Northern Express - December 19, 2022

Your Patrick

This is what I hope to be a Christmas blessing. And for other people of faith, too.

While I have had my ups and downs here in Traverse City, my continuity is a friend that I grew up with in Flint, Michigan, and camped with at Boy Scout Camp Tapico in Kalkaska County (now a natural conservatory site). He teaches college currently in Iowa. His wife also teaches college in Iowa; their daughter has a wonderful scholarship in Japan.

All of us have a Patrick in our lives. So, all I wish to all: Blessings and reach out to your Patrick.

Extending the Call for Grace

In her Nov. 26 guest opinion, Emma Smith invited readers to contemplate prayer, gratitude, grace, and our ability to practice empathetic responses.

Emma’s article got me thinking about a lesson I learned about grace. I found myself frustrated, exhausted, and even angry with a group of people I was working with. I went out to shovel snow, which gave me an opportunity to reflect on the situation.

The Bible teaches that “God is love” (I John 4:8), and I find it comforting to contemplate the warmth of God’s love, as well as the good and the blessings that come with that.

Lifting the shovel full of heavy snow, it occurred to me that if that snow suddenly melted, it would just spill off the shovel and there would be no more weight to hold. Just as the sun’s rays melt snow and ice, if I let the warmth and grace of God’s love permeate my thinking, it would melt away those bitter feelings.

I recognized that I needed to think of the individuals as loving and lovable children of God. Over the next few days, I looked for the good in each person.

Then it snowed again! This time, I used a different shovel that had edges on the sides. It occurred to me that if that snow melted, it would not spill off because the edges would keep it there. It would still be heavy. This had me wondering if there were any edges in my thinking, like stubbornness or self-righteousness, causing me to hold onto animosity and anger. I needed to get rid of these “edges” and have more grace with the people I was working with. As I did this, the situation was quickly resolved.

I second Emma’s call to extend grace. It blesses everyone.

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George Golubovskis | Traverse City

Marcia Hufstader | Traverse City

top ten

Dec. 21 is the winter solstice and shortest day of the year, and instead of burrowing under the blankets, it’s the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the chilly beauty of nature in her winter form. The Grand Traverse Conservation District (GTCD) is celebrating the changing of the season with a campfire and hike evening at their Great Lakes Incubator Farm (1091 N Keystone Rd. in TC). The farm, as reported by Northern Express a few weeks back, will be the demonstration site for a new program geared toward teaching aspiring farmers how to work the land and create a thriving business. From 5-7pm, GTCD will offer tours of the farm—a half-mile hike— followed by a warming fire and cups of hot cocoa. Guests are encouraged to bring their own mugs to help reduce waste! The event is free, though pre-registration is appreciated for planning purposes. Sign up and learn more at natureiscalling.org/events.

If you’re the type to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas at this time of year, you can add a few extra Tim Burton chills and thrills with his latest: Wednesday As the nursery rhyme predicts, Wednesday’s child is indeed full of woe in this reimagining of the Addams Family story through the eyes of their teenage daughter. After an incident—okay, an attempted murder— involving bullies and piranhas, Wednesday is shipped off to Nevermore Academy to be among the outcasts and monsters like her. Though Wednesday would love to be anywhere but following in her parents’ footsteps at Nevermore, she nonetheless finds herself entangled in a decades’-old mystery and a string of modernday killings happening in her backyard. Actress Jenna Ortega of Disney Channel fame plays the lead role perfectly, balancing her dark, deadpan delivery with flashes of cleverness and even a few tender moments that will have you rooting for the show’s unlikely heroine. Now streaming on Netflix.

Tom’s Food Markets’ Local Dishes

Ever wish you could fit your favorite restaurant inside the grocery store? You could check off your weekly shopping list and get a few ready-made meals from the local chefs you love. Well, Tom’s Food Markets may have read your mind. Not only are we impressed with the multi-store renovations they’ve been up to—including putting more of an emphasis on local goods from snacks to beer to lavender essential oils—but we’ve also discovered some familiar names in their updated aisles. TC-based White on Rice is providing fresh sushi deliveries at all locations, usually with a mix of rolls like California, spicy crab, vegan, and others. For those south of the 45th parallel, the Polish treats of Petoskey’s Lost Village Pierogi can now be found on the shelves, making you just one frying pan and 10 minutes away from perfection. Tom’s has locations in Traverse City, Northport, and Interlochen; call yours for availability or visit toms-foodmarkets.com.

Ready to celebrate holiday traditions from our corner of Michigan to the other side of the globe? Take the kiddos to the Great Lakes Children’s Museum Thursday, Dec. 22, and Friday, Dec. 23, for the Holiday Happenings Celebrations. This interactive experience is free with museum admission ($8 for children and adults, free for members) and helps littles learn about Christmas, Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, and more. Meanwhile, the rest of the museum’s Great Lakes-focused activities and exhibits will be open and ready for exploration. Reservations are recommended—though walk-ins are admitted if capacity allows—and can be made by going to greatlakeskids.org. The Holiday Happenings Celebrations will be held during all three sessions on Thursday and Friday: 9:30-11:30am, 12-2pm, and 2:30-4:30pm. (The museum is closed for cleaning in the breaks in between.) Find the Great Lakes Children’s Museum at 13240 S. West Bay Shore Drive in Traverse City.

Stuff We Love: Winter Athletes on the Go

Let’s face it: It’s hard to find the motivation to get outside and run in the winter. (For some of us, it’s hard to find the motivation to run, period.) That’s why we love that a local high schooler, Ava King, decided to organize the Traverse City Northern Lights (TCNL) running club, a peer-led group for high school distance runners in the fivecounty area. If your student is into track or cross-country and using a treadmill for the next six months just doesn’t appeal, then sign them up for some accountabili-buddies with TCNL. The group will meet twice a week at the Civic Center in Traverse City near Howe Arena so teens can train, find new running friends, and stay in the loop on opportunities to participate in indoor meets throughout the winter. (Note: This is not a school-sponsored club.) Get more information and sign up at https://forms.gle/2WFzmN15xX1tSAYS9.

This decade’s work-from-home lifestyle has allowed hundreds of NoMi residents to transition to freelance work. It’s also made it easier for people to move North and keep doing what they love. The only tricky part? Finding ways to reach local customers. To make those connections, Michigan’s Creative Coast, a branch of Traverse Connect, announced the launch of their Freelance and Independent Talent Directory. Freelancers who own small businesses with two or fewer employees can create a listing of their own ($100 for 12 months on the site or $150 for upgraded features and marketing boosts) that features their bio, work samples, references, website, contact info, and more. In turn, the public can submit requests for proposals for various types of work, with categories like copywriting, graphic design, photography, website development, and even ceramics or voiceover work on the list. Head to michiganscreativecoast.com/freelance to learn more.

We’d be lying if we said that Paddle Hard Brewing’s house IPA didn’t have us longing for sweltering temps, neon pool floaties, and lots of glorious sunshine. (Remember sunshine? We hardly do…) But, are we still sipping it in December? You bet. The second in a threebeer series preceded by the Lazy River Rampage Session IPA, this lighter-than-predicted pale hits all the multi-season high notes with a pine-forward nose and a richly-layered palette, thanks to a brew containing no fewer than seven different hop varieties. We’d pair it with something rich—go for the brewery’s Thai’d Up Paddler pizza, or a hot dog for that full summer feeling—though it’s just as delicious on its own. Enjoy River Rampage on tap ($5), by the six-pack, or 32-ounce crowler at Paddle Hard Brewing’s Grayling location, 227 Michigan Avenue. And don’t miss the 27 other guest and in-house taps! (989) 745-6388. paddlehardbrewing.com

Photo by HarpeStar

IF ONLY WE WOULD

spectator

By Stephen Tuttle

Individual gifts are nice this time of year, assuming you’re on Santa’s nice list. But the world as a whole could use some gifts, too.

For example, ending slavery would be an excellent gift. Perhaps you thought slavery was a barbaric relic of the past. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

According to the World Population Review (WPR), an independent data analyzing organization absent political leanings, a stunning 167 countries still engage in some form of slavery. That is particularly alarming since there are only 195 countries listed by the United Nations (UN).

known by some as the Merchant of Death, for American Brittney Griner, were rich with hypocrisy. Bout’s individual efforts to provide arms pale in comparison to ours. The U.S. is by far the biggest arms dealer in the world, responsible for 39 percent of all such sales, according to statista.com. That’s more than the next three exporters—Russia, France, China— combined. Some of our weaponry is now in the hands of the Taliban and ISIS and has been, and will continue to be, used against us.)

While we’re in the gift-giving spirit, let’s give the gift of protecting and maintaining our forest lands around the world. Tree canopies continue shrinking at a disheartening rate, and since they provide almost a third of our

Santa probably can’t gift us an end to slavery, wars, deforestation, or racism and antisemitism. But we could gift it ourselves…if only we would.

To be fair, both the UN and WPR have a more expanded definition of slavery than that with which we are most familiar. They include the traditional and ugly definition in which a human being is literally owned by another human being but also add forced government conscription for little or no pay, forced prison labor for little or no pay, forced sexual slavery, forced migrant labor, forced debt bondage (or what we used to call indentured servitude), forced marriage, and child labor. Altogether, more than 46 million people fit into one of the above categories.

All 195 UN countries have laws that prohibit the legalization of slavery, but only 94, fewer than half, have outlawed the practice itself. India, with it’s archaic and cruel caste system still prevalent in some areas, leads the Slavery Hall of Shame with more than seven million people fitting the WPR definition. They’re followed by China, Russia, and Nigeria with six other African nations, which should know better, rounding out the top 10.

Whatever the definition, slavery is an ongoing obscenity that stains the world, and its end would be a lovely gift.

While we’re at it, let’s also give the gift of ending war and the butchery and displacement that goes with it.

In addition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are armed conflicts in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Colombia, the Sahel (a region of predominantly Saharan Africa that includes 10 countries but the fighting mostly impacts Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger), and in our own backyard in Haiti. Not to mention, and we wish we didn’t have to, Saudi Arabia’s ongoing assault on Yemen, ably abetted by weapons of war we sold them.

(Recent complaints about our willingness to trade Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout,

planet’s oxygen, we’d be wise to protect them. (About twice that much comes from tiny marine plants, so the gift of getting serious about protecting our oceans would be nice, too.) According to the World Wildlife Fund, some deforestation is getting worse.

Hacking away at the Amazon rainforest accelerated under the leadership of recently defeated Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, and that canopy has decreased 15 percent just since 1990. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia are both 20 percent less leafy than they were 30 years ago, and Paraguay’s forests have decreased by a frightening 34 percent in the same time.

Finally, let’s give the gift of ending racism and antisemitism. Both are difficult challenges because both are based on ignorance, which is tough to overcome.

