February 20, 2023 Northern Express

The caffeine-fueled growth of Mundos Roasting & Co.

+ Michigan’s only winter triathlon

+ Libraries trying to get “back to normal”

+ Crooked Tree and Blissfest team up for music series

Remember the AuSable A couple of apropos slogans and audience “takeaways” resulting from last fall’s Line 5 hearing in St. Ignace, scheduled and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: “Enbridge’s environmental exploitation continues to increase corporate profitability.”

“The extreme risks of Line 5 far exceed the perceived benefits.”

As Michiganders, we must remember Line 5 also crosses the AuSable River, our Blue Ribbon Trout Stream that attracts fisherpersons from all over the world.

James C.

Editor: Jillian Manning

Finance Manager: Libby Shutler

Manager: Roger Racine

: Lisa Gillespie, Kaitlyn Nance, Michele Young, Todd

top ten

Petoskey Area, Here We Come!

There’s so much happening in the Petoskey corner of the Mitten this weekend that we couldn’t choose just one event to share. First up, Harbor Springs Area Restaurant Week kicks off Friday, Feb. 24, with 12 restaurants from Harbor Springs to Boyne City to Petoskey participating. The 10-day event has menu offerings that range from $25 to $60 for multi-course, prixfixe meals…some of which come with wine pairings. Between meals, you’ll have your pick of activities, whether you want to head to Maple Moon Sugarbush & Winery for their annual Wineshoeing celebration ($30 for a guided snowshoe tour plus a bowl of hot chili and two glasses of wine); brave the cold with the Waterfront Field of Dreams Polar Plunge in Lake Charlevoix (the $25 registration fee goes toward building a local baseball/softball field); or indulge in some fish-forward family fun with Boyne City’s Smeltania, featuring food, games, and history all day on Feb. 25. Make your plans at petoskeyarea.com/calendar-events.

The Great Indoor Folk Festival

We love when something is tailor-made for us, so it’s no wonder that Bad Dog Deli is our happy place. While the Old Mission Peninsula hotspot has a rotating menu of daily sandwich and wrap specials, most folks opt to build their own sandwich. Start with your favorite bread—we love the sourdough best—before topping it with Boar’s Head meats (your choice of two), cheese, spreads, and toppings as simple as lettuce and tomato or as upscale as roasted bell peppers and artichokes. We recommend getting the sandwich hot for a buttery, crispy exterior that warms you up on a winter afternoon. Sandwiches are generous in size and in quality of ingredients, and if you opt to add a bag of chips or a brownie, you’re bound to have delicious leftovers for a midnight snack. Create your perfect sammie at 14091 Center Rd. in Traverse City. tcpeninsulagrill.com/bdd, (231) 223-9364

6 Parallel 45’s Reading Series

Earlier this month, Traverse City’s Parallel 45 Theatre announced that they were canceling their spring and summer 2023 activities, sharing in a letter on their website, “While we were able to keep our doors open - and our artists and administrators employed - through a global pandemic, it proved to be a tremendous strain on the organization and revealed the need to reevaluate our operating model.” That means one of the few times to catch them this year is at their winter Reading Series, held in the brand-new Alluvion entertainment space at Commongrounds Cooperative in TC. Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6pm, P45 will tackle The Children, a play that focuses on “two retired nuclear scientists resid[ing] in an isolated cottage by the sea as the world around them crumbles.” Marie Antoinette, a retelling of the famous queen’s life, follows on March 9, with Smokefall, a family drama with splashes of magical realism, wrapping up the season on March 22. Learn more and get tickets at parallel45.org/reading-series-2023.

Take Precautions, Not Chances

The Coast Guard has recently issued several warnings about ice safety for northern Michigan residents and visitors. Due to this year’s warm and unpredictable winter, ice conditions are not as stable and thick as they usually are in February—in fact, in some areas, we are seeing historically low ice cover—and the dangers are mounting. Earlier this month, the Coast Guard rescued 14 people stranded on an ice floe south of us in Sebewaing. To the north, an ice climber fell at Pictured Rocks and remains missing even after an extensive search. The Coast Guard is recommending that those who are out on ice this winter continually monitor ice conditions, dress for water temperatures, carry a VHF-FM radio or personal locator beacon, and always tell someone on shore about your plans. Wearing bright colors and keeping an ice awl or screwdriver handy can also be vital in the event of an accident on the ice. Be safe out there.

A Road Trip Through America’s HAUNTED RACIAL PAST

T he upcoming National Writers

Series author event features awardwinning author ALVIN HALL. He will discuss his new book, Driving the Green Book and the powerful testimony he collected from the last living witnesses who traveled during the Jim Crow era.

Join NWS at the City Opera House on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. (+ livestream option) for a conversation with Hall and guest host Jerome Vaughn, news director of WDET!

For tickets, visit NationalWritersSeries.org

Stuff We Love: A Commitment to Community

If you ever think a single person or a single business can’t make a difference in their community, think again. Ward and Eis Gallery of Petoskey has been giving back to northern Michigan nonprofits for almost 40 years, and to date they have donated more than half a million dollars to support organizations focused on food security, families, seniors, healthcare, and more. This year, the gallery—led by Jennifer Eis after the passing of partner Don Ward— gifted $28,000 to local nonprofits, which equates to 3 percent of the gallery’s annual sales, including 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the Magpie Papers, co-authored by Ward and Eis. This year’s recipients include The Manna Food Project, Friendship Centers of Emmet County, The Nehemiah Project, Petoskey Club, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, and Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM). According to a press release from WRCNM, Eis says of the giving project: “Sometimes if you just stay in one place and keep doing what you do, you can make a really big difference.”

bottoms up Les Cheneaux Distillers’ Island Hopper IPA

When it comes to tasting new beers, we like to keep our options open. At Bridge Street Tap Room in Charlevoix, those options feel almost endless thanks to a whopping 32 taps all featuring Michigan craft beer and hard cider. Our go-to, though, is the Island Hopper IPA via Les Cheneaux Distillers. Brought under the bridge—literally—from Cedarville, this American Double IPA is dry-hopped during fermentation for a punchy, bitter kick to complement a double dose of caramel malt. The result is a heady, golden-hued ale with a balanced palette and smooth finish. (But take note of the increased ABV at 8.7 percent!). Pair one with the soy-spiked Sekushi Tuna from Bridge Street’s menu, and we bet it’ll be the best choice you make all day. Try Island Hopper IPA in a 9-ounce snifter for $6, or enjoy one in a tasting flight at Bridge Street Tap Room in Charlevoix (202 Bridge Street). bridgestreettaproom.com, (231) 437-3466

WHERE ARE THEY?

spectator

By Stephen Tuttle

Where have all the employees gone?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS), the unemployment rate in the U.S. is now down to 3.4 percent, with about 5.7 million people unemployed. Michigan’s rate is 4.3 percent with 208,000 unemployed. Yet there are nearly 11 million job openings across the country in various sectors. Some of those job openings are already an issue.

For example, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, we have a shortage of doctors that could grow to nearly 139,000 in just the next decade. Most of that shortage involves family practice medicine, the folks we

This profession’s declining numbers might be easier to understand than some. The pandemic became an educational nightmare of fluctuating rules and mandates. Learning remotely simply did not work for many students or teachers. More than 1,300 K-12 teachers died from COVID-19, per Education Week.

Perhaps just as bad, the overt political partisanship of school boards added to teachers’ justifiable concerns. Some parts of our history have to be concealed lest feelings be hurt and some parts of modern reality ignored lest someone be offended. In Florida, for example, around a million books in classrooms have been removed or covered, awaiting review

Doctors, teachers, pilots, cops, and bus drivers, not to mention truckers, service industry employees, automobile mechanics, and heavy equipment operators…so many shortages in so many fields. Where did they all go?

typically use as our primary care physicians. The shortage of both medical doctors (MD) and physician assistants (PA) is most acute in rural areas and is only getting worse.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has studied what are called health professional shortage areas (HPSA)—defined by the population to provider ratio, percentage of population below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, and distance traveled outside the HPSA to find professional healthcare—and found 84 million Americans already live in these areas. It would require the addition of 14,000 new primary care providers to resolve that issue, including 1,000 here in Michigan where we have 269 HPSA.

Part of the problem is attrition; doctors are retiring or leaving the profession (for reasons often related to the pandemic). But medical school enrollments were down more than 11 percent this year from last, adding to future shortages in the profession.

Just as troubling, according to the USBLS, we’ll also be facing a shortage of 100,000 registered nurses by the year 2030. And there aren’t even enough teachers to help steer promising students to med school.

According to the Government Accounting Office (GAO), there were 233,000 fewer teachers in 2022 than there were in 2019, a decline of just more than 7 percent. The problem is widespread, with 39 states reporting critical or nearly critical teacher shortages and with far more leaving than starting the profession according to data compiled by the State Education Department Agencies and Associations.

And in what is an alarming trend, the U.S. Department of Education reports the number of students enrolled in education programs hoping to become teachers has declined by half in just the last decade. States have been forced to lower the standards required to qualify for a teaching certificate, including offering parttime positions to some who don’t even have a college degree of any kind.

to determine if they are appropriate. It seems most, if not all, books mentioning racism or the LGBTQ+ community could be banned.

The classroom teacher shortage has forced increases in class sizes and the outright cancellation of some elective courses. That assumes the students have a way to get to school, because there is also a severe shortage of school bus drivers. Two-thirds of Michigan public school districts report bus driver shortages despite hiring bonuses and other incentives. Some routes have now been doubled or been canceled.

We are also experiencing shortages in law enforcement personnel at virtually every level, and it keeps getting worse. The Police Executive Research Forum reports enrollees at police academies and other training programs decreased by nearly 4 percent two years ago and by another 4 percent last year.

Law enforcement continues to be under increased scrutiny, complicating an already dangerous and difficult job. Poor pay, violent interactions with civilians, and less support from both politicians and the public have made law enforcement jobs less respected and less attractive to prospective hires.

We also have growing shortages of commercial airline pilots, though according to management consultants Oliver Wyman, who keep track of such things, that shortage (now put at about 20,000) is easing somewhat. Unfortunately, the shortage of qualified airplane mechanics, which could reach 18,000 this year, is growing.

So, the airlines have had to reduce flights and even cancel some destinations altogether. The situation isn’t likely to improve despite significant wage increases and other incentives for pilots.

Doctors, teachers, pilots, cops, and bus drivers, not to mention truckers, service industry employees, automobile mechanics, and heavy equipment operators…so many shortages in so many fields. Where did they all go?

PARENTS AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

guest opinion

by Tom Gutowski

Conflict between parents and public schools isn’t new. Over the years, parents have objected to things like compulsory education laws, the teaching of evolution, the existence of school-led prayers, the elimination of schoolled prayers, the use of corporal punishment, the elimination of corporal punishment, mandatory vaccination, and of course school desegregation, which opponents called communism.

Now, the relationship between parents and public schools is heating up again. The issues this time are mostly derived from the culture

and the children of gay and trans parents have as much right to be in school, and to be made welcome, as anyone else.

Being made welcome means more than just being let in the door. It means not having your race, your history, your sexual orientation, or even your family structure demonized or erased. No parent has the right to force any other parent’s child to live in the shadows or to become a target for bullying.

And while it’s wrong to tell white children that they should feel guilty for the misdeeds of their

Educating children doesn’t mean filling empty heads with carefully-selected facts and pre-approved opinions. It means providing students with a safe place for learning, giving them an honest, factual introduction to the wider world, and teaching them to think critically.

wars: mask mandates, vaccinations (again), teaching about racial issues, sex education, and anything related to the LGBTQ+ community. Not surprisingly, most objections are coming from the political right.

The protestors’ mantra is “parents’ rights,” the idea that parents know best what their children should learn, whether they should wear masks, and so forth, and that no school board has a right to overrule them.

