Northern Express - April 17, 2023

Survival Guide for Humanity

Unregulated, unfettered capitalism is failing most of us and the earth we need for survival. It is built on competition—not cooperation—and depends on growth at any cost. The belief that this is sustainable is an illusion.

Check out these contradictions:

1. The subsidizing of fossil fuel companies by governments and banks is accelerating our climate crisis.

2. The privatization of our healthcare is leading to less available care and the closing of rural hospitals. The impact on communities like ours can be deadly.

3. The growth of monopolies means fewer companies own more of the markets and can charge all they wish. The public is held hostage as prices rise and attenuated choices in services.

4. Our bloated military budget does nothing to ensure peace around the world. But the only profiteers are those that manufacture weapons of death: Halliburton, Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon, and more.

5. Privatization of water is contrary to the reality that “water is life” and as such is an absolute necessity for every living thing. Think of all the 40 million people who get their drinking water from the Straits and what an oil spill would do to us

We need to learn from our polluted economics and activate a different future for all that inhabit the earth. Call it de-growth or post growth—it is an essential approach to a resilient future for our children and the children of all species.

Make this Earth Day your wake-up call to commit to being part of the effort to bring the structural change that is critically needed. Join the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council or another local environmental group to protect this area of northwest Michigan.

The time is now. There is no Planet B.

Ann Rogers | Traverse City

top ten

Where Poetry Meets History

The Benzie Area Historical Society Museum and Oliver Art Center will collaborate to launch ARTiFACTORY, a place where poetry meets history. Poets of all ages in the community have the opportunity to have their poem published and to read their work at an opening reception held at Oliver Art Center on Saturday, April 22, from 4-6pm. For more info, visit oliverartcenterfrankfort.org.

4 Small Plates, Big Appetites

Wine and food, food and wine…we don’t care which order they come in—we just want them both. Enter the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail’s Small Plates Event on April 22, which functions as “an intimate progressive dinner along the trail.” Participating wineries partner up with local chefs or put their in-house cook in the limelight to create gourmet pairings at each stop. The wineries are: Amoritas Vineyards (with Mel & Fell), Aurora Cellars, Bel Lago Winery, Black Star Farms, Boathouse Vineyard, Bregman Brothers, French Valley Vineyard, Shady Lane Cellars, and Verterra Winery. Menus include everything from chicken tikka masala and miso soup to eggs benedict and chicken picatta. A $25 ticket gets you into three wineries, but you can buy multiple tickets as the event is staged throughout the day. Seating times are 6pm, 7:10pm, and 8:20pm. This event is known to sell out, so get moving if you want to join the fun! Learn more at lpwines.com/small-plates.

Hey, watch It! Not Dead Yet

Nell Serrano (played by the incomparable Gina Rodriguez of Jane the Virgin fame) has had a rough go of it lately. She’s been dumped, has moved back to her old town and her old job at a California newspaper, and is struggling with her latest beat: obituaries. The struggle becomes real—or, rather, surreal —when the subjects of Nell’s obits start to haunt her. (Luckily, these are well-intentioned ghosts who would rather impart unsolicited life advice than drive Nell herself to an early grave.) Meanwhile, Nell is juggling her own mental health, a slow reentry into the dating world, and the dynamics of new and old friendships. (Our second favorite cast member award goes to Hannah Simone as Nell’s BFF Sam.) While firmly a comedy, certainly tugs some heartstrings as Nell gets back on her feet and works through her grief and disappointments. Now airing on ABC, with episodes later available on Hulu.

2 tastemaker North End Pizzeria’s Big Hot Woody

North End Pizzeria of Northport is already stoking its fires for another season of slinging pies, and there’s not a soggy bottom in sight! While everything’s coming up to temperature, our go-to is the Big Hot Woody, named affectionately for their bright red ovens. This signature pie starts with house pizza dough (a script that took 20 years to hone), layered with fresh marinara, mozzarella, and Italian sausage with bacon bits. From there, the crew tops the whole shebang with roasted red peppers, jalapeños, and roasted garlic before it’s baked to thin and crispy perfection. Each bite is savory with just a hint of spice—eat your heart out, Mary Berry! Enjoy a Big Hot Woody ($26) on the patio at The Mitten Brewing Company in Northport (112 W. Nagonaba St.). Order on-site—each 12-inch pie takes about seven minutes—or reach out on their Facebook or Instagram pages @thebighotwoody.

DAZE $4.20 Deals Contests Giveaways

6 Winter in Spring

No, that’s not the weather report—it’s the Traverse City premiere of Frozen Stupid2:Open Water, a family-friendly comedy filmed in Michigan by NoMi director Rich Brauer. This is the award-winning sequel to—you guessed it— Frozen Stupid and follows Tony Norgard’s (mis) adventures on Houghton Lake as he attempts to win a local fishing tournament to pay off the hefty fine of rescuing his submerged vehicle from the lake. You’ll find some familiar-to-Michigancinema faces with actors like Joey Albright and Sam Idleman (Escanaba in da Moonlight and the first Frozen Stupid) plus Kimberly Guerrero, known for roles in Hidalgo, Barn Red, and Seinfeld. The movie was filmed prior to the pandemic, so the screening at the State Theatre on Wednesday, April 19, at 7pm has been a long time coming. For more information on the film, head to brauer.com/copy-of-frozen-stupid-2. Tickets can be purchased at the State Theatre.

Line 5 and the United Nations

The Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is getting some international attention these days—well beyond those of us in the United States and Canada. This month, representatives from 51 Tribal and First Nations brought the issue before the United Nations Human Rights Council with a report that calls on the Canadian government to halt the crude oil flowing through the pipeline. The report states, “Line 5 poses a current and foreseeable threat to a broad range of human rights” and that “Enbridge is operating Line 5 without valid easements, and has also been found to be trespassing on Indigenous Peoples’ land.” (You can read the full report by visiting earthrights.org and navigating to their News & Media / Press Releases section.) The timing of the report comes as Canada is on deck for a Universal Periodic Review, a process for a review of human rights records that all 193 United Nations member states undergo.

Stuff We Love: Growing Rural Land-Based Industries

Land-based industries sounds a little technical, but it’s the term the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) uses to describe businesses focused on food, agriculture, forestry, mining, and more. MDARD recently announced a series of grants to support those businesses in rural areas, and several northern Michigan outposts will be reaping the rewards! Ethanology of Elk Rapids is getting $100,000 to renovate a warehouse for increased barrel-aged spirit production; the Grand Traverse Area Children’s Garden is getting $20,000 to pursue infrastructure upgrades, new programming, and community connections; Lakeview Hill Farm in Leelanau is getting $100,000 to convert a one-room schoolhouse into a retail store; and McCormick Farmz of Cheboygan is getting $67,844 for equipment and infrastructure for a lavender farm. Cool things are headed our way! Learn more at michigan.gov/mdardgrants.

bottoms up Rare Bird Brewpub’s Grapefruit Rosé

Yes, we know it’s strange not to order a beer at a brewery, but every so often you just need something a little lighter. With spring making a fine effort Up North, we’re finding ourselves drawn to all things bright, sweet, and pink…like the Grapefruit Rosé cocktail, which is on tap at Rare Bird Brewpub in Traverse City. Surprisingly, the booze in this drink isn’t rosé wine but instead a blend of Champagne and Michigan-made vodka. From there, the bartender adds simple syrup, lime, rose essence, and—of course—a healthy dose of grapefruit juice. The concoction is slightly sweet, slightly tart, and all around refreshing for a sunny spring happy hour. Add an order of the Fried Avocado Tacos to your tab, and you’ll be feeling like it’s July in TC in no time. Get yours ($7) at Rare Bird Brewpub at 229 Lake Ave in Traverse City. rarebirdbrewpub.com

Kalkaska Michigan

Wed. April 26-Sun. April 30

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26TH

OPENING CEREMONY AT 5:45PM - TROUT MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN

TROUT-TASTIC! AT 6:30

Featuring Derailed -- Community is welcome! - FREE!

UNDER THE PAVILLION AT RAILROAD SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN KALKASKA

FRIDAY APRIL 28TH

TROUT FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT WITH THE FABULOUS HORNDOGS

Special Guests: Motor City Vibrations Railroad Square, Downtown Kalkaska Concert starts at 7:00 / Free Admission / Gate opens 6:30 For a complete schedule go to www.nationaltroutfestival.com

EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

ON WE GO

spectator

By Stephen Tuttle

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has been living large on someone else’s dime for a long time. Thanks to reporting in ProPublica, we now know just how large that life has been. Thomas disclosed none of it.

Thomas’s benefactor, billionaire Harlan Crow, owns a real estate development and investment company founded by his father, who was once considered the country’s largest landlord. Crow is also a significant donor to Republican and conservative causes and once gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Tea Party-type organization founded by Thomas’ wife, Ginni. Then he paid her $120,000 annually to run it.

and Daryl Nelson, have been collecting plenty of taxpayer dollars annually for just such activities, among many, many others. We know this thanks to some intrepid research and reporting by Ted Wendling in the BOC Beacon newsletter, a publication of the Grand Traverse County Democrats.

The commissioners exposed were dismissive, saying the complaints were just partisan “bull****” and nobody else was complaining. So here’s your chance. Do you approve of commissioners receiving more than one $65 per diem a day? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65 for meeting with each other? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65

Clarence Thomas doesn’t even know he’s been corrupted, but another summer trip is likely planned. County commissioners are oblivious to their own greed and keep submitting those per diems.

(Ginni Thomas is an election-denying and conspiracy-believing participant in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Her texts to then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows from early November to mid-January are filled with nonsense about mythical election fraud and her belief the Joe Biden electoral victory was a “coup.”)

The problem here is that gifts are supposed to be disclosed. Thomas now claims his colleagues told him “personal hospitality” need not be reported. It’s a safe bet those colleagues were not aware of just how much hospitality Thomas and his wife have been receiving for the last two decades. Just one trip in 2019 included a nine-day excursion of Indonesian island-hopping that included Crow’s private jet, Crow’s private yacht, and Crow’s private resort at a cost of more than $500,000. That’s one trip among many over more than 20 years—that is some friendly hospitality.

What’s especially interesting is the CrowThomas friendship is not a lifelong thing. Their acquaintance began five years after Thomas became a Supreme Court justice. What a coincidence.

Meanwhile, our Grand Traverse County commissioners, or at least some of them, continue feeding at the taxpayer trough at $65 a bite. They don’t seem willing to change their gluttonous habits any time soon.

Our county commissioners are allowed to claim a $65 per diem payment for a variety of activities beyond their normal duties. Those normal duties, which we expect them to carry out, include contact with constituents and each other, among other things. Their own rules say they can’t claim per diem payments for those types of activities, but claim them they do.

The commissioners in question, Chair Rob Hentschel and Commissioners Brad Jewett

for meeting with constituents? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65 for phone calls from home? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65 for watching meetings online from home? If not, Chair Rob Hentschel (rhentschel@gtcountymi. gov) would like to hear from you, because, apparently, complaints must be issued before they start following their own rules.

In Traverse City, former city manager Marty Colburn is gone because…well, apparently for no reason at all. Mayor Richard Lewis tells us it’s not because anything “immoral, unethical or illegal” has been done. Those willing to speak about it have had nothing but praise for Colburn, who had indicated he wanted to continue serving. They bemoaned both the abruptness of the decision and the lack of transparency but did nothing to edify us on either issue.

The entire and quite sudden separation is shrouded in secrecy, though it’s hard to tell who’s being protected, given Colburn seemingly did nothing about which he would be embarrassed. Perhaps those involved now remaining silent need to do some uncomfortable explaining.

The problem with all this closed-door secrecy is it leads to significant speculation. Did Colburn do something wrong? Did he somehow run afoul of the City Commission or Downtown Development Authority? Was he the victim of some kind of in-house coup? Did others wanting the job find a way to orchestrate Colburn’s departure? Who knows?

Clarence Thomas doesn’t even know he’s been corrupted, but another summer trip is likely planned. County commissioners are oblivious to their own greed and keep submitting those per diems. City officials don’t seem to know anything at all about why they’re seeking a new city manager. And on we go.

Sponsors: Trout Town Tavern & Eatery • BC Pizza Kalkaska • Moose & Stella’s Cafe • Bear Lake Inn • Yankee Boy Restaurant

HIGH NOTES

THE LOCAL TOUCH

As lifetime residents of northern Michigan, the team at Dunegrass has a home-grown perspective on the Up-North experience. “A Higher Latitude” refers to northern Michigan’s unique sense of place as a destination that offers worldclass outdoor recreation against a stunning backdrop of lakes, forests, and rolling hills.

It’s important to us to preserve the natural beauty that makes our area so special, and that’s why we take sustainability issues seriously. Our supply chain focuses on select growers and processors in the region to supply quality products and strengthen our community impact.

We’ve even launched our own line of in-house products, Northern Grown, to highlight the local growers and processors we work with. Decide between premiumgrown buds, quality distillate balanced out with botanically-derived terpenes, or fully packed pre-rolls. These elevated experiences are offered exclusively at all Dunegrass locations.

Whenever we can, we work with our local cannabis partners, and when Northern Grown isn’t an option, we’ve zeroed in on the growers and processors downstate producing outstanding products while taking sustainability issues seriously.

Also launching this summer is our groundbreaking new product in the cannabis industry, Lift Strips. Lift Strips are cannabis-infused, quick-release dissolvables and are discretely concealable for a low-key approach to consumption. While activation may be quick (within 1-30 minutes), Lift Strips are a calorie-free alternative to your typical lineup of options. Debuting at the Michigan Cannabis Cup this year, Lift Strips will soon have more flavors and dosing choices available.