In the U.S., and it’s likely no different elsewhere, we still have the vestiges of racism that cling like an infection against which antibiotics are helpless. We have politicians denying it still exists because they find some political advantage in perpetuating that lie or they just haven’t opened their ears and eyes to the realities surrounding them. Refusing to acknowledge our none-too-attractive history won’t change it or make it go away, either.

The antisemites are back spewing their old tropes about how Jews are controlling the banks and Hollywood and the media and pretty much anything else they don’t understand. It does not help at all when a former president dines with overt white supremacists and antisemites and condemns neither. And a socalled celebrity goes on a podcast and declares his love for Adolf Hitler. It’s absurd.

Santa probably can’t gift us an end to slavery, wars, deforestation, or racism and antisemitism. But we could gift it ourselves…if only we would.

“Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” —Thomas Jefferson

As 2022 draws mercifully to a close, putting to rest yet another annus mirabilis, it is customary to pause, peer back at the year in repose, make new plans, then promptly forget them.

Good intentions often evaporate like vapors. But this time, it will be different, you promise. This time you will become a better version of yourself. You’ve done this so many times before that you have perfected the two-step that keeps you stuck in a place where nothing ever changes, least of all, yourself.

been immense; but, perhaps guided by his moral failings, he sought understanding in a book. And that book was the Bible.

Given his towering ego, he didn’t simply try to read and understand the Bible—he sought to rewrite it. Unbeknown to even his closest confidants, Jefferson reduced the Bible to an 84-page text, reflecting the mind of a man who spent much of his life grappling with, alternatively doubting, then rejecting religion in the traditional sense.

Working alone in the White House in 1804, Jefferson decided to edit the Gospels, to uncover the essence hidden in the simple story

But suppose that this year, for once, you follow through? Suppose you approach these New Year plans with a renewed sense of purpose and a belief in second chances? By now you should realize that the way to lasting change and personal development is incremental, consistent, humble, persistent effort.

You return again and again to Emerson’s observation that, if you look long and hard enough, you can learn something from everyone you meet; everyone is better than you at something. These constant musings bring you, somewhat reluctantly, to the original Doubting Thomas: Thomas Jefferson, the man of many inconsistent faces.

Thomas spent his life seeking moral clarity and spiritual guidance. It might not seem that way to you. He did, after all, “own” slaves, and he used his late wife’s 13-year-old half-sister to replenish his dwindling supply of free laborers. How can it be said that such a man, a man guilty of the most heinous of transgressions, was, in the end, a moral and spiritual seeker?

The third president of the United States had a secret, which, like so much else, is missing from the history books. This secret dominated the waning days of his life in the White House and continues to speak to us across space and time.

Jefferson was a great moral equivocator, an eloquent writer, and a deep thinker who declared all people to be created equal, except those he owned and slept with. But that’s not the end of his story, not all that he was. In many ways he was very much like Walt Whitman, who wrote in Leaves of Grass: “Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)”

But Jefferson was no different than you and I in that respect. His moral failings may have

of Jesus’ life. Jefferson had long believed that the authentic lessons of Jesus could only be uncovered if we rid ourselves of miracles like the Annunciation, the Virgin Birth, and The Resurrection. What would be left? This: Jesus’ ethical lessons of love, reverence, tolerance of others, harmonious relations, and forgiveness.

Using a razor and scissors, Jefferson removed miracles such as turning water into wine and walking on water. Instead, he focused on the moral teachings and truths expressed without the assistance of the supernatural powers of God. Jefferson then pasted together only those passages that made sense to him and which conformed to the natural laws of nature. What was left were 84 pages that reflected the mind of a man who spent several years questioning religious doctrine.

What does Jefferson’s secret work say to us today? Well, I own a copy of this text. Reading it convinces me that no matter how much you think you know, no matter how flawed you are, you can profit from a life of searching for the “truth” and imagining what constitutes a good life.

Growth is eternal, and it lies not in the worship of the supernatural, the belief in rituals, magic, and otherworldly events. Rather, it lies in the mundane capacity for personal growth and development, in finding ways to be of service to others. It lies also in trying to learn from our past mistakes and refusing to stand in judgment of others.

And if it means questioning our most passionately held beliefs, do it. Jefferson was not perfect, and neither are you. His “sins” are too numerous to enumerate here. But he seems to have spent his life questioning his own moral and spiritual leanings.

Now that’s a resolution you can keep.

Isiah Smith, Jr. is a retired government attorney.

guest opinion by Isiah Smith, Jr.

By now you should realize that the way to lasting change and personal development is incremental, consistent, humble, persistent effort.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

RayLee Holladay and her husband, Bubba, live in Lascassas, Tennessee, where they raise cows. About six years ago, WKRN-TV reported, RayLee had been seeking a venture of her own to bring in money on the farm when she discovered Rent The Chicken, a business founded by Phil and Jenn Tompkins of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Today, RayLee's Rent The Chicken franchise is thriving. Customers can either rent egg-laying chickens for about six months, or hatching chicks, which can be returned about two weeks after they hatch. "It's great for teaching kids a little responsibility," RayLee said. "And this is a trial. It's not like getting a puppy for Christmas." Chickens can be rented by families or by schools, day cares and senior living facilities. If renters grow attached, they can adopt the fowl for an added fee. Since its beginning 10 years ago, Rent The Chicken has expanded into 24 states, the District of Columbia and into Canada.

Least Competent Criminal

The Rockdale County (Georgia) Sheriff's Department posted a list of its top 10 most wanted fugitives on Facebook on Nov. 28, Fox News reported. One local criminal evidently felt left out, though: Christopher Spaulding, an area man with two warrants for his arrest, commented, "How about me?" The sheriff's department responded, "We are on the way" and on Dec. 1 arrested Spaulding. Later, they commented, "We appreciate you for your assistance in your capture!" Spaulding's warrants were for felony violation of probation.

Questionable Judgments

A 72-year-old woman was arrested on Nov. 29 in Berlin after she allegedly turned off her hospital roommate's ventilator -- twice! -- because the sound of it was annoying her, The Washington Post reported. After the first incident, police said, the woman was told the machine was necessary to keep the roommate alive, but she switched it off again later in the evening. The other patient had to be revived, although she is expected to recover. The suspect was charged with suspicion of attempted manslaughter.

On Dec. 5, as Hassan Chokr, 35, appeared virtually from jail for a hearing in Wayne County, Michigan, he became frustrated with Judge Regina Thomas and started yelling and pointing at the camera, Fox News reported. Thomas asked for his microphone to be muted, and things escalated: "I want the record to reflect that ... now he has removed his pants to show the court his backside," Thomas said. "I don't know why anyone would think it is appropriate to pull down his pants and show the court their behind during a court proceeding." Chokr's attorney agreed with Thomas that a mental health evaluation "probably would be a good thing" and said Chokr was just exercising his right to free speech. Thomas wasn't buying it, though: "We don't get to do and say anything we want to without the consequences of those actions," she said. "That's where your client finds himself today."

Making a Statement

Mindy Janette Stephens, 46, was arrested on Dec. 1 and charged with illegal dumping after an incident that took place on Nov. 10 in Electra, Texas. According to KXANTV, Stephens, seen on security footage wearing a white hazmat suit and a yellow mask, deposited three 5-gallon buckets of human excrement at the front door of the Electra police department, then got in her SUV and drove away. Stephens told another media outlet that she had been renting an apartment to a man who had not paid rent or utilities for a year, and after she evicted him, she found the buckets of waste. "He'd been pooping in the buckets," she said. She said she called the police department to ask what she should do with them, but officers weren't helpful -- so she took the buckets to the station. City wastewater officials removed them, and Stephens bonded out of jail.

Harsh

An Olive Garden restaurant manager in Overland Park, Kansas, is out of a job after they sent a ranting message to team members about excessive time off, KCTV5 reported. "We are no longer tolerating ANY excuse for calling off. ... If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us. ... If you only want morning shifts, too bad, go work at a bank. ... Do you think I want to be here until midnight on Friday and Saturday? No. I'd much rather be at home with my husband and dog," the message said. An Olive Garden representative said the message was "not aligned with our company's values. We can confirm we have parted ways with this manager."

Bad Behavior

Five-year Chicago police veteran Henry Capouch, 30, was arrested for battery and disorderly conduct on Dec. 5 in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was vacationing, The Smoking Gun reported. According to officers, Capouch was discovered around 12:30 a.m. by an employee of Jimmy B's Beach Bar as he was "(urinating) on the ice in the machine." The worker told Capouch to stop, but instead he shoved both him and a security guard. Police said Capouch actively resisted and did not obey commands while being arrested. They said he showed an "indication of alcohol influence."

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

On Nov. 28 at around 1:45 a.m., an unnamed 27-year-old man visited the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York City and made a huge purchase: 300 iPhone 13s. (The store is open 24 hours.) He bought the phones to resell through his small business. But, the Daily Star reported, he didn't get very far with them: As he walked to his car, another car pulled up and two men jumped out, demanding his three bags. The customer defended himself, but the thieves made off with one of the bags, which contained about 125 phones, worth approximately $95,000. The New York Police Department is investigating.

THROUGH ICE AND SNOW THEY GO

By Anna Faller

There is nothing quite so unpredictable as a Michigan winter. Though it’s true that a handful of weeks each year can be relied on for snow and sub-arctic temperatures, the rest of the season is anyone’s guess. Wintery weather does have one common feature, though: how it’s handled once it hits the ground.

For the scoop on this year’s snow removal, Northern Express caught up with the Grand Traverse County Road Commission (GTCRC) and TART Trails to talk about winter service for infrastructure, from major roads to pedestrian trails.

Our biggest takeaway? There’s snow such thing as being too prepared.

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION

Human Power

For GTCRC, keeping up with snowremoval is often a question of proper staffing. According to Superintendent Jay Saksewski, a fully-fledged field operations team (those are the fearless men and women plowing and salting in blizzard conditions) should comprise about 31 people.

In recent years, however, the commission has barely hit two-thirds of its target, thanks

in large part to a competitive market and complex commercial driver’s license (CDL) qualifications. “That’s when you start [asking yourself] who’s going to plow the roads,” Saksewski says.

In response to their dwindling numbers, GTCRC launched a program through which applicants can earn their license, regardless of past work experience. “While we’ve always helped train [new employees],” says Saksewski, formally tracking that licensure process and offering it to those sans credentials has proved an invaluable marketing tool.

So far, this year’s field operations crew is just one member shy of completion, at least six of whom earned their license from scratch, courtesy of the commission’s new program. “It’s brought in people from outside industries that have a passion to serve the community,” he says. “We’re [seeing] some really great success.”

Horse Power

That success is also largely determined by GTCRC’s winter equipment. This year, its tandem axle trucks—the brick-shaped behemoths we recognize as standard plows— were first on the list of tech upgrades.