The response from the left hasn’t always been articulate. Glenn Youngkin won the 2021 governor’s race in Virginia partly because his Democratic rival, Terry McAuliffe, famously said “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” To some, that sounded like an assertion that parents have no rights at all vis-à-vis the schools, which isn’t true. But the “parents’ rights” position is equally exaggerated; parents’ rights aren’t absolute. For starters, it’s literally impossible to honor every wish of every parent because parents often disagree with each other as well as with school administrators. Compromise is unavoidable in an inclusive system.

From its inception, one of the purposes of the public school movement has been to knit together students from various ethnic groups and social classes into one community. This idea gained additional prominence in the decades before World War I when America took in tens of millions of immigrants, many from Eastern and Southern Europe. And in 1954, after the Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawed the segregation of public schools, the purview of inclusive public education was expanded again to include people of color.

One method for creating a unifying effect in a school system is to mix students together so they get to know and respect one another and form friendships across cultural lines. Attempts to exclude children from the public schools based on their ethnic heritage or the color of their skin would run counter to one of the basic purposes of public education—not to mention be illegal and just plain wrong. The same holds true for the LGBTQ+ community. Gay and trans kids

ancestors, it’s equally wrong to whitewash or ignore the history of Black and indigenous people. Their history—the full story, not just the history of oppression—needs to be taught, and taught honestly, in public schools. And it should be mainstreamed, not relegated to the status of an elective. Teaching all students about each other’s history is another way public schools can foster mutual respect and understanding.

This inclusive focus on the entirety of the school population is also a consideration with regard to health-related issues. Obviously, parents are free to disagree with school policy on masks and vaccines; no one claims school administrators or Board of Health members are infallible, or that they get every decision right. But an objection that doesn’t take into account the effect of a parent’s preference or a student’s actions on the health of the general school population is a non-starter.

Lastly, there’s the matter of making sense, being specific, and being grounded in reality. Those claiming that masks and vaccines don’t work are asking school boards to ignore the scientific evidence to the contrary. Someone who thinks school restrooms have litter boxes for kids who identify as “furries” will not be taken seriously. And the flap over Critical Race Theory doesn’t rate much higher. Those seeking to ban it often erroneously define it as nearly any mention of any aspect of current or past race relations that might be offensive or embarrassing to any white person.

Educating children doesn’t mean filling empty heads with carefully-selected facts and preapproved opinions. It means providing students with a safe place for learning, giving them an honest, factual introduction to the wider world, and teaching them to think critically. If instead we provide students with a sanitized version of reality along with a hefty dose of intolerance dressed up as moral righteousness, we’ll have short changed an entire generation.

Tom Gutowski earned a PhD in history from the University of Chicago before entering the insurance industry, from which he retired.

If you’re tempted to fall for the marketing and take your mom, grandma, or bestie to 80 for Brady thinking that you’ll have a great time, let me try to run interference and encourage you to call an audible for something else.

While it’s clear that 80 for Brady was created in good faith, that’s entirely what makes it so offensive; not not even the combined star power of Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, Rita Moreno, and Jane Fonda as a girl gang can save a plot so flimsy and thin it might only have one side.

For pigskin fans hoping they’ll enjoy the movie as followers of superstar quarterback and chronic-retiree Tom Brady, even an off schedule pre-season game will have more inherent NFL drama, despite being produced by the film’s namesake. The peewee plot could be held in a thimble and seems more suited to a movie of the week than the big screen.

Here’s the gist: Four elderly but youngat-heart friends become unlikely New England Patriots fans who will do anything it takes to get tickets to the Super Bowl, where they hope to cheer on their favorite player. Along the way, anything can go wrong (and does!).

With talents the likes of these remarkable actresses, it’s difficult to believe the characters were given so little to work with and finally reduced to four silly shells: the cancer survivor worried about the end; the lonely widow trying to pick up her life; the fading beauty and serial dater; and the doting housewife who wakes up one day and realizes she’s spent her whole life serving an ungrateful man.

by Joseph Beyer

There are other men besides Tom Brady in the film’s story along the way (you’ll recognize them by their old man ways and their cardigan sweaters), but they don’t add much to the story except running Hot Wingz contests and being lonely at puzzles. The only flash of promising creativity in director Kyle Marvin’s work is an interstitial series of magic-realism dream sequences featuring Brady himself speaking to the lead character in Tomlin.

What’s so remarkable about the juvenile screenplay written by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins (of Booksmart fame), is not that is seems to follow every predictable Syd Field rule in the playbook but that the film is actually based on a true story—which, when revealed in the end credits, seemed infinitely more interesting that the 1-hour-48-minute Bran-Flakes fiasco I just sat through.

The film has a singular level of complexity and no shame using every granny-pack joke in the AARP arsenal (including cougar romance in a broom closet and mistaking sleeping pills for cholesterol medication).

On a Friday night screening with about 30 other audience members, the PG-13 film elicited not one measurable crowd laugh or response except, in the end, a few groans. For a comedy that promised to surprise and delight, I’m still wondering … how did they go wrong?

Instead of the mastery of The Golden Girls where hilarity, pathos, and ensemble work created vivid inner lives for characters that could touch anyone, 80 for Brady’s most unsportsmanlike conduct is not trusting us to love the characters on their own for who they are, no matter their age.

Wait, What?

A couple in Etobicoke, Toronto, left on an extended business trip in January 2022, CTV News reported. When they returned home months later, they were stunned to realize that their house had been sold and the new owners had moved in. Police said a man and woman impersonated the owners, hired a real estate agent and listed the property using fake identification. Police are still looking for the imposters.

Size Matters

Momo the lar gibbon, who lives at the Kujukushima Zoo and Botanical Garden Mori Kirara in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, delivered a baby in February 2021, which surprised zookeepers, since Momo lived in her own enclosure with no males around. She was very protective of the offspring, United Press International reported, so it wasn't until two years later that handlers were able to collect DNA from the youngster to determine who the father was. As it turned out, a 34-year-old agile gibbon, Itou, was the baby daddy. Zookeepers found that a partition between Momo's exhibit and Itou's off-display area had a perforated board with holes about 9mm in diameter, and they believe the two were able to mate through one of those holes. The perforated board was replaced with a steel plate, but Momo and Itou will be introduced properly to each other so that they may live as a family.

That Rule Doesn't Apply to Me

On Jan. 16, Brazilian attorney Leandro Mathias de Novaes delivered his mother to the Laboratoria Cura in Sao Paolo, where she was scheduled for an MRI. Before they both entered the MRI room, the New York Post reported, they were asked to remove any metal objects from their persons and signed a form detailing the protocols, but Novaes opted to not remove, or disclose, his concealed weapon. When the MRI's magnetic field yanked the pistol from his waistband, it fired and struck him in the stomach; he was hospitalized for three weeks after the incident but died on Feb. 6.

Clothing Optional

Trevyn Wayne Hill, 21, of Las Vegas, let it all hang out on Jan. 28 when he approached another guest in a stairwell at the Des Moines (Iowa) Downtown Marriott, KCCI-TV reported. Court documents said Hill was naked and brandishing a toilet plunger when he yelled, "I'm going to (expletive) get you" while chasing the other person. Hill cruised around the hotel in his birthday suit, destroying a sprinkler system and pulling several fire alarms before finally being subdued by firefighters. Hill pleaded not guilty to assault, first-degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

Least Competent Criminal

Early on the morning of Feb. 5, 20-yearold Lantz Kurtz broke into a gas station in Palm Coast, Florida, and stole multiple items. He exited via the front door, apparently unaware that he'd left a big clue behind: his debit card, Fox35-TV reported.

Officers responding to the alarm found the card and tracked down Kurtz, who told them he had intended to come back to the store and pay for the items. But Sheriff Rick Staly wasn't having it: "Leaving a debit card behind does not absolve you from theft or committing a burglary," he said.

CLASSIFIEDS

Crime Spree

Robert Powers, 37, managed to terrorize multiple citizens of Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 6, WTAJ-TV reported. He allegedly broke into four different homes, telling one woman as he covered her mouth, "I'm Batman." At the next home, he choked a man, went through his pockets and held him hostage with a pocketknife. Next, he turned the man's gas stove on and forced him into his truck, heading across town at speeds of more than 100 mph before crashing into a Jeep. Powers then kicked open the door of a nearby home and repeatedly asked, "Why'd you do this, mom?" as he walked through the residence. Finally, at the last crime scene, police were able to subdue Powers, who admitted he may have ingested meth or bath salts.

Great Art!

Marcelo "B-boy" De Souza Ribeiro of Sao Paolo, Brazil, is known as the most modified man in the world, with 1,500 tattoos covering his skin and now, a new transformation: a "devil hand." The Daily Star reported that Ribeiro did a lot of research before undergoing the procedure, which split his hand between the middle and ring fingers. "I began to see the possibility of making an opening ... through the middle where you can have opening and closing movements and a firmer folding of the hand," he said. Over the years, he's spent about $35,000 on his modifications, which also include a split tongue. Ribeiro said he thinks of his body as an "art exhibition."

Bright Idea

Jose Ruben Nava, former director of the zoo in Chilpancingo, Mexico, is under fire after officials learned that he slaughtered four pygmy goats to serve at the zoo's yearend dinner, MSN reported. Fernando Ruiz Gutierrez, director of wildlife for the state's environment department, said serving the goat meat "put the health of the people who ate them at risk because these animals were not fit for human consumption." Nava is also accused of trading a zebra for tools. He was let go from his position in January after the death of a deer at the zoo.

Irony

A 61-year-old butcher working at the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse in Hong Kong died at the hands -- er, hooves -- of a pig he was trying to slaughter on Jan. 20, CNN reported. The unnamed man was knocked to the ground by the struggling pig, which had revived after a shot from a stun gun, and suffered a wound from a meat cleaver. Strangely, police said, the man's wounds were to his hand and foot; a cause of death had not been released. The Labour Department extended its "deepest sympathy to his family."

80 for Brady

Downtown Sound

Crooked Tree Arts Center and Blissfest Music Organization team up for an eclectic slate of performers

By Ross Boissoneau

The sounds of Americana, blues, sweet vocal harmonies, Afro-Cuban jazz—they’re all part of the Downtown Sound Performing Arts Series at Crooked Tree Arts Center (CTAC) in Petoskey. From touring artists to Mitten Smitten performers—musicians who call the Mitten State home, many of them from our very own neck of the woods—the winter/spring concert series spans genres and geography.

Megan DeWindt, the president of CTAC, says the shows reflect the variety and vitality of both the music scene in general and the audiences’ appreciation for it. Plus, “We focus on Michigan-based [artists],” she adds.

The series is a collaborative effort between CTAC and Blissfest Music Organization, the latter best known for its annual summer music festival. Some of the shows are booked by and for Crooked Tree, others by Blissfest, and a third group that are a marriage of the two. “We’ve always worked well together. We rented space [at Crooked Tree]. This is the first year we did a copresentation,” says Caroline Barlow, artistic director for Blissfest.

The series reflects a “stronger together” motto, with the two organizations crosspromoting all the shows. “My feeling is that if it’s going on in our theater, we should be promoting it,” says DeWindt, regardless of whether it’s an event with the Little Traverse Theater, Blissfest shows, or performances managed by Crooked Tree.

New Performers, Audiences, and Vibes

Among the shows that have been wellreceived thus far are a solo show by Brian Vander Ark, frontman for The Verve Pipe, and one by Earth Radio, a Grand Rapidsbased band that leans toward what Justin Avdek, the band’s bassist, calls progressive neo-soul.

“The crowd loved Brian Vander Ark. It was a packed house. He brought in an audience that wasn’t Crooked Tree or Blissfest,” says Barlow.

DeWindt says the cozy facility, which seats 200, makes for an intimate show. And its location in the middle of downtown Petoskey, near a bevy of restaurants and bars, makes it both easy to get to and fun. “It creates an evening vibe,” she says.

“This has been such an exciting season,” she continues. “We’ve seen a lot of new faces.” That includes both audiences and performers, such as Cut Time Simfonica and the Irish band Steel City Rovers. As we go to press, CTAC and Blissfest are preparing to welcome the socially-conscious songs of Crys Matthews.

