Betsie Bay Net :: Benzie County Visitor Information

Benzie Information on: Benzonia

EVENT LISTING

Weekend Calendar of Events

August 6, 2009 – 2:03 pm

Weekend Calendar of Events
by Colin Merry

Elberta

Lakeside Shakespeare
When: August 7th, at 7:30 pm
Where: Waterfront Park
What: Professional Actors from Chicago travel to Benzie County to perform Loveâ€™s Labours Lost.

American Cancer Society Relay for Life
When August 8th and 9th, from 10 am Saturday to 10 am Sunday
Where: Waterfront Park
What: Benzie County Relay for Life teams participate in a yearly walkathon to raise money for the American Cancer society. Food, games, live entertainment and prizes. Come to participate or just to see what the relay is all about.

Onekama

Onekama Days
When: August 6th through the 9th.
Where: Onekama
What: Annual community gathering, featuring a car show, live music, steak fry, fireworks, parade and much more.

Thompsonville

Summer Sounds 2009 at Michigan Legacy Art Park featuring Laith,
When: August 7th, at 7 pm.
Where: Legacy Art Park at Crystal Mountain Spa and Resort
What: Detroit musician Laith Al-Saadi performs at Jessie Frohlich Amphitheatere. Tickets are sold only on the day of the concert. Sales start at 6:30 pm. For more information, call 231-378-4963 or visit www.michlegacyartpark.org.

Frankfort

Crystal Lake Art Center’s Preserve the Arts!
When: August 7th, from 6 to 7:30 pm.
Where: Former U.S. Coast Guard Station
What: Silent and live Auction. Dinner packages at Arcadia Bluffs, private cooking classes, golf outings and original artwork will be auctioned off for the benefit of the CLAC. Drinks and hors dâ€™oeuvers will be provided, along with live music by classical guitarist Carol McAnulty. Tickets are available in advance at the CLAC as well as on the night of the event. For more information, call 231-352-4151.

Frankfort Farmers Market
When: August 8th, from 9 am to 1 pm.
Where: Open Space Park
What: A traditional famers market where local growers bring fresh produce, hand-crafted foods and locally raised meats for the public to purchase.

Benzonia

Benzie Bass Kids Challenge Fishing Event
When: August 8th, from 9 am to noon.
Where: Vacation Trailer Park
What: Children 16 and under can learn how to fish and may take part in a fishing competition. Parents or guardian must accompany and care for children during the entire event. Any species of fish are allowed. Prizes and hot dogs provide for children. Contact Ray Stark at 231-882-4291 or visit the website at www.starkswater-woods.com for more information.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Betsie Almanac, Community, Elberta, Events and Entertainment, Frankfort, Stories, Thompsonville | Comments (1)

Gwen Frostic

July 22, 2009 – 9:41 am

Nestled on the river as if it grew there, the late artists world-renowned studio and shop is a must-see for anyone visiting the area. Kids are fascinated to watch the paper being printed on old time Heidelberg presses, or watching the wildlife that comes right up to the back doors.

~Â Gwen Frostic Presscraft Papers â€“ 5140 River Rd., Benzonia (231) 882-5055

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts and Culture, Explore Our Area | Comments (0)

The Haunts of Benzie County

October 20, 2008 – 10:19 am

Local Haunts: Where to go to get your fill of chills this fall from the Traverse City Record-Eagle says:

Friday in Benzonia, a half dozen or so sites will be featured in the “Haunts of Benzie County Tour.” At each residence, a ghost representing a local, historical character will tell his story.

“Folk lore and ghost stories and legends are something that I think are easily lost, especially nowadays. It seems like these are pieces of history that aren’t necessarily easily passed down. Everyone loves a good ghost story,” said Blake Compton, a volunteer at the Benzie Area Historical Museum.

Click through to read some of the creepy tales and don’t forget about the Manistee Ghost Ship on the SS City of Milwaukee in Manistee!

The photo is Ed Moody, Pumpkin Sculptor by John Clement Howe and you might want to drop by his house in Frankfort in the next couple weeks to see his amazing work. Stop in at any shop or store for directions! You can learn more about Ed right here and at pumpkined.com.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts and Culture, Beulah, Community, Elberta, Frankfort, Lodging, Manistee, Media, Photo, Stories | Comments (0)

Tribute to Gwen Frostic

August 4, 2008 – 8:35 pm

A very well produced short film by Steve Palackdharry, narrated by Huel Perkins:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH23Sqb3Rvo[/youtube]

He writes:

A short tribute film on Gwen Frostic, the legendary Michigan artist who died on April 25, 2001 – the day before her 95th birthday. Frostic was owner and president of a multi-million publishing company in Benzonia, Michigan. As a child, she contracted polio and it affected her walk and her speech. But it never affected her ability to create intricate designs faithful to nature. She continued to work until days before died. The interview with Frostic that I did for this film was done six months before her death.

Visit Steve Palackdharry’s website for more about his work and Gwen Frostic Prints for more about this Benzie legend and her work.

You can also see the presses in action in this video.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts and Culture, Media, Shopping, Stories, Video | Comments (0)

Benzie author Bruce W. Catton

January 28, 2008 – 7:05 pm

Michigan Author Bruce Catton This article on celebrated area author Bruce W. Catton appears courtesy of Absolute Michigan, and they invite you to share your comments at the link above or in the comments below!

Bruce Catton (Oct 9, 1899 – Aug 28, 1978) was a journalist and a notable historian of the American Civil War. He won a Pulitzer Prize for history in 1954 for A Stillness at Appomattox, his study of the final campaign of the war in Virginia. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 from Gerald R. Ford

Catton was born in Petoskey, Michigan and raised in Benzonia. His experiences in this Northern Michigan village formed the basis for his book Waiting for the Morning Train (read online from Google Books). The back side of the Michigan Historical Marker to Bruce Catton in Benzonia begins:

Bruce Catton’s fascination with the Civil War began in Benzonia, where he grew up with Civil War veterans, who “gave a color and a tone, not merely to our village life, but to the concept of life with which we grew up.” He was impressed by their certainty, their values and their faith in bravery, patriotism, freedom and the progress of the human race. He wrote, “I think I was always subconsciously driven by an attempt to restate that faith and to show where it was properly grounded, how it grew out of what a great many young men on both sides felt and believed and were brave enough to do.”

He attended Oberlin College but didn’t finish his degree due to the outbreak of World War I, he served briefly in the Navy before becoming a reporter for various newspapers. In 1954, Catton was one of four founders of American Heritage magazine and in 1959 he was named senior editor, a post which he held for the rest of his life. Catton died at his summer home in Frankfort, Michigan in 1978.

Photo credit: National Park Service from Bruce Catton on Emancipation at the Antietam National Battlefield.

By betsiebay.net | Also posted in Arts and Culture, Community, Media, Stories | Comments (0)