“Traditionally, they have a ‘belly blade’ that scrapes the snow between the tires,” says Saksewski. Much of the GTCRC’s fleet,

however, is also equipped with “winged” blades that drop down at an angle to the vehicle. The modification increases each truck’s capacity by almost 50 percent, and, when compared to the price of a full replacement—which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars—is significantly less expensive.

Saksewski says, “Historically, a truck might have taken two laps to clear the traffic lane and the shoulder. Now it can do them [both] at once, and that improves our efficacy.”

Other mechanical tech includes a chemical process called salt “pre-wetting,” wherein halite rock salt is mixed with chloride and a sugary byproduct, like beet juice. As a result, the thicker salt consistency not only keeps it to a specified area instead of “bouncing around like dice,” but also increases its potency by making it adaptable to temperature fluctuations.

That so-called Beet Heet came into use for the City of Traverse City in the winter of 2020-21 in an effort to source less corrosive and more biodegradable contents for our roads. It has also allowed the city to decrease its salt use and save money in the process.

Chemical magic notwithstanding, unpredictable weather continues to challenge GTCRC operations. “There’s no denying that our climates are changing, and

what that means for snowfall is hard to say,” notes Saksewski.

To mitigate Mother Nature’s many variables, GTCRC abides by “worst case scenario” preparation, which includes blending its salt mix with sand—this not only ups the mixture’s efficacy, but also lessens environmental impact—as well as purchasing enough extra material to last the entire winter season.

As the icing on the high-tech cake, drivers county-wide can likely look forward to live data in the next year. “There’s [already] an application on our website [gtcrc.org] called Citizen Reporter,” says Saksewski, wherein users can report road problems and send them to a field operations foreman. The commission, however, also has goals of distributing real-time updates, including ofthe-moment snapshots and vehicle materials tracking.

“We’re invested in [finding] more effective ways of pushing the snow and scooping the dirt,” he says. “The support we get to explore these different approaches has been a game changer for us.”

TART TRAILS

Community Connections

In addition to typical motorized roads, pedestrian paths are an equally-critical

How the GT County Road Commission and TART Trails keep our paths clear

avenue of area winter transport, more than 100 miles of which are kept up by the TART Trails network.

This hasn’t always been the case, though. In fact, the puzzle-like system through which TART clears its trails has only existed for the last decade. Prior to then, says Communications and Policy Director Brian Beauchamp, “sidewalks and roads would be cleared, but the TART and non-motorized trails were an afterthought.” Consequently, snow and ice built up, rendering paths unnavigable and forcing frequenters to wait until spring to enjoy them.

In response, TART Trails’ administration, sparked by the zeal of one Dr. Tom Auer—a former TART board president and overall champion of snow-removal—united with a team of community partners—including The City of Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, and Acme and East Bay Townships—to create a plan to ensure that trails stay clear for recreation year-round.

“It’s been wonderful to see the steady increase in use since we started doing this,” says Beauchamp. “We’ve found it’s critical to stay on top of [trail clearing] so that people can come to expect that and use them.”

As Trail Management and Planning Director Chris Kushman informs us, the framework is sorted into three figurative “buckets,” the first of which is city maintenance. He says, “Within [Grand Traverse] city limits, it’s the city that does the bulk of snow removal on the TART Trail system,” all of which is facilitated, staffed, and equipped by the organization’s partners.

Volunteer Efforts

Outside of Traverse City, TART Trail snow removal is either covered by volunteers or managed on a contract basis in cooperation with township governments (East Bay and Acme, for example) where trail topography requires specialized equipment that TART Trails can’t provide.

“It really comes down to whether the trail has any segments, [like a boardwalk], where

we couldn’t run a truck and a plow without damaging [it],” Kushman explains.

As the TART Trails system continues to grow, upkeep of new segments—such as the Boardman Lake Loop and Acme Connector Trail—then falls under the corresponding umbrella, depending upon the trail’s location.

The final piece of the clearing puzzle comprises the TART Trail’s volunteer network, who groom and maintain more than 20 miles of winter recreational paths.

“It’s a real labor of love,” says Beauchamp. Their work begins on the Leelanau Trail (between DeYoung Natural Area and Suttons Bay), and extends along the Muncie Lakes Pathway and even parts of the VASA Trailhead. All in all, Beauchamp estimates that a core group of about 20 individuals put in a whopping 1,000 hours each year— and that’s not even counting the staff who manage smaller projects. “This community is incredibly generous with their time and talent,” he says. “It’s something our staff doesn’t take for granted.”

As TART continues to widen its motorless network, including a handful of active projects, overall trail use has followed suit. In fact, Beauchamp informs us that TART’s trail traffic has increased a whopping 30 percent since the start of the pandemic. On a broader scale, TART has also observed a 20 percent annual spike in winter activity since implementing snow removal.

And more trail junkies mean more volunteers. Says Beauchamp, “A big part of what we do is engaging with new folks. Every time we develop a new trail, we’re looking to foster a community to contribute.” Those interested can get involved through the Volunteer tab on the TART Trails website or by monitoring TART’s online presence for opportunities and informational sessions.

“Our goal within this context is making every home a trail head,” Beauchamp says, “so that no matter where you live, you have access to non-motorized activity that works for you. When that happens, the whole region benefits.”

By Ross Boissoneau

For John Lloyd Young, Christmas and coziness go hand in hand. “It’s [being] warm, comfortable, safe at home with the fire roaring. Cocooning. Only those that experience winter understand.”

Another large part of setting the Christmas mood is classic holiday music. “As a child, I was so taken with the great vocalists: Mel Tormé, Anne Murray, Sinatra, Karen Carpenter. Burl Ives with that sonorous baritone. Beautiful singing, lush songs. That’s the inspiration,” he says.

Young, best known for playing Frankie Valli in the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys, will be performing a holiday show at Great Lakes Center for the Arts Dec. 22.

“John Lloyd Young: Heart of Christmas” will feature traditional favorites, including “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night,” “The Christmas Song,” “Joy to the World,” “White Christmas,” and many others.

Young has made his mark interpreting the music of the great doo wop-groups of the ’50s and ’60s, outfits like The Delfonics or The Stylistics, classic pop from the ’60s and ’70s like “Hurt So Bad” and “A House Is Not a Home,” and, of course, music by Frankie Valli. But his tune changes during the latter part of the year, when he has the

chance to bring beloved holiday favorites to life for audiences. He says it is something he treasures. “I have a lot of opportunities to sing [music by] The Stylistics, The Four Seasons—this is an opportunity to come together … doing holiday music.”

While he’s the one onstage, Young says there is a true communal aspect to holiday performances, where the audience knows all the songs. “Everyone loves feeling warm and cozy. We come together to have that live experience.”

He says the holiday shows have become an even more treasured tradition in the wake of the pandemic, when people couldn’t gather together. “I felt coming out of the pandemic like this was comfort food— after such a harrowing experience, to hear these songs you’ve known forever. It’s a cocoon, finding faces who want to have a transformative experience. We’re breathing the same air. We’re all enjoying the music and the shared experience.”

From Broadway to Bay Harbor

Young originated the role of Frankie Valli in the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys, garnering unprecedented accolades from New York and national media. He went on to win the Lead Actor Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World

Awards, becoming the only American actor to date to win all four leading-actor awards for a Broadway debut.

He is the lead vocalist on the doubleplatinum, Grammy Award-winning Jersey Boys Original Cast Album and also played the role at the Piccadilly Theatre on London’s West End. Young was hand-picked by director Clint Eastwood to reprise his award-winning turn in Jersey Boys for Warner Bros. Pictures, becoming one of only a select few actors in entertainment history to bring their Tonywinning role to the big screen.

The Tony- and Grammy-winner has sung at the White House, the U.S. Congress, and to sold-out crowds at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and other venues across the country. He’s performed New Year’s Eve in Times Square and at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and he released his debut solo album of classic R&B standards, My Turn, in 2014.

Matthew Kacergis, the executive director of the Great Lakes Center for the Arts, says the chance to host Young for a holiday show was something he couldn’t pass up. “He’s admired and loved by so many. After Jersey Boys, he’s had an amazing career as a vocalist. I’ve wanted to bring him here for quite some time,” Kacergis says.

Even though the show will be just

three days before the holiday, Kacergis expects strong attendance. “In a lot of major cities, folks have the opportunity to see The Messiah, A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker on Christmas Eve. ” So if those in major entertainment markets can experience those shows right up to Dec. 25, why not here?

“I know our crowds really love Broadway. Folks are always excited to experience these shows,” Kacergis says. Combining that type of show with a holiday twist seemed perfectly reasonable, and Kacergis says ticket sales have been strong.

Young will be accompanied by a trio of piano, bass, and drums. Leading the way will be pianist Tommy Faragher, a Grammynominated, ASCAP Pop Award-winning music producer, composer, songwriter, arranger, and musician. He has served as Young’s musical director and producer since 2012.

Young says he is always eager to share the gift of classic Christmas sounds he grew up with. “I specialize in going down this lane, these songs and arrangements. I want people to…feel ease and comfort.”

And perhaps best of all, he hints that there’s no dress code. “Being so close to Christmas, I can guarantee you could roll out of the car in your jammies. I won’t judge you. We’ll all be at home together.”

John Lloyd Young, front and center, in the 2014 film adaptation of Jersey Boys. (Photo by Annie Leibovitz)

By Laurel Manke

As the days grow colder and the nights grow longer, many of us turn to our kitchens to cook up comfort. Whether your style is preparing a pot of soup in your pajamas or fashioning an impressive charcuterie spread for a bright night of hosting, northern Michigan’s farmers markets and specialty grocery shops have what you need. Best of all? You can still find fresh and local produce, meat, and sweets…even in the dead of winter.

Online Access to Local Eats

Although there are no tents or tables lining downtown TC’s parking lot B this time of year, there is still an avenue to secure farm-fresh goods November through April: Sara Hardy Farmers Market’s online market.

The digital platform launched in May 2020 as a contact-free option to keep the market running through the pandemic. The market’s host, Traverse City’s Downtown Development Authority, contracts with SEEDS to manage both the indoor and summer outdoor markets.

“We kept the online market because it allows us to serve food assistance customers and get fresh fruits and vegetables yearround to people who really need it. It is still a resource for people who want a no-contact shopping option.” Kyle Warner, the Sara Hardy Farmers Market manager says.

Since 2020, 2,000 patrons have registered as online market customers. Most of those subscribers joined during the pandemic and still receive a weekly email invitation to place an order. Today, about 50 customers order from the online market each week.

“It is a great option for people to do their market shopping from the comfort of their own home or on their lunch break at work.

It takes five minutes or less and it is a quick stop on a Saturday morning to pick up your bag.” Warner says.