Barlow is hopeful the collaborative effort between the nonprofits continues. She says not only do the two organizations work well together, she believes they can add to one another’s audience. She says she hopes to expand the reach to other rootsbased music, such as Rev. Robert B. Jones and Matt Watroba, who she saw at a recent Folk Alliance conference. “I’d like to dig

more into the Detroit music scene. There’s such a rich history of music there that I feel we’re lacking.”

One challenge both DeWindt and Barlow acknowledge is that the pandemic changed everything. With venues shuttered, audiences found new means of entertainment, including enjoying streaming shows and performances from the comfort of their own home.

“At the Folk Alliance, we were told the couch has a strong magnetic pull,” says Barlow. The decision to attend a show is also coming a lot later for those prospective audiences. “With ticket sales, people are buying late,” she adds.

“Most [sales] are at the door,” agrees DeWindt. “We went from nine [tickets sold] to 80 in a matter of days. It’s what we have to accept.” Throw in the vagaries of weather in the winter, and hosting performances is a dicier proposition than it used to be.

DeWindt says the shifts in population due to COVID have also impacted their audiences, but in a good way this time. “As we all know, our population increased. With remote work, people are where they love to be, not where they have to be. So there are definitely new faces.”

Artists often find the audiences to be even more enthusiastic than they were previously, and that energy is reflected back and forth between the two. “Consumers are looking for more. They want to be enlightened and entertained,” says DeWindt.

Upbeat, Happy, and Danceable Beats

There are still more shows yet to come, before summer happens and audience members turn their focus to outdoor activities. Among the upcoming is Tumbao Bravo, a Latin jazz group from the Detroit area, performing March 18. Flutist and saxophonist Paul Vornhagen leads the sextet. Vornhagen says after playing at CTAC previously he’s excited to return. “I had my quartet there a few years ago,” he notes. “The audience really enjoyed it. I expect this will be very much the same.”

This time he’s bringing the sounds of Afro-Cuban rhythms. “We’re bringing the sounds of a warmer climate,” he says with a laugh. “It was my vision from the beginning to have those Afro-Cuban rhythms— mambos, cha chas, rumbas, boleros. Then I began writing original jazz over those rhythms.”

The result is a program that typically consists of original compositions with classics by the likes of Mongo Santamaria. “It’s been a surprise how well it’s been received,” Vornhagen says. Though when he describes it, perhaps it shouldn’t be. “The music is upbeat, happy, danceable, polyrhythmic. It’s a marriage of cultures.”

Also upcoming are Gina Chavez with the Crane Wives duo March 4 and Annie Capps and a Badass Band of Women with Keynote Sisters March 10.

For details on all the shows, go to CrookedTree. org/DowntownSound

Brian Vander Ark, lead singer and principal songwriter of The Verve Pipe.

The Caffeine-Fueled Growth of Mundos Roasting & Co.

By Greg Tasker

When Mundos Roasting celebrated its five-year anniversary with free coffee pour -overs earlier this year, the family-founded enterprise had plenty of reasons to celebrate.

From its humble beginnings on Boon Street in Traverse City, Mundos Roasting has expanded to include three Traverse City locations and another in Suttons Bay. The newest Traverse City store includes the company’s new headquarters and roastery. That’s a lot of growth for a new coffee roaster in a city already saturated with a plethora of coffee choices and whose Traverse City venues are outside the tourist-centric downtown.

But let’s pause for a moment and think about that celebratory pour. Mundos didn’t just offer customers a grab-and-go cup of coffee. The appreciation was more intentional: a pourover coffee, one requiring a customer to slow down and wait a few minutes before sipping.

That’s the mantra—and, perhaps, the success—behind Mundos Roasting.

“We started out with our focus on slowing things down, doing things with quality,” says Adam Clark, who is the son of founder Dan Clark and part of the family team. “We wanted a slow coffee bar. It’s all about taking a little more time to make coffee, taking more time to enjoy it, and taking it easy.”

That’s another family motto: Take it easy. “It’s something to say to people, ‘Take it easy,’” says Adam, who, at 21, is the company’s vice president. “It’s kind of like saying, ‘Have a good day.’”

An Idea Brews

Formerly in the concrete business, Dan Clark had long entertained the prospect of owning a coffee shop and roasting his own coffee…ever since he was 15, in fact.

“He had a cup of coffee one day that was exceptional,” Adam recalls. “He didn’t know coffee could taste so good. It got him hooked. He wanted to know, ‘How can I reproduce this?’ He bought a roaster and started roasting coffee in a garage.”

Life, of course, got in the way. Dan and his wife, Melissa, moved to Traverse City from Tennessee, where they had met while working at a Saturn plant. Dan left concrete for a bit to pursue photography, working with Melissa, but that dream of coffee continued to percolate.

Then, as has been the case with many of the family’s business moves, opportunity knocked. A building on Boon Street became available, and Dan, with his family in tow, made the move to roasting and serving coffee.

“My dad has always had a business mindset,” Adam says, noting his father had either owned or started any concrete business he was involved with. “He wanted to get somewhere with this idea of a coffee shop, and he was always on the lookout.”

The elder Clark partnered with a family friend who was passionate about coffee and opened Mundos Roasting in 2017. With Mundos, Dan created the community space he had long envisioned: The stores are spacious and the staff is welcoming, encouraging customers to linger. Warm wood tones complement cool concrete counters (a nod to Dan’s former career), and plants and minimal decor help create clean, open space.

Mundos is truly a family affair. Melissa is the company treasurer. The couple’s other son, Jack, 19, is secretary and head roaster. (He began roasting at age 14.) Daughter Sarah helped out with the first location on Boon Street and Suttons Bay but is no longer involved; however, her husband, Miles Eastman, is the company’s head baker.

A Cup Overflows

Within a year and a half of starting the

Four locations, five years, and thousands of cups of coffee

business, Mundos opened a location in Suttons Bay and leased more space on Boon Street to expand its roasting operations. The company was growing.

In 2021, the family brought close friends Zachary and Joelle Curtis and Luke Norris into the fold. All of them possess a passion for coffee. “It seemed like a natural fit, and it enabled us to open more locations,” Adam says.

Next, Mundos West opened in Slabtown on West Front Street. Indoor seating is minimal and the store offers grab-and-go sandwiches and single origin batch brews. Special rewards are offered to customers who walk or bike to the location with their own reusable cups.

Closer to downtown, Mundos 305 is also located on West Front Street. Large windows and natural light add to the sense of the space, and the food and drink menu is more extensive.

Despite their off-the-beaten-path locations, Mundos Roasting was establishing a solid customer base, drawing locals, tourists, remote workers, and teenagers looking to hang out.

“My dad liked the idea of having a place where people could gather,” Adam says.

This past fall, Mundos officially outgrew the original Boon Street site. They have since moved into a renovated complex—a former real estate building—on Garfield Avenue, offering more room for administrative offices, roasting, and customers as the company’s largest cafe space.

“It’s been a big year for us. To open three locations in one year wasn’t something we were planning to do at the very beginning,” Adam says. “The timing has worked out for us. We wanted to stay in Traverse City. We love Traverse City.”

Adam says the hope is to open the roasting plant—and a planned coffee cupping lab—to public tours and tastings soon. The lab would also be used to train employees, wholesale partners, and their employees.

A Bar Is Raised

While the address of their headquarters

may have changed, the ethos of Mundos has never wavered.

“We always pursue excellence in everything we do,” says Adam of the family’s mentality toward a superior cup of joe. “Our logo is almost a take on raising the bar. We always want to strive for excellence in coffee. We want to raise the bar in every aspect, from building a community to making coffee to the people who source for us.”

Mundos Roasting buys its coffee from sourcing companies that have a reputation for treating their farmers well.

“The coffee we select, we end up paying a pretty high price for,” Adam says. “Most of the time we pay above fair trade prices. You’re going to pay more for higher grade coffee.”

The company sources its coffee beans from all over the world, primarily from Central and South America, but also from Africa and Asia (Vietnam). “We like to keep a decent range of coffees for people to choose from. We like smooth and bright,” Adam explains.

So what does he recommend for a Mundos customer? First up is a single-origin coffee; the menu changes daily, so options abound. Next is a cortado, a double shot of a single-source espresso with equal parts coffee and milk. “I would recommend you drink it here instead of taking it in a to-go cup,” Adam says. “It’s always better that way. It’s a good way to try a single-origin coffee with a little creaminess.”

For someone with an adventurous palette, Adam has just the thing. “We get one from Kenya that I really like. It has a really bright, clean flavor. It’s not a coffee everybody likes—it can be off putting with its intensity,” he admits.

And if you want a tried-and-true staple, look no further than the Chai Latte. (It’s Mundos’ No. 1 seller.) “We make that from scratch,” Adam says “It’s a good balance of sweet and spicy. It’s from a recipe we’ve had almost since the beginning. It’s something unique to us.”

Find all Mundos locations and view their menus at mundosroastingco.com.

Mundos HQ in their new digs on S. Garfield Ave. in Traverse City.

Mundos North in Suttons Bay.

Mundos West in Slabtown.

STATE OF THE LIBRARIES

From bookmobiles to ebooks to Chromebooks, local libraries are getting their communities reading in new and creative ways

By Victor Skinner

Northern Michigan libraries are bouncing back from the pandemic in a big way, fueled in part by new offerings and unique programs that are transforming how they do business.

Libraries across the region were booming before COVID-19 closures shut down many services three years ago, but the pandemic also raised awareness about online offerings and other programs that are now helping to drive the comeback.

“We’re back to feeling like a normal library again, which is very exciting,” says Michele Howard, director of the Traverse Area District Library (TADL). “During the pandemic, people were reluctant to come back into large community spaces and we saw that reflected in our statistics. This year, it’s really exciting because we’re back to our normal amounts.”

TRAVERSE CITY

Circulation of TADL’s physical items are now at nearly 1 million, while circulation for digital items has hit 323,000, “about a 20 percent increase over last year,” Howard says. “So we’re now on par or a little bit higher than before the pandemic in 2019.”

Traverse City library officials and volunteers are witnessing the comeback in a variety of ways, from the number of people coming in the door, increased check-outs, and 3,500 new library accounts created in the last year. Retirees are back reading books and newspapers during the day, as are college students who use the space to study and families visiting for special events.

TADL is now expanding to offer things they never have before, including a new

bookmobile launched in 2022, a 3-D printing service, and 20 Wi-Fi hotspots and Chromebooks. A “library of things” that started before the pandemic has also expanded in recent years, allowing patrons to check out a wide range of items from home repair tools like laser levels, moisture measurers, and stud finders, to musical instruments, binoculars, hot glue guns, presentation equipment, and numerous other devices. The most popular things include hotspots and laptops, Moog Theremini, guitars, synthesizers, and a telescope, Howard says.

Getting books on wheels has been a well-received addition, too. The bookmobile extended the library’s reach beyond its six branch locations to senior centers and childcare facilities, as well as community events including the light parade and National Cherry Festival, providing both books and free Wi-Fi.

“They’re just excited to see the library on the road,” Howard says. “For some people, it’s a lifeline.”

New programs for 2023 are also expected to boost library participation, including a Winter Library Challenge, Leap Into Science program, Northern Michigan Ballet Theatre, March is Reading Month – 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Celebration, and a Bake & Tell Challenge at the Kingsley branch.

There’s momentum building online as well, with the pandemic driving up demand for audiobooks and ebooks. “We’ve always seen steady use of that, but when the physical building closed is when we saw that skyrocket,” Howard says. “We’re just seeing that grow exponentially more than in the past.”

CADILLAC

It’s a similar situation at the Cadillac Wexford Public Library, where director Tracy Logan says “online usage was through the roof in 2020.” Circulation is now at 120,000 items, including 32,000 ebooks and audiobooks, equating to $1.9 million in savings to the community, she says.

In 2022, “we had over 97,000 visitors to our various locations and we currently have around 17,000 cardholders,” Logan says. “We have not reached pre-pandemic levels yet, but we’re going to get there really soon.”

In addition to online offerings, the Cadillac library is quickly growing its adult summer reading program, digitizing community records, and partnering with community businesses to host events with

“wild success,” Logan says.

