Northern Express

NORTHERN

express northernexpress.com

CLIMB ABOARD Preparing for the Iditarod at Treetops

NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • January 23 - january 29, 2017 • Vol. 27 No. 4

Pizza + a Pint

At North Peak our pizzas are made to your order on hand-stretched dough, and hearth-baked in our open flame oven for a smoky flavor and a thin crisp crust. Available Sunday through Thursday nights

at special prices which include a pint of our fresh, handcrafted beer!

Brie Fig Pizza

French brie cheese, dried black figs, caramelized onions, prosciutto, balsamic syrup 15

Stout Buffalo Taco Pizza

refried beans, browned bison, bell peppers, lettuce, red onions, pepperjack cheese, tortilla chips, chipotle ranch dressing 15

Broccoli Feta Pizza

creamy feta cheese spread, steamed broccoli, red onion, fresh basil, cheddar cheese 13

Porter BBQ Chicken Pizza

Cherry Porter BBQ sauce, mozzarella, jalapeños, red peppers, red onions, braised chicken 14

400 W. Front • Traverse City • 231.941.7325 northpeak.net • facebook.com/northpeakbrewingcompany

2 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

are going to become the only places from which we get our information. Franklin was right: A free press keeps elected officials from pulling the wool over our eyes. The free press has to be protected.

The first step to destroy democracy is to control the press. We get our news from a variety of sources but they all perform the same function of keeping us informed.

For a politician to threaten to control the press and to refuse to answer questions from certain reporters is frightening. Will that politician limit what reporters and the public see and hear? What happens if an elected official refuses to let one news source attend press conferences or has private meetings with the press and does not allow attendees to report on that meeting? What happens if a reporter is threatened, bullied, or mocked? Would that reporter be able to rise above that and still report honestly and fully? Journalists need to be able to do their jobs without being threatened and without being afraid they will be punished for what they report.

Some politicians apparently have no understanding of the importance of a free press. Where will this lack of understanding take us? Without a free press there cannot be a free nation.

Donna Hornberger, Traverse City

Material Success and Social Failure

letters HIT SEND! Love what we’re doing here?

Disagree with something you’ve read on these pages? Share your views with a quick letter to the editor by shooting us an email.

OUR SIMPLE RULES: Keep your letter to 300 words or less, send no more than one per month, include your name/address/phone number, and agree to allow us to edit.

That’s it.

Email info@northernexpress.com and hit send!

It’s Happening Again

I’ve said before many times, to anyone who would listen, that W. and Cheney stole the election in 2000. And I’m sorry to say that I predicted that they would do it again. And I believe they did.

How could Trump possibly have won, when the popular vote was 2.6+ million voters against him? Only 48 percent of eligible voters bothered to vote. Or did they? There’s no way to truly know, because there is no paper trail; no way to prove one way or the other. How convenient. If anyone complains, they hear the “sour grapes” routine. And Putin is somehow involved. Are you kidding?

I don’t consider Trump to be a legitimate president. This will happen again if we don’t change the electoral college system. Slavery is currently illegal in our country. Or is it? Peoples’ rights mean something. Or do they? The rule of “law” is supposed to mean something too. Does it? They sure do if one is rich and powerful. What about the rest of us?

Gary R. Baumdraher, Maple City

He’s A Scam

The Grifter Trump has perpetrated his ultimate scam. His greatest fraud. He is now the most powerful human being on the face of the earth.

Bret Albright, Traverse City

A Free Press

Benjamin Franklin said “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”

Where do we get our news? Newspapers?

Twenty-four hour television? Internet?

Overnight Twitter messages? There is concern over which sources and politicians

Instead of a better society, the only thing almost everyone strives for is to better their own position within the existing society.

As living standards rise and countries get richer, the relationship between economic growth and life expectancy weakens and eventually disappears. With every ten years that passes, the life expectancy among rich countries increases by between two to three years, regardless of economic growth.

Looking at the data, one can conclude that as countries get richer, increases in average living standards do less and less for health.

Just as the relationship between health and economic growth has leveled off, so too has the relationship with happiness. In poorer countries, economic development continues to be very important for wellbeing. Increases in material living standards result in substantial improvements both in objective measures of well-being like life expectancy, and in subjective ones like happiness. But as countries join the ranks of the affluent developed countries, further rises in income count for less and less.

So if increases in living standards no longer increases well-being in rich countries, what does? In rich countries, it is the importance of wealth and possessions that matter. Why more equal societies do better has less to do with wealth and possession and more to do with fewer people being denied access to food, clean water and shelter.

While rich countries reach the end of the real benefits of economic growth, we have also had to recognize the problems of global warming and the environmental limits to growth. The dramatic reductions in carbon emissions needed to prevent runaway climate change and rising sea levels may mean that even present levels of consumption are unsustainable; perhaps we need to change our individualistic view to what is best for society?