From our Northern Grown perspective, A Higher Latitude is best enjoyed responsibly with friends. Please read our Responsible Cannabis Guide, a guideline for safe cannabis use and respect for the people and places you visit.

Find the Responsible Cannabis Guide—and your nearest location and new locations to come, such as Interlochen—on our award-winning website, Dunegrass. co. With six local shops and counting, Dunegrass strives to be your cannabis outfitter, delivering A Higher Latitude for whatever northern Michigan adventure awaits you.

guest opinion by Greg Holmes

When was the last time you judged another person? How often do you find yourself putting someone or something down? Be honest now. If you stop and think about it, it’s much more often than you would like to admit.

Why do we spend so much of our precious time and energy criticizing relatively insignificant things about other people, such as how they look, what they wear, and what they believe? And why do we worry so much about what others think about us?

Self-esteem can actually function like a seesaw, which was also known as a teetertotter. Although seesaws have mostly disappeared from playgrounds, it’s easy to remember how they work. The only way that you could go up on your seat is for the other person to go down.

The motivation for putting others down is almost always to elevate our feelings about ourselves. What is sad and sometimes d angerous is that this motivation often remains hidden from our awareness. We simply continue to be critical and even feel righteous about how we feel. The other person simply “deserves” our judgment, as if we somehow know what is right for them.

It is impossible not to compare ourselves with others. It is a given from the very ground up of our DNA that there will be lots of differences between people. The list is endless, including but not limited to physical characteristics, values, possessions, and achievements.

Differences between people are, of course, normal. The problem begins when those differences are assigned a value, creating opportunities for judgment, jealousy, and derision. This assignment of value comes from many sources, including, but not limited, to political parties, religious institutions, and companies eager to sell us their wares.

We are bombarded each day with images of what is the best thing to buy, the best thing to have, the thing that will give us a leg up on our neighbor. Advertisements frequently feature comparisons between people who have or use their product and the unfortunate others who don’t.

The real issue, however, is not what we are told has value but whether or not we believe that it actually does. We then use those beliefs to judge ourselves and others. If we have low self-esteem, we will be more vulnerable to what other people value—what they feel is right and what is good. From there, it’s a short hop onto the seesaw.

So how is self-esteem developed?

Basically, self-esteem is a feeling of overall confidence in yourself, and it evolves over one’s lifetime. The most important period

for development of one’s self-esteem is duri ng childhood when the foundation is laid. A child’s parents are the main source of whether a child feels loved, valued, and respected. A child who feels abandoned, neglected, or harshly criticized by parents develops the feeling that who they are, what they do, what they say is simply not important.

Although it is essential that parents offer unconditional positive regard for their child, parents are not the only ones who influence the development of self-esteem. Teachers, coaches, and peers have an important impact as they can either judge or encourage the child.

An important factor is whether a young person’s ideas, dreams, or interests matter to others or whether these are dismissed or ridiculed. A parent or teache r who summarily criticizes the child’s ideas because they are impractical or “stupid” can actually interfere with the development and expression of the self. (A song that summarizes this dynamic perfectly is Supertramp’s “The Logical Song.”)

When children are in school, the differences between them and their classmates are easy to see. Comparisons about who did better or worse in academics, sports, and extracurricular activities happen all the time. Who has friends, who doesn’t, and differences in social or economic status are all judged and can further affect children who may already be vulnerable to criticism.

How children relate to their peer group in adolescence is super important. Relationships with friends are a major factor to how teens feel about themselves. Not having friends, feeling isolated, and being bullied increases low self-esteem and one’s doubts about oneself.

That leads us to a big question: Can we increase our self-esteem? It is possible, but it’s often very difficult to do so. It’s so easy to stay on the seesaw because we are often unaware that we are on it in the first place. Staying on the seesaw can give us a short-lived feeling of pleasure as it feeds our ego; but, in the end, being critical of others offers at best only pyrrhic victories, not contentment.

Stepping off the seesaw involves taking an honest, deep look at who you really are and the motivations for your behavior. What’s really sad is that after a lifetime of being judged by others and yourself, you may not know who you really are. Find a caring therapist or someone you trust who can help in your journey. Perhaps you will finally find the unconditional positive regard that you have been looking for your entire life.

Greg Holmes lives and writes in Traverse City.

Inexplicable

Tony Saunders of Steelton, Pennsylvania, led state troopers on an odyssey on April 4, WTAJ-TV reported. Early that morning, officers stopped Saunders on suspicion of a burglary the day before. In the trunk of his BMW, he had a dead deer; when a trooper went to open the rear door, Saunders sped away and eventually got stuck on railroad tracks. He left the car and ran into a wooded area. Later that day, a school bus was reported stolen from Abbottstown, and again, police gave chase. Saunders finally ran away from the bus and through parking lots, shedding his clothing as he fled. He was nude when arrested. At some point, he had transferred the dead deer into the school bus; he told them he was going to use it for garden fertilizer. He faces multiple charges.

It's Come to This

"There will be no plans to hunt eggs again." So proclaimed Jessica Baer, the assistant manager of The Greene in Beavercreek, Ohio, after an Easter egg hunt went awry there on April 2. The Dayton Daily News reported that the activity, which was planned as a well-choreographed event for children, was ruined when people didn't listen to directions. Instead, during the time period restricted to 1- and 2-year-olds, adults ran out to hunt eggs, which prompted a free-for-all. Some people even allegedly pushed children out of the way or knocked them over. "This is absolutely unacceptable behavior," officials said. "We feel the community will be better without the hunt."

Unclear on the Concept

Siva Moodley, a pastor at The Miracle Centre near Johannesburg, South Africa, died on Aug. 15, 2021, Oddity Central reported. But until recently, his body lay at a funeral home -- for almost 600 days -- because his family members were convinced he would come back to life. The mortuary couldn't move forward on a burial without consent from the family, who at first came to the facility to pray for his resurrection. "He was a well-known man and does not deserve this kind of treatment," the mortuary owner said. Finally, he took legal action to further the pastor's burial. In response, the Gauteng High Court authorized a mandatory burial or cremation, and on March 16, Moodley was finally laid to rest.

Compelling Explanation

In Dallas, grocery worker Coby Todd, 21, is sure that a "mischievous child ghost" pushed a shopping cart into his car as he was leaving work, Fox News reported on March 30. The day before, Todd had gone "ghost hunting" at a home in Frontier Village, Texas, and had sensed the presence of a "little boy" spirit, he said. He thinks the spirit followed him home and to work the next day. "Maybe he was trying to play with me," Todd said. He checked out the store's security footage to see who might have pushed the cart, and it does appear to suddenly turn and roll on its own toward Todd's car. The damage amounts to about $25,000, and Todd said "it upset me. It's not fake."

Parenting Goals

TikTokker Will Meyers posted in early April that he had to "go pick up my kid from school today because I made a big mistake," the Daily Mail reported. As Meyers packed his son's lunch that morning, he loaded in a can of Guinness -- because the black can looks a lot like Liquid Death sparkling water. "It looks like sparkling water, but it's definitely not sparkling water," Meyers said. Other parents weighed in, with one admitting they sent "two packs of cigarettes in a bag of paper plates and napkins to my daughter's class." A teacher soothed the guilty parents, saying it's a common mistake.

Suspicions Confirmed

The Environmental Protection Agency released the findings of a study on April 4 revealing that more than 9 million lead pipes carry water into homes across the United States, the Associated Press reported. The survey also ranked the states in order of how many lead pipes are still in use; Florida was first, with more than 1 million pipes underground. Erik Olson of the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council was surprised at Florida's position on the list because lead pipes were installed mostly before Florida's population rapidly grew. "We look forward to hearing an explanation," he said. The survey will be used to distribute funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Least Competent Criminal

Channing Vanderbilt, 31, was arrested in Chandler, Arizona, on April 3 after a shooting that killed a 58-year-old man, AZFamily reported. When officers responded to the scene, the man's wife said Vanderbilt had approached them as they were retrieving their mail and opened fire. Oddly, Vanderbilt was also still at the scene, pretending to be a bystander. He denied being involved in the shooting and said he was picking up shell casings as "souvenirs." He was charged with first-degree murder and other offenses.

Bright Idea

Here's a new thing to worry about: super pigs. Starting in the 1980s, Canadian farmers bred domestic pigs with wild boars, resulting in "super pigs" that are a headache for wildlife and crops, Yahoo! News reported. Now, the hybrids, which sometimes grow to 600 pounds, are moving south into the United States. "They are the worst invasive large mammal on the planet. Period," said Ryan Brook, a wildlife researcher at the University of Saskatchewan. The pigs feed on agricultural crops but also damage the soil by digging in it. They eat reptiles, birds and even whitetailed deer, and they contaminate water. While some have suggested hunting as a way to control their numbers, Brook said, "You simply can't BBQ your way out of a wild pig problem." Officials in Montana have introduced the "Squeal on Pigs!" campaign encouraging residents to report feral swine, and North and South Dakota have reported possible populations. Soo wee!

High Days and All-Time Lows

Local cannabis leaders talk market saturation, product pricing, and more

By Craig Manning

It’s a tumultuous time for cannabis in northern Michigan.

After years of waiting, recreational marijuana is finally making its way to Traverse City, where the city government recently issued no fewer than 16 adult-use dispensary permits. That development has the potential to reshape the local market completely, not only putting recreational cannabis products within arm’s reach of TC residents and tourists alike, but also affecting shops in other local towns—from Manistee to Kalkaska—that have flourished in part because of the lack of Traverse City buying opportunities.

At the same time, good news and bad news is swirling around the Michigan cannabis industry, seemingly in equal measure. On the positive side, the state’s recent disbursement of tax revenues from 2022 recreational marijuana sales has brought tens of thousands of dollars to cities and counties throughout northern Michigan. On the bad side, tanking product prices and talk of an oversaturated market have led some to wonder whether Michigan’s “green rush” has already peaked.

Amidst the chaos, Northern Express convened a panel of four expert “pot people” to talk about the state of the market, the impacts of dipping prices and slimming profit margins, the future of medical marijuana, and more. Read on to find out what we learned.

Meet the Panel

• Daniel Caudill, Olean’s (Northport)

• William McKenzie, Authentic 231 (Manistee)

• John McLeod, Cloud Cannabis (Traverse City)

• Kelly Young, Torch Cannabis Co. (Central Lake)

Takeaway 1: There’s still excitement around the local market

It’s been more than four years since Michigan voters cast their ballots to legalize

cannabis for recreational use. After all that time, we had to ask: Has the novelty faded? Or are locals still excited about this market?

Caudill thinks there’s still plenty of energy around cannabis in northern Michigan— perhaps even buoyed by the fact that many communities in the area were initially reluctant to embrace it.

In Northport, for instance, Caudill’s journey to opening his store was delayed a year

will be a positive thing for the entire local market.”

Young concurs. “It takes time for that whole prohibition mindset to relax,” she explains. “The market isn’t just going to jump up to 50 percent of an area’s population going into stores and buying cannabis. It takes things like one person sharing a gummy with somebody else who has always said, ‘Oh, I’ll never ever try that.’ So I feel like

and ability to operate successfully.”

Some of that, McKenzie says, is starting to happen locally. “I think that for the most part, local municipalities overshot the license count a little bit,” he says. “I think about Manistee, which is a town of less than 6,000 people, and we have five stores. One of them is closed for good, and another one has been for sale. At a certain point, the market decides how many stores there will be.”

Speaking of the market deciding, McKenzie expects that Traverse City’s big number of newly-licensed recreational dispensaries will have a ripple effect. “Stores in Kalkaska or Benzie could take a hit from that,” he muses, noting that many of those outside-of-TC stores have been able to grab local market share by offering product delivery into Traverse City.

when citizens mounted a ballot referendum seeking to overturn the village council’s adoption of a marijuana ordinance. That ballot measure ultimately failed, and Olean’s was allowed to open, but Caudill knew he was facing a community that had some reservations about cannabis. Those reservations, he says, have begun to fade away as he’s integrated his business into the community.

“I think a lot of the myths are laid to rest once you see what a cool, modern, experiential dispensary looks like,” Caudill explains. “At this point, I feel the community has been amazingly receptive and has embraced us, which has been really lovely.”

Caudill is even excited for Traverse City’s stores to come online—even if it means more competition. “I think it’s amazing that Traverse City is finally coming on board, because it’s continuing to normalize the use and sales of cannabis,” Caudill says. “That

there’s so much more potential for cannabis consumers to come to the market; we just have to give it time.”

Takeaway 2: Oversaturation is happening in the recreational cannabis market

Despite Caudill and Young’s shared optimism about the energy and growth potential of the local cannabis market, our panelists agree that saturation is happening in Michigan—and will likely have an impact on dispensaries sooner rather than later.

“There are definitely some cities that are oversaturated, and in those particular cities, some stores have closed,” says McLeod, whose Cloud Cannabis operates dispensaries in 10 communities around Michigan. “Cannabis is just like any other brick-and-mortar retail store based on supply and demand. In a few cities in Michigan—Bay City being the most notable—the market is dictating store counts

Not every local market is at capacity. In contrast to Manistee or the Village of Kalkaska (which has eight operating adult-use dispensaries), Olean’s is the only marijuana shop currently operating in Leelanau County. Despite having that market cornered, Caudill isn’t taking anything for granted.

“It’s like any other business,” Caudill reasons. “People gravitate to where they get the best-quality products, or the best customer service, or the best price. Even in the restaurant business, one restaurant will be really busy but the one right next door may not have anyone. I think it’s very similar in cannabis. So that’s our focus … making sure that we are always giving the best quality experience and offering the best quality product that’s available.”