The adult summer reading program doubled participation from 2021 to 183 readers last year, while a “booze and books” event at The Greenhouse at Willow Market drew about 80 people in January, she says.

A long list of special and regular events are also attracting youngsters of all ages, from a January Peppa Pig Party, to Nerf Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and life-sized board game days, in addition to book bags and clubs. And the library’s 60 board games are becoming more popular, with circulation up 422 percent in the last three years, Logan says.

“Comparatively, we’re doing a lot with a little,” Logan says, noting the library operates four locations on a smaller budget than some with only two locations.

Cadillac Wexford Public Library

BENZONIA

Speaking of a small but mighty library, Amanda McLaren, director of the Benzonia Public Library, has seen a sea change.

“Right before COVID hit, there was so much momentum. It’s sad … because with our programming, it feels like we’re starting from scratch,” McLaren says, noting that the experience has allowed staff to re-evaluate community needs. “I feel like in many ways we’re better off. We can reset and refocus.”

Things are now trending in the right direction, she adds. “What I do know is we’re consistently signing up new patrons. Everything is trending up, but we’re still not back [to pre-pandemic levels] by any means.”

One major shift has been the use of library computers, which declined sharply as schools distributed Chromebooks to students and others purchased personal devices during the pandemic. “People were finding different solutions, and I think those solutions stuck in many cases,” McLaren says.

Regardless, a grant program helped the library purchase four laptops and hotspots, which has proved popular, and locals are still utilizing the facility’s Wi-Fi regularly, she says.

“Not really having folks on the computers has been interesting. We provide internet 24/7, and it reaches out to the parking lot,” McLaren says. “There’s always people out in the parking lot using the internet.”

While in-house computer use has declined, new offerings are drawing in patrons in other ways. The library launched

ice skate rentals for the rink next door during the pandemic and revamped its children’s room with a light table and play kitchen, both of which were well received. “Our number of young families in the children’s room has increased significantly,” McLaren says.

A Remembering Benzie: An Oral History Project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, concluded with the equipment used donated to the library for locals to conduct their own recordings.

“Once the program ended, we were able to take the equipment and set it up so it’s in a convenient backpack,” McLaren says. “That’s been very popular as well.”

The Benzonia Public Library also partnered with the Traverse City library to buy hands-on STEM kits for kids that have been a big draw in both places, and preschool story time readings and monthly historical lectures are bringing in more patrons to Benzonia.

While the last three years have been challenging for the “small library with a big community impact,” McLaren believes the return of larger community events this year will help further raise awareness about all it has to offer. In addition to an annual holiday party and kids’ fun day expected to return in 2023, the library will host a touring Smithsonian exhibit in October called Museum on Main Street.

Future Hurdles

For Benzonia and Cadillac, the challenge moving forward will be the same as it has always been: funding. “Our biggest issue has

always been funding,” McLaren says. “It’s a constant struggle.”

Grant programs that funded hotspots and Chromebooks will eventually cease, for example, leaving the libraries to foot the bill for Wi-Fi service or consider shutting down the program. In Cadillac, the library’s limited budget is also facing increased demand from folks moving north from downstate, where they’re accustomed to bigger and broader selections.

“We see an increase in demand we don’t have the same budget to meet,” Logan says. “There are two things we always need more of: money and space.”

In Traverse City, the TADL staff struggled with a displaced homeless population using the library last year, including incidents with intoxication requiring police intervention. Those issues have been largely solved through increased police presence and the return of a daytime shelter in the city, Howard says, resulting in “a drastic reduction of incidents in the library.”

Also on the radar of library officials is a nationwide trend of increasing requests to ban books. Though the issue has largely avoided northern Michigan, with only a single rejected request in Traverse City in recent years, the possibility of bookbanning efforts coming to the region is a top consideration for all three librarians.

“We hope we don’t have a challenge, but we’re prepared if we do,” Howard says, a sentiment echoed by Logan and McLaren. “Most Americans love their public library and use it and want books to stay on the shelves.”

LIBRARIANS RECOMMEND

So much to read, so little time! We asked our library experts what books they’re reading and looking forward to seeing on shelves soon.

BOOKS FOR KIDS, TWEENS, AND TEENS

• See You Someday Soon by Pat Miller

• Attack of the Black Rectangles by A.S. King

• Escape Room by Christopher Edge

• Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett

• The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

• Somewhere in the Bayou by Jarrett Pumphrey

BOOKS FOR ADULTS

• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

• Babel by R.F. Kuang

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

• Spare by Prince Harry

• Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

• The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

• I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

• Every Man a King Walter Mosley

• Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond

• The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

• Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

Benzonia Public Library

Ski, bike, and run at the second Gaylord Tri45 Winter Triathlon

There’s no swimming, we promise

By Deb Dent

The Gaylord Tri45 Winter Triathlon, aptly named because the town sits on the 45th parallel, includes a 5K cross-country ski, a 10K fat tire bike ride and a 5K run, and is set to take place on the grounds of Treetops Resort in Gaylord on March 4.

It’s Michigan’s first ever winter triathlon and only the fourth in the United States.

Race director Meagan Rinck grew up in northern Michigan and has always had a passion for triathlons. She has competed in several over the years, including the Cheaha Extreme Triathlon in Delta, Alabama, and the half IRONMAN triathlon in Traverse City. She even placed first in her age group in Middleville’s Dirty Mitten Gravel Triathlon in 2021. And although she admits to not liking being cold, she enjoys being active with her two children— who have also both competed in triathlons—and staying fit all year long.

Rinck says that she had the idea for the winter event after missing summer triathlons and not wanting to take any down time away from the sport in the colder months. She shared the idea with her friend, Paul Beachnau from the Gaylord Tourism Bureau, and it wasn’t long before the ball was rolling. Treetops Resort was more than willing to add something new and exciting to their existing roster of winter activities. So, in 2022, the inaugural race was born.

Last year the event attracted 33 competitors, and Rinck fully expects that number to continue to grow with each year. And although most of the racers were relatively new to the sport, she says they did have a couple fierce competitors.

“This race proved to be exactly what they needed for a good challenge to get them through till summer triathlons started,” Rinck says. She adds that this is the perfect race for anyone who considers themselves a winter enthusiast and wants to push themselves and try something different…or for someone who just enjoys triathlons in general and is looking for a new challenge.

“Since a winter triathlon is a fairly new thing for the area, people have a hard time

Photos by Danielle Vuke

realizing what it is and think there is a swim involved, and that scares people away,” she explains. “I have to do a lot of reassuring that no swimming is involved.”

When asked what her opinion was on the most competitive piece of the race, Rinck says, “From my perspective, the bike is the most competitive. The cross-country ski people are setting their tone for the race and finding their pace. They are warming up and getting into it. The bike, you can really make

and able to finish strong.”

Alison Sklarczyk was one of the participants in the inaugural triathlon last year. Up until the event, she had never even ridden a fat tire bike before but knew it would be a great experience and was up to the challenge. She enjoyed the fun and supportive atmosphere of the race and is looking forward to competing again this year.

Sklarczyk says of the experience, “It is truly an event for everyone, regardless of

to sign up and join everyone. There was no shortage of laughter last year!”

Due to the fickle nature of a northern Michigan winter, Rinck says there always needs to be a Plan B in place for poor weather conditions—whether that means too much snow or not enough. She says that the race has back-up options if the weather decides it doesn’t want to cooperate with the event. In case of a big snowstorm, they would consider postponing. And if there is warmer weather causing a big melt, they would probably remove the cross-country ski part of the race.

As far as race swag goes this year, all participants will receive a ski boot bag. The

top finishers will also get awards, with the overall first-place male and female receiving a trophy stein.

Rinck says that she is also including something that she experienced while participating in a race in Alaska: “One thing that was fun from last year that I am bringing back is the Hot Gatorade. Everyone was really skeptical about it and rightfully so. I tried it and it was perfect for the cold temps. However, I won’t be using yellow Gatorade this year,” she jokes.

Learn more, view race maps, and register at gaylordalloutdoorswintertriathlon.com.

saturday

INTER-LOCH-NESS

3-COUNTY ICE FISHING

DERBY: 6am, Long Lake Grocery, TC. Pre-register at Long Lake Grocery, TC & then fish in any body of water in Grand Traverse, Leelanau or Benzie counties. All legal types of fishing are allowed including fishing from a boat in Lake Michigan. There will be five divisions - lake trout, pike, perch, walleye and bluegill. You may enter as many divisions as you like. Fish can be weighed in at the Long Lake Grocery during store hours throughout the tournament. For more info on the official rules, call 946-4249. Awards ceremony on Sun., Feb. 19 at 3pm at Long Lake Grocery. $20 registration fee per division.

SLEDDING & S’MORES: Noon-3pm, Kiwanis Park, Harbor Springs. Free sledding, food, hot cocoa, & s’mores. Rides uphill from fire department. 231-526-2104.

42ND ANNUAL SNO-BLAST WINTER

FESTIVAL: East Jordan, Feb. 17-19. Today includes the Classic & Antique Snowmobile Show, Blessing of the Sleds & ORV’s, Chili Cook-Off, ORV & Snowmobile Obstacle Course, Radar Runs, Scavenger Hunt, Comedy/Variety Theater Show, Party at the Foundry Bar & Grill, & more. ejchamber.org/ wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023-Schedule-of-Events-Brochure.pdf

FROSTY 5K: 9am, under the pavilion, 170 South Court Ave., Downtown Gaylord. $35 before Feb. 12; then price increases. runsignup.com/Race/MI/Gaylord/ AlpenFrostFrosty5K?aflt_token=vkmwDmw eQ4iCYn8otSOOnKQ3vCO8buOw

PETOSKEY CHILI TRAIL: 2-4pm, downtown Petoskey. Visit each participating store for chili samples & fun. petoskeyarea.com

WINTER WONDERLAND WEEKEND: Downtown Petoskey, Feb. 17-20. Featuring ice carving demonstrations in the Park, Downtown shopping & restaurant specials, creative activities for children, a scavenger hunt through the Downtown shops, a Downtown Dollars shopping contest, & Winter Carnival events held at the Winter Sports Park - Bump Jumping & the Cardboard Sled Race. petoskeydowntown.com/events/winter-wonderland ----------------------

INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: Downtown Charlevoix, Feb. 17-20. Enjoy bargains & more on a variety of merchandise at participating stores.

KIDS CODING CLUB: 10am, Bellaire Public Library. Kids ages 5-18 are welcome to join for coding games, building robots, & creating 3D objects using a 3D printer. Free, but registration required: 231-533-8814. bellairelibrary.org ----------------------

OPEN STUDIO: 10am-1pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Visual Arts Room, Petoskey. Drop-in free arts & crafts for the whole family. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/openstudio-february-18

PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND SALE EVENT: Downtown TC, Feb. 17-19. Enjoy sales at participating businesses. downtowntc. com/presidents-day-weekend-sale-event

“THE BEST YETI FEST THIS SIDE OF THE HIMALAYAS”: 10:30am-5:30pm, Suttons Bay. Featuring a Chili Cook-off, Interactive Scavenger Hunt, free screening of “Happy Feet” at the Bay Theatre at 2:30pm, Yeti Exploration & activities for children at the Sut-

tons Bay Library, Yeti Cup Hockey Tournament at Ice Rink Park, face painting & hot chocolate at LIFT Teen Center, live music, & an Award Ceremony at Yeti Central at 5pm. suttonsbayarea.com/yetifest

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TEDDY KNAPE FEST: Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville. Hit the slopes for raffles & giveaways. Held slopeside from 11am4:30pm near the Crystal Clipper, with raffles at 3pm. Raffle items include a paddle board, new skis, goggles, helmets, ski luggage plus endless amounts of ski gear & swag. The Teddy Knape Fest benefits adaptive winter sports which allows special needs participants the ability to ski. crystalmountain.com/ event/teddy-knape

6TH ANNUAL CHILI COOK-OFF IN ELK

RAPIDS: Noon-3pm, River St., Downtown Elk Rapids. Taste chili at 11 participating businesses & vote for your favorite. Tickets are available at The DAM Shop, Nifty Things! or Happy Camper Coffee. $5/person. facebook.com/downtownelkrapids

6TH ANNUAL WALLOON LAKE WINTERFEST: 12-4pm, Walloon Lake. Takes place indoors at The Talcott, Barrel Back Restaurant & Tommy’s Walloon. There will be complimentary snowshoe & cross-country ski rentals available at Tommy’s to explore local hiking trails. Enjoy the free Hot Chocolate Bar provided by Walloon Lake Inn. There will be giveaway prizes & drawings at businesses, & live ice carving in the Village Green Park from the Ice Brigades. The Petoskey Snowmobile Club will be holding their 5th Annual Vintage Snowmobile Ride beginning at the Petoskey Snowmobile Clubhouse. Free. eventbrite. com/e/6th-annual-walloon-lake-winterfesttickets-510948830707?aff=erelexpmlt

WINTERFEST: 12-3pm, Boonedocks, Glen Arbor. Featuring a Perch Fishing Contest, followed by a Chili Cook-Off. $10. visitglenarbor.com/events/category/community-events

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FEBRUARY FROLIC: 1-3pm, Whiting Park, Boyne City. This is part of Whiting Park’s Centennial Celebration. There will be snowshoeing (8+); snowshoes provided by Little Traverse Conservancy, story walk & animal homes discussion (ages 2-7+), a fire pit & hot chocolate. Free.