Here is how it works—every Sunday at noon, November through April—the online ordering window opens. Shoppers can order fresh produce and other local products online until the ordering window closes Thursday at noon. Between Thursday and Saturday, local producers get to work fulfilling orders. Saturdays from 10am and 1pm, customers can swing by Traverse City Tourism’s main lobby at the intersection of Garland and Union to pick up their order.

Now, we know what you’re thinking. Is anything growing this time of year? The answer, quite simply, is yes. All winter long, the market offers much more than the expected apples, beets, and potatoes (although it does provide delicious varieties of all the above).

“Some of our most popular products are greens from Lakeview Hills Farm’s climatecontrolled hoop houses, Baker’s Acres apples [available through January], and Buchan’s ice cream,” Warner says.

Though the market hosts a lovely selection of fruits and vegetables, it is certainly not limited to fresh produce. For cheese lovers, Saltless Sea Creamery and Leelanau Cheese offer tempting fresh-made cheeses (like mozzarella, ricotta, and fromage blanc). For those with a sweet tooth, Silver Star Goods offers a mouthwatering selection of baked goods (think brownies, cookies, and breads). Vendors like Morganic Farm offer pork, lamb, beef, and poultry. You’ll also find everything from kombucha and local drink mixes to pierogis and microgreens.

Learn more on the market’ s Facebook page (@SaraHardyFarmersMarket) or register

as a customer at sarahardyfarmersmarket. localfoodmarketplace.com.

Shopping for the Season

When temperatures drop, Hansen Foods co-owner Connie Frost notices shopping trends shift to more comfort food items and holiday entertaining favorites.

“Customers certainly make more hearty and warm dishes like soups, stews, casseroles, and roasts. More baking is done in the winter months as well, so flour and sugar become more purchased items,” Frost says.

During the holidays, Hansen Foods also sees an uptick in entertainment supply purchases. Compared with the rest of the year, alcohol sale trends do not fluctuate much during the winter, but Frost does notice a spike in beer, wine, and spirit sales around the holidays as patrons toast the season.

“All of the Mawby sparkling wines are very popular around the holidays,” Frost says, adding that they’re perfect for a celebration toast. “Other local wines that are some of our top selling around the holidays are Amoritas Vineyard Chardonnay, Bel Lago Red, and Bel Lago Pinot Noir.”

On the beer side, the Short’s Super Hoppy Holidays variety pack takes the top spot for local sales, but the “most popular beer around the holidays hands down” is the Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. Frost says the single case the store received for Black Friday didn’t even last a week on the shelves, and now folks will have to wait another year for the limited release to return. (Unless, of course, their beer distributor can create a Christmas miracle.)

Another popular holiday-time item? Party tray supplies. Frost sees crackers,

cheeses, cured meats, dips, and spreads fly off the shelves from November through January.

“Charcuterie boards are the craze, and our cheese island is full of specialty products to build the perfect board. A brand our staff and customers are excited about is Terrapin Ridge. We offer numerous sauces, mustards, and jams from this line that add bold flavors to recipes,” she says.

Frost also notes that Hansen Foods works hard to support local farmers throughout the year. During the winter months, the market offers winter squash, apples, and root vegetables from local farms as they are available. “We feature a magnitude of products from local businesses, which adds to the unique community culture we deeply stand behind,” she says.

They also stock local products such as Bardenhagen eggs, Moomers ice cream, Leelanau Cheese raclette and fromage blanc, local honey and jams, and Farmer’s Creamery milk. Rounding out their local offerings, Hansen Foods supports six local bakeries by stocking their breads and pies. Suttons Bay’s Chimoski Bakery has a cherry pie that is most often spotted in the checkout line, followed by Grand Traverse Pie Company’s cherry crumb and apple crumb iterations.

And it appears the bakeries and Moomers have a good thing going. Although the ice cream shop’s Peppermint Stick flavor gets a boost this time of year, the No. 1 is a tried and true classic for à la mode desserts: “Vanilla continues to be the top selling flavor week to week, year round!” Frost says.

Stop in and browse at Hansen Foods at 91 4th St, Suttons Bay, or keep up with the market online at hansenfoodsofsb.com.

The deli case at Hansen Foods in Suttons Bay is stocked with snacks for entertaining.

Fall flavors waiting to be picked up as part of the online Sara Hardy Farmers Market.

Horses know the way at these Gaylord and Benzonia farms

By Kierstin Gunsberg

There’s no sound that better represents the joy of the holiday season than the gentle, sweeping rhythm of sleigh bells keeping pace with hooves crunching snow.

It’s this sound that Waneta Cook reminisces about this time of year. Growing up, wintertime was at its most magical during her visits to her grandparents’ northern Michigan farm, where she loved to hop beside her grandfather in his horsedrawn sleigh and galavant through the glimmering cold.

Nowadays, Cook recreates the experience for all ages and abilities on her own farm in Gaylord, where she hosts rides for the public from December until the snow begins to melt away in early spring. “You’re wrapped up with a blanket around you, singing Christmas carols, laughing, and it’s a really special time,” she says of the experience.

The Cook Family Farm

Her farm, which is run by Cook, her husband, Tom, and their 11 children, began three decades ago as just a small home surrounded by 10 acres of sandy, arid soil that had been devastated by fire around the turn of the twentieth century. Together, the couple worked to heal the land and build out their farm and storefront, which now boasts grass-fed and pasture-raised meat, farm fresh eggs, organic produce, and even homemade, all-natural soy candles with festive scents like “Christmas Past” and “Christmas Cookies.”

But it’s their Belgian draft horses who take center stage once the Thanksgiving rush of processing turkeys, baking pies,

and ringing up glass bottles of fresh milk for mashed potatoes calms. From then until the unofficial start of spring, Cook says they run hundreds of rides between their three sleighs each season, with the pandemic only improving their numbers as Michiganders sought outdoor activities over the past couple of winters.

“It’s grown every year,” she says. “Last year we did 350 rides. This year, that’s going to be higher based upon how many preordered or pre-scheduled [rides] we already have.”

At around $200 for a full sleigh ride (which fits up to 12 adults) this seasonal enterprise might seem like a lucrative side hustle, but it’s not quite. When factoring in feeding, farrier service, health supplements, veterinary care, and training, which many horse owners pay a skilled trainer to do for them, the cost of owning just one horse can add up to thousands of dollars annually. Multiply that by the Cook family’s nine or so horses (as Cook explains, the number fluctuates as her children marry and “inherit” more horses onto the property) and the overall profit from seasonal sleigh rides only comes out to around 20 percent of their farm’s income.

Fantail Farm

Lucky for folks who are planning a horse drawn New Year’s Eve proposal or a festive moms’ night out, covering the cost of owning equines is the reason so many owners in the region are gearing up their horses with sleighs and bells as soon as the first snow falls.

As Susan Zenker of Fantail Farm says, “We decided to do this because we love our

horses and we want to keep our horses in our lives. In order to do that, we needed to find a way to supplement their feed bills, and this seemed like a logical way to do it.”

Similar to Cook, the income Zenker sees from hosting caroling families and cozy couples is dog eared for keeping her beloved herd well fed and cared for.

Located just about 10 minutes between Beulah’s serene Crystal Lake views and the hustle and bustle of Thompsonville’s Crystal Mountain, Fantail Farm sits on 120 sprawling acres, 90 of which are looped with wooded trails where Zenker and her husband host most of their seasonal rides which are led by teams of their American Brabant draft horses.

While the Fantail Farm herd can be seen pulling throughout the year, much of their business happens during the winter when people are looking for a way to embrace the cold and snow. “We can do eight [rides] in a day,” Zenker explains.

That is, if northern Michigan’s comically unpredictable weather cooperates. If the snow melts or the ground warms too much, it makes pulling the sleigh impossible, so she’ll switch her horses over to wagons. When that happens, “We will lose, you know, 30 or 40 percent of our reservations if we don’t have [enough snow] because…a wagon ride is not the same as a Christmas sleigh ride.”

All About the Equines

Booking back-to-back rides isn’t just a financial priority to horse owners looking to monetize their winter—it’s also an important factor in keeping their naturally driven animals balanced during a time where horses and humans alike might struggle to get motivated.

“It’s kind of like an athlete,” Cook says. “These horses are worked all year so that they’re in really, really good shape…to be able to work, and that’s what they love to do.”

However, both Cook and Zenker stress the importance of horse owners being cognizant of their herd’s physical and mental well-being during a busy pulling season. “If they can only go out two times, then they only go out two times and then they get a rest and another team will take over,” says Cook.

Zenker adds of her own crew, “We’ve got to where we know our horses really, really well and you know their personalities are all individual. They all have individual character, and you can tell who’s having an off day and who’s raring to go.”

It’s this innate range of emotions, as well as their gentle, calming dispositions, that make the horses on both farms such a draw for visitors to observe post-ride. On Fantail Farm, guests are treated to hot cocoa and welcomed into Zenker’s greenery-adorned warming sheds for a view of her majestic animals roaming their snow dusted pasture. And while Cook offers her guests fresh baked sugar cookies and cocoa to enjoy around a campfire, she’s especially excited to share the very sleigh bells, recently gifted to her by her uncle, that she used to enjoy on those rides with her grandfather, the lively jingle of which can now be heard keeping rhythm on her own farm.

Learn more at cookfamilyfarm.com and fantailfarmllc.com.

Fantail Farm, which was once a small Christmas tree farm, now provides year round horse-drawn rides both on their own private trails and throughout the region.

’Tis the Season for Snowmobiling…

If There’s Snow

This year’s outlook for the sport in hotspots like Cheboygan, Gaylord, and Cadillac

By Victor Skinner

The calls started rolling in at the Chateau at Black Mountain lodge near Cheboygan as three feet of snowfall blanketed the region over as many days in November.

“The more snow the better,” owner Warren Chamberland says. “We’re getting lots of bookings.”

Cheboygan

After two years with minimal snow, the early start seemed to bode well for the lodge and other northern Michigan business owners who rely on snowmobilers to earn a living, though the relative dry spell since has been a disappointment. Cheboygan, in particular, is home to more snowmobile trails than any other Michigan county, but without snow, it is harder to attract wintertime visitors, leaving the area at the mercy of Mother Nature.

“Without it, we wouldn’t survive,” Chamberland says.

Carole Yeck, executive director of the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce, says that while there are no recent, reliable statistics on the number of riders or the cash they pump into local economies, it’s obvious snowmobiling is “the biggest draw in the winter.”

“It’s huge,” she says. “When we have good snow, it exponentially raises our tourism rate in the winter time. It really means a huge

influx for businesses. When we have good snow, we have good commerce.”

With the snow comes countless volunteer hours needed to clear and maintain the state’s 6,500 miles of trails, work conducted in sections by clubs like the Cheboygan Trailblazers in concert with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

In Cheboygan, the Trailblazers’ 14 volunteers spend thousands of hours on 54 miles of trails that require daily grooming, though club president Chuck Beckwith contends “that’s the easy part.”