CONTENTS

features Crime and Rescue Map.......................................7

A tale of two legacies.......................................10 Here come the dogs......................................11 The uphill climb of Shaggy’s Copper Skis..........12 Hygge.............................................................14 North American Snow Festival.........................15 Alpenfrost......................................................16 How Thin the Veil............................................17 East Park Tavern............................................18 Ski Safely......................................................19 Seen.................................................................20

dates...............................................21-23 music FourScore.......................................................24 Nightlife...........................................................26

columns & stuff Top Five...........................................................5

Spectator/Stephen Tuttle...................................4 Weird................................................................8 Style.................................................................9 Modern Rock/Kristi Kates.................................25 The Reel.......................................................27 Advice Goddess..............................................28 Crossword.....................................................29 Freewill Astrology...........................................29 Classifieds......................................................31

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase 129 E Front Traverse City, MI Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Peg Muzzall, Katy McCain, Mike Bright, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 881-5943 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Matt Ritter, Randy Sills, Kathy Twardowski, Austin Lowe Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Contributing Editor: Kristi Kates Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Janice Binkert, Ross Boissoneau, Rob Brezsny, Jennifer Hodges, Candra Kolodziej, Clark Miller, Al Parker, Michael Phillips, Chuck Shepherd, Steve Tuttle, Tyler Parr Photography: Michael Poehlman, Peg Muzzall Copyright 2016, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly. Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Ronald Marshall, Petoskey

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 3

IN THE CROSSHAIRS: HOME RULE IN MICHIGAN opinion

BY Amy Kerr Hardin

WEEK NIGHT FEATURES MON - Half Slab & a High Life Night TUES - Burger & a Pint Night WED - Brisket Night & 20% off Bottles of Wine THURS - Happy Hour ALL Night 231.642.5020 1 7 5 2 U S - 3 1 E A S T B AY - T C SMOKEANDPORTER.COM

FINE DINING ON LAKE MICHIGAN

GLEN ARBOR

Open Wed - Sun at 5pm

231.334.2530 - glenarborblu.com

Warm Vacation?

YOUR N VACATIOEXT BEGIN N WITH U S S!

Time to call Talon!

Booking winter & family spring break vacations now.

Talon TRAVEL AGENCY

TalonTravelAgency.com 231-930-4770 877-211-9377

4 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Under the specter of a populist-fueled authoritarian regime installed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the concept of home rule is now more imperiled than ever in our fragile democracy.

Here the term “home rule” refers to local control — the singular place where the endangered species of a more direct form of democracy enjoys a measure of sanctuary.

A recent example in northern Michigan is the Traverse City ballot proposal which conveyed upon voters the final say over building heights. The initiative was pure grassroots.

Whether one agrees with the outcome or not, the people had their say.

Be warned, though: Over the coming year, our state should expect a full-scale GOP assault on citizen-driven governance.

Declaring 2017 as the “big year for states beating back local tyranny,” a recent Forbes opinion piece showcased Michigan as ground zero in the battle. The author, Patrick Gleason, scornfully referred to local leaders as “nanny-statist municipal bureaucrats.”

Gleason is the director of state affairs at the conservative think-tank Americans for Tax Reform — an organization founded by Grover Norquist of the somewhat infamous “Norquist Pledge.” The pledge is a sworn oath that binds politicians, into perpetuity, to the retrograde tax policies set forth by the ATR. They’re beholden to Norquist above all others -- including their constituents -- placing an absolute prohibition on capturing any new revenues for things such as infrastructure improvements or school funding.

Among the ATR cultists we find Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, whose office has hinted at some collateral interest in overturning the Traverse City tall buildings vote. For those following the issue, it would be advisable to take his legal opinion with a truckload of salt, especially given his spotty record in the courts for being on the wrong side of most public policy matters.

In this anti-democratic climate, those small but meaningful steps taken at the municipal level are of paramount importance.

Overreaching intrusion from Washington or Lansing should be of grave concern to conservatives and progressives alike. Yet support for local control is increasingly lopsided. In many states, including Michigan, experience demonstrates that far-right lawmakers claim to be all for home rule, except for when they’re not — which is most of the time. Conservatives tend to support local autonomy only when restricting civil liberties, but oppose it vigorously when it’s not in service of their agenda.

Historically, Michigan has celebrated a strong tradition of town hall leadership.

The state’s 1961 Constitutional Convention endorsed broad protections for the authority of its 1200-plus townships, those smallest units of government where individuals literally stand-up to express their views. In recent years though, Lansing has cast a long, dark shadow over its various municipal bodies, stifling citizen input.

Across the nation, state houses have entertained waves of GOP measures, frequently through pre-written “sample” legislation offered by lobbyists, all designed to hobble local leaders — often impacting social issues such as non-discrimination. But it is corporate money in politics that continues to be

the primary driver in the top-down power grab.

Yet little islands of democracy persist in the rising sea of autocratic dominance.

Late last year, Traverse City again made the news for becoming the second Michigan city to set a goal of having city services powered by 100 percent renewable sources by 2020. Even so, nothing stands in the way of state lawmakers from introducing legislation intended to limit the self-determination of municipalities on energy policy.

While this may seem unlikely or even silly to some readers, the climate change denial mood is a growing contagion within the Trump circle. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility, especially with a demagogue who has promised to put fossil fuels back at the head of the line, all while derisively snorting at renewables.

It’s not as though local environmental issues haven’t already been under attack in Michigan. In a mostly unreported story last April, a Michigan-based political action committee quite literally had it in the bag with their quiet but timely $20,000 contribution to state lawmakers. The Meijer Inc. PAC greased the palms of Republican senators on the same day the Commerce Committee was about to take-up the question of preventing local governments from regulating the use of plastic shopping bags.

The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a non-partisan watchdog organization, disclosed that Meijer dollars and other corporate PAC money vastly outspent environmental interests on the cusp of the committee’s discussion over the topic of local disposable bag ordinances. Grand Traverse County Senator Wayne Schmidt, who has two Meijer stores in his district, chaired the committee. The lawmaker was also one of the sponsors of the legislation.

