Ross Boissoneau | Author

Whose T-shirt is it Anyway?

Jan. 20, 2018

Of course Michiganders are happy to showcase the Great Lakes State. And who doesn’t want to look good?

Welcome to the Michigan T-shirt. More and more people are proudly displaying their home state in clever and colorful ways. That’s true whether it’s M-22, the Mi... Read More >>

Plummeting temperatures tend to leave the less hearty among us housebound. Which is fine, until cabin fever sets in. Before your own four walls drive you to the brink of insanity, drive yourself to a new set of walls to experience winter Up North at its warmest, quaint-est best.

Hop Lot Brewing in Suttons Bay

Jan. 13, 2018

Brothers Steve and Drew Lutke knew they wanted to do something special with their microbrewery on the south end of Suttons Bay. Even before building their facility, they had begun researching the style and aesthetic they wanted to draw in customers. So they decided to showcase what brough... Read More >>

Subzero Swimmers

Dec. 30, 2017

Taking a quick dip in the bay is almost de rigueur in the summer. In the off-season, when temperatures go from highs in the 80s to the 40s, 30s or colder, you have to be made of sterner stuff. Or almost crazy, you decide.

For your consideration, exhibit A: Evan Smit... Read More >>

Clare’s Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm

Dec. 16, 2017

It’s not every day you see a gaggle of Santa Clauses, but where better to do so than when they’re surrounded by reindeer? That’s the case each fall at Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm outside Clare. “We had about 100 professional Santas,” said Dave Aldrich, the ... Read More >>

"The Nutcracker" turns 125

Dec. 2, 2017

The dancers whirl around the floor, before coming together to toast one another, then spin away again. The director watches closely, holding off for several minutes as the action continues, before stopping things and then starting it over. In the corner, the rehearsal piani... Read More >>

2018 Ski Report

Dec. 2, 2017

The early blast of winter gave heart to winter enthusiasts across the region. With cool ocean temperatures in the Pacific, indications are that this will be a La Nina year, with more storms in the Midwest and Great Lakes; Accuweather suggests the Great Lakes region will have cold temperat... Read More >>

27 Years In, The Iceman Still Cometh

Oct. 28, 2017

Even the name sounds foreboding: The Iceman Cometh. Kind of gives you the shivers. And while participants may warm up on the 30-mile race from Kalkaska to Timber Ridge RV & Recreation Resort on the eastern edge of Traverse City, the weather might not be especially cooperative. Over th... Read More >>

After a 100-year Absence, Michigan’s Hop Crop is Coming Back Strong

Oct. 21, 2017

With apologies to Dr. Seuss, it’s no longer “Hop on Pop.” It’s now hops on top.

Given the continuing explosion of microbreweries and tap houses across the state and the region, it seems only logical that the production of hops would increase as well. And th... Read More >>

If the Day Ends in "Y" ...

Oct. 7, 2017

Brian Confer has had some crazy ideas. There was the one where he turned from his successful gig as a photographer to brewing beer for a living. Then there was the time he enlisted an entire town to tout the virtues of beer.

Welcome to the Fourth Annual Frankfort Beer Week. Stormc... Read More >>

Interlochen Takes Stock

Sept. 2, 2017

Ian Anderson has left the building, and the crowds have followed suit. The Jethro Tull frontman’s flute might still be echoing from the rafters of Kresge Auditorium as the curtain falls on Interlochen’s summer concert season. But Rory Baker is already looking ahead, as he&rsqu... Read More >>

The Best Live-Music Venues You’re Missing in Northern Michigan

Sept. 2, 2017

So you know about the shows at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Ditto Traverse City’s City Opera House, Manistee’s Little River Casino, and Northwestern Michigan College’s Milliken Auditorium. But what about Red Sky Stage, Dhaseleer Events Barn, Rotary Park Pavilion, or ... Read More >>

Mozart of the Guitar

Aug. 19, 2017

For some artists, their instrument becomes an extension of themselves. Rather than playing the piano or trumpet, they are simply playing music. That’s no doubt the case with Pierre Bensusan.

The French guitarist performs at Sleder’s Family Tavern in Traverse City... Read More >>

Jethro Tull Frontman Steps Out on His Own

Aug. 12, 2017

Ian Anderson refuses to live in the past. The longtime frontman and songwriter for Jethro Tull continues to play that group’s best-loved songs but now goes by his name rather than that of the group. Both 2012’s Thick as a Brick II and 2014’s Homo Erraticus appeared under... Read More >>

Replicas of Columbus’s ships to dock in Traverse City

Aug. 12, 2017

Columbus would be proud. It’s been more than 500 years in coming, but two of his ships are making their way to Traverse City. The Niña and Pinta will dock at Clinch Park’s northwest wall on Aug. 17 and will be there through Aug. 22. The ships will open for tours fr... Read More >>

A Brilliant Idea

Aug. 5, 2017

When fashion model and designer Anina returned to visit her hometown of Traverse City from China earlier this year, she sought to encourage and excite others about the intersection of fashion and technology. The first-name-only Traverse City native grew up with brothers who went to code c... Read More >>

Benzie brings the man behind Michigan Notable Book author Viola Shipman

July 22, 2017

Wade Rouse didn’t set out to be a novelist. Trained as a journalist, he worked as a reporter and then in public relations. Along the way, he wrote four best-selling humorous memoirs, contributed to People, Good Housekeeping, and Coastal Living magazines, a... Read More >>

Detroit-area Author Tom Stanton’s Triple Play

July 22, 2017

Author Tom Stanton will make three stops in northern Michigan while promoting his latest book, “Terror in the City of Champions.” First Stanton will be a guest at Off the Pages, the Benzie County program for authors, appearing at the Mills Community House July 18 at 7 pm. On J... Read More >>

Baroque on Beaver

July 15, 2017

The last Baroque composer died over 230 years ago. Yet the rich music, considered highly dramatic and exaggerated in its 1600s-era heyday, is still a mainstay in concert halls across the world — and on Beaver Island. This year’s Baroque on Beaver, which runs July 29 through Au... Read More >>

Paul Nelson Returns

July 1, 2017

Paul Nelson has won a Grammy Award and performed in front of millions. The onetime guitarist and producer for famed blues-rock guitarist Johnny Winter has toured the world and been on TV, playing on The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Now he’s returning to nort... Read More >>