“We have to get all the trees up, brush back the new growth … and we’re responsible for [signage for] the trails,” he says. “It’s just a ton of signing that goes into this to make sure we’re in compliance with the DNR’s handbook.

“It takes us three to four weeks to get the trails ready for snowmobile season,” Beckwith says.

Gaylord

It’s the same situation in Gaylord, where snowmobiling is the “second-most important recreational activity” after golf, according to Paul Beachnau, executive director of the Gaylord Area Convention and Tourism Bureau.

“The section of Michigan between Mackinac and Grayling, we’re right in the

eye of the Michigan snow belt,” Beachnau says. “We consistently get some of the top lake effect snow in northern Michigan.”

The city’s central location off I-75 also “allows snowmobilers in this area to go literally in any direction,” with the popular Trail 7 leading “all the way to the Mackinac Bridge,” he says.

“We’re right in the center of a trail network that’s over 300 miles,” Beachnau adds. “The other thing that’s nice here is in our county … snowmobilers are allowed on the right of way of most county roads.”

The ability to travel along county roads allows users to more easily connect with trails, as well as local restaurants and hotels, he says. “That’s really important because when people come up to northern Michigan to ride … they want to unload their snowmobile and not put it back until they leave.”

Cadillac

Farther south in Cadillac, years of poor snow conditions have convinced some local businesses to diversify to cater to other types of winter sports like skiing, winter rafting, and off-road vehicles to survive.

Still, snowmobiling remains “an important part” of the local economy, with new businesses launching in recent years tailored to novice riders, says Kathy Adair

Morin, executive director of the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau.

“In the last couple of years, we had some companies making investments in rental equipment,” she says. “We also have one who will actually do guided tours.”

Randy Cornell, owner of K&R Outfitters, says he started offering guided snowmobile tours in 2018 with four sleds and booked about a dozen trips through the Huron Manistee National Forest, where he first offered the service as a teenager in the 1970s. Business doubled the next two seasons, and he’s now up to 10 sleds to keep up with demand for dozens of bookings per year.

“We offer guided snowmobile tours from Cadillac over to Mesick, back around through Harrietta, and back to Cadillac. It’s about a 70-mile ride and it takes us five to six hours to do that route,” Cornell says. “We know what the trail conditions are, where the warm bathroom facilities are, the best food.”

The tours gained popularity during the pandemic, following a trend of increasing participation in most outdoor sports, as other businesses were forced to shut down.

“The number of customers wanting to go doubled during the COVID stuff. We actually increased in business when all the restaurants were closed,” Cornell says. “I packed a grill and we actually cooked out on the trail.”

On the flip side, lower snowfall last season forced Cornell to cancel between 40 and 50 trips, though he’s optimistic the early snow and predictions of better conditions this year will help make up for the disappointment.

“The business itself is growing exponentially—we just have to have winter to be able to get out to do it,” he says. “We’re taking calls every day. I already have bookings between Christmas and New Year’s.”

Pete Fitch, owner of Coyote Crossing Resort about 10 miles west of Cadillac, relies on a variety of outdoor enthusiasts to fill his 10 two-bedroom cottages and a full service bar and restaurant. And while the resort’s location in the Manistee National Forest is ideal for many winter activities, poor snow conditions the last couple of seasons have meant a drastic decline in snowmobile traffic.

“We’re a little more diverse business than some because we have Caberfae [Peaks] resort” nearby, Fitch says. “We still do okay, but during a busy snowmobile weekend, we’ll see 300 to 500 machines come through our property.”

Fitch is also among about five dozen volunteers with Cadillac Winter Promotions involved in clearing and grooming the local trail network, which he describes as “one of the best … prior to getting into the [Upper Peninsula].” Other local clubs help clear the area’s 200-mile trail network, as well.

“Most of our trails, during the winter months, if the snow is coming, get groomed four to five times a week,” he says.

The 2023 Outlook

Bad snow has meant local snowmobile events in Cadillac and elsewhere have dwindled, Fitch says, but he’s hopeful high gas prices and better snow conditions will conspire to turn things around this winter, convincing more folks to stop short of the bridge.

“I do think with high gas prices, that will weigh on people’s minds. It certainly does play into our hands favorably,” he says.

“We’re a fairly accessible and affordable market,” says Morin, with the visitors bureau, noting Cadillac is one of the first stops on US 131 for those heading north from downstate.

“Overall, generally our rates for lodging and activities can be less expensive than other markets.”

Beachnau also believes high gas prices could be a blessing in disguise…if the conditions are right.

“When the economy is off a little bit, and gas prices are higher, people tend to come to northern Michigan instead of the U.P. or other destinations,” he says. “If the snow is good, we’ll have a banner year, I’m sure of it.”

A winter outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts wetter-than-average conditions for the Great Lakes region, with below-normal temperatures from December through February 2023. Michigan’s snowmobile season runs Dec. 1 to March 31.

“I hope the cold air keeps coming and Lake Michigan stays warm, so we get the lake effect machine going,” Cornell says.

“I think we’re expecting it to be better this year,” Fitch adds. “Last year was the worst in many, many years. There’s certainly a lot of pent up demand to get out there and do normal activities again.”

That demand could translate into a significant increase in traffic on the trails, which will demand an intentional focus on safety, says Beckwith, who also serves as snow patrol for Tuscarora Township Police. Important safety considerations are speed and alcohol, the two most common factors in trail crashes Beckwith investigates.

“The laws are pretty much the same. Always ride on the right and have a helmet on,” he says. “Stay right, be in your own lane. A lot of these curves, there is little sight distance.”

There’s also trouble when a snowmobiler goes rogue and blazes their own trail. Failure to follow the rules convinced one local landowner to decline to renew a lease for a 1.5-mile stretch of trail east of Cheboygan this year, Beckwith says, forcing the Trailblazers to reroute riders along a roadway.

“It’s nothing for me to come into contact with 500 to 700 sleds,” he says. “What they really need to understand is to stay on the

By Sarahbeth Ramsey

From fashionable to functional, athleisure to athletic, we’ve rounded up the top local gear and clothing picks of the season with some help from The Outpost of Manistee and Northbound Outfitters of Grayling. Just don’t sit by the fire and read for too long: Both stores say not to wait until après the snow sticks to visit, as it seems winter gear is all but flying down the mountain and off the shelves.

The Outpost: The Clothes You Want

Carrie Mosher and her husband, Kyle, opened The Outpost of Manistee in 1999 after a weekend visit to see friends in the area. Moved by the beauty, architecture, and their mutual love of the outdoors, Kyle and Carrie began their entrepreneurial journey.

What started as more of an outfitter-slash-adventure store carrying kayaks, canoes, camping equipment, and paddle boards later turned into an outdoor apparel store with a focus on style and function.

The Outpost of Manistee doesn’t do any online sales, as they prefer for all sales to be in person for the perfect fit. They even added a coffee shop 12 years ago to complete the shopping experience for customers, sourcing their brews from Roaster Jack out of Traverse City.

Kyle has a background in outfitting, as he grew up in the industry. (His family is celebrating 50 years in business this year.) Carrie does all of the buying and merchandising, and so she sat down to talk to us about what to wear this winter.

She tells Northern Express the top selling cold-weather brands for women right now are Tribal and Patagonia, and for men the KÜHL brand is a favorite. All three offer apparel for skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling to keep you warm all winter long.

A must-have for the season is the Patagonia nano puff jacket. “It’s one of the most versatile jackets because it’s lightweight, but warm. It is great for running errands...and makes a great extra layer. But you can also wear it cross-country skiing. You have many different uses from this one jacket,” she says.

If you’d rather snuggle up on the couch than play in the snow, the latest in luxury athleisure is Vuori, according to Carrie. This brand is normally carried exclusively online, but the team at Outpost prefers you try it on in person to get a real feel of the cozy material, so they are one of few that carry it in store.

Cotopaxi is another trending brand that is only sold at specialty stores. Their fun and funky retro style easily transitions from ski slopes to the restaurant, functioning as both streetwear and skiwear.

Everyone needs a good accessory, so Carrie also recommends the SmartWool brand for hats and gloves, neck gaiters, and headbands. “The quality is the best that you are going to get on the market right now. It’s all very warm because of the merino wool, but it’s not a scratchy wool. The colors and patterns aren’t typical; they’re fun.”

Hoping to support Michigan makers? The Outpost carries the U.P.’s famous Stormy Kromer hats and mittens.

Learn more at outpostmanistee.com and visit the store at 359 River St. in Manistee.

Northbound

Outfitters: The Gear You Need

Heather Compton and Brian Royce have been a part of Grayling’s Northbound Outfitters since 2011. Taking on a venture like a sports outfitter requires a vast knowledge of all sports, but Heather and Brian don’t just talk the talk; they also walk the walk. As avid athletes, they participate in many of the same sports as their clients, taking on trials like The Iceman Cometh Challenge and spending hours upon hours training for new races. On the day we chatted with their store manager, Mikaela Ashton, she told us that Heather had already gotten in her 45-mile bike ride that morning.

Ready to shop for winter sports gear? One of the most popular products in the store is the Evo XT60 ski kit, according to Ashton. The ski kit includes a pair of cross-country skis, bindings, and a simple lace-up boot, which can be upgraded later if the customer prefers a different boot. These skis are perfect for trails behind your home, frozen lakes, and going on hills and the VASA loops. Their versatility is what makes them a crowd favorite.

For the kids, Northbound offers a fun exchange option that allows your children to grow along with their skis. This wallet-friendly program begins with a starter package, after which you pay a small fee to switch out your little’s equipment as they grow. Once they turn 12-13 years old, they can exchange their youth skis for adult skis or get a credit to choose their skis of choice. Of course most, says Ashton, tend to go with the aforementioned Evo XT60 kit.

On the snowshoeing side, Northbound’s recommendation is to try the Tubbs Flex Ridge snowshoes. Per Ashton, these aren’t your typical snowshoes: They are made of a hard, flexible plastic that encourages excellent performance on all surfaces and trails.

If you prefer two wheels to two legs, excitement was evident in our discussion about fat tire bikes finally arriving back in stock. (Thanks, supply chain!) Ashton says new bikes include brands from Surly and Norco, with MukLuk probably being the biggest seller. She adds that fat bikes are great year-round options, as the tires accommodate both sand and snow with ease.

For a unique find, Ashton points to the Wenonah canoe, which can be tough to find in person, as Northbound Outfitters is one of only two dealers in the United States. She says that people from all over the country and Canada come to check out their inventory, and that the lightweight kevlar material makes this a highly sought after boat by canoe hobbyists and racers alike.

