Ross Boissoneau | Author
Michigan’s Jeremy Kittel to Return to Manitou
July 14, 2018
Fresh off a performance at Blissfest, violinist and fiddler Jeremy Kittel is returning to one of his favorite places to play: the Manitou Music Festival. “I’m excited for both,” he said from the road, prior to this past weekend’s annual celebration of folk and root...
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Dine at Kewadin's Pine Hill ... Nursery?
July 14, 2018
There aren’t many restaurants where you can order a pizza, a glass of beer, and a forsythia bush. But that’s the thing at Pine Hill Nursery in Kewadin: What started as a nursery has morphed over the years into a gift shop, greenhouse, music venue, and yes, a restaurant. It off...
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Behold the Dragon Boats
July 7, 2018
According to the Chinese zodiac, we have to wait until 2024 for the next year of the dragon. But in Charlevoix, that year is already here: the Charlevoix Circle Of Arts will host the inaugural Charlevoix Dragon Boat Festival on Lake Charlevoix Aug. 4.
The concept of dragon bo...
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Rock Royalty to Play Benzie Barn
June 30, 2018
It’s about 150 miles from Detroit to Cleveland, but Billy Davis’s road was so circuitous it took decades to get from one to the other. Now the celebrated musician and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is adding another 250 miles to the journey, ending up ...
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The Bard’s the Thing
June 30, 2018
Of course people will show up for a free outdoor performance of plays by Shakespeare. Yes, in rural Benzie County. Who would doubt that?
Turns out the very people who put the play on. “We had no idea,” said founding member Jeff Christian. No idea what pe...
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Pyro Guy
June 30, 2018
Like so many youngsters, Bruce Tyree was fascinated by fireworks. Unlike most, however, he failed to outgrow his obsession. So he made the most of it. Today he’s surrounded by Roman candles, display shells, and barrage cakes on a daily basis as the head of the northern division of G...
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The Truth Behind the Cherries at the Nat'l Cherry Fest
June 30, 2018
The Traverse City National Cherry Festival celebrates the cherries grown here, in the cherry capital of the world, right? So why, every Fourth of July week, do you hear at least a few festival-goers snipe, “These aren’t Traverse City cherries! They ship ’em in &mdash...
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June 23, 2018 OK, sure, there’s fireworks, perfect for ooohs and ahhhhs. We know about the Blue Angels and the air show. There are concerts, parades, and don’t forget the Great American Duck Race. Or the Cherry Pie Eating Contest. Well, maybe forget the pie-eating contest, because you want ...
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June 23, 2018 Most bands don’t get a recording contract. Most that do don’t make it big. Most groups that make it to the top don’t hang around for long. Yes isn’t most groups. The band is celebrating 50 years of its progressive rock by takin...
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June 16, 2018 Police are here to serve and protect. It’s all about the law. Sommeliers are here to serve and educate. For them, it’s all about the wine. The source of all knowledge, Wikipedia (ahem), calls a sommelier “a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally wo...
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June 16, 2018 Death and taxes, and tax breaks in the wine industry … maybe. That’s what we all have to look forward to, though the lattermost is not yet set in stone. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — aka the Trump tax cuts — is impacting virtually all are...
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June 16, 2018 So many wines, so little time. Each year brings new vintages, new styles, new tasting rooms and events, even new grapes. With some four dozen wineries scattered around the region, how do you keep up with what’s new and exciting? For starters, the Old Mission Peninsula Wineri...
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June 9, 2018 Sure, you can spend the big bucks at concert venues across the region, from Interlochen to Bay View to the new Great Lakes Center for the Arts at Bay View. Who doesn’t want to see Yes, Blondie, or Pink Martini? Add the bars, clubs, casinos and festivals, and you’ve got tons of...
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June 9, 2018 It’s a safe bet that when Lydia Morrison of Cincinnati built Fountain Point Resort in 1889, she had no intention of it becoming a concert venue. But fast-forward a century and a quarter, and the quaint, quiet resort on the south shore of Lake Leelanau not only offers cottages and a ...
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June 9, 2018 Coming soon, to a theatre near you: a theater near you. The Great Lakes Center for the Arts is readying for its opening act, a benefit gala coming July 7. June 9, 2018 Jim Lamond had a vision. And if it wasn’t the kind where you see God, maybe it could be said it was a vision where he and others saw God’s handiwork, in the form of an 80-acre parcel of land, home to eagles, foxes, deer, and other flora and fauna. The land was destined for dev...
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June 9, 2018 “Be kind to your parents, though they don't deserve it. Remember they’re grown-ups, a difficult stage of life." When Harold Rome wrote that song in 1954, he probably didn’t have the vagaries of 21st-century life in mind. But as he said later in the song,...
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June 9, 2018 Those growing up in a family business often either turn to that business when they grow up — or run away from it into an entirely different direction. Troy Daily did both, and as the force behind food trucks, local beer tours, a marketing company, and an event company, he’s st...
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June 9, 2018 For Miriam Pico, the destruction Hurricane Maria wrought on Puerto Rico was personal. The Traverse City-based singer-songwriter was born there and spent the first two years of her life in Puerto Rico. Though she’s lived in Traverse City since age four, Pico still sees the is...
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June 9, 2018 Social media has made critics of us all. Had a great time with your friends? Tell the world. Lunch was outstanding? Let everyone know. Your accommodations didn’t meet your expectations? Blast the place online. But what if you’re a hotelier in one of the most touristed ...
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Best. Cherry Fest. Ever.
Oh, Yes!
Sommelier Central
Tax Reform Means Breaks for Wine Industry — For a Few, and For a While At Least
The Latest on the Region's Wine Scene
Outdoor Summer Sounds Abound
Historic Resort. Humongous Concert Venue.
Get Inside the Great Lakes Center for the Arts
Patrons will have an opportunity to “Raise the Curtain” at a benefit for the new facility, as well as take i...
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Honey, We Bought a Preserve
The Kindness Kids Club
Mr. Summer, Troy Daily
Hurricane Maria is Gone; Hurricane Miriam Hasn’t Quit
Everybody’s a Critic