WINTER HIKE: 1-3pm, Green Point Dunes, Frankfort. Join volunteer Sally Manke for this winter hike. The ridge trail offers great views of Lake Michigan & Lower Herring Lake. Bring winter gear, water, a snack & snowshoes. This a moderately strenuous event. Register. Free. gtrlc.org/recreation-events/events

DR. ANNA-LISA COX LECTURE: 2pm, Ramsdell Theatre, Manistee. “With Liberty and Justice for All: The Black Pioneers Who Upheld the Values of the American Revolution in Frontier Michigan and Manistee.” This Journey of Discovery event is being held to honor the contributions of African Americans in rural Michigan. Free; donations welcome. ramsdelltheatre.org

INAUGURAL TRAVERSE CITY BOURBON FEST: Visions Weddings & Banquets, 12935 S West Bay Shore Dr., TC. Featuring 100+ whiskeys – most of them Bourbon. Two 3-hour sessions will be held at 4pm & 8pm where participants can sample whiskeys as well as beer & wine. There will also be food trucks, live music, vendors & more. Proceeds benefit Friends of the River. $10$100. traversecitybourbonfest.com

CHEBOYGAN NORTHLAND PLAYERS

DINNER THEATER: Eagles Hall, Cheboygan. Featuring the comedy “The Second Time Around” by Henry Denker, presented

under license with Concord Theatrical. Dinner at 6:30pm; show at 7pm. Reservations are required. Call 231-627-4051. $27. nlplayers.org/winter-dinner-theater

MIRIAM PICO & DAVID CHOWN: 7pm, The Music House Museum, Williamsburg. Miriam is a local legend who has been honored with many awards. She is also the founder & owner of Little Bird School of Song. David is known locally & nationally for his piano playing. He is a performer & educator with degrees in Piano Technology & Jazz Studies. $25. musichouse.org/upcoming-events

“THE LARAMIE PROJECT”: 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. In 1998 Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student, was brutally beaten & left to die on the plains outside Laramie, Wyoming. This play is based on 200+ interviews with the people of the town, & explores the depths to which humanity can sink & the heights of compassion we are capable of. $28 adults; $15 youth under 18, plus fees. oldtownplayhouse.com/calendar ----------------------

COMEDY W/ JERRY DONOVAN: 7:309pm, Traverse City Comedy Club, TC. Jerry is known for his quick wit & uncanny observations. He has worked with such notables as Kurt Russell, Jason Segal, & many others. $25-$30. mynorthtickets.com/events/ comedy-wjerry-donovan-2-17-2023

SNOW BALL GALA FUNDRAISER: 8-11pm, The Dockside Inn, Cadillac. This is a formal dance (however all attire is welcome) with music, heavy appetizers, & a cash bar. You can spin the wheel & there will be raffle ticket prizes. All proceeds benefit Healing Private Wounds (who provides free counseling, group therapy, & programs). Please contact Healing Private Wounds to purchase tickets; or if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, email Jessica: hpwjessica@gmail. com. $25 per ticket.

TOM WILSON: 8pm, Freshwater Art Gallery & Concert Venue, Boyne City. Tom has played Freshwater twice before; once as the front man for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, & once as Lee Harvey Osmond. He is also

a writer & wrote his best-selling memoir “Beautiful Scars,” a painter & more. 231582-2588. $40. facebook.com/FRESHWATERARTGALLERY

sunday

INTER-LOCH-NESS

3-COUNTY ICE FISHING

DERBY: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

42ND ANNUAL SNOBLAST WINTER FESTIVAL: East Jordan, Feb. 17-19. Today includes the East Jordan Trailblazers Sno-Lovers Breakfast, Scavenger Hunt & more. ejchamber.org/wp-content/ uploads/2023/02/2023-Schedule-of-EventsBrochure.pdf ----------------------

WINTER WONDERLAND WEEKEND: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND SALE EVENT: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

SLOW, EASY HIKE: 1pm, Swanson Preserve, Cedar. Look closely at vegetation along the route, thinking about winter aesthetics, & talking about the importance of protecting watershed. Waterproof boots are a must. Snowshoes or yak tracks might be necessary if conditions warrant. Led by Docents Karin Jacobson, Sharon Oriel & Karl Hausler. leelanauconservancy.org/events/ slow-easy-hike-at-swanson-preserve

THE HISTORY OF HELENA TOWNSHIP CEMETERY: 2pm, Helena Township Community Center, Alden. Paul DeLange, president of Helena Township Historical Society, will discuss the origins of the cemetery, burial grounds, gravesites, graveyards & other facts. 231-331-4318. ----------------------

“REMEMBERING PATSY CLINE”: 3pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. A tribute to the legendary Patsy Cline, featuring Judy Harrison & the band ReBooted. $15-$28 plus fees.

Celebrating 10 years is the annual Grand Traverse Guns N Hoses hockey game, taking place on Sat., Feb. 25 at Centre Ice Arena, TC at 6pm. Watch local firefighters face off against police officers in this game to raise funds for a selected family in need. Tickets, $5; get yours before they sell out! gtgunsnhoses.com

tickets.oldtownplayhouse.com/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent436.html

GREAT LAKES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

SUNDAY SERIES: 4pm, First Presbyterian Church of Petoskey. Featuring the Achille Trio with Lynne Aspnes, harp; Libor Ondras, viola; & Abigail Walsh, flute. Includes Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp. Free. glcorchestra.org/sunday-series

“THE AUDACITY TO LOVE”: A SOUL STIRRING SOUND EXPERIENCE: 6pm, City Opera House, TC. Featuring Seth Bernard, acoustic guitar & vocals; Crystal Woodward-Turner, vocals; David Chown, piano; & Karine Pierson, strings. $25, $30. cityoperahouse.org/node/494

monday

WINTER WONDERLAND WEEKEND: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

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PRESCHOOL ADVEN-

TURES IN ART: 9:30-10:15am, Crooked Tree Arts Center, TC. Young artists can engage in themed activities while exploring various art methods. Early registration encouraged. $5. crookedtree.org/class/ ctac-traverse-city/preschool-adventures-artfebruary-20-0

INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

KID’S CRAFT LAB: PRESIDENT’S DAY

BIRDFEEDER: 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Make either a George Washington or Abe Lincoln birdfeeder. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

BICYCLE REPAIR CLINICS: 5pm, McLain Cycle & Fitness, 750 E. Eighth St., TC. Topics change every week. Free. mclaincycle.com

tuesday

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: 10:30am, Suttons Bay Bingham District Library, lower level Community Meeting Room. Preschoolers of all ages are invited to join for stories, songs & active fun. Free. sbbdl.org

STORYTIME ADVENTURES: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “Moonbear’s Shadow” by Frank Asch. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

“LOCAL GOVERMENT IN MICHIGAN, WHAT IS IT ? HOW DID WE GET HERE?

WHAT’S NEXT?”: Noon-1:30pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. The League of Women Voters of the GTA will present this free event with John Amrhein, a governance educator with Michigan State University Extension’s Goverment & community Vitality Team. lwvgta.org

MACKINAW CITY BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-7pm, O’Reilly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, Mackinaw City. Includes networking, appetizers, non-alcoholic beverages, a cash bar, & door prizes. RSVP: 231-436-5574. $5 members; $10 not-yet members.

MAPLE SYRUP WORKSHOP: 5:307:30pm, The Leelanau County Government Center, Community Meeting Room in Basement, Suttons Bay. Join local Maple Syrup Experts, The Leelanau Conservation District,

& others to learn about the basics of maple sugaring & more. Speakers will discuss tree selection, equipment decisions, tree health, the process from sap to syrup & how climate change will impact the industry. Register by emailing or calling Karen Long: 231.256.9783 or klong@leelanau.gov. Free. leelanaucd.org

NCTA GRAND TRAVERSE HIKING CLUB, FEBRUARY MONTHLY MEETING: 7pm, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. In spring 2022, Steve & Betsy Duede took a trip to the Southwest. The trip focused on White Sands, Sedona, Petrified Forest, Capitol Reef, Arches, & Canyonlands. They will share their experiences. Free.

BOSTON BRASS: 7:30pm, City Opera House, TC. For over 30 years, Boston Brass has played classical arrangements, jazz standards, & original brass repertoire, touched with humor & personality. $37, $27, students $15. cityoperahouse.org/node/449

wednesday

“DISRUPT & DISMANTLE: THE COST OF BLACK MOTHERHOOD IN MISSISSIPPI”: 1pm & 2:30pm, Dennos Museum Center, Dutmers Theater, NMC, TC. Soledad O’Brien talks to Black moms & their advocates in Mississippi to find out how the government & healthcare system can address high maternal & infant mortality rates in the state. Limit of 30 people per screening. Free; online registration required. simpletix.com/e/disrupt-dismantlethe-cost-of-black-mother-tickets-119451

THE ART OF: AHAVANI MULLEN: 4pm, Dennos Museum Center, Zimmerman scuplture court, NMC, TC. Join the artist for an intimate walkthrough of the four works on view. Mullen’s solo exhibition called “Across Centuries and the Earth” explores the ways in which subtle, ephemeral vibrations can be given form on a canvas, using energeticallycharged paint to create fields of color, light, & texture. These works were created during her spring 2022 residency at Tusen Takk. Free. dennosmuseumcenter.simpletix.com/?utm_ source=cision&utm_medium=email&utm_ campaign=DMC-Tusen-Takk-Mullen

MYSTERIES OF THE WINTER SKY WITH MARY STEWART ADAMS: 6-8pm, Offield Family Viewlands, Harbor Springs. Begin the night with storytelling, followed by a lantern walk. Gather with Star Lore Historian Mary Stewart Adams to marvel at the beauty with poetry, history, & cultural tales. Register. landtrust.org/events-template/mysteries-ofthe-winter-sky

TAP TALK: 7pm, Biere de Mac Brew Works, Mackinaw City. Tonight features Michael Grisdale from Mackinac Straits Health System. Free.

thursday

COFFEE @ 10, PETOS-

KEY: 10am, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Gilbert Gallery, Petoskey. Join Michigan artist Sharon Wade, whose pastels are featured in CTAC’s Guild Member Salon Show as well as Petoskey’s sales gallery. Free. crookedtree.org/event/ctacpetoskey/coffee-10-sharon-wade

KID’S CRAFT LAB: CONSTELLATION PAINTING; URSA MAJOR: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. In Feb., Black History Month, we re-

member how enslaved people escaping to the north used the Big Dipper & the North Star to find their way. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major. Working with watercolor paint & salt, you will create a Big Dipper Bear. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