If the activity can be done outside, then the right gear can be found at Northbound Outfitters, says Ashton. From running shoes to bikes to skis, they’ve probably got it in stock. (And they’ll help you shop for the outdoor enthusiast in your life.) If you want something that is out of stock, simply add your name to the list. Just this year, Ashton called someone who was on a list for over a year and a half. “They were honestly shocked that we remembered and called,” she says. “They picked up the skis the next day.”

Learn more and shop at northboundoutfittersmi.com and visit the store at 6041 W. M-72 in Grayling.

TANNENBAUM BLITZEN: 6-8pm, Shanty Creek Resort, Bellaire. Enjoy the torchlight parade down the face of Schuss Mountain, sing along with Christmas carols around the tree, enjoy Christmas cookie decorating, & a visit from Santa. Stay for the fireworks over Schuss Mountain immediately following. shantycreek.com

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MARKET AT THE MUSEUM: 9am-1pm, Harbor Springs History Museum. This indoor Holiday Market is presented by the Harbor Springs Farmers Market & Harbor Springs Area Historical Society. Stock up on local foods, gifts & artisan goods. There will also be a booth for kids to create holiday crafts.

“MAKING” MERRY - DIY WINTER HAT ORNAMENT: 10am-4pm, Tinker Studio, TC. Enjoy a quick & easy project using low to nocost, up-cycled materials that you can easily recreate at home. Make a free ornament. Ages 8+ will be most successful. Free. Find on Facebook.

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: 10am-6pm, Creekside Community Church Hall, TC. Presented by the Northern Michigan Railroad Club. With nearly 6,000+ visitors each year, this is now one of the largest fundraisers for Traverse City charities. A swap meet will be held Dec. 17-18. nomirrc.wordpress.com/about/festivalof-trains/#:~:text=NMRRC%20Festival%20 of%20Trains%20–%20Christmas,of%20 the%20church%20and%20gymnasium.

GIFTS TWICE GIVEN: Ward and Eis Gallery, Petoskey. Ward and Eis Gallery will donate 20% of all sales today to help provide lifesaving & life-changing services for adult & child survivors of abuse & assault provided through Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan. 231-347-2750.

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KIDS’ SATURDAY CHRISTMAS MATINEES: 10am, The State Theatre, TC. Featuring “The Polar Express.” $1. stateandbijou.org/homepage/kids-matinees

SHOP & SWEETS SATURDAY: 10am-4pm, Glen Arbor. Shop local for the holidays while enjoying festive treats, activities & specials available at participating businesses in Glen Arbor. Dressing in ugly sweaters encouraged!

SHOP IN YOUR PJ’S: Downtown Bellaire. Held all day. Featuring in-store specials, prizes for best jammies, drinks & food spe-

10:30am & 12:30pm for some family fun. Free. sbbdl.org

FREE CHRISTMAS CRAFTING EVENT FOR KIDS: 11am-2pm, Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. Families can drop by with their children ages 5 & up to create holiday crafts with Santa’s elves & Mrs. Claus. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

CHRISTMAS AT THE RANCH: Noon-4pm, A Yak or 2 Ranch, Mancelona. Stop in the ranch shop for unique yak wool gifts, ranch apparel & locally raised yak meat. Wagon Sleigh rides take you out in the Yak pasture to feed, pet & photograph the Yaks. Have a free cup of cocoa. $0-$10/person. ayakor2ranch.com

SANTA VISITS ELK RAPIDS: Noon-2pm, Downtown Elk Rapids. Enjoy some holiday cheer & get last-minute shopping done. Take pictures with Santa & enjoy hot chocolate. Free. facebook.com/events/1263053684556 726?ref=newsfeed

BOOK SIGNING EVENT: 1-3pm, Horizon Books, TC. Anne Marie Oomen will sign her book “As Long As I Know You.” horizonbooks.com/event/book-signing-event-annemarie-oomen-long-i-know-you

HOLIDAY CABARET: 2pm & 7pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Presented by the Young Company. This yuletide take on the Broadway Showstoppers will feature songs from the season in a fun, dance-filled, musical revue. Adults, $16; youth under 18, $8 (plus fees). tickets.oldtownplayhouse.com/TheatreManager/1/login&event=414 ----------------------

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS DOUBLE FEATURE: Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor. Featuring “Frozen” at 3pm & “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” at 8pm. Kidfriendly concessions will be available for purchase before both films in the Community Engagement Room. A full cash bar will open at 7:30pm for the 8pm showing of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Wear your ugly sweater to the 8pm film to be entered to win a prize. $5/$8. greatlakescfa.org/events/detail/ home-for-the-holidays-double-feature

COMMUNITY WINTER BONFIRE: 4-7pm, The Back Lot, Petoskey. Benefits the Winter Sports Park All Seasons Pavilion. The event includes a real winter bonfire. $1 for every beer poured on tap will go to the Winter Sports Park fund. There will be winter games, food trucks, s’mores & a chance to win prizes. The Winter Sports Park will be giving away free vouchers for ice skate sharpening & Santa will be on hand for pictures. Free. friendsofthewinters-

LIGHTING OF THE BRIDGES: 6pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. The bridges of

Blissfest brings their Winter Solstice concert

the boardwalk will be lit up with colorful lights for one night only. Enjoy a quarter mile winter stroll around the newest section of the boardwalk & then warm up with a campfire & hot cocoa at the Grass River Center pavilion. There will also be holiday crafts & storytelling. This is a two-hour open house style event. Pre-register. $5/person. grassriver.org

SANTA SKATE: 6-8pm, Petoskey Ice Arena. Complimentary cookies & hot cocoa. 231-487-1843. $10/person or $30/family; $6 skate rental.

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

THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL - LIVE OUTSIDE NATIVITY: 6-8pm, Mount Hope Church, Gaylord. Live outside nativity, bon fire, horse drawn sleigh & more.

HOLIDAY MAGIC AT THE BAY CONCERT & GRAND REOPENING: 7pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. The Bay Community Theatre reopens after some big renovations, with a holiday musical ensemble hosted by David Chown & Miriam Pico. $25. thebaytheatre.com

“THE NUTCRACKER” PRESENTED BY

NORTHWEST MICHIGAN BALLET THEATER: 7:30-9:30pm, Northport Performing Arts Center, Northport. Directed by Tom Morrell, this rendition of a beloved Christmas classic will feature original choreography, beautiful set decoration, skillful ballet, & the music you know & love. $0-$20. simpletix. com/e/the-nutcracker-tickets-118151

COMEDY WITH RONI SHANELL: 7:30pm, Traverse City Comedy Club, TC. Hailing from the Motor City, Shanell has performed across the country at comedy clubs. She won Detroit’s Laugh Masters Competition in 2018 & was the winner of the 2020 Sway in the Morning Comedy Search. $20-$25. traversecitycomedyclub.com/roni-shanell ----------------------

HOLIDAY GALA AT THE GARDEN: 7:30pm, The Garden Theater, Frankfort. Featuring Emily West from “America’s Got Talent,” & performances from the Benzie community chorus & students from Interlochen Arts Academy. $25. gardentheater.org/upcoming-events ----------------------

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: LET IT SWING!: 7:30pm, Lars Hockstad Auditori-

to Crooked Tree Arts Center’s Theater in Petoskey, Weds., Dec. 21 from 7:30-9:30pm. Featuring On the Lash, who performs their Irish traditional music; and Winter Song consisting of Nic Gareiss and Laurel Premo, combining traditional tunes and step dance from across the North Atlantic with seasonal songs, ballads and fiddle tunes. $25 Blissfest members; $30 GA. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/ blissfest-presents-winter-solstice

um, TC. Maestro Rhodes will lead a fun-filled twist on the traditional holiday concert as the Traverse Symphony Jazz Orchestra plays their debut Holiday Concert. This year it’s all about having a fun & swingin’ holiday that will make nostalgia fans think of the TV specials from Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Andy Williams, & Manhattan Transfer, as well as some contemporary jazz takes on holiday favorites. Jazz Orchestra solo singers will join, along with the NMC Choirs. $25.50 - $61.50. traversesymphony.org/concert/home-forthe-holidays-let-it-swing

SOUNDS OF THE SEASON: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Don your holiday apparel & join Interlochen Arts Academy for a program of festive, family friendly fun. Arrive early for carols in the lobby, & then take your seats as the Academy’s music, theatre, dance, & interdisciplinary arts students perform a fastpaced showcase of seasonal songs & stories featuring cameos by faculty members, a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas, & appearances by beloved holiday characters including Santa, Frosty, & the Grinch. $29; $17 for children & students. interlochen.org/concerts-and-events/signatureseries?search=sounds

sunday

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: (See Sat., Dec. 17, except today’s time is 1-4pm.)

GREENS OF DECEMBER

HIKE: 1-3pm, Arcadia Dunes, Pete’s Woods, Arcadia. This rolling 1.5-mile loop hosts a variety of evergreen species that stand out amidst the grey background of early winter. Bring winter gear, water & a snack. Participants are encouraged to bring snowshoes. The terrain is steep in places, making this a moderately strenuous event. 231-929-7911.

HOLIDAY CONCERT, PETER BERGIN: 1pm, Traverse Area District Library, McGuire Community Room, TC. Welcome back local pianist/vocalist Peter Bergin as he shares his musical talents for the holiday season. Free. tadl.org/bergin ----------------------

PHOTOS WITH THE GRINCH: 2-4pm, Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts, Petoskey. The Grinch will be on hand to pose with kids, pets, friends — anyone who might be feeling a bit “Grinchy.” Bring your own cameras. ----------------------

SOUNDS OF THE SEASON: (See Sat., Dec. 17, except today’s time is 2pm.)

HOLIDAY CONCERT, TLC BELLS CHOIR: 3pm, Traverse Area District Library, McGuire Community Room, TC. Ring in the holiday season! Featuring a new choir director. Free. tadl.org/bells

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: LET IT SWING!: (See Sat., Dec. 17, except today’s time is 3pm.)

