Erin Cowell

Features Erin Cowell The Disney Queen: Tammy Sofonia has been Mickey’s guest 53 times
By Erin Crowell
Tammy Sofonia knows a lot about Disney theme parks. Well, that might be an understatement, considering the Traverse City Passageways Travel agent has been to Disney World, in Orlando, 53 times. Factor in the international trips to Euro Disney and Tokyo Disney, and you’ve got an expert park hopper.
The Express talked with Sofonia—who is a graduate of the Masters College of Disney Knowledge— and got the inside scoop on what’s so alluring about a mouse with lots of real estate.

Features Erin Cowell Wonder Woman rules at Women’s Winter Tour
“Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype
lacks force, strength, and power.” --William Moulton Marston, creator
of Wonder Woman, in a 1943 issue of The American Scholar.

Features Erin Cowell Indoor Farm Market
Winter can’t stop shopping scene at the Mercato
By Erin Crowell
Brick and stone shelter local shoppers from frigid temps at Building
50 of the Grand Traverse Commons. Nestled in the hills on the west
side of town, the old state asylum turned trendy condo/retail site is
now home to an indoor farmers market, happening every Saturday from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. in The Village, a community of shops and restaurants
located on the garden level -- or Mercato -- of the building.

Books Erin Cowell Mind Your Manners
The Advice Goddess rages at the rude
I See Rude People: One woman’s battle to beat some manners into impolite
society
By Amy Alkon
McGraw Hill, $16.95

By Erin Crowell

Amy Alkon, humorist and nationally syndicated columnist of “The Advice
Goddess,” has taken her bold opinions of society and had them print, set
and bound into her newest book, “I See Rude People: One woman’s battle to
beat some manners into impolite society.”

Features Erin Cowell Ring those bells:Optimism boosts business at To Have and to Hold
By Erin Crowell
For the owners of To Have and to Hold Bridal Boutique in Traverse City,
2010 is looking like a busy year.
“A lot of people put their wedding off until this year,” says co-owner
Toni Javin Liles. “Because of the economy at the end of ’08 and ’09,
things were just uncertain. People felt like they needed to wait until
things were safer, secure. Everyone just kind of pulled back and slowed
down.”

Features Erin Cowell The Dark Side of Mike Stanley
By Erin Crowell
Stand-up comic Mike Stanley is a lot like the venue he’ll be performing at this weekend: dark and off-the-wall. The Detroit native and Last Comic Still Standing 2005 winner will be performing at InsideOut Gallery in Traverse City, Jan. 29 & 30.
“I love that place,” Stanley says of InsideOut. “I love the art, how the place is set up. I really dig that place.”
It’s a location that suits Stanley’s style of comedy.
“Somebody once did a review and called me dark and hilarious,” he says. “That’s probably the best way to sum it up.”
So, what exactly is dark comedy?
“I want to push you somewhere you don’t want to go. Then, I want to make you laugh about it,” he says. “People are just so serious about things, it’s ridiculous.”
It will be a return trip for the guy whose style of comedy has been called “high energy” and “fearless.” He’s proven to be an audience favorite as he was recently voted Best Comedian in Chicago – his now homebase on a busy touring schedule.
“I started in the Detroit area and it was always a pain in the ass to drive out of Michigan—it’s a peninsula—just to go to tour out of Chicago.”

Features Erin Cowell Glide into the Sublime at Garland
Resort offers a gourmet progressive dinner on skis
By Erin Crowell
If Northern Michigan foodies had a workout, this would be it.
“You eat, ski; eat, ski; eat, ski,” Laurie Michael laughs. The director of
sales and marketing at Garland Resort & Lodge in Lewiston explains the
popular Gourmet Glide, where cross-country skiing meets epicurean
delights.

Features Erin Cowell 12 Year Reunionhas got you covered
By Erin Crowell
Most rock music in Northern Michigan is heard in the soupy dark of local
bars, locked away like a misfit teenager. It’s beer and smoke and
everything we shouldn’t do. And we love it.

