From staff reports
The coronavirus pandemic and need for social distancing has prompted the cancelation of this year’s Glen Arbor Fourth of July parade, the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb concert, the Manitou Music concert series, and the Port Oneida Fair.
Add those to the already canceled Empire Asparagus Festival, M22 Challenge and Leland Wine & Food Festival, and the 2020 calendar of Leelanau County’s most popular spring and summer events resembles a blank slate. All events are scheduled to resume in 2021.
Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce co-president Connie Kroll told the Glen Arbor Sun today that the Glen Arbor Fourth of July parade will be canceled. The parade had been held every year since 1964. (Read about the parade’s history here, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 2013.)
Manitou Music series canceled
The annual Dune Climb concert—originally scheduled for Sunday, July 12, and featuring Igor and the Red Elvises—is part of the Manitou Music series, an initiative of the Glen Arbor Arts Center. The Dune Climb concert, itself, is a collaboration between the Arts Center and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Other Manitou Music concerts this year were to include the NMC Concert Band (July 1), The Crane Wives (July 19), Laurel Premo (July 22), Blair Miller (July 26), One For the Foxes (July 29), Good Morning Bedlam (August 2), Heron Valley (August 5), and Summer Singers (August 11).
Arts Center executive director Sarah Kime informed the Sun today of the canceled music series, but added that pop-up concerts featuring local musicians could be rescheduled for this Fall if the pandemic subsides and social distancing regulations are relaxed.
The Glen Arbor Arts Center has pivoted to offer virtual arts programing and classes, and plans to announce details within the week.
“We’re grateful that we can offer any creative opportunity virtually,” Kime told the Sun. “We’re collaborating with people that we haven’t before.”
Upcoming virtual events include a May 13 lecture “A Short History of Color in Painting,” a “New Views: Birdlandia” exhibit opening on May 15, and a gallery talk with Wings of Wonder’s Rebecca Lessard on May 23. For a full schedule visit the Arts Center’s Facebook page.
Kime finds a silver lining amidst the cancelations.
“What has made this awesome is it has given us an opportunity to offer art virtually, which gives accessibility to people who didn’t have it before. People without a car, people who are sick and unable to travel to us.”
“We’re trying to be the bright light right now in these dark times. Art is therapeutic for people. They need this outlet.”
National Lakeshore announces Port Oneida Fair cancelation
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore announced in a news release today that the Port Oneida Fair, scheduled for August 7-8, has been canceled in response to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, Unites States Public Health Service, and the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department.
The popular annual fair in the Lakeshore’s bucolic Port Oneida Rural Historic District was canceled once before—after the storm that pummeled Leelanau County on August 2, 2015.
Although the Park continues to work toward a phased reopening of park facilities, the uncertainty about when public health guidance will safely allow large gatherings of people has led to the cancelation of the Fair, stated the news release.
“The significant preparation that would be needed from staff, partners, and volunteers precludes waiting any longer to make the decision,” said Park superintendent Scott Tucker. “We look forward to when we can welcome crowds of people back into the park—and to celebrating with you at the next Port Oneida Fair on August 13-14, 2021!”
This story is sponsored by Riverfront Pizza and Deli