JINGLE BELL RUN: 5pm, The Workshop Brewing Co., TC. Presented by the TC Track Club. This run tours TC neighborhood streets bordering downtown that are decked out in holiday lights & decorations. Join or watch runners of all ages & abilities donned in festive holiday costumes in this non-timed 5K. $20. runsignup.com/jinglebellrun ----------------------

“A QUEST FOR INNER PEACE”: A SOUL STIRRING SOUND EXPERIENCE: 6pm, City Opera House, TC. An Immersion of Strings, Voice & Sacred Sounds. Please bring a mat, water, blanket, block(s) &/or bolster. $25. cityoperahouse.org/node/480

monday

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: (See Sat., Dec. 17)

KID’S CRAFT LAB: SEEDY, BEADY CD: 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Turn plain old CDs into something special to hang up for the holidays. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

HOLIDAY MOVIES AT THE BAY: 7pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Featuring “Christmas in Connecticut.” $5. thebaytheatre.com

tuesday

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: (See Sat., Dec. 17)

STORYTIME ADVENTURES: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “The Very Hungry Reindeer” by Kate Yeh. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

“A CELTIC CHRISTMAS”: 7pm, The Cheboygan Opera House. Presented by The Founding. Hear original & classic Christmas tunes, & be ready to sing some of your favorites. The Founding is a progressive folk band from Kalamazoo. They have performed at theaters & festivals throughout the United States. $30; $25 Veterans; $10 students. theoperahouse.org/tickets

HOLIDAY MOVIES AT THE BAY: 7pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Featuring “Little Women.” $5. thebaytheatre.com

wednesday

WINTER SOLSTICE SPIRAL WALK: Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, 16880 Front St., Copemish. This is an outside event so please dress accordingly. There will be a canopy set up, along with two bonfires. Gather at 4:30pm; sleigh rides with Santa at 5pm; Spiral Walk at 6pm. Hot tea, coffee, & food & snacks provided throughout the night. Christmas gift bags available for kids. facebook.com/events/s/winter-solstice-spiralwalk/1097157011002281/

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: (See Sat., Dec. 17)

WINTER SOLSTICE EXPERIENCE WORKSHOP WITH EDUCATOR SAMANTHA TWOCROW: Noon-2pm & 2:30-4:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Children will engage in the Native American wintertime tradition of storytelling. Free with Museum admission. greatlakeskids.org

CHILLIN’ AT THE CHAMBER: 4-6pm, Harbor Springs Area Chamber Office. Enjoy holiday cheer with beverages & a light snack provided by Comfort Keepers.

HOLIDAY MOVIES AT THE BAY: 7pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Featuring “A Christmas Story.” $5. thebaytheatre.com ----------------------

SILENT WALK FOR NATIONAL HOMELESSNESS PERSONS MEMORIAL DAY: Ryan Hannon, Goodwill Northern Michigan’s Community Engagement officer, will lead a silent walk through downtown TC to remember neighbors who have died in 2022 in northern Michigan due to homelessness, & to reflect on what it means that so many people continue to live without the basic

human necessity of a home. Meet at 7pm in front of the Governmental Center in TC. Free. fb.me/e/3NkBQCJdD

BLISSFEST PRESENTS: WINTER SOLSTICE FEATURING ON THE LASH, WINTER SONG: NIC GAREISS & LAUREL PREMO: 7:30-9:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Theater, Petoskey. On the Lash creates Irish traditional music. Winter Song combines traditional tunes & step dance from across the North Atlantic with seasonal songs, ballads, & fiddle tunes. $25 Blissfest members; $30 GA. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/blissfestpresents-winter-solstice

thursday

NMCAA’S LAUNDRY PROJECT: Eastfield Laundromat, 8th St., TC. A free laundry service for low-income families in the greater Grand Traverse Area during the school year. 947-3780.

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS CELEBRATIONS: 9:30-11:30am, noon-2pm, & 2:30-4:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. An interactive experience that celebrates holidays from across the globe. Celebrate familiar & new holiday traditions in the Great Lakes Room. This drop-in program will be available alongside normal gallery play for two days. Free with admission. greatlakeskids.org/ holiday-happenings-celebrations

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: (See Sat., Dec. 17) ----------------------

HOLIDAY MOVIES AT THE BAY: 7pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Featuring “Christmas Vacation.” $5. thebaytheatre.com

JOHN LLOYD YOUNG: HEART OF CHRISTMAS: 7:30pm, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor. Imitating Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Bing Crosby, & Nat King Cole, Tony & Grammy winner John Lloyd Young will share his direct renderings of traditional holiday favorites. $67, $62, $47, $42, $37. greatlakescfa.org/events/detail/ john-lloyd-young-heart-of-christmas

friday

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS CELEBRATIONS: (See Thurs., Dec. 22)

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: (See Sat., Dec. 17, except today’s times are 10am-4pm.)

CHRISTMAS AT THE OLD ART BUILDING: A VARIETY SHOW SPECTACULAR: SOLD OUT: 6:30pm, Old Art Building, Leland. A retro-inspired performance, hosted by Andrew Dost, featuring musicians including Dost, Jack M. Senff, A.S. Lutes, a jazz combo, & choir accompanied by sketch comedy group Hot Metal Playground. Imagine Lawrence Welk, Dolly Parton, & the Muppets collaborating to put on a festive show. All ages welcome. To be added to the waiting list, call 231-256-2131. $40/person. oldartbuilding.com/events/christmas-at-theold-art-building-a-variety-show-spectacular

HOLIDAY MOVIES AT THE BAY: 7pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Featuring “Elf.” $5. thebaytheatre.com

saturday

FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: (See Fri., Dec. 23)

KIDS’ SATURDAY CHRIST-

MAS MATINEES: 10am, The State Theatre, TC. Featuring “The Polar Express.” $1. stateandbijou.org/homepage/kids-matinees

SKIING WITH SANTA: Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville. Give Santa a friendly wave before his trip around the world. Santa will hit the slopes beginning at 10am. crystalmountain.com/event/santa-ski

HOLIDAY MOVIES AT THE BAY: 7pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Featuring “Meet Me in St. Louis.” $5. thebaytheatre.com

sunday

FREE COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DINNER: 1-3pm, East Jordan United Methodist Church. 231-5362161.

helping hands

HARVEST FOOD & SUPPLY DRIVE: Held at Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan & Gold Mine Resale Shops, Petoskey. Help support survivors & their family members who utilize Safe Home Services. The Safe Home is operated 24/7 by Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan. It is a caring, secure & supportive place to seek refuge from domestic abuse & sexual assault when home is not a safe place to live. Grocery or supermarket gift card donations & financial contributions help Safe Home staff purchase exactly what is needed at any given time. Nonperishable donations are also accepted. wrcnm.org/ get-involved/safe-home-needs

ongoing

SANTA LETTERS DROP LOCATION: Children wanting to send their letters to the North Pole should bring them to Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts, Petoskey. In front of the store from now through Thurs., Dec. 22, will be a big, red mailbox, ready to receive holiday hopes. Not only will these Christmas wishes be read by Santa (or his elves), but if the letter-writer includes a return address, the store guarantees Santa will write them back. ----------------------

BELLAIRE WINTER FARMERS MARKET: Fridays, 9am-noon. Held at 3 locations: Bee Well Mead & Cider, Short’s Brewing Co., & Terrain, Bellaire.

BOYNE CITY MARKET AT THE PAVILION: Saturdays, 9am-12:30pm, Veterans Park Pavilion, Boyne City. Shop local produce, baked goods, artisan foods & crafts.

THE VILLAGE INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 10am-2pm, The Village at GT Commons, Mercato, TC. Fresh produce, eggs, pastries, honey, jams & more. thevillagetc.com

art

“GIFT OF A LIFETIME” EXHIBIT: Twisted Fish Gallery, Elk Rapids. Featuring Joani Braun’s lifetime of art. In recent years, Joani was mostly known for her watercolor paintings of subjects ranging from landscapes to homes, portraits & animals. She also worked in other mediums, such as wood carving, oil paint, pen & ink, collage, art therapy & more. Exhibit runs through Dec. 31. Open 10am5pm, Tues. - Sat. twistedfishgallery.com ----------------------

JUST GREAT ART!: City Opera House, TC. Runs from 10am-5pm during the week & evening events, from Dec. 1 - Jan 31. The group of 12 artists paint using oil, watercolor, pastel or acrylic to create their pieces. They love to depict their northwest Michigan area

while painting outside, through the warm months. cityoperahouse.org

3RD ANNUAL ART TREE SHOW: Higher Art Gallery, TC. More than 15 local & national artists. Small works of art displayed on the Art Tree. Runs through Dec. 24. higherartgallery.com

JRAC GIFT MARKET: Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, through Dec. 17. Featuring gifts for giving by local artists, including paintings, collages, jewelry, scarves, baskets, cards & Christmas decorations. jordanriverarts.com

CHARLEVOIX CIRCLE HOLIDAY MARKET: Charlevoix Circle of Arts, through Dec. 30. Closed Sundays. A festive, handmade, shopping experience featuring more than 40 local artists & makers. charlevoixcircle.org/exhibits-2022

SHIPWRECKS OF THE MANITOU PASSAGE EXHIBIT: Runs through Dec. 30 at Leelanau Historical Society Museum, Leland. This exhibit illustrates the stories of the ships, steamers & crews lost in the Manitou Passage, the waters that surround the Leelanau Peninsula & its islands. leelanauhistory.org/exhibits

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, PETOSKEY:

- TOGETHER THROUGH ART: CROOKED TREE PAINTERS’ STUDIO EXHIBITION: Runs through Dec. 22 in Atrium Gallery. The CT Painters’ Studio aims to encourage artistic expression in all media & at all levels. crookedtree.org/article/ctac-petoskey/artexhibitions

- HOLIDAY BAZAAR: Held in Galleries through Dec. 20. Shop hundreds of unique

handmade gifts & works of art. crookedtree. org/event/ctac-petoskey/holiday-bazaarpetoskey-opens-november-22

DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC:

- “JASON S. YI: DISSIMULATIONS”: Runs through Dec. 23. Jason S. Yi is an interdisciplinary artist working in photography, video, sculpture, drawing, & site-specific installations. Immigrating from South Korea to the United States at an early age, his work is conceived through a bi-cultural lens & interrogates the notion of perception’s equivalence to reality.