The bill in question became law late last month, thereby prohibiting municipalities from banning or taxing retailers’ use of plastic bags, in spite of the strong advocacy for regulation of disposables by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The impetus behind this new law are ordinances like the one passed in Washtenaw County, which would have imposed a ten-cent fee for each disposable bag. The county joined with communities like Chicago, Seattle, Boulder, New York, Portland, and Washington, D.C., and the whole state of California among those with ordinances on the books.

Plastic bags do not recycle well and are not accepted in curbside programs. They’re notorious for jamming-up machinery — costing money in repairs and hindering the process. Nationally, fewer than 1 percent of the 100 billion bags used each year are recycled.

But in this post-common sense era, Michigan lawmakers simply need not care anymore. They got their money. Locals be damned.

Amy Kerr Hardin is a retired banker, a regionally-known artist, and a public policy wonk and political essayist at Democracy-Tree.com.

She and her husband have lived in the Grand Traverse area since 1980, where they raised two children, and have both been involved in local politics and political campaigns.

this week’s

top five Boyne Ski Makers Get National Attention National television show A Craftman’s Legacy visited Boyne City this month to feature a family who turn northern Michigan hardwood into highperformance skis.

Host Eric Gorges interviewed Jeff and John Thompson of Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis for an episode to air this fall on public television.

The Thompsons named their company after their great-great uncle, who carved solid wood skis by hand in Kearsarge, in the Upper Peninsula’s Copper Country. Today, their skis are built by hand in Boyne City (read their full story on page 12).

For more information about the show and to find what time it airs in your area, visit www.craftsmanslegacy.com. For more information about the skis, visit www.skishaggys.com.

bottomsup Par Avion Tea from Symons General Store

mark makers challenge Support local visual artists as they paint & create live at the 1st Annual Mark Makers Challenge, a painting competition on Fri., Jan. 27 from 7-9pm at Higher Art Gallery, TC. Vote for your favorite artist & in the end, watch two battle it out. $5 suggested donation. higherartgallery.com

IAF Brings the World to NMC The Middle East, drone strikes, and journalism in a facts-optional world are some of the topics to be tackled in the International Affairs Forum Winter/Spring 2017 lineup.

The speaker series will once again feature distinguished experts from around the world.

Some highlights: On Feb. 16, Afghanistan-born Humaira Wakii will talk about how social media can connect youth from around the world, even in troubled spots like the Middle East; on March 16, USAF Major General (ret.) Marke “Hoot” Gibson will talk about how drones are changing the world, whether by dropping bombs or delivering pizzas; and on June 15, renowned investigative reporter Dexter Filkins will talk about journalism in a world where facts are so easily shoved aside.

For a complete list of speakers, visit tciaf.com. All lectures begin at 6pm (with a pre-reception at 5:15) at NMC’s Milliken Auditorium in Traverse City.

Tickets are $10 at the door or free for students and educators.

Symons General Store has been part of the Gaslight District and the Petoskey downtown community for 60 years, and some of the products they carry even give back, in this case to the worldwide community.

But first, let’s start with the product: hand-picked, hand-sorted and handblended loose leaf Par Avion teas packaged in sleek, colorful tins with a rich depth of flavor thanks to their carefully selected ingredients. You’ll find classic teas like Earl Gray and Darjeeling and more exotic varieties like the Pie Collection, which offers flavors like Granny’s Apple Pie and Pecan Pie – and yes, they taste just like their namesakes.

Par Avion’s Hello! teas are another option, including Hello Bliss, a stressfighting blend of chamomile, ginkgo and St. John’s Wort; and Hello Skinny, a blend specifically formulated to aid in weight management with senna leaf and Wu Yi tea from China’s Fujian province.

And now back to that community connection: For every tin purchased, the Par Avion Tea company gives one day of education to a child in need.

Symons says, “Sip, enjoy and give back!”

Selected varieties are in stock and special orders are available at Symons General Store, 401 E. Lake Street in downtown Petoskey; visit online at Symonsgeneralstore.com or call (231) 347-2438.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 5

Warm Lights in The Village

TRUSTING BLINDLY spectator by stephen tuttle

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons: History, music, food and wine, with quaint Traverse City-original boutiques.

SHOP Locally-owned stores with unique products and excellent service.

Now Open: Red Spire Brunch House Sanctuary

Handmade Goods

Now Open: Earthen Ales

TASTE Some of the best foodie stops in Traverse City: fine food, coffee, bread, sweets, award-winning local wines and local craft beer.

EXPLORE New! B50 The Village Store

Beautiful parks and hiking trails, and guided historic tours of Traverse City’s largest historic property: click to www.thevillagetc.com/tours!

Great Indoor Folk Fest

Sunday, Feb. 26 Noon-5:30pm in The Village

Music at Left Foot Charley Live Music Mondays & Fridays 6-9pm

Indoor Farmers Market Every Saturday 10am–2pm!