Takeaway 3: The medical marijuana market is fading away

One thing that fewer and fewer dispensaries are focusing on? Medical marijuana licenses.

While medical is the older market in Michigan—and was the entry point for many businesses in the industry—most

Daniel Caudill

William McKenzie

John McLeod

Kelly Young

“I think it’s amazing that Traverse City is finally coming on board, because it’s continuing to normalize the use and sales of cannabis,” Caudill says. “That will be a positive thing for the entire local market.”

of our panelists indicate that the ease and accessibility of recreational marijuana is effectively flattening cannabis commerce into a single market.

“Medical-only demand has tapered down incrementally for nearly two years now,” says McLeod, whose Cloud store in Traverse City has thus far had to make ends meet as a medical-only seller due to the city’s slow adoption of adult-use sales.

But while the wait for rec sales has been a money-losing proposition for Cloud and other TC stores, McLeod says he’s still sad to see the medical market go. A former Detroit police officer, McLeod credits cannabis with saving his life after the prescription pain medication he was taking to help with a knee injury negatively impacted his life.

“As one of the 200,000-plus medical card holders in Michigan, I will always ensure patients are taken care of at Cloud,” McLeod vows. “That being said, so many customers that are considered ‘recreational’ are people who use cannabis for medicinal purposes— for example, to help them manage anxiety or get a good night’s sleep. If you went to a doctor wanting to get help with those issues, you would most likely be prescribed something. So ultimately, as the product selection dwindles on the medical side, we must educate people that we have options for everyone.”

McKenzie is one of the players getting out of the medical market. “We actually didn’t even renew our medical licenses in our stores, because the medical sales were so low that they didn’t even cover the licensing costs,” he says. “And that comes from a trickle-down effect: As medical patients don’t renew their cards and start shopping in the rec market, that shrinks the patient count, which affects the sales in stores. And then as those in-store sales shrink, those retailers buy fewer medical products, which means that producers start producing less medical product.”

The good news, McLeod says, is that the fading of the medical market just means that a lot of the products that used to be exclusive to that space are coming to the recreational market.

“For example, in the past, a product you could only get on the medical side was a 200mg gummy,” he notes. “Because medical stores are letting their licenses go in favor of adult use, this product was hard to find for some patients. In response to that, the CRA now allows a 200mg gummy to be sold on the adult-use side.”

Takeaway 4: Marijuana pricing is out of control

If you’ve stepped into an adult-use dispensary in the past year, you’ve probably noticed something surprising: Pot is cheap!

According to Cannabis Benchmarks, a marijuana data research firm, Michigan wholesale prices for cannabis flower dipped from an average of $2,750 per pound in January 2021 to $925 per pound in October of last year. The price compression has hurt marijuana businesses statewide by cutting into profit margins and making it harder to make ends meet. But why are prices cratering, and is there relief on the horizon?

“We’re actually seeing some market correction right now, at least on the wholesale side, and it should trickle down into retail at some point in the next few months,” McKenzie says of the current pricing situation.

The problem, he explains, was caused by a simple culprit—a huge surplus of product—but in a way that most people might not expect.

“The Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA), the state department that runs this market, was not doing any enforcement,” McKenzie claims. “And there has been so much black-market product coming into the state from saturated markets like California

and Oklahoma that we have never actually seen a true picture of what the state supply looks like.”

Some shops in Michigan, McKenzie tells Northern Express , have been buying product from other states because it’s cheaper and provides an opportunity to pad profit margins. But until recently, he says, the CRA has not been doing its due diligence in revoking those stores’ licenses, which has allowed black-market activity to continue.

“A normal cannabis market has an annual cycle,” McKenzie continues. “In October we harvest and prices drop, because the market gets flooded with product. But then around May, prices start climbing back up again as people run out of product. We never saw that here in Michigan. Ever since the market opened, the prices have ticked steadily downwards. And I’ve always been of the opinion that that was due to blackmarket manipulation.”

Things are getting better: McLeod says that the price of wholesale flower “remains low but seems to have stabilized over the last six months.” Caudill, meanwhile, notes that the Michigan market seems to be settling into a more predictable ebb-and-flow cycle as it matures.

For his part, McKenzie credits the change to Brian Hanna, a former Michigan State Police officer who has taken on leadership of the CRA—and who has started cracking down on black-market cannabis.

“[Hanna] has been suspending people’s licenses,” McKenzie says. “And as a result, in the last few months, we’ve seen that wholesale distillate—which is the base product for most of what you buy in the store that isn’t flower, from edibles to vape cartridges—has risen in price from $1,000 a liter at the beginning of the year to $3,400 per liter today. That’s a direct result of enforcement action from the state. I think in the next few months, we will

get a true picture of what the state supply looks like.”

On the consumer side, that uptick in enforcement will likely lead to higher product prices at all dispensaries. On the business side, the shift will help profit margins—albeit, maybe not enough to solve some of the other problems that our panelists say are making it difficult to survive in the cannabis market.

“The tax structure is really difficult,” Caudill admits. “We work really hard to make it work, but it’s definitely a struggle being a small independent store at the end of a peninsula.”

Young, meanwhile, noticed during the pricing pinch just how hard her business was getting hit by license fees. “At one point, the state had said that license renewals wouldn’t be as expensive and would be based on your sales,” she says. “That never happened. So as a small business operator, not only do you have the price compression, but then you have the excessive renewal fees for operating that take no consideration of actual performance or sales. Across the board, everybody pays the same. I don’t think that’s fair.”

All the economic issues combined are leading to talks of consolidation throughout the Michigan cannabis market. McKenzie says local consumers should absolutely expect the trend to transform the face of northern Michigan marijuana in the years to come.

“My business has already been involved in a number of merger and acquisition talks, in terms of absorbing smaller companies that maybe just have a couple stores and aren’t going to survive on their own,” McKenzie says. “I think you’re going to see a lot of that over the next 12-24 months, because the way that the retail market has evolved, prices have gotten so low that there’s no way you can just be a standalone retailer and sell product and afford and pay your taxes.”

Authentic 231 (Manistee)

Cloud Cannabis (Traverse City)

Torch Cannabis Co. (Central Lake)

Olean’s (Northport)

Torch Cannabis Co. (Central Lake)

The Little Pot Shop That Could

Interlochen Alternative Health looks back at 10 years in the business

By Al Parker

When the legal sale of recreational marijuana began on March 1 in Green Lake Township, Interlochen Alternative Health (IAH) felt an immediate high.

“It’s been awesome,” says owner Stephen Ezell, who opened the business in 2013 to provide medical marijuana to card-holding clients. “Our business was up 400 percent the first day.”

The buzz at IAH continued throughout March. On a Friday afternoon, a steady stream of visitors trekked to the shop, tucked into a corner of the shopping plaza along U.S. 31. One woman, walking out with her purchase, shouted back, “See ya next Friday.”

“It’s been our best month ever,” explains Ezell, while greeting customers coming through the front door.

The Road to Recreational

The 73-year-old former Indiana postal worker moved to Traverse City in 2008 to enjoy a quiet retirement with his wife, Barbara. When she was diagnosed with cancer, their life plans changed dramatically. Barbara tried medical marijuana, and when it helped her cope with pain and nausea, the Ezells decided to start a business to try to help others suffering with cancer and other ailments.

(Barbara, an avid gardener and bird lover, passed away on May 20, 2022, six

months after the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.)

Interlochen Alternative Health operated as a medical marijuana shop for five years before 2018, when Michigan voters approved the sale of recreational cannabis products to anyone over 21. The same law allowed communities to decide for themselves to allow recreational marijuana within their borders.

Green Lake Township commissioners nixed the idea. According to Ezell, the vote was 3-3, with one member refusing to vote on the somewhat-controversial measure.

Surprisingly, Ezell was not a big fan of recreational marijuana when it was first proposed. “If I had my way, recreational would have never came on,” he told a reporter for Interlochen Public Radio last year. “We’d have stayed with medical. But I can’t help it. It changed, the people approved it, and it’s just a fact of life right now that medical will not survive.”

But seeing the future of the industry, Ezell launched a campaign in 2022 and gathered signatures to have township voters—instead of the commissioners—decide the issue. And last November, the community approved the recreational sale of cannabis to adults.

Ezell says the commissioners’ original decision cost him and Green Lake Township money, the latter because they lost out on funds from the state’s adult-use marijuana excise tax. “I had to spend $25,000 on the voter initiative,” he says. “You know, if [the

commissioners] had passed it and we had recreational last year, it would have raised $58,000 for the township.”

(Under the state law, each community gets a portion of the revenues generated by recreational cannabis sales.)

Special Strains

Despite the turbulence of the last year, IAH has a relaxed vibe. Pot posters and artwork decorate the walls. Upon entering, visitors can peruse glass cases full of glass pipes, colorful bongs, and other paraphernalia in the main room. There’s a small waiting area with two comfortable couches and a TV.

Visitors are called one at a time into a small back room to check over the shop’s inventory of cannabis products. Ezell’s adult son, Jordan, often handles the inventory sales there.

Top-shelf flower with names like “Strawnana,” “First Class Funk,” and “Sour Diesel” are available in bags hanging on a wall for prices ranging from $35 for an eighth of an ounce to $200 for a full ounce. Another wall offers a selection of vape carts: $25 each or two for $40.

All of Ezell’s products—leaf and gummies—come from licensed growers and processors. He has about 10 certified suppliers that he buys from on a regular basis. Of all Ezell’s products, the most popular strain is one called “BitchStare” and,

naturally, there’s a story behind that one.

“A local gentleman is the grower of that,” says Ezell. “It’s his strain exclusively. Every grower wants his own strain. They take strain A and pair it with strain B, and nine out of 10 are just average. But this one is special, and this is his.”

As for the name? “Well, one day he was having a disagreement with his wife, and he realizes she was giving him a dirty look.” Apparently it was more than a mere glance of disdain, and it made an indelible impression on the grower.

“Later he was talking with a friend about BitchStare and asked him, ‘Whatya think?’” recalls Ezell. “Well, it’s popular and people remember it. It’s been unbelievable. It’s far and away our best seller.”

But the story has, perhaps, a sad ending. “The grower tells me he is going out of business,” says Ezell. Does that mean BitchStare is going away? “Quite possibly,” Ezell adds.

But IAH isn’t going anywhere. Ezell made an effort to get into the Traverse City market, but was not one of the 16 applicants chosen to get a recreational license in the city’s recent cannabis lottery. Still, Ezell is ready to expand his operation with a new store: Buds of Petoskey.

“We got lucky in the lottery there and we’ve bought a former Blarney Castle gas station on Charlevoix Avenue,” he says. “We hope to open later this year.”

Stephen Ezell has been running Interlochen Alternative Health since 2013, first providing solely medical marijuana and now offering recreational adult cannabis products.

The infamous BitchStare strain.

Elevating Eats & Drinks Edibles and infusions to explore

By Lynda Twardowski Wheatley

Consider these high times for Michigan’s cannabis industry and users. No longer locked into shadowy back-alley exchanges, the now-legal market has grown from less reliable weed and shake sourced from origins unknown to a highly tested, regulated industry in which buyers can select the kind of high they want, in just about any ingestible or smokeable form they prefer, all here in the Great Lakes State. Below, we share some of our favorite Michiganforward forms THC fans can eat and drink and feel fiiiine.

Short’s Soft Parade Gummies

Short’s by Jolly Edibles

Can it actually be summer in northern Michigan without sipping from a frosty glass of Short’s strawberry-hued Soft Parade? A little over three years ago, our answer would have been a resounding heck no! But that was before the Bellaire-founded brewing company teamed up with Green Peak Innovations, a cannabis cultivation company near Lansing, to launch Short’s by Jolly Edibles Soft Parade gummies.

Since then, folks who prefer the buzz of THC over that of a beer have found plenty of relax-in-the-sunshine vibes—and the not-too-sweet flavor of Short’s famed fruity ale—in a chewy 10mg THC vegan form. While we can’t promise notes of the brew’s toasted rye and malted barley, Soft Parade’s wholehearted embrace of the fruits of summer—strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries—is spot-on in these hybrid gummies. We found ours at Skymint in Gaylord. skymint.com

Mackinac Island THC-infused Fudge

Ryba’s Roots

In 2020, Classic Roots Farm, a craft cannabis brand in Michigan, saw a need for what Jill Gilpin, VP of business development and marketing for the company, calls “true craft edibles.” Lacking expertise in confections, Classic Roots went straight to the top, asking legendary Michigan confectioner Ryba’s Fudge Shops to team up. “Lucky for Classic Roots,” says Gilpin, “Ryba’s Fudge agreed.”

Together the partners crafted and tested more than 80 batches of THC-infused fudge until they found “the perfect formulation of flavor, creaminess, and effects that properly replicated true Mackinac Island fudge,” says Gilpin. In April 2022, the product of that partnership, Ryba’s Roots THC-infused fudge—packaged in Ryba’s hallmark pink box with a traditional wooden knife for cutting—made its debut in Michigan.

Today, Ryba’s Roots fudge remains the best-selling product of the partnership’s THC lineup, which includes five flavors of gummies and chocolate bars. Nevertheless, the near-century-old confectioner and Classic Roots haven’t stopped innovating: Gilpin tells Northern Express that the partners recently increased the dosing of the fudge, which is still made in traditional homemade style—think: five fudge-makers crafting small batches in an 1,100-square-foot kitchen—from 50mg THC to 100mg THC per package. “We did not compromise any of the flavor or consistency, so you will still get the same great flavor but now with 10 servings instead of five.” Find retailers at classicrootsfarm.com.

THC-infused Seltzer

Highly Casual

THC-infused Soda

Mary Jones Cannabis Co.