- INFINITE SPLENDOR, INFINITE LIGHT: Runs through Dec. 23. Two years after graduating from DePauw University in 1953, Bruce Walker became a case officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. As a CIA officer, Walker participated in the Tibetan resistance project (code name ST CIRCUS) in its earliest stages, only six years after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet & captured the capital city of Lhasa. In 2002, Walker donated his 66-piece collection of Tibetan thangkas, works on paper, & religious objects to DePauw University. dennosmuseum.org/art/now-on-view/index.html

OLIVER ART CENTER, FRANKFORT:

- HOLIDAY ART MARKET: Runs now through Christmas. Shop a diverse collection of local artisan-made gifts, crafts & sweet treats. Open 10am - 4pm, Monday through Saturday. oliverartcenterfankfort.org

- WINTER MEMBER ART EXHIBITION RECEPTION: Runs Dec. 9 - Jan. 13. Works of all kinds by local & regional artists will be on display in the galleries. This exhibition is sponsored by the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org/events

BREW, TC

12/22 -- Sam & Bill, 6-8

ENCORE 201, TC

12/17 & 12/23 -- DJ Ricky T, 9

FANTASY’S, TC DJ

LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC

BARREL ROOM:

12/19 -- Barrels & Beats w/ Rob Coonrod, 6-9 12/23 -- Jazz Cabbage, 6

LIL BO, TC

Tues. – Trivia, 8-10 Weds. – Aldrich, 9 Sun. – Karaoke, 8

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, TC

12/17 -- Chris Smith, 7-10

NORTH BAR TC

12/17 – Jesse Jefferson, 7-10

ROVE ESTATE VINEYARD & WINERY, TC 12/23 -- Drew Hale, 4-7

THE LITTLE FLEET, TC 12/17 -- DJ Ren, 8-11 12/21 -- Endless Summer w/ DJ Dusty Staircase, 3-10

THE PARLOR, TC 7-10: 12/17 -- Jazz Cabbage 12/20 -- Jesse Jefferson 12/21 -- Wink 12/22 -- Jimmy Olson 12/23 -- Chris Smith

THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC 12/17 -- 80s Pop Music, 6

Antrim & Charlevoix

12/20 -- Open Mic & Musical Talent Showcase, 7 12/21 -- Jazz Show & Jam, 6 12/23 -- Blair Miller, 7

TRAVERSE CITY COMEDY CLUB, TC 12/16 -- Comedy w/ Roni Shanell, 7:45 12/17 -- Comedy w/ Roni Shanell, 7:30

UNION STREET STATION, TC 12/17 -- Snacks & Five, 10 12/20 -- Open Mic Comedy, 8-9:30; then Karaoke 12/21 -- DJ Parker Marshall, 10 12/22 -- DJ DomiNate, 10 12/23 -- Happy Hour: Comedy; then The Marsupials 12/24 -- Wax, 10

nitelife

ETHANOLOGY, ELK RAPIDS

12/17 -- Tacky Sweater Party w/ DJ Franck, 7

HELLO VINO, BELLAIRE

12/17 -- Darrell, 5:30-8:30

12/23 -- The Pistil Whips, 6:309:30

PROVISIONS WINE LOUNGE, BOYNE CITY 12/17 -- Randy Reszka, 6-8

SHANTY CREEK RESORT, BELLAIRE SUMMIT VILLAGE, THE OTHER BAR: 12/17 & 12/24 -- David

Emmet & Cheboygan

Lawston, 7:30-10:30

SHORT'S BREW PUB, BELLAIRE

12/17 -- Brett Mitchell, 8-10 12/23 -- Ugly Sweater Party w/ Austin Benzing jammin' at 8pm

BROOMSTACK KITCHEN & TAPHOUSE, MAPLE CITY Tue -- Pat Niemisto & Chris Skellenger, 6-9

CICCONE VINEYARD & WINERY, SUTTONS BAY 12/18 -- Luke Woltanski Christmas Edition, 2:30-4:30

Leelanau & Benzie

DICK'S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU

Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-1 IRON FISH DISTILLERY, THOMPSONVILLE 12/17 -- Wink, 5-7

edited by jamie kauffold

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

BEARDS BREWERY, PETOSKEY

12/17 -- Owen James Trio, 5 12/18 -- Leif Owen, 4 12/23 -- Charlie Millard: Holiday Pub Piano, 4-7

BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS, PETOSKEY 12/17 -- Chris Calleja, 2-6

CITY PARK GRILL, PETOSKEY 12/23 -- Annex Karaoke, 9:30

ODAWA CASINO RESORT, PETOSKEY VICTORIES: 12/23 -- Live DJ, 10

THE BEAU, CHEBOYGAN 12/17 -- Billy Jewell, 8

12/22 -- Christmas Sing Along w/ Lori Cleland, 6 12/23 -- Happy Little Accidents, 8

THE NOGGIN ROOM PUB, PETOSKEY 7-10: 12/17 -- Holly Keller 12/23 -- Patrick Ryan

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, THOMPSONVILLE VISTA LOUNGE: 12/17 -- Christopher Winkelmann, 8:30-10:30

LAKE ANN BREWING CO. 6:30-9:30: 12/17 -- 1000 Watt Prophets 12/20 -- Andre Villoch 12/23 -- Ho Ho Ho Niemisto & Kris Kringle Skellenger

ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH 5:30-8:30: 12/17 -- Bill Frary 12/22 -- Open Mic Night w/ Jeff Louwsma 12/23 -- Chelsea Marsh

STORMCLOUD BREWING CO., FRANKFORT

12/17 -- Luke Woltanski, 7-9 12/18 -- Nuclassica Electro-Pop Violin Performance, 3:30-4:30

Otsego, Crawford & Central

\ALPINE TAVERN & EATERY, GAYLORD 6:

12/17 -- Kenny Thompson 12/23 -- Nelson Olstrom

BENNETHUM'S NORTHERN INN, GAYLORD 12/20 -- Nelson Olstrom, 5

West Michigan singer-songwriter and guitarist Austin Benzing will join Short’s Brew Pub’s Ugly Sweater Party in Bellaire on Fri., Dec. 23. Benzing jams from 8-10pm, and the party runs from 5-11pm. Dig up your ugliest sweaters, enjoy some “Michigan made country-fied progressive rock,” and have a chance at winning a Short’s gift card!

BY ROB BREZSNY

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "I will always be as difficult as necessary to achieve the best," declared Sagittarian opera singer Maria Callas (1923–1977). Many critics say she was indeed one of the 20th century's best. The consensus is that she was also a temperamental prima donna. Impresario Rudolf Bing said she was a trial to work with "because she was so much more intelligent. Other artists, you could get around. But Callas you could not get around. She knew exactly what she wanted and why she wanted it." In accordance with astrological omens, Sagittarius, I authorize you, in your quest for success in 2023, to be as "difficult" as Callas was, in the sense of knowing exactly what you want. But please—so as to not undermine your success—don't lapse into diva-like behavior.

VIRGO ( Aug. 23-Sept. 22): As a young woman, Virgo-born Ingeborg Rapoport (1912–2017) studied medicine at the University of Hamburg in Germany. But in 1938, the Nazis refused to let her defend her PhD thesis and get her medical degree because of her Jewish ancestry. Seventy-seven years later, she was finally given a chance to finish what she had started. Success! The dean of the school said, "She was absolutely brilliant. Her specific knowledge about the latest developments in medicine was unbelievable." I expect comparable developments for you in 2023, Virgo. You will receive defining opportunities or invitations that have not been possible before. Postponed breakthroughs and resolutions will become achievable.

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): I decided to divine the state of your financial karma. To begin, I swirled a $10 bill through the flame rising from a green candle. Then I sought cosmic auguries in the burn patterns on the bill. The oracle provided bad news and good news. The bad news is that you live on a planet where one-fifth of the population owns much more than four-fifths of the wealth. The good news is that in 2023, you will be in decent shape to move closer to the elite one-fifth. Amazingly, the oracle also suggests that your ability to get richer quicker will increase in direct proportion to your integrity and generosity.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Of the 2,200+ humans quoted in a 21st-century edition of *Bartlett's Familiar Quotations*, 164 are women—a mere seven percent! At least that's more than the four females represented in 1855's first edition. Let's take this atrocious injustice as our provocation for your horoscope. In accordance with astrological omens, one of your assignments in 2023 will be to make personal efforts to equalize power among the genders. Your well-being will thrive as you work to create a misogyny-free future. Here are possible actions: If you're a woman or nonbinary person, be extra bold and brave as you say what you genuinely think and feel and mean. If you're a man, foster your skills at listening to women and nonbinary people. Give them abundant space and welcome to speak their truths. It will be in your ultimate interest to do so!

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): To prepare you for 2023, I'm offering you wisdom from mythologist Michael Meade. Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Scorpios will be most likely to extract riches from it. Meade writes: "Becoming a genuine individual requires learning the oppositions within oneself. Those who fail or refuse to face the oppositions within have no choice but to find enemies to project upon. 'Enemy' simply means 'not-friend'; unless a person deals with the not-friend within, they require enemies around them."

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): To inspire your self-inquiry in 2023, I have chosen a passage from Herman Hesse's fairy tale, "A Dream Sequence." It will provide guidance as you dive further than ever before into the precious mysteries in your inner depths. Hesse addressed his "good ardent darkness, the warm cradle of the soul, and lost homeland." He asked them to open up for him. He wanted them to be fully available to his conscious mind. Hesse said this to his soul: "Just feel your way, soul, just wander about, burrow into the full bath of innocent twilight drives!"

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Cardiovascular

surgeon Michael DeBakey lived till age 99. He almost died at 97, but was able to capitalize on an invention that he himself had created years before: a polymer resin that could repair or replace aging blood vessels. Surgeons used his technology to return him to health. I am predicting that in 2023, you, too, will derive a number of benefits from your actions in the past. Things you made, projects you nurtured, and ideas you initiated will prove valuable to you as you encounter the challenges and opportunities of the future.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Eric G. Wilson has written a book that I might typically recommend to 40 percent of the Aries tribe. But in 2023, I will raise that to 80 percent of you. The title is *How to Be Weird: An Off-Kilter Guide to Living a One-of-a-Kind Life*. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it will make sense for you to stop making sense on a semi-regular basis. Cheerfully rebelling against the status quo should be one of your most rewarding hobbies. The best way to educate and entertain yourself will be to ask yourself, "What is the most original and imaginative thing I can do right now?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): One of your potential superpowers is cultivating links between the spiritual and physical worlds. If you develop this talent, you illuminate the ways that eternity permeates the everyday routine. You weave together the sacred and the mundane so they synergize each other. You understand how practical matters may be infused with archetypal energies and epic themes. I hope you will be doing a lot of this playful work in 2023, Taurus. Many of us non-Bulls would love you to teach us more about these mysteries.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here are fun and useful projects for you to cultivate in 2023: 1. Initiate interesting trends. Don't follow mediocre trends. 2. Exert buoyant leadership in the groups you are part of. 3. Practice the art of enhancing your concentration by relaxing. 4. Every Sunday at noon, renew your vow to not deceive or lie to yourself during the coming week. 5. Make it your goal to be a fabulous communicator, not just an average one. 6. Cultivate your ability to discern what people are hiding or pretending about.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In 2023, I hope you will refine and deepen your relationship with your gut instinct. I will be ecstatic if you learn more about the differences between your lucid intuition and the worry mongering that your pesky demons rustle up. If you attend to these matters—and life will conspire to help you if you do—your rhythm will become dramatically more secure and stable. Your guidance system will serve you better than it ever has. A caveat: Seeking perfection in honing these skills is not necessary. Just do the best you can.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Psychiatrist and author

Irvin Yalom wrote, "The question of meaning in life is, as the Buddha thought, not edifying. One must immerse oneself into the river of life and let the question drift away." But Holocaust survivor and philosopher Viktor Frankl had a radically different view. He said that a sense of meaning is the single most important thing. That's what sustains and nourishes us through the years: the feeling that our life has a meaning and that any particular experience has a meaning. I share Frankl's perspective, and I advise you to adopt his approach throughout 2023. You will have unprecedented opportunities to see and know the overarching plan of your destiny, which has been only partially visible to you in the past. You will be regularly blessed with insights about your purpose here on earth.

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