Features Erin Cowell Masters of Cycling
By Erin Crowell 8/24/09

For the Hagerty Men’s Cycling Masters Team, age is just another number. So is first, second and third. Winning has become a theme this year for both the team as a whole and the individual men who compete in a category of cyclists age 45 and older.
This season, Hagerty has cranked out state-wide wins at the West Branch Classic, Tour of Frankenmuth, Tour of Kensington Valley, the Michigan State Time Trial Championship and the Cone Azalia Spring Classic, along with several single-digit finishes at the Willow Time Trial, Tour de Mount Pleasant, Superior Bike Fest and the Maillot Jaune Road Race.
They will look for another win when they compete on home pavement this weekend at the second annual Cherry Roubaix. The race features a criterium in the Old Town district of Traverse City on Saturday; then a road race through Leelanau Peninsula on Sunday.

Features Erin Cowell Red Carpet Run
Film Fest debuts 5K masquerade & revives the ‘Golden Mile’

By Erin Crowell 7/27/09

This Saturday, memories will come flooding back for some Traverse City residents -- memories as clear as the images on a filmstrip.
Added to this year’s bigger-than-ever Traverse City Film Festival are two races. One, reminiscent of the Cherry Festival, circa late 1990s: an elite, invite-only mile race.

Features Erin Cowell Run Charlevoix Hits its Stride
Two new marathons draw runners to region

By Erin Crowell 6/22/09

While stretching near the start line of Run Charlevoix, chances are you’ll see a mother to your right, securing her race bib and her toddler into the stroller she’ll be pushing in the race; to the left of you, a running veteran from Oregon, slapping his thighs as he prepares to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
At most races, this scene wouldn’t make sense. But at Run Charlevoix, athletes of different caliber, from seasoned athlete to recreational walker, can find a distance and pace suitable for their level.
While most races are comprised of one or two distances, the third annual Run Charlevoix (happening this Saturday) hosts four, two of which are divided into categories – the marathon (26.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles), walking marathon, walking half marathon, 10K (6.2 miles) and 5K (3.1 miles).

Features Erin Cowell Are You Up to the M-22 Challenge?
Triathlon kicks off first year in Leelanau County

By Erin Crowell 6/15/09

There were a lot of words thrown around last week during the volunteer meeting for the inaugural M-22 Challenge. Words like “sweet,” “cool,” and “right on.” These words reflected the attitude of those in attendance, preparing for a race that will marry the beauty of Northern Michigan with the spirit of athleticism.
The M-22 Challenge will make its debut on Saturday, June 20. Located at the Little Glen Lake Picnic Area in Glen Arbor Township of Leelanau County, the event is named for its location along the scenic M-22 highway. It is also part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Features Erin Cowell 18 Blessings for
Mother’s Day
Connie & John Kennedy adopted every child in their foster care


By Erin Crowell 5/4/09

With 11 boys, seven girls and two golden retrievers, Connie and John Kennedy would still consider making their family bigger. But unlike the large families we see on television (i.e. the Octomom, Jon and Kate Plus 8, and the Duggar Family), most of the Kennedy children are adopted.
After the birth of her first three children, Connie was unable to have more children due to health complications. And, coming from a family of 12, she felt three wasn’t enough. So, the Interlochen couple turned to Child and Family Services and became foster parents.

Features Erin Cowell Running with a mission
My half-marathon helps find a cure for blood cancers

By Erin Crowell

A few months ago, I took a weekend girls’ trip to the Upper Peninsula. A couple hours after crossing the bridge, we were met by a fresh 33 inches of fallen snow in the Munising area. Snow piles that stood 10 feet tall, easily, acted as guarding pillars at the end of driveways. Our little red cabin sat nestled into its own snowdrift, and as the other girls unloaded their gear and cracked open a “welcome home” beer, I pulled on my running shoes and headed out for a frozen five-mile run.

Features Erin Cowell Thai yoga massage from Thailand
Erin Cowell 3/2/09

In dance, one partner leads the other, always guiding and moving with the music, creating an energy that can be invigorating, releasing and therapeutic, all at the same time.
In order to understand Thai yoga massage (TYM), it’s best to think of it in terms of dancing. Therapeutic massage generally involves a passive client laying nearly unconscious on a table with a masseuse working over him or her. But with TYM, both client and masseuse are on the floor, working in a three-dimensional space of movement. The partner leading is the masseuse, guiding the other through a series of deep stretches and massage.
The result is a comprehensive full-body treatment. Like therapeutic massage, it relieves muscular tension, improves circulation, boosts the immune system and balances the body’s energy. However, the benefits of TYM outlast those of basic massage through movement and correct posture.