Just over one mile from Downtown Traverse City: W. 11th St. at Cottageview Dr. , 2 blocks West of Division/US31 Visit thevillagetc.com or call The Minervini Group: 231-941-1900 V I L L A G E R E TA I L , F O O D & B E V E R A G E E S TA B L I S H M E N T S B50 The Village Store - 231.938.6150 Christmastide - 231.645.6469 Cuppa Joe Cafe - 231.947.7730 Earthen Ales - 231.252.4270 Elf - eat·learn·frolic - 231.715.1730 Fridrich Furs - 231.421.1738 High Five Threads - 231.384.0408 Higher Grounds Trading Co. - 877.825.2262 Joice Salon - 231.933.9897 Landmark Books - 231.922.7225 Left Foot Charley Winery - 231.995.0500 Notably Natural - 231.929.1100

Mi Farm Market / Underground Cheesecake - 866.544.1088 PepeNero & Ballaró - 231.929.1960 Pleasanton Bakery - 231.941.1964 Premier Floral Design - 231.947.1167 Raven’s Nest – 231.360.9658 Red Spire Brunch House- 231.252.4648 Sanctuary Handmade Goods - 231.932.0775 Silver Fox Jewelry - 231.935.1701 Spanglish Cafe - 231.943.1453 To Have & To Hold Bridal - 231.922.9333 Trattoria Stella - 231.929.8989 Vintage Du Jour - 231.943.2222

6 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

President Trump wants us to trust him blindly while refusing to place his assets in a blind trust. His sons will run his businesses, he says, and they will never discuss it, ever.

Trust him.

Modern presidents and cabinet officers are almost always people of substantial means. Since their holdings might be impacted by their decisions, they divest their assets to avoid a conflict of interest or even the appearance of one.

They most often accomplish this by putting their assets into a blind trust. An independent trustee is appointed and those assets are then under his or her control. At that point the individual who owns the assets is no longer allowed to control them, make suggestions regarding them, have knowledge of what’s happening to them or even communicate with the trustee. Hence the phrase “blind trust.”

Any potential conflicts of interest are eliminated, as the person has no knowledge of what has happened to the assets.

It should be noted here there is no law requiring Trump to take such action. It is an old and wise tradition, but not a requirement.

$10 billion. The Wall Street Journal puts the figure at $4.5 billion. The Guardian, a Manchester, England-based daily newspaper, lowered the amount to $250 million. We simply don’t know.

What we do know is messy.

For example, how would he divest naming agreements? Trump only owns or partially owns about 10 percent of the various properties bearing his name in big gold letters. The rest simply pay for the right to use the Trump name. Presumably the folks who do own those properties felt there was a business advantage to acquiring the Trump name.

Trump can’t divest properties he doesn’t own and the naming agreements provide valuable cash flow, lots of it, to the Trump Organization. Should the Trump name come off those properties? Do the licensing fees go to the trustee? Should the property owners have a say? How does he divest himself of a product which is literally nothing more than his name?

Then there are the Trump children, three of whom work for his business. Most presidents had children far too young to be involved in daddy’s business, which was usual-

Part of the problem is his refusal to release his tax returns as every president for nearly a half century has done. As a result, we don’t actually know the number of pies in which he has his fingers When he claims he’s placing his assets in a blind trust to be run by his sons, he’s pretty much demonstrating an ignorance of the concept. Neither family members nor business associates are allowed to be the trustee of a blind trust for obvious reasons.

We’re now asked to believe when the Trump family gathers, daddy Trump, a notorious control freak, won’t casually ask his boys how the business is going. Of course he will.

Such interactions could well create the impression the president is making decisions feathering his own nest rather than in the national interest. That, despite his assertions to the contrary, would be illegal.

To be fair, it would not be easy at all for Trump to divest himself of his far flung business entanglements. Stocks, real estate and other investments are easy enough to hold in trust. But Trump’s holdings, or at least what we know of them, are a little trickier.

Part of the problem is his refusal to release his tax returns as every president for nearly a half century has done. As a result, we don’t actually know the number of pies in which he has his fingers nor exactly where all those pies might be (again, it should be noted there is no legal requirement Trump release his tax returns.)

We don’t even know what he’s worth. He claims, without documentation, he’s worth

ly politics. But Trump is our oldest president ever, with grown children who followed him into the Trump Organization. Should they be forced to resign?

Should the entire Trump Organization be turned over to a trustee? How would that work without the brand himself being involved?

And what of the creditors? Various sources have claimed the Trump Organization has debt somewhere between $100 million and $350 million. We know from myriad lawsuits Trump doesn’t much like paying the full debt to his creditors. He “negotiates” or goes to court. A blind trust trustee could sell Trump assets to pay those debts, in full, without Trump having a say. It’s pretty clear he wouldn’t like that.

Trump also has foreign business interests and, seemingly, a desire to engage with Russian billionaires. That could well call into question his foreign policy decisions, especially any agreements he cobbles together with Vladimir Putin.

Divesting Trump’s holdings would be complicated, time consuming and maybe even groundbreaking. It would likely devalue the business considerably.

Still, allowing his family to control the Trump Organization could be worse, inviting constant conflict of interest scrutiny that will be an ongoing distraction. And a public grown weary of trusting him blindly.

Crime & Rescue B&E VICTIM BECOMES SUSPECT A man who reported a burglary decided not to press charges once officers suspected the theft was the result of a drug deal gone bad.

As officers interviewed the 22-year-old in his apartment on the 100 block of S. Union Street, they noticed some items that matched the description of stuff stolen from a car a few weeks earlier, said Traverse City Police Capt. Kevin Dunklow.

While police investigated the burglary at 1pm Jan. 16, they discovered an NYPD badge, snowboards and snowboard boots that had been stolen from a car parked in front of Bistro Foufou on Christmas. Dunklow said the victim in that crime is a retired NYPD officer. They submitted a report to prosecutors requesting larceny charges against the 22-year-old.

The suspect at first wanted to report the theft of an Xbox and $1,600 from his apartment, but after an investigation, officers became suspicious that the case had to do with a drug deal and the man decided he wanted to drop the matter.