THE STORY OF THE GROVE HILL SCHOOL: 1:30pm, Leelanau Historical Society Museum, Munnecke Room, Leland. Presented by Mark Smith of the Omena Historical Society. Mark will explore the efforts of Reverend Peter Dougherty in his establishment of one of the first residential schools for Native Americans in the country, in 1853, in Omena. Find out how this residential school was more enlightened & attuned to the advancement of the local Anishinaabe people than the oppressive government-run schools which would follow. Free. leelanauhistory.org

CRAFTERNOON: 4pm, Bellaire Public Library. Held the 4th Thurs. of each month. For ages 16+. In February you will create beads from old magazines. Registration required: 231-533-8814. Free. bellairelibrary.org

MAKE IT BENZIE - CHAMBER OFF THE CLOCK NETWORKING: 5-7pm, Grow Benzie, Benzonia. Enjoy Mardi Gras fare, wear your dancing shoes, win some prizes, & hear an update on Chamber operations. $5. business.benzie.org/events/details/benzie-areachamber-off-the-clock-event-15988

PETOSKEY BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-7pm, Beards Brewery, Petoskey. Enjoy food, networking, door prizes & more. $10 Chamber members; $15 not-yet members. petoskeychamber.com ----------------------

PARALLEL 45 THEATRE FESTIVAL: “THE CHILDREN”: 6pm, The Alluvion, TC. Two retired nuclear scientists reside in an isolated cottage by the sea as the world around them crumbles. $0-$50. mynorthtickets.com/events/ reading-series-the-children-2-23-2023

ENTER THE HAGGIS: 7pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. Hailing from Toronto, Enter the Haggis combines bagpipes & fiddles with a rock section to create an eclectic sound. Their lyrics tell the stories of every day hardworking people, often faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. $25, $30, $35. dennosmuseum.org ----------------------

INLAND SEAS TOOLS OF THE TRADE: 7pm, Glen Lake Library, Program Room, Empire. Learn about the environmental health of our Great Lakes in this presentation by the Inland Seas Education Association. ISEA staff will describe the various monitoring activities they perform during their excursions on Grand Traverse Bay, & demonstrate some of the specialized equipment they use in this work. Free. glenlakelibrary.net

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NWS: ALVIN HALL: 7pm, City Opera House, TC. This author of “Driving the Green Book” revisited the world of the “Green Book.” From 1936 to 1967, millions of African Americans relied on “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” the definitive guide to businesses where they could safely rest, eat, or sleep. “Driving the Green Book” was born after Alvin & his friend Janée Woods Weber drove from New York to Detroit to New Orleans, visiting motels, restaurants, shops, & stores where Black Americans once found a friendly welcome. Jerome Vaughn, news director of WDET radio, will be the guest host. $5-$25. nationalwritersseries.org

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SYNTH PETTING ZOO: 7pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Get to know & love the synth equipment from the Library of Things collection. Free. tadl.org/events

friday HARBOR SPRINGS

RESTAURANT WEEK: Feb. 24 - March 5. Enjoy special menus at each participating restaurant, designed just for these 10 days. harborspringschamber.com/events/ details/restaurant-week-2023-12461

MORE TO EXPLORE: TODDLER GYM: 9:30am, noon & 2:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Drop into the Great Lakes Room anytime during the session & bounce, slide, roll & climb with the toddler gym equipment. greatlakeskids.org

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STORYTIME: 10:30am, Leland Township Library, Leland. Stories & more for kids aged 0-6 & their caregivers. Free. lelandlibrary. org/programs-events

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LUNCHEON LECTURE: HAPPY TRAILS!: 11:30am-1pm, NCMC, Library Conference Center, Petoskey. The Top of Michigan Trails Council is trying to find a way to repair the best part of the non-motorized trail system in Emmet County that collapsed a couple of years ago. Brent Bolin, council executive director, will explain what could be next for the Little Traverse Wheelway & the rest of the trail system. $15; includes a buffet lunch. ncmclifelonglearning.com/event-5107445 ----------------------

GREAT LAKES CHILDREN’S MUSEUM’S STEAM/MAKERS ALLIANCE MINI-MAKERS POP-UP EVENT: 5-7pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Presented by the STEAM/Makers Alliance of Northwest Michigan. Multiple age groups welcome. Free. Reservations recommended. greatlakeskids.org/mini-makers-pop-up-event-atthe-childrens-museum

CHEBOYGAN NORTHLAND PLAYERS

DINNER THEATER: Eagles Hall, Cheboygan. Featuring the comedy “The Second Time Around” by Henry Denker, presented under license with Concord Theatrical. Dinner at 6:30pm; show at 7pm. Reservations are required. Call 231-627-4051. $27. nlplayers.org/winter-dinner-theater

LIBRARY MOVIE NIGHT: “SUMMER OF SOUL”: 8pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Cinema Curiosa presents a Black History Month feature film. In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir Questlove Thompson presents a powerful & transporting documentary part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture & fashion. Free. tadl.org/events

saturday

SMELTANIA: Boyne City.

8am-noon: Special Farmers Market & BCFD Pancake Breakfast, Veterans Park Pavilion. 1-5pm: Scavenger Hunt clues, People’s Choice “Smeltie” award voting, & more. 2:30pm: The Waterfront Field of Dreams Polar Plunge registration begins at the small boat launch at Veterans Park, dips start at 2:30pm. 5pm-midnight: The Waterfront Field of Dreams Beer Tent On the Waterfront between Boyne River & Veteran’s Park.

HARBOR SPRINGS RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Fri., Feb. 24) ----------------------

JEWELRY MAKING WORKSHOP: 10amnoon, Interlochen Public Library. Samples & supplies are provided. 231-276-6767. Free.

OPEN STUDIO, PETOSKEY: 10am-1pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Visual Arts Room,

Petoskey. Drop-in art for all ages. New projects are offered each week. crookedtree.org/event/ ctac-petoskey/open-studio-february-25

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WINTER GUIDED HIKE: 10am-noon, Brown Bridge Quiet Area, West Overlook Trailhead, TC. Presented by the Grand Traverse Conservation District. Join District staff on a hiking tour of Brown Bridge Quiet Area to learn about the parkland’s history, management, flora & fauna, & more. A limited amount of snowshoes, crampons, & hiking poles will be available. Register. Free. gtcd.wufoo.com/ forms/qa52cww1ds9snm

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WINTER HARVEST HIKE: 10am, Kehl Lake Natural Area, Northport. Join docents Bert Thomas, Keith Rhodes, Karl Hausler & Beth Chiles for this fun hike along a generally flat & meandrous trail. leelanauconservancy. org/events/winter-harvest-hike-at-kehl-lakenatural-area

BALLET AT THE LIBRARY! “SCENES

FROM A PARK” EXCERPTS: 11am, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Seating is limited for this performance. Enjoy a free preview of the upcoming Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre performance of “Scenes from a Park.” This Ballet meets Broadway production features stylish dresses & suits & is based on a series of short vignettes happening over the course of a year in a park in the 1940’s. Free. tadl.org/events

CREATIVITY Q+A LIVE WITH MARK MEHAFFEY: 11am, Glen Arbor Arts Center. Mark moves fluidly between representing the visible world, & working with not-so-representational subjects: marks, lines, scratches, color stories. His practice is less focused on subjects than it is on ideas, & what-if?. Working primarily in water-based media, Me-

haffey paints, draws, collages, & taught art in the public school for 30 years. Free. glenarborart.org/events-page

----------------------

HARBOR SPRINGS RESTAURANT

WEEK: (See Fri., Feb. 24)

VEGMICHIGAN GET-TOGETHER: Noon, Stone Hound Brewing Co., Williamsburg. Enjoy a 100% plant-based menu. Wraps, burgers, bowls & snacks. Free to attend. meetup.com/traverse-city-vegmichigan-meetup/events/291158387?utm_ medium=referral&utm_campaign=share-btn_ savedevents_share_modal&utm_source=link

BEARCUB OUTFITTERS TORCHLIGHT

SNOWSHOE: 5-9pm, Camp Daggett, Petoskey. Trek across snow-covered trails illuminated by more than 100 torches. Afterwards, enjoy cocoa, cookies, & roaring fires. Free, but donations encouraged to support Camp Daggett. campdaggett.org/bearcubsnowshoe-for-daggett

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GUNS-N-HOSES HOCKEY GAME: 6pm, Centre Ice Arena, TC. Watch local firefighters face off against police officers in this annual game to raise funds for a selected family in need. $5. facebook.com/gtgunsnhoses

CHEBOYGAN NORTHLAND PLAYERS

DINNER THEATER: (See Fri., Feb. 24)

sunday

HARBOR SPRINGS RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Fri., Feb. 24)

TRAVERSE CITY RESTAURANT WEEK: Feb. 26 - March 4. Participat-

ing restaurants will have either a $25, $35, or $45 3 course meal. Call & make your reservations online at the restaurant(s) of your choice. downtowntc.com/traverse-cityrestaurant-week

13TH ANNUAL GREAT INDOOR FOLK FESTIVAL: Noon-5pm, The Village at GT Commons, TC. Enjoy eight stages featuring a variety of musical acts. Stages will be set up in the Mercado corridor of Building 50, inside Kirkbride Hall, & at Left Foot Charley winery & Higher Grounds Coffee (Kids). Musicians include Rigs & Jeels with Celtic Dancers, The Nephews, The North Carolines, Dede Alder, Songwriters in the Round, Song of the Lakes, The Duges, Robin Lee Berry & many others. Find ‘The Great Indoor Folk Festival Returns for 2023’ on Facebook. Free.

WOMEN’S ULTIMATE FRISBEE WORKSHOP: 2-4pm, Eastern Elementary School, TC. Learn how to throw, offense & defense movement, spirit of the game, & general rules. Free. facebook.com/TraverseCityUltimate

SNOWSHOE & BREW: 2:30-4pm, Elizabeth B. Hoffman Nature Preserve, Harbor Springs. Join LTC staff to traverse through this winter wonderland preserve on snowshoe. The 1.5mile trail passes through a mix of apple orchards, woods, & farm fields, & follows a section of the Inwood Creek. Please bring your own snowshoes. Please park at the brewery. Register. landtrust.org/events-template/snowshoeand-brew-at-biers-inwood-brewery

ongoing

GREAT DECISIONS DISCUSSION

GROUP: Tuesdays through March, 1:30pm, Leelanau Township Library, Northport. 2023

Great Decisions with the Foreign Policy

Association. Pick up a briefing book at the library & join for a deep dive into foreign affairs. leelanautownshiplibrary.org/newsevents/lib-cal/great-decisions-in-library-2 ----------------------

VINE TO WINE SNOWSHOE TOUR: Saturdays, noon-4pm. Enjoy a snowshoe adventure through the vineyards & orchards to three wineries. The private vineyard trail connects Suttons Bay Ciders, Ciccone Vineyards, & Big Little Wines. This guided tour starts at Big Little Wines, Suttons Bay. The tour includes your snowshoe & pole rental, a catered warm lunch of chili & soups overlooking the bay, & a wine purchase pick up service. grandtraversebiketours.com/vine-to-wine-snowshoe-tour.html

BABYTIME WITH MISS MICHELE: Tuesdays, 9:30am through Feb. Traverse Area District Library, TC. An interactive story time introducing early literacy to the youngest patrons. Geared toward families with children ages 0-12 months. tadl.org/events

STEM MONDAY AT THE LIBRARY: Mondays, 4-5pm through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, Youth Services Story Room, TC. Learn about STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) concepts with hands-on STEM experiments to create a layered experience for all learners. This program is primarily designed for ages 6-12, though younger learners may attend with a caregiver. tadl.org/events

STORYBAG STORIES WITH MISS LINDA: Fridays, 11am through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, TC. Join Miss Linda for this preschool story time complete with stories (including a felt story), songs, rhymes & movement. There will be a make & take craft for each child who attends. tadl.org/events

STORYTIME FOR BIGS: Thursdays, 11am,

SPECIALIZING - I DO ONE THING AND I DO IT REALLY WELL

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All sports lake with nature’s spectacle and plentiful serenity. 600’ of private frontage with sandy bottom. A lake known for exceptional conditions for windsurfing and ice boating. Dip your toes and walk along the shore, never leaving your property. 10.87 acres of mostly hardwoods and plentiful clearing with lawn for family games or sitting around the campfire telling ghost stories. No road noise, no crowds, just easy living! Manistee lake is one of the first to warm up in the summer for THE best swimming, and the first to freeze for winter time fun!