Jones Soda launched in Vancouver, British Columbia, but it has long loved Michigan, whose resident distributors and soda-sippers have made the state one of the company’s strongest markets since its 1996 beginnings—so much so, that in 2013, the company did a “thank-you series” of Made in Michigan sodas for the state. The eight-flavor line featured 40 different iconic Michigan locations on its labels and was bottled and distributed only in Michigan. This summer, Jones will show the Great Lakes State some more love, making it one of the first states to carry its newly launched Mary Jones line of THC-infused sodas and

“Michigan has always been a special place for Jones Soda,” Jones Chief Marketing Officer and Mary Jones Chief Brand Officer Bohb Blair tells Northern Express. “When the brand first moved into the U.S. from Canada, Michigan was one of our first markets to really embrace Jones Soda, and we took hold in a lot of ‘alternative distribution’ places that tend to be super culturally important—like record shops, tattoo parlors, and indie convenience stores. We have tons of fans throughout the state, and we can’t wait to bring them our most recent and infused offerings.”

All Mary Jones products—choose from 12-ounce bottles of soda (10mg THC each), 16-ounce cans of soda (100mg each), or 4-ounce bottles of soda syrup (100mg THC) in four flavors—sold in Michigan dispensaries will be made in Michigan too, Blair adds. Stay tuned for updates at gomaryjones.com.

Goodnight Cannabis Honey

Detroit

Edibles

Fresh from the brand that brought Michigan some of the best-tasting THC chocolate bars—the rich, creamy I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-just-chocolate Barracuda bars—has come yet another tasteful, restful way to ingest THC: Detroit Edibles’ Goodnight Cannabis Honey.

The latter flavor’s four-pack of 50mg gummies showcases True North’s hybrid mastery by prompting a sense of relaxed calm alongside heightened energy and euphoria, but it’s the bombastic flavor—just like your childhood cherry popsicles—that makes these sweets so delightful…and recommended for those with high tolerances and/or careful gummy-cutting skills. We found ours at Olean’s in Northport; other locations listed at truenorthcollectivemi.com.

A spare set of ingredients—just honey sourced from the North’s own Sleeping Bear Farms, cannabis extract, and sunflower lecithin (a fatty emulsifier)—are all that’s in the pot, ensuring a clean honey flavor with a supremely restful ratio: 200mg THC/100 mg CBN (the latter is a natural cannabinoid that induces drowsiness and pain relief).

While the activation time is somewhat slow at 1-2 hours, its flavor and flexible culinary uses, say, in a tablespoon in a cup of tea or spread atop some toast, make it a worthwhile preamble for any adult who needs a bit of help winding down. We found ours at Riverside Provisioning in Kalkaska. Check weedmaps.com for other retailers.

KINGSLEY INN REDUX

What’s old is new again at this beloved local watering hole

By Geri Dietze

Sometimes a name just sticks. Even after the Kingsley Inn was sold in 2020 and was briefly renamed the Judson Market and Restaurant, the place was still known to locals by its old name—or its nickname, KI, for short.

That name is back for good. Today, new owners Brian McAllister, his wife Laurie Bouwman, and their son Max have reopened the new/old Kingsley Inn, and everyone has bright expectations for this tidy roadhouse on the straightaway in the village of Kingsley.

From Interlochen to Kingsley

Most know the McAllisters from their 25-year stewardship of Interlochen’s Hofbrau Steak House and American Grille. Max McAllister, 25, grew up in the business, learning the ropes at the Hofbrau, and he found his calling long ago: “I love this industry,” he says.

Max explains that expanding the family business to include the Kingsley Inn “felt pretty natural.” And with his mother handling the books and his father busy at the Hofbrau, Max is the man in charge at the KI. He admits that it’s hard to pick what aspect of hospitality he likes best. “It’s pretty

special to design a product that people enjoy,” he adds. “I like to sit down and meet people. I really like the social elements.”

The Kingsley Inn reopened its doors just in time for the St. Patrick’s Day crowds on March 17, offering the same high standards—and some menu favorites— that can be found at Hofbrau. “There are always some tweaks, but by and large, [we had] a very successful opening,” Max says of the restaurant’s unveiling. “We had a great response from the community. Off the top of my head, I’d say we served about 250 people.”

The Kingsley Inn was more or less a turn-key operation, with seating for 90+. It was already updated in a mix of industrial and modern rustic elements, and warm wood tones envelope the space from floor to ceiling. Patrons can choose from high backed booths, banquette seating, tables with comfortable upholstered chairs, and a long bar fronted with galvanized steel and bright red industrial barstools. The KI deck seats 20, and outdoor horseshoes will add to the fun in the warmer seasons.

Beyond the food, another draw at the Kingsley Inn will be the ability to catch sporting events on the restaurant’s six TVs. “I’m really excited to stream the games of the

Kingsley Stags,” Max says. Also, look to the KI for catering services and group events. And, as a family-friendly venue, expect an inviting children’s menu.

Classics and New Creations

For the grown-ups, the KI menu includes popular classics, some ethnic favorites, and inventive appetizers, all locally sourced whenever possible and described by Max as “elevated home cooking” and “99 percent from scratch.”

Diners can expect to see Hofbrau dishes like the Mile High Ribeye, topped with haystack onions and served with fried smashed potatoes and garden vegetable; or the slow-roasted Half Slab of Ribs, dipped in house marinade, char-grilled to order, and then covered with house-made BBQ sauce. Or choose KI’s Homemade Meatloaf with from-scratch beef gravy or the Loaded Mac & Cheese, heavy with bacon, ham, and homemade cheddar mac sauce.

Burgers start with fresh beef, ground in-house and cooked to order, with your choice of toppings. There are also featured burgers from the menu, and we are especially intrigued by the Hot Mess, with toasted jalapeño cream cheese, bacon, and blackberry jam. The Steak House Burger has

a mushroom bourbon glaze, cheddar, bacon, and haystack onions.

You’ll also find sandwiches (the best Reuben!) and yummy apps, including Irish Nachos, aka crisp waffle fries with beer cheese and bacon. Black and Blue Bites feature Cajun-dusted steak tips with blue cheese bechamel and balsamic reduction.

The full-service bar features eight craft beers on tap (possibly more to come) plus bottled versions of the standards, from Miller to Michelob, Corona to Heineken. Oenophiles will find something to like on the KI’s wine list, featuring the best regional labels plus top choices from regions including California, Oregon, New Zealand, and Italy. A sophisticated selection of handcrafted cocktails elevate the experience, like the Lavender Lemongrass Martini and the Traverse City Cherry Mule.

Currently, the Kingsley Inn is serving lunch and dinner, with breakfast service in the works, based on the availability of staff. (Staffing woes continue to be “the state of the industry,” Max says.) Stop in Sunday through Thursday 11am to midnight or Friday and Saturday 11am to 2am.

Find the Kingsley Inn at 211 East Main Street in Kingsley. (231) 263-8128.

Celebrating Mother Earth

Earth Day events across the North include education, music, and more

By Ross Boissoneau

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans rallied and railed against the pollution and environmental impacts of indiscriminate industrial development. That first Earth Day spawned an environmental movement that continues to this day.

The one-day event has grown in stature and in length, with many organizations now supporting Earth Week. It’s become a global celebration, and that certainly includes northern Michigan. Here are eight ways you can celebrate Mother Earth this weekend.

This year, Earth Day kicks off National Park Week, which commemorates the beauty, culture, and wildlife of our country’s 400+ national parks. Sleeping Bear Dunes is waiving its entrance fee on April 22, offering visitors a low-cost and beautiful way to experience springtime in Michigan along the miles of trails and panoramic views of the dunes and Lake Michigan.

This year’s National Park Week theme is “Your Park Story,” and you can share photos and good times on social media using hashtags #EarthDay and #NationalParkWeek.

For many years, the Cadillac community has hosted a celebration of Earth Week, and this year is no different. Chad Phillips serves as the de facto chair of the Cadillac Earth Day Committee, an informal group of about a dozen environmentally-conscious community members. He says his group came together after a local gardening group that had overseen the festivities dissolved.

“Our primary focus is education. Since our group has run it, we have given every kid in attendance a tree to plant,” Phillips says. “We invite community organizations to take part and have booths where folks can learn about the importance of clean water, invasive species, renewable energy, growing plants, and much more.”

Though the official Earth Day is Saturday, April 22, the Cadillac event will take place Sunday, April 23, at the Cadillac Commons. There will be some two dozen community groups on hand, as well as music and activities. Phillips says he expects turnout to return to pre-pandemic levels: As long as the weather cooperates, he anticipates around 250 people.

will take place April 21-23 at various locations around town. The official vision of the organization is to “improve the environment we all share,” and the many activities bear that out.

The festival will offer a film competition, presentations, demonstrations, exhibits, even a 5K race. Speakers will include Allan O’Shea from CBS Solar Service, Jim MacInnes of Crystal Mountain, AFFEW Friends of the Environment President Julia Chambers, a representative from the Michigan Tech Great Lakes Water Research Center, and Paul Bilinski, PhD, Professor of Biology at West Shore Community College. An environmental expo will take place April 22 at the Waggoner Center, 260 Saint Marys S Parkway, from 10am-3pm. For a complete rundown on all the action, go to glef.us.

But wait, there’s more: Presented by Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the environmental documentary 2040 will have a free showing at The Vogue Theatre in Manistee on Tuesday, April 25, with doors opening at 6pm. Speakers include Jamie Vaughan (Trout Unlimited), Nick Sanchez (Old-Growth Forest Network), Maddy Baroli (Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science), and Bernie Ware (retired farmer). Gene Lagerquist (Spirit of the Woods) will be moderating.

The 1,492-acre nature preserve offers various events, activities, and educational opportunities throughout the year, with seven miles of trails, including 1.5 miles of boardwalk floating above northern fen and cedar wetlands. Its two-hour Earth Day Bird Walk on Saturday will take place at 9am. Participants will learn how to identify birds by sight and sound and how to log observations online using the eBird website or app. Interested? You’ll need to preregister by contacting the administrative office at (231) 533-8314. Cost is $5, and you’ll need binoculars.

To find out more about the many ongoing activities during Earth Week, go to grassriver.org.

The Grand Traverse County Resource Recovery (RecycleSmart) Department will be hosting an Earth Celebration Event at the Civic Center in Traverse City on Saturday, April 22, from 11am-3pm. It will feature music with Seth Bernard and Chris Good, 12 to 2pm; an opportunity to meet Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl; a scavenger hunt with prize drawings; make-and-take eco-

1. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

2. Cadillac

3. Manistee The Great Lakes Environmental Festival

4. Grass River Natural Area

5. Traverse City

crafts; a balance bike library and helmet and bike fitting; a butterfly exhibit; an interactive display of mattress recycling; free paper shredding; and on exhibit will be a Ford Lightning all-electric truck.

The Cheboygan Area Public Library will host a free expo with mini-adventures on Saturday. Hands-on projects will include building bird houses, mason bee houses, nature weaving, and seed planting. Attendees will investigate how to make their own compost as well as learn about amphibians, turtles, lamprey, and sturgeon. Did we mention magic? Well yes, of course there’s magic. At 10:30am and again at noon, the Magic of Recycling Show will thrill while providing valuable tips. Plus “Trees,” a story and project, will take place

upstairs in the children’s room. All the activities are free and open to the public. Are we done? Not yet! An e-waste collection will also take place Saturday on the west side of the former West Elementary School. It’s a place to dispose of computers, small home appliances—almost anything with a cord, including accessories or the cords and cables themselves. The EPA estimates that about 60 percent of discarded electronics end up in the trash, and hazardous chemicals in them could leach out of landfills into the groundwater and streams. And the disposal fee? It’s all free, except a small charge for CRT TVs. Visit earthweekplus.org for a complete listing of e-waste accepted.

7. Petoskey

The Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council is inviting people to participate in Earth Day

BINGO. It kicked off April 1 and is running through Earth Day, April 22. Download your Earth Day BINGO card at watershedcouncil. org, stop in at the Watershed Council office in Petoskey, or call (231) 489-7290 to request a card by mail.

“Activities featured on the Earth Day BINGO card include a variety of suggestions for all ages to better care for our water, land, and air,” says Watershed Council Water Resources and Communications Specialist Calla Beers. “From simple steps like unplugging electronics not in use and using reusable cloth napkins and beverage containers to shopping locally, everyone can chip in and help Michigan lead the way to a cleaner, healthier planet.”

It’s free to participate, and each Earth Day BINGO card has more than 20 different activities to try. Once you complete five

activities in a row (across, down, or diagonally), you can return your card to the Watershed Council to receive a special “Make Every Day Earth Day!” sticker and be entered into a drawing to win one of three prize packages.

8. Leelanau County

From April 17 through April 23, the Leelanau Conservancy is promoting “finding your Leelanau adventure” in a myriad of ways. The week’s slate of events includes a Palmer Woods trail crew kickoff Tuesday, April 18, at 5pm; a habitat restoration workbee on Thursday, April 20; a hike at the protected winery 45 North on Friday, April 21; and a concert with Jack Pine at Tandem Ciders Sunday, April 23, at 3pm. Learn more and sign up to participate at leelanauconservancy.org.

6. Cheboygan

Will Travel for Weed

Is cannabis tourism the next big thing for northern Michigan?

By Jillian Manning

Each year, thousands of visitors flock to northern Michigan for our beaches, our wineries, our trout streams, and our Nordic ski trails…just to name a few.

But are they also coming for our cannabis?

Canna tourism has taken root in states like Colorado, Oregon, and California, where bud-minded visitors can take tours, attend events, and explore offerings at different dispensaries and consumption lounges. Those states have a few years of experience on us, but according to Brian Buchanan— director of tourism strategy for Dunegrass Co., a NoMi cannabis retailer with six locations in the region—the Michigan canna tourism scene is starting to grow.