KALKASKA DRUG TIP NABS FOUR Police arrested four people following an anonymous tip about purported drug suppliers who were hauling heroin and crack from Detroit to Kalkaska.

The Jan. 12 tip led the Traverse Narcotics Team to pull over a car in Kalkaska County where they seized substantial amounts of drugs and they arrested a 25-year-old Kalkaska man and a 21-year-old Detroit man.

The following day police executed a search warrant at a Kalkaska hotel room where they found power cocaine, digital scales and packaging material. They arrested a 22-year-old Detroit man on drug charges and a 31-year-old Mancelona woman on an unrelated warrant.

SLEDDING CRASH KILLS WOMAN A downstate woman died while sledding afterhours at Boyne Mountain.

Twenty-year-old Sally Ottenhoff of Gross Pointe Park died in a crash at 3am Jan. 15.

Investigators determined Ottenhoff reached high speeds on a saucer-shaped sled when she either fell or jumped off and momentum carried her into a building.

Ottenhoff was staying at a private condominium at the resort with family and friends.

CRASH TIPS PROPANE TANKER A three-vehicle crash toppled a tanker truck and closed M-72 for two hours.

Leelanau County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Solon Township at 7:35am Jan. 18 where they found a Tri-Gas propane tanker on its side at the intersection of South Cedar Road.

Deputies determined a 54-year-old man driving a pickup truck failed to yield when he entered M-72 into the path of the tanker. A passing car on M-72 was damaged by flying debris.

No one was injured and the pickup driver was ticketed.

SNOWMOBILER CRASHES AND FLEES When Wexford County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of a snowmobile crash, they found that the driver had fled.

Deputies responded to a snowmobile injury accident Jan. 16 at 1:15am in Cedar Creek Township.

Deputies investigated and determined the driver had left without seeking medical help or reporting in the crash. Deputies identified the suspected driver and

by patrick sullivan psullivan@northernexpress.com

submitted a report to prosecutors.

Deputies said it was unknown whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.

TWO SHOPLIFTING CASES BECOME THREE A woman was caught shoplifting at the Chums Corners Family Fare while Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s deputies were at the store investigating two older shoplifting cases.

Deputies were called to the store at 1:24pm Jan. 16 and took reports about two earlier shoplifting incidents, Lt. Chris Barsheff said.

While the deputy was taking information from a manager, a 31-year-old Kingsley woman was caught allegedly shoplifting $33 of food and health products.

FRUGE GETS MAX SENTENCE A man who killed his best friend in an apparent psychotic fit will spend 10 to 15 years in prison.

Boyne City resident Matthew Mark Fruge was sentenced to the maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter by 33rd Circuit Judge Roy C. Hayes III on Jan. 13.

The 34-year-old was found guilty but mentally ill in December for the 2015 stabbing death of Jacob Conklin, a father of four.

Charlevoix County Prosecutor Allen Telgenhof asked for the maximum sentence because he argued that the Fruge is a threat to public safety due to his mental health and substance abuse problems.

WOMEN CHARGED FOR FATAL CRASHES Two women both got behind the wheel with marijuana in their system, both crossed the centerline of a highway, and both caused a crash that took someone else’s life, according to Grand Traverse County prosecutors.

The crashes also happened to take place on the same day, Dec. 10.

Prosecutor Robert Cooney announced charges against the women Wednesday. The women, 19-year-old Grawn resident Abby Rose Miller and 39-year-old Bear Lake resident Jennifer Lynn Greenwood, each face a charge of operating with any amount of a controlled substance causing death, a 15-year felony.

Miller is accused of crashing into an oncoming vehicle on Keystone Road and causing the death of 83-year-old Interlochen resident Armond Worrell.

A teenage passenger in Worrell’s vehicle was also injured.

Greenwood is accused of driving into the opposing lane on US-31 near Betsie River Road and causing a crash that killed 59-yearold Victoria Laviola of Interlochen. A teenage passenger in Laviola’s vehicle suffered a broken leg.

Cooney said in a press release that both women consumed marijuana prior to the crashes.

MAN EJECTED FROM SNOWMOBILE A 57-year-old Mesick man was ejected from his snowmobile when he failed to negotiate a curve and crashed into a snowbank.

Wexford County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to N. 15 Road in Boon Township Jan. 14 at 9:39pm.

The man suffered injuries and was taken to Munson Medical Center.

Deputies said alcohol and speed were factors in the crash.

emmet cheboygan

charlevoix

antrim

otsego

Leelanau

benzie

manistee

grand traverse

wexford

kalkaska

missaukee

crawfor D

roscommon

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 7

New Look, New View!

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE! New glasses can change your look, and your view.

Purchase a pair of prescription eyeglasses or sunglasses and receive a second pair of the same prescription of equal or lesser value ($250 max.) free.* This offer includes designer frames and prescription sunglasses. * Some restrictions apply, see store for details. Offer also valid at Midland and Mt. Pleasant locations.

www.facebook.com/TraverseVision

336 W. Front St. | Traverse City, MI | (231) 941-5440 | traversevision.com

THE IMPROVISED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY A fully improvised play in Elizabethan-style, based on audience suggestion.

If you’re wondering where the story is going...so are they!

