 for all seats (Specials are not valid for special events or film series). 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

standing under a tree in autumnTrish says this is her favorite thing to do!

It’s 60 degrees under partly sunny skies at 1:30 PM at Leelanau Coffee Roasting in Glen Arbor. The record high for October 14th was 85 degrees in 1975 with the record low of 25 set in 1901. The forecast for today calls for mostly sunny skies with afternoon clouds, a high around 60 and a good chance of showers overnight. More sun for Friday with a high around 60 and the weekend looks excellent: sunny skies and mid 60s on Saturday and mostly sunny Sunday with a high of 60.

Click for the news & weather from last year!

Leelanau Coffee Roasting Co - We're Roasting Up Here!