“Around 30 percent of leisure travelers base their travel plans around where they can consume recreational cannabis,” says Buchanan. “For towns in northern Michigan, that means that there are tourists that are picking their town or a town near them based on the availability of recreational marijuana.”

Dunegrass has positioned their brand as “northern Michigan’s cannabis outfitter,” focusing not just on the products they sell in stores but the overall experience of visiting and exploring northern Michigan. In addition to talking up flower, prerolls, and edibles, their website features recommendations for beaches, biking, camping, dining, and nightlife.

“What we’re trying to do at Dunegrass is … a holistic strategy to try to move the needle for a lot of these towns in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to show them that cannabis can be a fantastic augment to the other tourism initiatives that they’ve already got,” Buchanan explains.

A Joint Operation

To encourage NoMi communities to

embrace canna tourism, Dunegrass has partnered up with local businesses, chambers of commerce, and destination marketing organizations like the West Michigan Tourism Association (WMTA).

“We’re a very, very diverse marketing entity,” says WMTA CEO and Executive Director Dan Sippel. “We do promote wineries and distilleries and breweries, and we’ve been doing that right since the beginning. … I see [canna tourism] as an extension of that.”

Sippel says the WMTA website (wmta. org) has seen “an uptick” in people looking at pages featuring dispensaries and cannabisfriendly lodging. He points to cities like Muskegon and Marquette as models for

on the promotional side because of federal rules,” referring to the fact that cannabis use is still considered illegal at the national level.

“I could see this being one of those regions that does have the potential to attract a lot of cannabis tourism,” Waara adds. “Whether or not Traverse City Tourism is promoting it or any other visitors bureaus are promoting it, I think it’s bound to happen.”

Waara says that TCT would be likely to consider future cannabis resources for visitors to share information like where to go to buy and consume cannabis, how to follow local rules, and what respectful consumption looks like.

In the meantime, Dunegrass is doing their own cannabis education for visitors.

opportunity—to sell the right product to the right person for a positive experience that keeps customers coming back.

“You wouldn’t go to a bar and ask the bartender for a recommendation, and they just give you a shot of Everclear,” he says with a laugh. “So asking those questions— what type of effects are you looking for, what activity [are you] going to do after you consume this product—can help guide a budtender … to help that customer get the product that’s going to best match what they’re looking for.”

Wine and Weed

When it comes to the larger question of canna tourism, Buchanan says there’s a great blueprint for what safe, fun, and educational cannabis experiences can look like thanks to northern Michigan’s wine scene.

“The wine industry around Traverse City is really a model for how I think that cannabis operators could be doing things,” he says. “You’ve got either a tour operator—or, in our case, Dunegrass as a retailer—putting together these curated experiences.”

getting cannabis tourism right and driving visitors to their area.

On the flip side, other cities aren’t so quick to promote weed to their visitors. Traverse City Tourism’s website, for example, returns zero results when you search for “marijuana” or “cannabis.” (Of course, the city only gave the green light for recreational use last month, with 16 dispensaries set to open or add recreational offerings to their stores.)

Whitney Waara, chief operating officer of Traverse City Tourism (TCT), explains that the organization has been “a little bit slower

“We designed a set of guidelines that we call the Responsible Cannabis Guide,” Buchanan says. “It’s on our website in our virtual visitors center there, [and] it has a lot of tips for consuming cannabis responsibly. The old adage always applies: go low and go slow.”

He adds that these kinds of resources are especially helpful for new adopters of cannabis, as well as folks visiting from out of state who may not be familiar with a legal version of the product. Buchanan asserts that dispensaries and other cannabis businesses have a responsibility—and a golden

He mentions how cannabis can pair well with food, just like wine and beer, and that behind-the-scenes tours of cannabis facilities can offer a similar educational vibe to learning about the winemaking process for curious visitors.

Andrew McFarlane, founder of the Michigan Cannabis Trail, agrees that wine and cannabis have a lot in common… perhaps because he led the Leelanau Wine Trail for the better part of a decade.

“The markets are really similar,” McFarlane says. “Learning how to drive tourism traffic using wine makes driving it using cannabis make so much sense.”

He says that people come from all over the country for northern Michigan wineries, and the cannabis industry could create

Hoxeyville Music Festival was one of the first wellknown events in the region to offer cannabis sales and consumption (in designated areas), marking a new era of cannabis attractions in NoMi.

“Around 30 percent of leisure travelers base their travel plans around where they can consume recreational cannabis,” says Buchanan.

the same pull. For McFarlane, this doesn’t necessarily mean cannabis festivals or big parties; he says private, small events about cannabis appreciation are often the way to go. (Think: a wine-tasting dinner as compared to a wine festival.)

McFarlane’s Michigan Cannabis Trail is designed to help visitors “get the most out of legal marijuana in the Great Lakes State,” and covers all areas of the state, highlighting major cities like Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Flint, Bay City, Lansing, and Traverse City along with the Upper Peninsula. The website (michigancannabistrail.com) includes lodging options, dispensaries, news, an event calendar, and other cannabis-related experiences in Michigan.

High Times

Speaking of events, they’re on the rise. Whether it’s an age-old tradition like Hash Bash in Ann Arbor, a cannabis industry expo, or the Freshwater Music Festival in Baldwin (June 3, hosted by Fresh Water Cannabis Co. and featuring Michigan musicians), the summer calendar is filling up with more events than ever before.

Tom Beller, founder of Real Leaf Solutions, is part of this swell of activity. Beller got his start as a caregiver and medical cultivator in Kalkaska before becoming the first person in the state to get his license as a marijuana event organizer. Like McFarlane and Buchanan, he sees cannabis experiences and events much like ones that are themed around alcohol—it’s simply a different product.

“We’re seeing a huge shift in people’s response to [cannabis] events,” Beller says. “There are a lot of people that like the option of cannabis, instead of alcohol. … We’re seeing more and more people with that kind of attitude, and the response to a lot of the events that we have coming up this summer is an indicator that it’s going to continue to grow and drive tourism.”

He highlights Hoxeyville, the Americana and roots music festival held in August in the Manistee National Forest; CannaBash, a festival featuring marijuana vendors, food trucks, and live music in Muskegon; and the Summer’s End Smoke Out across the bridge in Republic as examples of successful events.

For Beller, these events stand out because they are well organized, offer curated experiences, and are done compliantly and

cooperatively with supportive municipalities and businesses. The goal—beyond a wellattended festival—is that visitors will also stay in the area, eat at restaurants, shop at stores, and otherwise participate in the local economy.

(According to Buchanan, there’s a clear financial benefit for canna tourism; for every $1 a tourist spends at a dispensary, $2.80 is then spent at other local stores, restaurants, and attractions.)

Still, convincing leaders about the benefits for the community can be a challenge, and Beller says many municipalities are hesitant to bring cannabis events to town because of the stigmas still surrounding marijuana. He’s hopeful that those who do take the plunge can help pave the way for more cities opting in with an open mind.

He adds that he isn’t a proponent of overcommercializing cannabis or having a hash bash every weekend across the state.

“We’re specific on who we want to work with in order to do these things because of the regulation involved and our license being at stake,” Beller says, explaining that Real Leaf Solutions is looking at only four or five events this year.

A Dope Place to Stay

So, when cannabis events do happen, the natural next step for enthusiasts is finding cannabis-friendly lodging. As with cigarettes, it is illegal to smoke marijuana in public places, with the exception of permitted cannabis events. Many hotels, especially chains, don’t even allow cannabis use in designated smoking areas.

Offering a welcoming space for cannabis users was the motivation for Mark Dragovich to open Haven, a cannabis-friendly campground in Kalkaska. Dragovich is a 15year veteran of the cannabis industry, and after deciding not to pursue a commercial hemp business last year, he put his 43 acres to use as a campground. Haven has 33 rustic campsites, yurts, a dog-walk area, and coming soon, cabins built from recycled construction materials.

“The cannabis industry has exploded here in Michigan, but the hotels, motels, and places to stay have not kept up with the law changes,” he says. “There’s still no cannabis smoking in the facilities usually, so we tried to provide a safe space for cannabis users to come and enjoy northern Michigan.”

The campground operates from May

through November—depending on the weather—and Dragovich says this year he plans to also utilize the space as a live music venue. Because of its Kalkaska location, Haven is close to multiple dispensaries, the Kalkushka consumption lounge, and plenty of outdoor adventures.

Dragovich says he’s excited about the 2023 season, in large part because of the atmosphere at Haven when guests arrive.

“It was really nice to see people walking around the camp smoking a joint, smoking a bowl, and not having to hide it,” he says. “Campers have found the convenience of it and eliminating the stigma allows for a better camping experience.”

McFarlane expresses a similar sentiment when describing his stay in a cannabisfriendly tiny house in Holland. “It was just really nice,” he says of the experience. “And it’s nice not to feel like you’re a criminal when you’re not a criminal.”

Ready to Grow

While all the folks we talked to agreed there is plenty of momentum across the state for canna tourism, they also agree that the biggest hurdle toward the industry taking off is the lingering stigma attached to marijuana.

“[Cannabis] is kind of a mysterious thing, especially after whatever it was— almost 100 years—of propaganda. You know, it’s a hard sell for a lot of people,” McFarlane admits.

Buchanan agrees that the long history of prohibition occasionally makes integrating cannabis events and canna tourism into a community an uphill battle. But he isn’t without hope. “When you expose that stigma to data, to hard data, it disappears,” he says.

Negative public perception was compounded by the pandemic, which—as it did with many blossoming and booming industries—put a damper on just how much canna tourism could grow between March 2020 and today.

“I think [the pandemic] put us 16-18 months behind where we probably could be if COVID had not happened in regards to tourism,” Buchanan says.

Even still, McFarlane feels the future is bright. “I think that our tourist product has a huge amount to offer,” he concludes. “We’re definitely well poised for growth—if we do it smartly.”

Dunegrass Co. is leading the way when it comes to canna tourism, integrating NoMi experiences and attractions into their marketing efforts.

saturday

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS: 9am-5:30pm, TC West Senior High. Featuring 375 fourth & fifth-grade students from Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Elk Rapids & beyond. They have spent months gearing up for this event. New York Times best-selling author Jasmine Warga, who wrote “Other Words for Home,” will discuss her career as a young adult/children’s book author at 3:45pm, followed by a Q&A. The battle is hosted by the National Writers Series in partnership with the Traverse Area District Library. battleofthebooksgt.com

BOOK SALE: 9am-2pm, Helena Township Community Center, Alden. Books, audio books, DVDs, music CDs & puzzles. Sponsored by Friends of the Alden District Library. 231-331-4318.

GREAT LAKES CHILDREN’S MUSEUM’S I

SEE YOU NATIVE AMERICAN ARTIST EX-

PERIENCE: Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Enjoy a 4th installation to the new, multi-sensory, Anishinaabeg Art Experience. Two sessions will be offered: 9:30-11:30am & 12-2pm. The artist, ishKode’s, will share their evolution as an artist, including music & film from child to youth to adult. The “I See You Moving” Interactive Activity expresses the healthy qualities of movement with our bodies through dance with a Native American lens introducing intertribal dancing. Free with daily admission. greatlakeskids.org

BEARY GOOD NEWS HIKE: 10am, Houdek Dunes Natural Area, Leland. Join docent Ann McInnis, Bert Thomas, Keith Rhodes & other docents as they explore Houdek Dunes for evidence of bear activity, along with the early-springtime activities of the many animals & plants that call Houdek home. Free. leelanauconservancy.org/events/beary-goodnews-hike-at-houdek-dunes-natural-area

JOB FAIR IN ELK RAPIDS: 10am-1pm, Amvets Post #114, Elk Rapids. Whether you are looking for full-time, part-time, seasonal or permanent positions, there will be a place for you to apply. Free. business.elkrapidschamber.org/events/details/job-fair-in-elkrapids-36403

SPRING BREAK FEST AT THE STATE

THEATRE: 10am, The State Theatre, TC. “Hoot.” Free. stateandbijou.org

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PURPLE UP FOR MILITARY KIDS: 11am1pm, American Legion Post 281, 101 E. Third St., Harbor Springs. Join American Legion Post 281 for a free luncheon for military families & their children. Please wear purple to show your support.

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FIESTA OF FEELINGS!: 1pm, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey. Meet the creators of “Feeling all the Feelings Workbook,” Betsy & Brad Petersen. A kids’ guide to exploring emotions. Enjoy snacks, games, new friends & more. Best for ages 2-10, but all ages welcome. RSVP: 231-347-1180. Free.

NANCY BORDINE BOOKSIGNING EVENT: 1-3pm, Horizon Books, TC. Nancy will sign copies of her debut book, “What Do You See? -- Developing New Perspectives with Quilt Patterns.” horizonbooks.com/event/nancybordine-booksigning-event-what-do-you-see

CONTRA DANCE: Bethlehem Lutheran Church, TC. Presented by Bayside Travellers. 7pm: dancing workshop. 7:30-10:30pm: dance with caller Pat Reese. Woodland Celtic will provide live music. Donation.

