Rick Coates

Features Rick Coates The Serious Side of Drew Hastings
By Rick Coates
Comedian Drew Hastings loves performing in the Midwest, especially in small towns, where he feels his humor connects. He hopes to prove that theory this week when he returns to the Traverse City Opera House for an encore performance Friday, April 22.
Born in Morocco, Hastings grew up in the Dayton, Ohio area. After high school he pursued odd jobs until the age of 31 when he decided to give acting and stand up comedy a try. He moved to Los Angeles and found himself in some development deals and television show pilots that didn’t go anywhere. But what did take off for him was stand up comedy.
Hastings quickly found himself being booked on several network talk shows including receiving

Music Rick Coates Courtney Argue: A Hopeful Star is Born…
By Rick Coates 
While American Idol and the soon-to-debut American version of The X Factor
look for the next big pop stars, Traverse City’s Courtney Argue has her
own plans. The 2008 TC West High School graduate has a big-time producer,
a major music deal in the works, and a reality television show in
pre-production.

Dining Rick Coates Stafford’s Perry Hotel Titanic Dinner
This time of the year “Titanic Dinners” pop up all over the place in honor of that final dinner served on April 14, 1912 before the “unsinkable ship” sunk to its demise 12,000 feet below the Atlantic Ocean. The story of the Titanic is well documented in articles and books and the 1997 film that won 11 Academy Awards and to date has grossed almost $2 billion worldwide (second all-time to Avatar which is closing in on $3 billion). There were 706 survivors and 1,516 who perished in the sinking 99 years ago.
Stafford’s Perry Hotel is hosting their 6th Annual Titanic Dinner on Saturday April 16 in their H.O. Rose Dining Room. Plenty of history will be shared that night as Titanic expert David Kaplan will give a visual presentation of the ship, its events and the affect it has had on history. Plus there will be models, original newspapers and artifacts on display. The service team will be dressed in period attire and Stafford’s even encourages dining guests to dress the part as well if they so choose.

Features Rick Coates Get Your ’80s on at the 2nd Chance Prom
By Rick Coates
It’s prom season and high school students all over Northern Michigan are
scrambling to find prom dresses and tuxedos while ordering corsages and
boutonnieres.  Some will do a double take and a ‘say what?’ when they find
out that their parents are going to prom as well. Of course, there will be
a deep sigh of relief when they find out their parents have their own prom
to attend.

Dining Rick Coates Traverse City Chocolate Festival
Three years ago self-described chocoholic Barbara Disborough wrote “The Guide to Chocolate in the Grand Traverse Region.” Northern Michigan continues to grow in the number of artisan chocolate makers as well as the number of shops that offer high quality chocolate products.
A former respiratory therapist, Disborough is an aficionado of all things chocolate and has spent the past several years searching out the best the region has to offer. The book has become a popular compendium for visitors and locals alike and Disborough has been offering a variety of customized and personalized tasting events around the area.
In 2009 a group of chocolatiers asked Disborough if she would help them organize and promote a “chocolate festival” in Traverse City. “I was retired and had time on my hands so I agreed to help,” said Disborough. “At first I was just doing some basic promotion but before I knew it they had me organizing most of the event.”

Features Rick Coates Mitch Albom: Weighing in on newspapers, Detroit and Michigan sports
By Rick Coates
When the National Writers Series announced the first half of their season
in January, co-founder Doug Stanton said there would be some additional
surprise guests added along the way. One of those “additional” guests is
bestselling author Mitch Albom, who will take the City Opera House stage
this Wednesday April 6 at 7:30 pm. 

Features Rick Coates Ridin’ High with the Very Big Bike
By Rick Coates
Joseph VanLoozen of Levering has always been fascinated with bicycles.
While growing up in Redford Township outside of Detroit he was always
riding and fiddling around mechanically with bikes. While in high school
shop class in 1978, he began experimenting and developed what would become
the prototype for the Very Big Bike. 

Music Rick Coates Disco Inferno: ‘Best Band’ winners change name to Ella R!ot
By Rick Coates
For the past couple of years Ann Arbor based My Dear Disco has been making regular stops in Northern Michigan. The band recently headlined the Traverse City Winter Microbrew & Music Festival and just last week they performed to a packed house at the Loading Dock in Traverse City.
Voted “Best Band” in Northern Michigan, the players are getting ready to embark on a national tour. Guitarist and band co-leader Robert Lester sat down to give an update:

Music Rick Coates Miriam Pico : Best Solo Performer
By Rick Coates
Singer/songwriter Miriam Pico has been on the Northern Express radar for the past six years; in our recent survey, readers of the paper selected her as Best Solo Performer in Northern Michigan.
Releasing three CDs since she launched her professional singing career at the age of 21, Pico is now 27 and performs at several venues in the region, most notably Phil’s on Front. Her 2009 release “S’bout Time” with pianist David Chown has sold well and when the duo gets together to perform it is a big draw for area venues.

Dining Rick Coates Café Santé New Holland Brewing Spirit and Beer Dinner
At some point Michigan is going to have to address several of its archaic alcohol laws if it wants to be competitive with other states. One example is the inability to sample products at retail outlets, especially high end spirits and wines. Several states allow retailers to have sampling events or a tasting bar aiding in the decision making process which makes investing in $50 bottles of wine or $80 bottles of spirits easier.
In Michigan, consumers either have to take the word of the retailer or go to a tasting dinner at a restaurant like the one Café Santé in Boyne City is hosting on Tuesday April 5. The New Holland Brewing Spirit and Beer Dinner will feature a seven course tasting that will include a combination of their beers and spirits line.

Features Rick Coates Christos Piliafas: Best Fitness Trainer
By Rick Coates
Mess with Christos Piliafas and you’re asking for a whoopin’ -- either
that or some good advice on how to get in shape: Christos was voted “Best
Fitness Instructor” by Express readers in a recent poll.

Music Rick Coates The Long Road of Bill Staines: Folkie cult favorite logs 65,000 miles each year 3/21/11
By Rick Coates
Sleder’s Family Tavern has been offering their On The Porch Concert for
several years and one of the favorites has been singer/songwriter folkie
Bill Staines. He will return this Sunday, March 27 after just making a
swing through Michigan 10 days ago.

Music Rick Coates Time Stands Still for Chris Smither
By Rick Coates
At 67, singer/songwriter Chris Smither has not lost his passion for
performing. He plans to cut his tour schedule from 120 shows to 80 shows a
year, but it has nothing to do with his age.
“I have a six-year-old daughter and I don’t want to miss out on her
growing up,” said Smither. “I love performing, I just don’t like getting
there.”

Dining Rick Coates Great Lakes Whitefish Cookbook
The Michigan Sea Grant program has released a new cookbook, Wild Caught
and Close to Home: Selecting and Preparing Great Lakes Whitefish. The book
celebrates the Great Lakes whitefish with recipes, cooking techniques and
chef insights. It was edited by Chef Chris Kibit, a professor at the
Northern Michigan University hospitality and culinary management program,
along with his colleague Chef Deborah Pearce.

Features Rick Coates The Strange Case of Jacob Cabinaw: Missing a year, his disappearance remains a mystery 3/21/11
By Rick Coates
People sometimes just disappear; often with adults it is by their own
choosing. But typically that disappearance is attached to some reason:
crimes committed, financial pressures, mental illness or stress. There is
usually some sort of indicator that points to a person choosing to
disappear. But what happens when not one of the indicators exists? That
seems to be the case with Jacob Cabinaw of Traverse City.
March 31, 2011 will mark the one year anniversary of Cabinaw’s
disappearance.