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through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, TC. Families with preschool children are invited to join Mr. Andy for engaging stories & movement. tadl.org/events

STORYTIME WITH MISS COURTNEI: Wednesdays, 11am, through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, TC. Featuring music, stories, early literacy tips & more. Programs last about 30 minutes & are geared toward preschool aged children. tadl.org/events

TADL TEEN WRITING GROUP: Tuesdays, 4pm through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, Teen Services, study table, TC. Talk about writing, play writing games, read, write, & discover new skills. If you are working on something, feel free to bring it with you to share with the group. Snacks will be provided. tadl.org/events

TEEN LEADERSHIP GROUP: Wednesdays, 4:30pm through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, TC. Teens - volunteer at the Main Library. The Teen Leadership Group helps plan library programs for teens, advises the library on trends & hot topics, assists various departments with their volunteer needs, & learns a lot. And if work is finished early, socialize & play games. tadl.org/events

TODDLER TIME: Tuesdays, 11am through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, TC. Join Miss Michele for Toddler Time (formerly Mother Goose Time) as she leads families with young children through stories, rhymes & books. For children aged 12-36 months. tadl.org/events

WIGGLERS STORYTIME: Mondays, 11am through Feb., Traverse Area District Library, TC. Join Miss Rosie for stories, songs, finger plays & fun. This literacy based program is geared toward preschool aged children & their care givers. tadl.org/events

“SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION”: Charlevoix Circle of Arts. See unique works from 11th & 12th grade budding artists from Charlevoix County & the surrounding area. Featuring scholarship awards from Kendall College, & CCA prize awards. Runs through Feb. 25. Charlevoix Circle of Arts is open Mon. through Fri., 11am-4pm; Sat., 11am-3pm; or by appointment. charlevoixcircle.org/exhibits-2023

PHANTASMAGORIA ART EXHIBITION FOR THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL: Right Brain Brewery, TC. Featuring a huge display of the work of local artists. Special reception date of March 4 will include live performances, music, dancing & more. Exhibit runs through March 4. rightbrainbrewery.com/23/upcoming-events ----------------------

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, PETOSKEY: - SPECIAL NEEDS ARTISTIC MOVEMENT: Held in the Dance Studio, this class provides the special needs community a chance to expand their artistry & movement creativity while giving the example that the arts are for everyone. This dance & movement class is designed for teens & adults. It includes basic to intermediate dance education, & is held on Mondays & Fridays from 1-2:30pm through May 12. Register. crookedtree.org/ event/ctac-petoskey/special-needs-artisticmovement

- GUILD MEMBER SALON SHOW: Hundreds of original works of art by Crooked Tree Arts Center’s artists fill the galleries, including painting, photography, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, new media & more. Runs through March 4. crookedtree.org/event/ ctac-petoskey/guild-member-salon-show2023-opens-january-14

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, TC:

- “ENTANGLED: PAPER SCULPTURES FROM ETCHING PRINTS BY DOROTHY ANDERSON GROW”: Held in the Carnegie Galleries. Dorothy Anderson Grow’s multi-layer etching prints are on display in this solo exhibition that runs through Feb. 18. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-traverse-city/ entangled-paper-sculptures-etching-printsdorothy-anderson-grow-opens

- OCCUPIED SPACES: WORK BY JUSTIN SHULL: Held in Cornwell Gallery through Feb. 18. In his solo exhibition “Occupied Spaces,” Michigan artist Justin Shull presents a series of personal meditations on the environments that we shape & inhabit, & he invites us to consider how these environments shape us in return. crookedtree.org/ event/ctac-traverse-city/occupied-spaceswork-justin-shull-opens-january-6

- TRAVERSE AREA CAMERA CLUB: 2022 AWARD WINNERS: Runs through Feb. 18 in the Carnegie Galleries. Exhibition featuring stand-out work by the Traverse Area Camera Club. crookedtree.org/event/ctactraverse-city/traverse-area-camera-club2022-award-winners

DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC:

- “A RICH HISTORY: AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS FROM THE MUSKEGON MUSEUM OF ART”: This exhibit highlights the growing legacy of important African American artists from the Muskegon Museum of Art’s permanent art collection & features over 75 years of artistic excellence. Runs through April 2. Open Tues. through Sun., 11am-4pm.

- “US”: Teresa Dunn’s solo exhibition is a collection of her recent narrative painting series that brings voice to stories that people of color, individuals with complex cultural identities, & immigrants shared with her about their daily experience in America. Runs through May 28. Open Tues. through Sun., 11am-4pm.

- “VITALITY AND CONTINUITY: ART IN THE EXPERIENCES OF ANISHINAABE, INUIT, AND PUEBLO WOMEN”: This exhibit celebrates some of the critical roles Anishinaabe, Inuit, & Pueblo women fulfill in their families, their communities, the art world, & beyond. Runs through May 19. Open Tues. through Sun., 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum.org

GLEN ARBOR ARTS CENTER:

- A FERAL HOUSEWIFE: Held in the Lobby Gallery. An exhibition of collages by Leelanau County artist Mary Beth Acosta. Runs through April 21. Acosta uses simple, familiar tools & a range of recycled, vintage papers to create collages about mid-century housewives, bigfinned cars, & labor-saving appliances that were promoted as drudgery-busting machines that would revolutionize the modern home. A video interview with Acosta about her materials & methods can be seen as part of the online version of this exhibition: glenarborart.org/ events/exhibit-a-feral-housewife

- TELLING STORIES EXHIBIT: Held in the Main Gallery. This juried exhibition about the power of visual storytelling runs through March 23. The GAAC’s exhibitors tell their own stories in the media of photography, fiber, clay, paint, wood, collage & more. The themes behind the Telling Stories exhibit are explored in two video interviews with three northern Michigan residents. Winter hours are Mon. through Fri., 9am-3pm, & Sat., noon-4pm. glenarborart.org/events/exhibittelling-stories-fact-fiction-otherwise

231-252-3552

439

Three restaurants. All individual. All uniquely remarkable.

DOWNTOWN PETOSKEY | WINEGUYSGROUP com

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska

ACOUSTIC TAP ROOM, TC

7-9:

2/18 -- Tai Drury

2/24 -- Luke Woltanski

2/25 -- Bruce Matthews

ENCORE 201, TC

2/18 -- DJ Ricky T, 9

2/24 -- Friends With Benefits, 7-10; Paul Nelson wsg Friends With Benefits, 10

2/25 -- The Truetones, 7:30-10; Nathan Walton, 10

KILKENNY'S IRISH PUBLIC HOUSE, TC

2/18 – Timebombs, 9:30

2/22 – The Pocket, 8

LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC BARREL ROOM:

2/20 -- Barrels & Beats w/ Rob

Coonrod, 6-9

TASTING ROOM, 5-7:

2/18 -- Weston Buchan

2/25 -- Rebekah Jon

LIL BO, TC

Tues. – Trivia, 8-10

Weds. – Aldrich, 9

Sun. – Karaoke, 8

MARI VINEYARDS, TC

2/23 -- Ryan Harcourt, 3-5

2/24 -- Ron Getz, 4-6

NORTH BAR TC 8-11:

2/18 – Jesse Jefferson

2/24 – Chris Smith

PARK PLACE HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER, TC

Fri.-Sat. -- Jim Hawley & Jeff Currie on keyboard, 7-10

ROVE ESTATE VINEYARD & WINERY, TC

2/24 -- Windy Ridge Boys, 5-8

THE LITTLE FLEET, TC 8-11:

2/18 -- DJ Eurail Pass & DJ Eknuff

Antrim & Charlevoix

2/25 -- Themed DJ Sat.: Afro Beats Electronique

THE PARLOR, TC

8-11:

2/18 -- Chris Sterr

2/23 -- Rhett & John

THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC

2/18 -- The Smokin' Dobroleles, 7

2/20 -- Big Fun Jam Band, 6

2/21 -- Open Mic & Musical Talent Showcase, 7

2/22 -- Jazz Show & Jam, 6

2/24 -- DJ Ras Marco D - Vinyl DJ Set, 7

2/25 -- Delilah DeWylde, 7

THIRSTY FISH SPORTS GRILLE, TC Tues. – Trivia, 7-9

TOWNLINE CIDERWORKS, WILLIAMSBURG

2/18 -- Townline Ciderworks' 6th Anniversary Celebration w/ Old Mission Fiddle Vine, 5-8

BOYNE CITY TAP ROOM

Thu -- Sean Bielby & Adam Engelman, 6-9

BOYNE MOUNTAIN RESORT, BOYNE FALLS

FORTY ACRES:

2/19 -- Jakey Thomas, 7-10

2/23 -- Charlie Reager, 8-11

2/26 -- Tyler Parkin, 7-10

MOUNTAIN EXPRESS, 1-4:

2/18-19 & 2/24-26 -- DJ Bill Da Cat

SNOWFLAKE LOUNGE:

2/18 -- Adam Engleman & Chris

Celliga, 4-7; DJ Bill Da Cat, 9:30

2/19 & 2/25 -- DJ Parker Marshall, 9:30

2/23 -- Live DJ - Paul Bedour, 7-10

2/24 -- DJ T-Bone, 9:30

2/25 -- Charlie Reager, 4-7

STEIN ERIKSEN'S, 5-8:

2/18 & 2/25 -- Steve August

2/24 -- Owen James

ETHANOLOGY, ELK RAPIDS

2/18 -- Blair Miller, 8

2/25 -- 80s Dance Party w/ DJ Franck, 7

HELLO VINO, BELLAIRE 6:30-9:30:

Leelanau & Benzie

2/18 -- The Pistil Whips

2/24 -- Rick

2/25 -- Darrell

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, BELLAIRE

2/25 -- Clint Weaner, 7-10

PROVISIONS WINE LOUNGE, BOYNE CITY

2/22 -- Nelson Olstrom, 6

SHORT'S BREW PUB, BELLAIRE

2/25 -- Tai Drury, 8-10:30

BEL LAGO VINEYARD & WINERY, CEDAR

2/18 -- Bel Lago Unplugged - Zeke Clemons, 4-6

BROOMSTACK KITCHEN & TAPHOUSE, MAPLE CITY

2/21 -- Patrick Niemisto & Chris Skellenger, 5:30-8

CICCONE VINEYARD & WINERY, SUTTONS BAY

2/19 -- Rhett & John, 2:30-4:30

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, THOMPSONVILLE

SLOPESIDE TENT, NEAR CRYSTAL CLIPPER CHAIRLIFT, 3-5:

2/18-19 -- Carl Pawluk

2/25 -- Blair Miller

VISTA LOUNGE:

2/18 -- Luke Woltanski, 2-5; Broom Closet Boys, 8-11

2/19 -- Nick Vasquez, 2-5; Jim

Hawley, 8-11

2/24 -- Scarkazm, 8-11

2/25 -- Dominic Fortuna, 2-5; Scarkazm, 8-11

DICK'S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU

Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-1

FIVE SHORES BREWING, BEULAH

Fri -- Open Mic Night Hosted by Andy Littlefield, 6-8

FRENCH VALLEY VINEYARD, CEDAR

2/23 -- Adam Sleder, 4-6:30

IRON FISH DISTILLERY, THOMPSONVILLE 5-7:

2/18 – Wink

2/25 – Jason Locke

LAKE ANN BREWING CO. 6:30-9:30:

2/18 -- Jack Pine Band

2/19 -- New Third Coast

2/24 -- The Dune Brothers

2/25 -- Runaway Mule

SHADY LANE CELLARS, SUTTONS BAY

2/24 -- Friday Night LIVE w/ Jonathon Stoye, 5:30-8:30

ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH

2/18 -- Barefoot, 5-8

2/23 -- Open Mic Night w/ Jeff Louwsma, 5:30-8:30

2/24 -- Wink, 5-8

2/25 -- Skye Martin, 5-8

STORMCLOUD BREWING CO., FRANKFORT

2/24 -- Tim Jones, 7-9

UPRIVER PIZZA, BENZONIA

2/22 -- John Ware, 6-8

Otsego, Crawford & Central

ALPINE TAVERN & EATERY, GAYLORD 6:

2/18 -- Lou Thumser

2/24 -- Kenny Thompson

2/25 -- Mike Ridley

BENNETHUM'S NORTHERN INN, GAYLORD

2/21 -- Michelle Chenard, 5-8

MANISTEE, WEXFORD & MISSAUKEE

LITTLE RIVER CASINO RESORT, MANISTEE

2/18 -- Onager!, 10

Emmet & Cheboygan

BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS, PETOSKEY

2-6:

2/18 -- Chase & Allie

2/25 -- Michelle Chenard

CITY PARK GRILL, PETOSKEY

2/24 -- Annex Karaoke, 9:30

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, BAY HARBOR

7-10:

2/24 -- Sean Megoran

2/25 -- Eric Jaqua

ODAWA CASINO RESORT, PETOSKEY

VICTORIES, 9: Sat -- Live DJ

2/24 -- Jedi Mind Trip

THE BEAU, CHEBOYGAN

8:

2/25 -- Happy Little Accidents

THE NOGGIN ROOM PUB, PETOSKEY

7-10:

2/18 -- Holly Keller

2/24 -- Todd Aldrich

2/25 -- Michelle Chenard

2/18 -- Brandon Long

Tai Drury of The Marsupials and Distant Stars plays original music and classic hits at Acoustic Tap Room, TC on Sat., Feb. 18 from 7-9pm, and Short’s Brew Pub, Bellaire on Sat., Feb. 25 from 8-10:30pm.

lOGY

FEB 20- FEB

BY ROB BREZSNY

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Most of us are constantly skirmishing with time, doing our best to coax it or compel it to give us more slack. But lately, you Aquarians have slipped into a more intense conflict. And from what I’ve been able to determine, time is kicking your ass. What can you do to relieve the pressure? Maybe you could edit your priority list—eliminate two mildly interesting pursuits to make more room for a fascinating one. You might also consider reading a book to help you with time management and organizational strategies, like these:

1. Getting Things Done by David Allen. 2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. 3. 15 Secrets

Successful People Know About Time Management by Kevin Kruse.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): ): The country of Nepal, which has strong Virgo qualities, is divided into seven provinces. One is simply called “Province No.1,” while the others are Sudurpashchim, Karnali, Gandaki, Lumbini, Bagmati, and Janakpur. I advise Nepal to give Province No. 1 a decent name very soon. I also recommend that you Virgos extend a similar outreach to some of the unnamed beauty in your sphere. Have fun with it. Give names to your phone, your computer, your bed, your hairdryer, and your lamps, as well as your favorite trees, houseplants, and clouds. You may find that the gift of naming helps make the world a more welcoming place with which you have a more intimate relationship. And that would be an artful response to current cosmic rhythms.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Are you aimless, impassive, and stuck, floundering as you try to preserve and maintain? Or are you fiercely and joyfully in quest of vigorous and dynamic success? What you do in the coming weeks will determine which of these two forks in your destiny will be your path for the rest of 2023. I'll be rooting for the second option. Here is a tip to help you be strong and bold. Learn the distinctions between your own soulful definition of success and the superficial, irrelevant, meaningless definitions of success that our culture celebrates. Then swear an oath to love, honor, and serve your soulful definition.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The next four weeks will be a time of germination, metaphorically analogous to the beginning of a pregnancy. The attitudes and feelings that predominate during this time will put a strong imprint on the seeds that will mature into full ripeness by late 2023. What do you want to give birth to in 40 weeks or so, Scorpio? Choose wisely! And make sure that in this early, impressionable part of the process, you provide your growing creations with positive, nurturing influences.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I recommend you set up Designated Arguing Summits (DAT). These will be short periods when you and your allies get disputes out in the open. Disagreements must be confined to these intervals. You are not allowed to squabble at any other time. Why do I make this recommendation? believe that many positive accomplishments are possible for you in the coming weeks, and it would be counterproductive to expend more than the minimal necessary amount on sparring. Your glorious assignment: Be emotionally available and eager to embrace the budding opportunities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Actor Judi

Dench won an Oscar for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the film Shakespeare in Love—even though she was onscreen for just eight minutes.

Beatrice Straight got an Oscar for her role in the movie Network, though she appeared for less than six minutes. expect a similar phenomenon in your world, Capricorn. A seemingly small pivot will lead to a vivid turning point. A modest seed will sprout into a prismatic bloom. A cameo performance will generate long-term ripples. Be alert for the signs.

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): "What is originality?" asked philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Here’s how he answered: "to see something that has no name as yet, and hence cannot be mentioned though it stares us all in the face." Got that, Pisces? I hope so, because your fun assignments in the coming days include the following: 1. to make a shimmering dream coalesce into a concrete reality; 2. to cause a figment of the imagination to materialize into a useful accessory; 3. to coax an unborn truth to sprout into a galvanizing insight.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Philosopher John O'Donohue wrote a prayer not so much to God as to Life. It's perfect for your needs right now. He said, "May my mind come alive today to the invisible geography that invites me to new frontiers, to break the dead shell of yesterdays, to risk being disturbed and changed." I think you will generate an interesting onrush of healing, Aries, if you break the dead shell of yesterdays and risk being disturbed and changed. The new frontier is calling to you. To respond with alacrity, you must shed some baggage.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Rightwing religious influencers are rambling amuck in the United States. In recent months, their repressive pressures have forced over 1,600 books to be banned in 138 school districts in 38 states. The forbidden books include some about heroes Nelson Mandela, Cesar Chavez, and Rosa Parks. With this appalling trend as a motivational force, I encourage you Tauruses to take inventory of any tendencies you might have to censor the information you expose yourself to. According to my reading of the astrological omens, now is an excellent time to pry open your mind to consider ideas and facts you have shut out. Be eager to get educated and inspired by stimuli outside your usual scope.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I think we can all agree that it’s really fun to fall in love. Those times when we feel a thrilling infatuation welling up within us are among the most pleasurable of all human experiences. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do it over and over again as the years go by? Just keep getting bowled over by fresh immersions in swooning adoration? Maybe we could drum up two or three bouts of mad love explosions every year. But alas, giving in to such a temptation might make it hard to build intimacy and trust with a committed, long-term partner. Here’s a possible alternative: Instead of getting smitten with an endless series of new paramours, we could get swept away by novel teachings, revelatory meditations, lovable animals, sublime art or music, amazing landscapes or sanctuaries, and exhilarating adventures. I hope you will be doing that in the coming weeks, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The scientific method is an excellent approach for understanding reality. It's not the only one, and should not be used to the exclusion of other ways of knowing. But even if you're allergic to physics or never step into a chemistry lab, you are wise to use the scientific method in your daily life. The coming weeks will be an especially good time to enjoy its benefits. What would that mean, practically speaking? Set aside your subjective opinions and habitual responses. Instead, simply gather evidence. Treasure actual facts. Try to be as objective as you can in evaluating everything that happens. Be highly attuned to your feelings, but also be aware that they may not provide all facets of the truth.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is there anything in your psychological makeup that would help you do some detective work? How are your skills as a researcher? Are you willing to be cagey and strategic as you investigate what’s going on behind the scenes? If so, I invite you to carry out any or all of these four tasks in the coming weeks: 1. Try to become aware of shrouded half-truths. 2. Be alert for shadowy stuff lurking in bright, shiny environments. 3. Uncover secret agendas and unacknowledged evidence. 4. Explore stories and situations that no one else seems curious about.

“Jonesin” Crosswords

"Where Is the Library?" READ-Y OR NOT. by Matt Jones

ACROSS

1. "Will you allow me to demonstrate?"

5. Rainbow fish

10. Comedian Miranda

14. Multivitamin additive

15. "Explain, please?"

16. Latin for "you love"

17. Feat in a two-on-two wrestling match?

19. Traveled by bus or bike

20. What a welcome sight relieves, idiomatically

21. "The old-fashioned way" to make money, per a classic ad

23. Mag. positions

24. Billy Ray or Miley Ray (that is her full name)

25. Long March leader

27. "Air mail" or "63 cents," for instance?

33. Magnum follower

35. "Ya know?"

36. "Little Women" character

37. Type of code or colony

38. News story

42. Repetitive

44. Bird that a "de-extinction" company is trying to bring back

45. Fake info leading to a wrong (but funny) location?

49. ___ Brands (KFC owner)

50. Accumulate

51. What you can't stand to have?

53. "Big" WWI cannon

55. Short personal stories?

60. "Cinderella Man" antagonist Max

61. Nickname for a gangster with bags under his eyes?

63. Neighborhood

64. Window features

65. Poker throw-in

66. Highway entrance

67. Lock of hair

68. Word that can follow both words of each long answer

DOWN

1. Medium range speakers, slangily

2. Buck's ending

3. Ump's statement

4. Asleep, usually

5. Pronoun chosen as the American Dialect Society's latest Word of the Decade

6. Flower in a dozen

7. Nocturnal flyers

8. Stadium chant, sometimes

9. Big volume

10. Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015

11. King of gods, in Egyptian myth

12. The "R" in "pi R squared"

13. Malaria fly

18. Decreased

22. German for "eight"

25. Type of mentality

26. Koko, e.g.

28. Not live, so to speak

29. Make changes to

30. Secondary course of study

31. Babble on

32. Lots (of)

34. It helps keep your heel from falling out of your heel

39. Small keyboard

40. Scholastic URL ender

41. Tattoo of the ancient mariner?

43. Still-alive member of CSNY

45. Name after Abdul-

46. 1998 Masters and British Open winner Mark

47. Name before Abdul-

48. Scheduling spot

52. Cult classic Britcom with the theme song "This Wheel's On Fire"

54. Planner abbr.

55. Dermatology case

56. Tiny Tim's strings, for short

57. "___ of the D'Urbervilles"

58. Bi- times four

59. Hide-and-go-___

62. Rower's need

CLASSIFIEDS

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TORCH CONSERVATION CENTERHIRING EXEC. DIRECTOR: TORCH CONSERVATION CENTER HIRING Part-Time EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-

Help us promote water-friendly living and private land stewardship in the Torch Lake Watershed by fundraising, coordinating programs, developing partnerships & supporting the Center's Mission and Board. Gross Salary $30,500. Please send cover letter and resume to: admin@conservetorch.org.

PAID PART-TIME JOB TRAINING FOR SENIORS 55+: PAID PART-TIME POSITIONS WAITING TO BE FILLED IN TRAVERSE CITY for Seniors 55 and over. Clerical Support, File Clerk, Employment Specialist Trainee, Retail and Customer Service. Applicants must be Age 55 and Over, Unemployed, Seeking Work and Meet Program Eligibility. Find out if you qualify, contact the AARP Foundation SCSEP office, 231-252-4544.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR TECHNOLOGY? ASK BUCHAN

TECH...: 20+ years experience, call (231) 598-8324 or visit my website www.BuchanTECH.com

GREAT LAKES HOME CARE UNLIMITED: Want to make a difference in someone's life and be part of a amazing team of rock star in home caregivers? Call today 1-888-242-4759 or Go online and apply www.glhcu.com

NEW HOPE NETWORK LOCATION NOW HIRING! : Help those experiencing a mental health crisis by joining our direct care team. Sign on Bonus $1000. Starting pay $17. Full Benefits start first day. Paid training provided - no experience needed. All shifts available full and part time. Contact Dana @ 616-260-7266 or dgrummet@hopenetwork.org

DOWNTOWN ROOMS FOR RENT: THE WHITING. Downtown rooms for rent on a month to month basis. Rents starting at $400/mo, includes all utilities. Single occupancy, no pets. 231-9476360. www.thewhitinghotel.com