JOSHUA DAVIS: SOLD OUT: 7-9pm, Old Art Building, Leland. This folk songwriter, guitarist & vocalist heads back to the stage for an evening of music about life, love, change & growth. $30; $25 OAB Members. oldartbuilding.com/events/joshua-davis -

COMEDY W/ MICHAEL PALASCAK: 7:309pm, Traverse City Comedy Club, TC. Michael performed on both The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the same year. In addition, his résumé includes A Little Late with Lilly Singh, Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Conan, has a Comedy Central Half Hour special, & was a Top 5 Finalist on Last Comic Standing. $25-$30. mynorthtickets.com/events/comedy-wmichael-palaczak-4-14-2023 ------------------- -- -

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG: 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Cornley University Drama Society’s newest play, “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” a 1920s murder mystery, where things are about to quickly go from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, & actors who trip over everything (including their lines), these accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call. Adults, $28; youth under 18, $15 (plus fees). oldtownplayhouse.com/performances/mainstage/ the-play-that-goes-wrong.html

CHEAP TRICK: SOLD OUT: 8pm, Little River Casino Resort, Manistee. Formed in 1973, rock icon Cheap Trick has performed thousands of shows & sold millions of records. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. lrcr.com/eventcalendar/concerts/cheap-trick

sunday

YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL: 1:30pm, City Opera House, TC. Enjoy the winning student play submissions as they come to life! Each winning playwright works with a national theater mentor on honing their plays for your viewing pleasure. Free. cityoperahouse.org/ypf?mc_cid=1ceeda551e&mc_ eid=36a666ea46

FILM SCREENING: “KISS THE GROUND”: 2pm, The Opera House, Cheboygan. Enjoy this film screening, followed by a discussion with the farmers of Harvest Thyme Farm, a sustainable farm providing fresh vegetables & flowers in the Cheboygan area. “Kiss the Ground,” narrated by Woody Harrelson, is a full-length documentary shedding light on a new, old approach to farming called regenerative agriculture. Free. theoperahouse.org

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG: (See Sat., April 15, except today’s time is 2pm.)

TSO SYMPHONIC SERIES: BRAHMS + BEETHOVEN: 3pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Featuring Jeffrey Biegel, piano & the NMC Chorus. $25.50 - $61.50. traversesymphony.org/concert/brahms-beethoven

monday

PRESCHOOL ADVENTURES IN ART: 9:30am, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Visual Arts Classroom, TC. Young artists can engage in themed activities while exploring various art methods. Space is limited. Early registra-

Everyone is a super hero at the Big Little Hero Race! Wear your favorite superhero costume and every participating child will receive a free cape! Held on Sat., April 22 at NMC Main Campus, West Hall Innovation Center, TC, the one-mile Fun Run is free and begins at 9am in the Dogwood lot. The 5K and 10K range from $15-$30 and start at 9:30am. Afterwards, stay for awards, prizes, food and activities for kids of all ages. All proceeds of this event will sponsor College for Kids scholarships for BBBS Littles. The Future Generation Celebration will also be happening until 7pm featuring many bands including Brotha James, Eliza Thorp, The Marsupials and many more. events. bytepro.net/biglittleherorace

tion encouraged. $5. crookedtree.org/class/ ctac-traverse-city/preschool-adventures-artapril-17 ----------------------

KID’S CRAFT LAB: PLANET EARTH SUNCATCHER: 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Make an Earth Suncatcher to hang in your window. Blue & green will shine through, reminding you of what a great planet you live on. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

REFIT® TC: 7pm, The Presbyterian Church of TC, 701 Westminster Rd. A group fitness experience that rocks your body, heart, & soul with powerful moves & positive music, to inspire you from the inside out. Classes are held Mondays at 7pm & Thursdays at 9:30am. $1 suggested donation. facebook. com/profile.php?id=100090460000055

tuesday

PEEPERS PROGRAM: EARTH DAY CELEBRATION: 10-11am, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. An adult-accompanied program for early learners ages 3-5 years old. Go on a hike to see what wildlife, trees, mushrooms, & other exciting things can be spotted. Register. $5/child. natureiscalling.org/ preschool-peepers-program

SILENT BOOK CLUB - TRAVERSE CITY AM: 10am, NMC, Library, Fireplace Room, TC. Meets the third Tuesday morning of each month. There are no assigned readings or discussion guides. You bring a book, any book - or check one out. NMC parking is

free with temporary permit. Free. silentbookclubtc.blogspot.com

STORYTIME ADVENTURES: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE - WHAT THE VOTER SAYS COUNTS!: Noon, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Presented by Ms. Christina Schlitt, co-president of the LWVMI & a member of the LWVGTA. Free. lwvgta.org

DISCUSSION ON CARBON PRICING: 6pm, Charlevoix Public Library. Bill Bray will lead this discussion. He worked for Esso, Exxon and ExxonMobil in Oil & LNG shipping and Offshore Oil & Gas production and operations as an engineer, then executive. He’ll explain why we need a Carbon Fee & Dividend to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions without growing our government. Free.

GT HIKING CLUB APRIL MEETING: 7pm, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. The meeting will be the first part of a Trail Adopter’s Workshop. NCTA Regional Trail Coordinator Kenny Wawsczyk will give a presentation on general trail construction standards, safety, available resources, trail tools, & other things that trail adopters should know. This will be followed by a presentation showing some of the items that adopters will encounter on the chapter’s 100 miles of the NCT.

QUEER TALES BOOK CLUB: 7pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Chat about books that are by &/or about LGBTQ+ people. Reading is not required, & everyone is welcome. Held the third Tuesday of the

month in the Nelson Room. This month’s book is “Other Names for Love” by Taymour Soomro. Get it from the TADL Catalog or MeLCat. Free. tadl.org/event/queertalesapril2023

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SKY DANCING WITH THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK: 7:45pm, Hailand/Helstrom Family Nature Preserve, Harbor Springs. Join LTC staff & members of the Al Litzenburger Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society to discover the spring mating display of the American Woodcock. Come with a headlamp for your walk out. Free. landtrust.org/ events-template/sky-dancing-2023

wednesday

HOSPITALITY APPRECIA-

TION NIGHT: 5-7pm, Five Shores Brewing, Beulah. Celebrate hospitality workers. This free event includes two free drinks & hors d’oeuvres. Register: traversecity.com/hospitality-appreciation-night/

IT’S HARD BEING YOU: A PRIMER ON BEING HAPPY ANYWAY: Noon, The Leelanau County Government Center, Community Room, Suttons Bay. The League of Women Voters of Leelanau County welcomes awardwinning journalist & author Sharon Emery to discuss her new book, “It’s Hard Being You: A Primer on Being Happy Anyway.” Free. LWVLeelanau.org

DAVID MILARCH: 3:30pm, Old Art Building, Leland. Listen to third generation nurseryman, David Milarch of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, talk about growing up working on his father’s tree farm. Free. oldartbuilding.com/events/earth-day-speaker-davidmilarch

CHILLIN’ WITH THE CHAMBER OFFICE: 4-6pm, Harbor Springs Area Chamber office, 118 E. Main St., Harbor Springs. Learn about a new business, find out what’s happening around town, & enjoy appetizers & beverages. Free.

CHARLEVOIX BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-7pm, Charlevoix Area Community Pool. Food & non-alcoholic refreshments will be served.

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NOMIWOMAN @ HILBERT’S HONEY:

5:30-7:30pm, Hilbert’s Honey Co., TC. Join Northern Michigan Woman Magazine for their Women’s Networking Event. Tour the production warehouse, plus goodies provided by Chef Jordan of Maxbauer’s Meat Market, along with two types of mead from Acoustic Brewing, made with Hilbert’s Honey & non-alcoholic options. Enjoy complimentary chair massages from Elemental Compass. Speaker: March/April cover girl Natividad Kolb will share her story about joining the military & then establishing her own thriving business. $18/person or 2 for $30. northernmichiganwoman.com/event/ april-19th-nomiwoman-connections-event

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2023 YOUTH ART AWARDS NIGHT - PETOSKEY: 7-8:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Theater, Petoskey. This night will recognize the Youth Art Show honorees & winners as well as the CTAC School of Ballet, & the winners of the 2023 Young Writers Exhibition. Crooked Tree Arts Center’s scholarship winners will be recognized as well. Enjoy cake & refreshments afterwards. Free. crookedtree. org/event/ctac-petoskey/2023-youth-artawards-night-petoskey

thursday

REFIT® TC: (See Mon., April 17)

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KID’S CRAFT LAB: PLANET EARTH SUNCATCHER: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Make an Earth Suncatcher to hang in your window. Blue & green will shine through, reminding you of what a great planet you live on. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

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READER CHEF, JR. COOKING CLASS: 4pm, Interlochen Public Library. For ages 10-14. Learn a new recipe & be able to cook the meal from start to finish. Limited to 10 kids per class. Registration required: 231276-6767. Free.

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FORUM: ARABIAN PENINSULA: Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. In-person event with Amb. Greta Holtz, former U.S. Ambassador to Oman 2012-2015. 6:30pm program; 5:30pm reception. $15 in-person ticket; $10 livestream suggested donation; free to current students & educators. tciaf. com/event-april-2023

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GRAND TRAVERSE AUDUBON CLUB

MEETING: 7pm, NMC, Scholar’s Hall, Room 217, TC. Enjoy a presentation from intrepid birder & bird counter Alison Vilag, the self-described Boreal Vagabond, who has traveled extensively & worked as a bird surveyor in numerous interesting places. Park in the lot close to the Dennos Museum Center; Scholar’s Hall is the next building to the east. Free.

ARTRAGEOUS: 7:30pm, The Opera House, Cheboygan. Enjoy this troupe of multi-talented live performance artists, world-class singers, recording artists, highly trained dancers, audience motivators, & veteran musicians hailing from New Mexico. $30; $25 veterans; $10 students. ci.ovationtix.com/36618/production/1147530

SINGER-SONGWRITER & POPULAR MUSIC ENSEMBLE: CINEMA INFORMS

SONG: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Pop singer-songwriter Claud joins Interlochen Arts Academy’s singer-songwriter students & Popular Music Ensemble for an evening of original music. This is a program of works inspired by films—including the world premiere of a new song by Claud. $15 adults; $12 children through college. interlochen.org/events/ singer-songwriter-popular-music-ensemblecinema-informs-song-2023-04-20

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG: (See Sat., April 15)

friday

THE CHERRY BOMBSPIEL: 9am, TC Curling Center, 1712 S. Garfield Ave., TC. Enjoy TC Curling Club’s first major event in the new TC Curling Center, April 21-23. Featuring two Olympic Gold medal curlers, John Landsteiner from Team USA (2018) & Brad Jacobs from Team Canada (2014). World Champion Debbie McCormick will also be in TC to curl & celebrate. tccurling.org

FRIDAY $2 CLASSICS: Featuring “The Wiz.” 11am, Harbor Springs Lyric Theatre. lyricharborsprings.org/2-00-classics/

EARTH DAY VOLUNTEER PLANTING

WORKBEE DAYS: 10am-2pm, TC. Get in-

BIG FUN

FUNKY FUN MONDAYS AT THE ALLUVION

BOARDMAN REVIEW

RELEASE PARTY

JEFF HAAS TRIO

WSG CHICAGO VETERAN VIBRAPHONIST JIM COOPER WATERCOLORIST LISA FLAHIVE

EARTHWORK MUSIC

SPRING TOUR

FEAT. JORDAN HAMILTON, SETH BERNARD, SAMANTHA COOPER, AMBER HASAN, DEDE ALDER, RALSTON BOWLES, SARI BROWN, SARAH COHEN, CHRIS GOOD, JOSH HOLCOMB, AUDRA KUBAT, ELISABETH PIXLEY-FINK, DAN RICKABUS, VINCE RUSSO, MIKE SAVINA, JO SERRAPERE, NICHOLAS JAMES THOMASMA & BEN TRAVERSE

FUNKY UNCLE

FUNKY FUN MONDAYS AT THE ALLUVION

JEFF HAAS TRIO

WSG LAURIE SEARS ON SAXAPHONE & FLUTE WATERCOLORIST LISA FLAHIVE

MIRIAM PICO

FAMILY CONCERT

Welcome home LAURIE SEARS—one of the coolest cats and regular front person for our very own JEFF HAAS TRIO. She’ll be back on the 27th and every Thursday for the forseeable future.

COMING SOON: Crystal Woodward-Turner, Full Cord, Djangophonique, Viridian Strings, Blanco Suave + Jimmy Olson + Waterbed, Earth Radio + Medicinal Groove + A er Ours + DJ Ras Marco D

THE ALLUVION’S PREVIEW SERIES is a limited slate of programming while we get ready for our GRAND OPENING. We are still dialing in a dozen key systems and thousands of fine details—please pardon dust, wires, construction equipment, temporary furnishings, and other small messes, as well as occasional minor inconveniences and shortfalls of our ideal level of hospitali and accessibili .

volved in the large-scale restoration effort associated with Michigan’s largest dam removal project in state history. Join for two volunteer planting workbees held in the bottomlands of the former Boardman Pond impoundment on the Natural Education Reserve. Register. natureiscalling.org/events

GREAT LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL FESTIVAL: 12-5pm, West Shore Community College, Manistee. Celebrate Earth Day in Manistee. Presentations by regional industries, businesses & organizations will show how they are working to protect & improve the Great Lakes. Free. glef.us

“THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM”: 5-7pm, Old Art Building, Leland. This film chronicles the eight-year quest of John & Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland & a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Free. oldartbuilding.com/ events/movie-the-biggest-little-farm ----------------------

CFS YOUTH ART EXHIBIT: Crooked Tree Arts Center, TC. Child and Family Services is holding an Earth Day themed Youth Art Exhibit at CTAC, TC. Featuring art created by youth of all ages. On display April 21, 5-7pm & April 22, 10am-4pm. Free. cfsnwmi. org/cfsevents

“INTO THE WOODS” PRESENTED BY TC CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL: 7pm, TC Central High School. The Brothers Grimm hit the stage with a fairytale about wishes, family, & the choices we make. The story follows a baker & his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; & Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. $20, $25. tcaps.booktix.com/ view/6/92517f00656e56c6

“ELECTRA”: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Harvey Theatre. Join the Interlochen Arts Academy Theatre Division as they stage Emily Wilson’s gripping translation of this classic Greek tale. $22 adults; $17 children through college. interlochen.org/ events/electra-2023-04-21

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG: (See Sat., April 15)

WIND SYMPHONY: BENEFIT CONCERT FOR FRIENDS OF INTERLOCHEN PUBLIC LIBRARY: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. $15 adults; $12 children through college. interlochen.org/events/wind-symphony-benefitconcert-for-friends-interlochen-public-library-2023-04-21

SHAUN JOHNSON BIG BAND EXPERIENCE: 8pm, City Opera House, TC. A rare newcomer to traditional pop, fused with big band spirit. $40, $27; students, $15. cityoperahouse.org/node/451

apr

saturday

THE CHERRY BOMBSPIEL: (See Fri., April 21, except today’s events start at 8:30am.)