Post-Truth Society In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals finally pulled the plug on Orange County, California, social workers who had been arguing in court for 16 years that they were not guilty of lying under oath because, after all, they did not understand that lying under oath in court is wrong. The social workers had been sued for improperly removing children from homes and defended their actions by inventing “witnesses” to submit made-up testimony. Their lawyers had been arguing that the social workers’ “due process” rights were violated in the lawsuit because in no previous case on record did a judge ever have occasion to explicitly spell out that creating fictional witness statements is not permitted.

The Way the World Works Former elementary school teacher Maria Caya, who was allowed to resign quietly in 2013 from her Janesville, Wisconsin, school after arriving drunk on a student field trip, actually made money on the incident. In November 2016, the city agreed to pay a $75,000 settlement -- because the police had revealed her blood-alcohol level to the press in 2013 (allegedly, “private” medical information). The lawsuit against the police made no mention of Caya’s having been drunk or passed out, but only that she had “become ill.”

The Redneck Chronicles (1) John Bubar, 50, was arrested in Parsonsfield, Maine, in November after repeatedly lifting his son’s mobile home with his front-end loader and dropping it. The father and son had been quarreling over rent payments and debris in the yard, and the father only eased up after realizing that his grandson was still inside the home. (2) Update: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reversed itself in December and allowed Mary Thorn of Lakeland to keep her 6-foot-long pet alligator (“Rambo”) at home with her despite a regulation requiring that a gator that size needs a more spacious roaming area. Thorn and Rambo have been together for over a decade.

Unclear on the Concept “I’m (as) tired of hearing the word ‘creep’ as any black person or gay person is of hearing certain words,” wrote Lucas Werner, 37, on his Facebook page in December after he was banned from a Starbucks in Spokane, Washington, for writing a polite dating request to a teenaged barista. Managers thought Werner was harassing the female, who is at least the age of consent, but Werner charged illegal “age discrimination” and made a “science” claim that “age gap love” makes healthier babies.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 • 7:30

pm

crooked tree arts center - petoskey TICKETS & INFO: www.crookedtree.org or 231.347.4337

ENCORE S E R I E S

8 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Police Report -- Taylor Trupiano grudgingly paid his $128 “traffic” fine in December, issued by a Roseville, Michigan, officer who caught his car warming up unattended -- in his own driveway. Police routinely issue such tickets (five to 10 each winter, based on a town ordinance) to send drivers like Trupiano a message that unattended cars are ripe for theft, which burdens Roseville’s police department. (A police spokesman said the driverless warmups are illegal even for

locked cars.)-- Awwwwwww! (1) Jasper Fiorenza, 24, was arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida, in November and charged with breaking into a home in the middle of the night. The female resident said she awoke to see Fiorenza and screamed, but that the man nonetheless delayed his getaway in order to pet the woman’s cat lounging on her bed. (2) In December, Durham, Ontario, police officer Beth Richardson was set for a disciplinary hearing (“discreditable conduct”) because, earlier in 2016, after being called to intervene at a drug user’s home, she had noticed the resident’s cat “cowering” in a corner and had taken her to a veterinarian, but without asking the owner’s permission.

Questionable Judgments David Martinez, 25, was shot in the stomach during a brawl in New York City in December. He had inadvertently initiated the chaos when, trying to park in Manhattan’s East Village just after Saturday midnight, he moved an orange traffic cone that had obviously been placed to reserve the parking space. He apparently failed to realize that the parking spot was in front of the clubhouse of Hells Angels, whose members happened to take notice.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit An unnamed pregnant woman convinced a reporter from Jacksonville, Florida, station WFOX-TV in December that the “positive” urine tests she was advertising on Craigslist were accurate and that she was putting herself through school by supplying them (making about $200 a day). The seller claimed that “many” pregnant women market their urine for tests -- even though the main use of the test seems to be “negotiation” with boyfriends or husbands.

Perspective “You Have the Right to (Any Ol’) Attorney”: While poor, often uneducated murder defendants in some states receive marginal, part-time legal representation by lawyers at the bottom of their profession (usually unable to keep their murder clients off of death row), Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of three murders in the 2013 attack and facing a possible death sentence, once again will be represented for free by a team at the top of the profession -- headed by the chief of the New York federal public defender’s office.

Tsarnaev was previously represented by a team topped by the chief of the Boston federal public defender’s office.

Least Competent Criminals (1) Matthew Bergstedt, 27, was charged with breaking into a house in Raleigh, North Carolina, in December, though he failed to anticipate that the resident was inside, stacking firewood (which he used to bloody Bergstedt’s face for his mugshot). (2) On Dec. 5 in New York City, a so-far-unidentified man made five separate attempts to rob banks in midtown Manhattan over a three-hour span, but all tellers refused his demands, and he slinked away each time. (Police said a man matching his description had successfully robbed a bank four days earlier.)

Animal Style

by candra kolodziej

STREET STYLE

GAIL CINNINGER Traverse City

JANET MCGEE Traverse City

The cheetah and leopard are the best-dressed cats in the kingdom, so it’s no wonder prints and faux furs inspired by these felines are always on trend. To heat up your winter look with a bold touch of wildcat, try printed accessories like gloves, purses, and oversized hoods. Really want to make the snow melt? A full-length cheetah print coat should do the trick.

Congratulations to our patient of the month, Catherine Holt for excellent oral hygiene and great cooperation throughout treatment.

www.schulzortho.com TRAVERSE CITY

231-929-3200 • 4952 Skyview Ct. JANETTE SHOEMATE Traverse City

KATHLEEN SMITH Davison

CHARLEVOIX

231-237-0955 • 106 E. Garfield Ave.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 9

A TALE OF TWO LEGACIES

Some People Call John Tanton a Hero.