25 CENTS FAMILY FAVORITES: Featuring “Madagascar.” 11am, Harbor Springs Lyric Theatre. lyricharborsprings.org/25-familyfavorites/

BIG LITTLE HERO RACE: Held at NMC Main Campus, West Hall Innovation Center, TC, the one-mile Fun Run is free & begins at 9am in the Dogwood lot. The 5K & 10K range from $15-$30 & start at 9:30am. Wear your favorite superhero costume & every participating child will receive a free cape!

Afterwards, stay for awards, prizes, food & activities for kids of all ages. All proceeds of this event will sponsor College for Kids scholarships for BBBS Littles. The Future Generation Celebration will also be happening until 7pm featuring many bands including Brotha James, Eliza Thorp, The Marsupials & many more. events.bytepro. net/biglittleherorace

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SPRING BIOBLITZ: 9am-5pm, Natural Education Reserve, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. A bioblitz is a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species as possible within a designated location & time period. Register. Free. natureiscalling.org/events

CFS YOUTH ART EXHIBIT: (See Fri., April 21)

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CLAUDE SHANNON DAY!: 10am-2pm, Otsego County History Museum, Gaylord. Enjoy a celebration of Claude Shannon - the father of the digital age. Explore the museum display & watch the biopic “The Bit Player.” Tommy Tropic will re-enact Claude’s penchant for juggling on a unicycle. Free.

EARTH DAY VOLUNTEER PLANTING

WORKBEE DAYS: 10am-2pm, TC. Get involved in the large-scale restoration effort associated with Michigan’s largest dam removal project in state history. Join for two volunteer planting workbees held in the bottomlands of the former Boardman Pond impoundment on the Natural Education Reserve. Register. natureiscalling. org/events

FREE DROP-IN FAMILY ART - EARTH DAY EDITION: 10am-noon, Crooked Tree Arts Center, TC. Demos start every half hour. crookedtree.org/class/ctac-traverse-city/ free-drop-family-art-earth-day-edition

NORTH STAR GARDENS SPRING EXPO: 10am-3pm, North Star Gardens, Gaylord. Local landscapers will be on site to answer questions about your projects. Raised bed demonstrations by Dairy Doo. Free soil testing offered. Free. northstargardens.com

TART TRAILS SPRING WORK BEE: 10amnoon, TC. TART Trails is hosting work bees at various locations along the trail network. If you have light tools, feel free to bring them along with anything else you think may be useful. A TART Trails staff member or ambassador will lead each work bee. 941-4300. traversetrails.org/event/tart-trails-springwork-bee

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION: 11am-3pm, GT County Civic Center, TC. Learn about recycling, composting, water protection, earthfriendly gardening, energy conservation & more. There will be live music with Seth Bernard & Chris Good, Balance Bike library, helmet & bike fitting, butterfly exhibit, free paper shredding & much more.

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

SPRING JIGSAW PUZZLE COMPETI-

TION: 1-5pm, The Village at GT Commons, Kirkbride Hall, TC. Teams of 2-4 people. thevillagetc.com/the-village-jigsaw-puzzlecompetition-2

EARTH WORK SPRING TOUR 2023

EARTH DAY CONCERT: 7-10pm, The Alluvion, TC. Musicians include Audra Kubat, Sari Brown, Dede Alder, Jordan Hamilton, Samantha Cooper, Ben Traverse, Sarah Cohen, Seth Bernard & many others. Tickets start at $30. thealluvion.org/events/ the-alluvion-presents-earthwork-spring-tour2023-earth-day-concert

INTO THE WOODS PRESENTED BY TC

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL: (See Fri., April 21)

JOHN YOUNG MEMORIAL QUEER

PROM: 7pm, Grand Traverse Event Center, TC. Presented by Polestar LGBT+ Community Center & the LGBTeens Up North. The John Young Memorial Queer Prom is open to 14-18 year old LGBT+ teens & their allies & is a safe space to enjoy a prom experience where you can be YOU! Tickets will be for sale at a reduced price of $20 until April 15 & can be purchased online: tcpolestar. org/shop. After April 15, ticket prices will increase to $25. tcpolestar.org/queer-prom ----------------------

“ELECTRA”: (See Fri., April 21)

GERSWHIN GALA: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Celebrate the musical legacy of George & Ira Gershwin in a multidisciplinary showcase featuring works including Summertime, & Rhapsody in Blue. Pianist Kevin Cole joins this evening. Stay after the performance for a free reception with refreshments. $37. interlochen.org/events/gershwin-gala-2023-04-22-0

NMC JAZZ BANDS SPRING CONCERT: 7:30pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. Featuring the NMC Jazz Lab Band & Jazz Big Band. Advance tickets: $12 adults; $7 seniors & students. At door: $15 adults; $10 seniors & students. NMC students get in FREE with their student ID. nmcmusicdepartment.simpletix.com

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG: (See Sat., April 15)

TESLA: SOLD OUT: 8-10:30pm, Little River Casino Resort, Manistee. Thanks to their die-hard, loyal fan base & their younger generation offspring, TESLA continues to tour to sold-out crowds around the world. They celebrate 30+ years of rock n’ roll. lrcr.com/ event-calendar/concerts/tesla

apr

sunday

SUNDAY MORNING BIRD

INTO THE WOODS PRESENTED BY TC

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL: (See Fri., April 21, except today’s time is 2pm.)

POETS NIGHT OUT 2023-LIVE POETRY

READING EVENT: 7pm, City Opera House, TC. Local poets will read their selected poems. The chapbook containing those selected poems will be available for purchase at the event. Free. tadl.org/event/poets-nightout-2023-live-poetry-reading-event

art

-ANNUAL YOUTH ART EXHIBIT 2023: Runs through April 15 at Crooked Tree Arts Center, TC. Celebrating the work of K-12 art students & educators from throughout the Grand Traverse region. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-traverse-city/youth-art-exhibit-2023-traverse-city

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/ctacpetoskey/special-needs-artistic-movement

- EMERGING ARTISTS 2023: A COLLECTION OF NCMC STUDENT WORKS: Held in Atrium Gallery through April 15. Work in glass, metals, ceramics, painting, drawing, photography, illustration, video, & more will be on display. This exhibition is organized by NCMC faculty. crookedtree.org/event/ctacpetoskey/emerging-artists-2023-collectionncmc-student-works-opens-march-14

- YOUTH ART SHOW 2023 - PETOSKEY: Work by students working throughout CharEm ISD fill the galleries in this annual showcase. Runs through May 4. crookedtree. org/event/ctac-petoskey/youth-art-show2023-petoskey-opens-march-18

DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC:

23

WALKS: 7:30am. Meet at Grand Traverse Commons at the parking area just east of Silver Drive, TC. Enjoy this walk with Kirk Waterstripe from the Grand Traverse Audubon Club. This birding experience is designed for those just getting started, or wanting to polish their skills. You’ll focus on identification skills. Dress for weather & walking. Free. tadl.org/birdwalk ----------------------

THE CHERRY BOMBSPIEL: (See Fri., April 21)

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

COMMUNITY VOICES: 10:30am, Elmwood Township Hall, TC. Ryan Hannon, community engagement officer for Goodwill of Northern MI will speak on how to engage people living street homelessness. Free. newwavesucc.org

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

CREATIVITY Q+A LIVE WITH ARTIST

ANGELA SAXON: 1pm, Glen Arbor Arts Center. Angela talks about her practice with Sarah Bearup-Neal, GAAC gallery manager. Saxon is a self-described mark maker. Her practice is about seeing more, getting beyond the surface of things, & depicting layers of time in her paintings, prints & drawings. Free. glenarborart.org/events/creativity-qalive-with-artist-angela-saxon ----------------------

“ELECTRA”: (See Fri., April 21, except today’s time is 2pm.)

- “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

May 5 4-7 pm

Come see dazzling local art on display in your favorite downtown businesses during Art Walk! Mingle with the artists while supporting local businesses Nearly 20 participating locations! Plus live jazz in the streets from JazzNorth7+1

For A map and more info, visit downtowntc.com

Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

You may not know it, but we live in a mini pinball mecca here in northern Michigan, with a vibrant underground culture of players and pinheads, tournaments, and cool arcades showcasing the full range of classic to contemporary machines and “action.” So when Scott Pierson (owner and operator Traverse City’s The Coin Slot) slipped me a cryptic note with a link to Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game, I gave it a spin and almost instantly became a big fan.

Released earlier this year in limited theatrical but now available at home anytime on VOD, the fast-paced and rewarding 90-minute experience is a Trojan Horse of the most creative and entertaining kind, as it arrives in a package presenting itself as a documentary but doesn’t reveal the ruse until you’re already hooked.

In reality, the fictional narrative set in 1970s New York City is presented by a cast of terrific actors and is fully grounded in the truthful story of pinball addict-turnedadvocate Roger Sharpe, a struggling writer in the offices of early GQ magazine. Sharpe became the loudest pro-pinball voice in the city, fighting to overturn an antiquated ban on pinball machines by stodgy government officials who viewed the electronic gambling as a game of chance and banned the machines to XXX establishments.

But Sharpe proves that pinball is indisputably a game of skill. And so important is his contribution to modern pinball legitimacy that National Pinball Day is celebrated on August 1, Sharpe’s birthday, every year.

CLASSIFIEDS

In this film version of true events, Sharpe’s awkward social nerdiness and real life drama are brought to life simultaneously by two fresh and unconventional performances: one by actor Mike Faist as a young Sharpe and the other by actor Dennis Boutsikaris as an elder Sharpe looking back at himself. If that’s not enough, the real Sharpe also makes a cameo and serves as one of the film’s executive producers.

If it sounds funky, a little confusing, or misguided—it’s not! In fact, the film is quite remarkable, and in pinball parlance, the wholly unique approach is the bonusslash-jackpot of the movie itself.

Side-by-side with the Sharpes is actress Crystal Reed as Ellen, a young single mother who cautiously lets Sharpe into her life, drawn to his cause and contagious delight in the game. Their chemistry lights the story up like a bonus ball as he finds his way as the voice of modern pinball.

Brothers and screenwriters/directors Austin and Meredith Bragg are relative newcomers, but they show a keen control of actors (expertly cast by Lindsey Weissmueller), a wonderful knack for human touches, and an enthusiastic passion for the game itself, filmed and celebrated in vibrant and kinetic cinematography fitting of the backglass splash.

After the credits roll and you feel amped with that Lazarus-Ball feeling, I highly recommend taking that itch and scratching it in Traverse City at The Coin Slot, RightBrain Brewery, or The Workshop (and shoot your lights out).

Hosted by Kandace Chapple, Michigan Girl

by Joseph Beyer

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska

ENCORE 201, TC

4/15 -- Jon Archambault Band, 8;

DJ Ricky T, 10

4/21-22 -- DJ Ricky T, 9

KILKENNY'S IRISH PUBLIC HOUSE, TC

4/14-15 -- Life Theory, 9:30

Thu -- Ladies Night with DJ Leo, 9:30

LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC

4/21 – Nick Veine, 5

BARREL ROOM:

4/17 -- Open Mic w/ Rob Coonrod, 6-9

4/22 – Jazz Cabbage, 6

LIL BO, TC

Tues. – Trivia, 8-10

Weds. – Aldrich, 9

Sun. – Karaoke, 8

MIDDLECOAST BREWING CO., TC

4/21 -- Jeff Socia, 6-9

SORELLINA'S, TC SLATE RESTAURANT:

Thurs. -- Tom Kaufmann on Piano,

5-8

Fri. & Sat. – Tom Kaufmann on Piano, 6-9

TC WHISKEY CO.

4/19 -- Luke Woltanski, 6-8

THE ALLUVION, TC

4/17 -- Big Fun - Funky Fun

Mondays, 6-8

4/20 -- Jeff Haas Trio & Friends,

6-8:30

4/22 -- Earth Work Spring Tour

2023 Earth Day Concert, 7-10

THE PARLOR, TC

Emmet & Cheboygan

BEARDS BREWERY, ROOT CELLAR, PETOSKEY

4/15 -- Rhett & John, 6-9

4/16 -- Owen James, 5-8

BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS, PETO-

SKEY 2-6:

4/15 -- Chase & Allie

4/22 -- Chris Calleja

CITY PARK GRILL, PETOSKEY

4/21 -- Annex Karaoke, 9:30

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, BAY HARBOR

4/15 -- David Lawston, 7-10

ODAWA CASINO RESORT, PETO-

SKEY VICTORIES:

Sat. -- Live DJ, 9

4/21 -- Louie Longoria Band, 9

THE BEAU, CHEBOYGAN

8-11:

4/15 – Nick Vasquez

4/21 – Miriam Pico & Ryan Younce

4/22 – Blake Elliott

THE PUB, TC

4/15 -- Blair Miller, 7

THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC

4/15 -- The Wild Honey Collective, 8

4/18 -- Open Mic & Musical Talent Showcase, 7

4/19 -- Jazz Show & Jam, 6

4/21 -- Hot Flat Pop, 8

4/22 -- Jakey T, 8

TRAVERSE CITY COMEDY CLUB, TC

4/14 -- Comedy w/ Michael Palascak, 7:45-9:30

Jack Pine brings some easy beachside vibes mixed with classic rock n’ roll. You’ll find him and his band at Lake Ann Brewing Co. on Sat., April 15 from 6:30-9:30pm, and then him solo at Tandem Ciders, Suttons Bay on Sun., April 23 for an Earth Week Celebration Concert at 3pm.