Others Think He’s a Racist.

By Patrick Sullivan Petoskey resident John Tanton represents different things to different people.

In his hometown, he’s a celebrated conservationist, a co-founder of the Little Traverse Conservancy who has spent his life dedicated to environmental causes. Case in point, he his wife Mary Lou made a contribution last year to preserve 236 acres of rolling hardwoods.

Around the country, the now-retired ophthalmologist is considered the father of the kind of hardline immigration policy that helped sweep Donald Trump into office, a legacy that’s made him a hero to some and branded him a racist to others.

Tanton is a complicated man. For him, a commitment to the environment and his stringent, once-fringe beliefs on immigration serve the same end — his belief that nature should be preserved and population should be controlled.

CONSERVATION AND IMMIGRATION Tanton, 82, suffers from Parkinson’s disease and is no longer involved in the immigration movement he created. He gave his last interview on immigration a decade ago.

That doesn’t mean he’s not still active. In the most recent Little Traverse Conservancy newsletter, an article about the Tanton Family Working Forest Reserve — a property formerly known as Christmas Mountain he helped purchase for preservation — describes him visiting the tract in August and noticing the need for a management plan for the dead and dying beech and ash trees.

The article, written by former Petoskey News-Review reporter Tamara Stevens, opens with this sentence: “Emmet County would not look the way it does today if Dr. John and Mary Lou Tanton had not moved to Petoskey in 1964.”

Here is a different take on Tanton, from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) website: “John Tanton is the racist architect of the modern anti-immigrant movement. He created a network of organizations — the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and NumbersUSA — that have profoundly shaped the immigration debate in the United States.”

The website quotes papers Tanton donated to the University of Michigan library in which he talks about the importance of preserving a white, Eurocentric majority in the United States. It labels the Petoskey-based publication launched by Tanton, The Social Contract Press, a hate organization.

“HE IS NOT A RACIST” These characterizations of Tanton and the organizations he founded are unfair, the product of a smear campaign, said K. C. McAlpin, executive director of US Inc., the Petoskeybased organization founded by Tanton in 1981 that publishes The Social Contract.

McAlpin contends the SPLC decided to join the immigration debate and oppose immigration controls and then launched an opportunistic and disingenuous campaign against Tanton.

McAlpin said he doesn’t believe it’s racist to strive for the preservation of a white majority.

Just like most other countries, he explained, the United States should strive to maintain its identity.

“Israel is a good example,” he said. “Israel has the right to preserve its basic demographic makeup, but any time one race butts up against another and begins to supplant it, there’s trouble and pushback.

“Cultures want to maintain their cultural balance,” he elaborated. “It’s the same with European countries. They have the right to determine their own demographic balances. Say the United States suddenly experienced a massive wave of immigration from China that threatened to overtake the culture: There would be justifiable rebellion.”

McAlpin asked, “Is it racist to say we’re not going to change our basic European-dominated makeup? For me, it’s a completely legitimate concern to preserve a country’s culture. I don’t want my kids and grandkids to speak Mandarin Chinese. I’m not in favor of that. You can call me a racist if you want to, but I don’t believe that position is racist.”

He concluded, “The truth is, John Tanton has worked with and collaborated perfectly smoothly with people from every background, race, religion and identity. I mean, he is not a racist.”

original position and ultimately aligned himself with racists and white supremacists, but McAlpin disagrees. To that end, US Inc. produced a video last summer that tries to explain how environmentalism and concern for the economy led Tanton to his position on immigration.

A PICTURE ON A WALL FAIR set out to explore how many immigrants should be admitted to the country, who should get in, and how immigration law should be enforced. The goal, Tanton said in the video, was to stabilize the population.

“People who work on this sort of thing AN EVOLUTION OF AN ARGUMENT are often called anti-immigrant or anti-immiHow does someone begin as a devout engration. And that would only be appropriate if vironmentalist and end up decades later in the you would call a person who went on a diet middle of a culture war? anti-food,” Tanton said.

The son of an immigrant from Candada, In the video, Tanton acknowledged that Tanton was born and raised in Detroit until his position had earned him some enemies age 11, when his family moved to a farm near and caused him to be labeled a racist, nativist, Sebewaing, in the Thumb region of Michigan. xenophobe and jingoist. He said he didn’t let it After medical school, Tanton moved to Petosget to him. key and worked for decades “I look at these charges as as an eye surgeon. motions for cloture, a motion “Cultures want to His interest in preservto shut off debate,” Tanton maintain their ing the environment led him said. “So you have to have a to become concerned about thick skin. And most people cultural balance,” population growth. In addon’t have a thick skin.” he elaborated. dition to helping found the Indeed, Tanton wore Little Traverse Conservancy his battle scars from these “It’s the same with 45 years ago, he formed a skirmishes with pride — he European countries. framed the cover of the 2002 local chapter of the Audubon Club. He and his wife They have the right issue of the SPLC’s Intellialso founded Petoskey’s gence Report magazine labelto determine their office of Planned Parenting him the anti-immigration hood, and Tanton became movement’s puppeteer and own demographic the state chair of the Sierra hung it in his office.

Club’s population commitbalances...”

Five years later, the SLPC tee. That led to a position on went further, slapping the the national board of Zero Population Growth, “hate organization” label on Tanton’s publicanow called Population Connection, where he tion and, for a time, relegating Tanton and his served as president between 1975 and 1977. ideas to the far-right fringe.