4/15 -- Myk Rise, 8-11

4/21 -- Nate King, 8-11

4/22 -- Listening Room Show w/ Will Prentice, 4:30-6; Nathan Towne, 7-10

THE NOGGIN ROOM PUB, PETOSKEY

7-10:

4/15 -- Moon Howlers

4/21 – Mike Ridley

4/22 – Adam Hoppe

MANISTEE, WEXFORD & MISSAUKEE

LITTLE RIVER CASINO RESORT, MANISTEE

4/15 – Cheap Trick, 8-10:30: SOLD OUT

4/22 – Tesla, 8-10:30: SOLD OUT

WILLOW MARKET & MEATS, CADILLAC

4/22 – Once Upon a Bisson, 7

Antrim & Charlevoix

BOYNE CITY TAP ROOM

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

ETHANOLOGY, ELK RAPIDS

4/15 & 4/22 -- Winter Music Series,

7-10

4/21 -- Stand Up Comedy w/ Dave Dryer & Kara Coraci, 7

HELLO VINO, BELLAIRE

4/22 -- Brett Mitchell, 6:30-9:30

MUSKRAT DISTILLING, BOYNE CITY

4/22 -- Jelly Roll Blues Band, 8-11

BEL LAGO VINEYARD & WINERY, CEDAR

4/21 -- Live Music, 5-7

CICCONE VINEYARD & WINERY, SUTTONS BAY

4/23 -- Jabo Bihlman, 2:30-4:30

DICK'S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU

Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-1

FRENCH VALLEY VINEYARD, CEDAR

Thurs. -- Live Music, 4-6:30

IRON FISH DISTILLERY, THOMPSONVILLE

5-7:

– Blake Elliott 4/22 – Lynn Callihan

Leelanau & Benzie

LAKE ANN BREWING CO.

4/15 -- Jack Pine Band, 6:30-9:30

Thu -- Trivia Night w/ Host Tom Kaspar, 7-9

4/21 – Beauville, 6:30-9:30

4/22 – Runaway Mule, 6:30-9:30

ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH

4/15 -- LaRose, 5-8

4/19 – Comedy Hive Open Mic, 7-8:30

4/20 – Open Mic Night w/ Jeff Louwsma, 5:30-8:30

4/21 – Jesse Jefferson, 5-8

4/22 – Wink, 5-8

SHADY LANE CELLARS, SUTTONS BAY

4/21 -- Friday Night LIVE with Kevin Paul, 5:30-8:30

STORMCLOUD BREWING CO., FRANKFORT

4/21 – Tim Jones, 7-9

TANDEM CIDERS, SUTTONS BAY

4/23 – Earth Week Celebration Concert w/ Jack Pine, 3

UP RIVER SLICE OF MUSIC, BENZONIA

4/19 – John Ware & Max Elliot, 6-8

VI GRILL, SUTTONS BAY

4/15 -- Let's Dance w/ DJ Fasel, 10

DAILY

PROVISIONS WINE LOUNGE, BOYNE CITY

4/15 – Peter Allen Jensen, 6

4/18 -- Nelson Olstrom, 6

SHORT’S BREW PUB, BELLAIRE

8-10:30:

4/21 – Jakey T

4/22 – Randy Reszka

Otsego, Crawford & Central

ALPINE TAVERN & EATERY, GAYLORD

6:

4/15 – Zeke

4/21 – Kenny Thompson

4/22 – Lou Thumser

BENNETHUM'S NORTHERN INN, GAYLORD

4/18 – Jeff Greif, 5-8

lOGY

APR

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hope that in the coming weeks, you will keep your mind bubbling with zesty mysteries. I hope you'll exult in the thrill of riddles that are beyond your current power to solve. If you cultivate an appreciation of uncanny uncertainties, life will soon begin bringing you uncanny certainties. Do you understand the connection between open-hearted curiosity and fertile rewards? Don’t merely tolerate the enigmas you are immersed in—love them!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): ): You don't know what is invisible to you. The truths that are out of your reach may as well be hiding. The secret agendas you are not aware of are indeed secret. That's the not-so-good news, Virgo. The excellent news is that you now have the power to uncover the rest of the story, at least some of it. You will be able to penetrate below the surface and find buried riches. You will dig up missing information whose absence has prevented you from understanding what has been transpiring. There may be a surprise or two ahead, but they will ultimately be agents of healing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Visionary philosopher Buckminster Fuller referred to pollution as a potential resource we have not yet figured out how to harvest. A company called Algae Systems does exactly that. It uses wastewater to grow algae that scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and yield carbon-negative biofuels. Can we invoke this approach as a metaphor that's useful to you? Let's dream up examples. Suppose you're a creative artist. You could be inspired by your difficult emotions to compose a great song, story, painting, or dance. Or if you're a lover who is in pain, you could harness your suffering to free yourself of a bad old habit or ensure that an unpleasant history doesn't repeat itself. Your homework, Libra, is to figure out how to take advantage of a “pollutant” or two in your world.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Soon you will graduate from your bumpy lessons and enter a smoother, silkier phase. You will find refuge from the naysayers as you create a liberated new power spot for yourself. In anticipation of this welcome transition, I offer this motivational exhortation from poet Gwendolyn Brooks: "Say to them, say to the down-keepers, the sun-slappers, the self-soilers, the harmony-hushers, 'Even if you are not ready for day, it cannot always be night.'" believe you are finished with your worthwhile but ponderous struggles, Scorpio. Get ready for an excursion toward luminous grace.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): periodically seek the counsel of a Sagittarian psychic. She's half-feral and sometimes speaks in riddles. She tells me she occasionally converses by phone with a person she calls "the ex-Prime Minister of Narnia." I confided in her that lately it has been a challenge for me to keep up with you Sagittarians because you have been expanding beyond the reach of my concepts. She gave me a pronouncement that felt vaguely helpful, though it was also a bit over my head: "The Archer may be quite luxuriously curious and furiously hilarious; studiously lascivious and victoriously delirious; salubriously industrious but never lugubriously laborious." Here’s how I interpret that: Right now, pretty much anything is possible if you embrace unpredictability.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "I’m not insane," says Capricorn actor Jared Leto. "I’m voluntarily indifferent to conventional rationality." That attitude might serve you well in the coming weeks. You could wield it to break open opportunities that were previously closed due to excess caution. suspect you’re beginning a fun phase of selfdiscovery when you will learn a lot about yourself. As you do, I hope you will experiment with being at least somewhat indifferent to conventional rationality. Be willing to be surprised. Be receptive to changing your mind about yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): People of all genders feel urges to embellish their native beauty with cosmetic enhancements. I myself haven't done so, but I cheer on those who use their flesh for artistic experiments. At the same time, I am also a big fan of us loving ourselves exactly

as we are. And I'm hoping that in the coming weeks, you will emphasize the latter over the former. urge you to indulge in an intense period of maximum self-appreciation. Tell yourself daily how gorgeous and brilliant you are. Tell others, too! Cultivate a glowing pride in the gifts you offer the world. If anyone complains, tell them you’re doing the homework your astrologer gave you.

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): I encourage you to amplify the message you have been trying to deliver. If there has been any shyness or timidity in your demeanor, purge it. If you have been less than forthright in speaking the whole truth and nothing but the truth, boost your clarity and frankness. Is there anything you could do to help your audience be more receptive? Any tenderness you could express to stimulate their willingness and ability to see you truly?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An old sadness is ripening into practical wisdom. A confusing loss is about to yield a clear revelation you can use to improve your life. In mysterious ways, a broken heart you suffered in the past may become a wild card that inspires you to deepen and expand your love. Wow and hallelujah, Taurus! I’m amazed at the turnarounds that are in the works for you. Sometime in the coming weeks, what wounded you once upon a time will lead to a vibrant healing. Wonderful surprise!

Crosswords

ACROSS

1. Gemini star

7. Tour guide

14. "Is Anybody Goin' to San ___?" (1970 #1 country hit)

15. Like 18K or 22K, relatively

17. It's sung in French and set in Spain

18. Fenced

19. Language spoken in "The Passion of the Christ"

21. Suffix with Senegal or Sudan

22. Hardware acronym

23. C8H17 radical

24. Uracil carrier

26. "___ good you let him know" (Hamlet quote)

28. Lindsey of "Pretty Little Liars"

DOWN

1. Tropical beans

2. Revolting type, old-style

3. Levels

4. Director with a memeworthy Mark

5. "You Can't Stop the Reign" rapper

6. Santoni who played Poppie on "Seinfeld"

7. Abbr. on bottles of beer

8. Times associated with availability

9. Those, in Toledo

10. Black listing

11. Gym instructor's deg.

12. Musical character who sings "I swear on all my spores"

13. One of Chaucer's Canterbury pilgrims

16. Involve

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some scientists speculate that more people suffer from allergies than ever before because civilization has oversanitized the world. The fetish for scouring away germs and dirt means that our immune systems don't get enough practice in fending off interlopers. In a sense, they are "bored" because they have too little to do. That's why they fight stuff that's not a threat, like tree pollens and animal dander. Hence, we develop allergies to harmless substances. hope you will apply this lesson as a metaphor in the coming weeks, fellow Cancerian. Be sure the psychological component of your immune system isn't warding off the wrong people and things. It's healthy for you to be protective, but not hyper-over-protective in ways that shut out useful influences.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): One night in 1989, Leo evolutionary biologist Margie Profet went to sleep and had a dream that revealed to her new information about the nature of menstruation. The dream scene was a cartoon of a woman's reproductive system. It showed little triangles being carried away by the shed menstrual blood. Eureka! As Profet lay in bed in the dark, she intuited a theory that no scientist had ever guessed: that the sloughed-off uterine lining had the key function of eliminating pathogens, represented by the triangles. In subsequent years, she did research to test her idea, supported by studies with electron microscopes. Now her theory is regarded as fact. I predict that many of you Leos will soon receive comparable benefits. Practical guidance will be available in your dreams and twilight awareness and altered states. Pay close attention!

29. Alaska natives

31. Hill affirmations

32. It branches into Ulster and Dublin accents

35. Lasso handler?

37. They come to a point near your field of vision

38. Etonic rival

39. Corrupt

40. Undisputed

44. Subject of some terraforming proposals

46. Actor Sheridan who plays Cyclops

47. Word after rap or flow

48. "Tarzan" actor Ron

49. Role, figuratively

51. Silence, in a way

53. Costal enclosures

56. Rabbit creator

57. Mars option

58. Decreasing figure?

59. Hohe ___ (Cologne shopping locale)

60. Devices that displayed numbers

20. Some strength-training enthusiasts

25. "Whenever"

27. Throws a sleeper then touches the ground, essentially

29. Went for the silver, perhaps

30. Ganon, to Link

33. Family surname in current TV

34. "... the giftie ___ us": Burns

35. Field items that follow an arc

36. Barely

37. Underground experts

41. Add new padding to

42. "Mr. Belvedere" costar Bob

43. They're real knockouts

45. Zulu warrior king

47. Toyota model rebooted in 2019

50. Forever and a day

52. Laugh line

54. "Proud Mary" band, briefly

55. Dir. from Iceland to Ireland

"Running Free" --more words, words, words.. by Matt Jones

“Jonesin”

NORTHERN EXPRESS

CLASSIFIEDS

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 1-888-2424759 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 providedno experience needed. All shifts available full and part time. Contact Dana @ 616-260-7266 or dgrummet@hopenetwork.org

MAH JONGG CLASSES WITH BARBARA: Novice/Refresher & Strategies levels. Starting 4/13; Thursdays 1-4 at MiddleCoast Brewing Co, 329 E. State St. For info & registration contact: chocolady@aye.net, 231-383-0803

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF TC

REQUEST PROPOSALS 2023: Mission Committee of the Presbyterian Church of TC is seeking local organizations to submit proposals to receive grant monies. Our goal is to establish funding & in-service relationships with the organizations (even those in developmental stages) which address needs in our community. Deadline April 30, 2023: https://forms.gle/sZ3mAiHNvHThs3LQ6

PAID PART-TIME WORK TRAINING FOR SENIORS 55+: Paid Part-Time Positions Available for Seniors Aged 55 and over. Applicants must be unemployed/seeking work & meet income guideline. Reception/ Clerical/File Clerk, Employment Specialist Trainee, Customer Service/Retail, Custodial. For more information call AARP Foundation SCSEP at 231-252-4544. We serve Grand Traverse region and other Michigan counties.

SEWING, ALTERATIONS, MENDING & REPAIRS. Maple City, Maralene Roush 231228-6248

MR.GETITDONE: Need junk cleared away, brush to old couches. Mike can haul it away for fair prices and senior discounts. Powerwashing, many handyman skills. Call for anything 231871-1028.

BUYING OLD WOODEN DUCK and FISH SPEARING DECOYS: BUYING OLD WOODEN DUCK and FISH SPEARING DECOYS call, text 248 877-0210

LANDSCAPING AND GARDEN CARE: For Landscaping, Cleanup, and Garden care Call 231-342-6861