The country’s birthrate was in decline at The memory still gets McAlpin’s blood boilthe time, so Tanton turned his attention to iming. He said that 2002 copy of the SPLC magamigration. Early on, he realized he was enterzine still hangs in Tanton’s office, but he also ing dangerous waters. In the 1975 essay that said the SPLC attacks on Tanton are “garbage.” launched his movement, “International Migra“The SPLC basically lists any organization tion: An Obstacle to Obtaining World Stabilthat believes our immigration laws should be enity,” he wrote about how racism made people forced as a hate organization,” McAlpin said. “We afraid to talk about immigration. believe in a generous immigration policy; we just He called that conundrum “the seamy histodon’t believe it needs to be at the level it is today.” ry surrounding past efforts to limit immigration” and noted that people who wanted to control A BIG SHIFT IN THE COUNTRY immigration “were marked by xenophobia and Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s Intelracism” that “gave rise to the likes of the Knowligence Project and author of the cover article Nothing political party and the Ku Klux Klan.” that Tanton hung on his office wall, agrees that Tanton also wrote, “The subject was often demographic changes made immigration a highly emotional and divisive. Any person who pivotal issue in the 2016 campaign. attempts discussion of immigration policy will She explained, “The country is going soon learn, as has the author, that the situation through a big shift, from our [current] majoris unchanged in this regard.” ity white population to sometime in the 2040s He concluded, “It turns out that immigrawhen the white population will no longer tion is one of the most sensitive topics in the be the majority.” She added that this reality American political life, and it’s also very difficaused an anti-immigrant surge that Trump cult to graft new concerns onto old organizaadopted and indeed took to another level “as tions, so it [influencing immigration policy via he barreled into the presidency.”

Zero Population Growth] just didn’t work.”

Beirich said this movement has been cookThis conclusion led Tanton to found FAIR, ing for years and that it is Tanton’s creation, which opened in Washington, D.C. in 1979. since his organizations pushed for strict imTanton’s critics say he diverged from his migration laws that make it easier for police

10 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Credit: SPLC

to target Hispanics in states across the country and derailed immigration reform proposed by President George W. Bush.

“Tanton is the guy behind all of this. He conceived of it. He wrote up plans,” she said.

“He really is an evil genius, or a genius at least, depending on where you sit on this issue.”

Beirich said that, in her mind, there’s no question that Tanton and McAlpin are racists.

She said she doesn’t understand why they don’t just own it, except that it might make it harder for their ideas to win mainstream acceptance.

“I think if your political position is that this country should be run by whites, you are a white supremacist,” Beirich said. “Everything about this is about white power and keeping whites in control of this country and keeping non-whites out.”

A WILD VARIETY OF LOCAL VIEWS Rev. Wayne Dziekan, a Grayling-based Catholic priest who works with the migrant community across northern Michigan, said he believes it is absolutely racist to seek to maintain a white majority in the country.

“That’s ridiculous. I mean, by that definition, you’re using skin color to identity what ought to be the norm of the country,” Dziekan said. “How can that not be racism?”

The defense that Tanton worked with people across races and treated them kindly doesn’t absolve his racism, Dziekan said.

“It’s like saying, ‘Well, I will be nice to anybody as long as they don’t have power.’ That’s basically what he’s saying,” Dziekan concluded.

Richard Wiles, a retired teacher and local historian, said most people around Petoskey, himself included, don’t know much about Tanton’s stance on immigration, but they appreciate him as a force for conservation and stopping sprawl around Petoskey since the 1970s.

Wiles considers Tanton to be an amazing and brilliant man.

“I think of him as a leader in local northern Michigan environmentalism — a consciousness raiser long before anyone thought about saving our streams, wetlands or shoreline,” he said.

Tom Bailey, executive director of the Little Traverse Conservancy, notes that Tanton was one of the original seven founding members of the nonprofit, the first independent land conservancy in the state.

“There’s never been a litmus test to support land conservation through the Little Traverse Conservancy,” he said. “I’ve never asked people about their politics or their economics or anything else. It really doesn’t have anything to do with land conservation.”

A Treetops Resort guest takes a ride with some the dogs of Team Evergreen.

Here Come The Dogs Iditarod dog trainer bringing team back to Treetops

By Kristi Kates Liza Dietzen was first inspired by the story of Balto, the real-life sled dog, as a kindergartner learning about the Iditarod.

When her teacher finished reading the book, Dietzen raised her hand and said, “I’m going to do that some day!”

No one believed her.

Today, Dietzen is training her own dogs at a kennel she owns and operates near Marquette, which is on the coast of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Her dogs, known as Team Evergreen, are preparing for the Iditarod, the challenging long-distance sled dog race in Alaska that encompasses more than 1,000 miles and can take two weeks to complete. Dietzen and Team Evergreen are also taking a break to return to Treetops Resort in Gaylord to offer meet-and-greets and dogsled rides on scenic northern Michigan trails.

“It’s definitely a different experience,” said Kevin McKinley, Treetops’ director of ski and golf operations. “I was so amazed by the power of these dogs — it’s a 2-mile ride, and the dogs do it in less than 10 minutes.”

Dog training isn’t Dietzen’s full-time job, even though it certainly sounds like one.

“Gosh, I wish I could make a career running sled dogs, but for most people it just is not possible,” said Dietzen, who is originally from Kaukauna, Wis. “Mushers definitely don’t do this for the money. It’s so much more than that — it’s the passion of the animals, the enthusiasm, the rhythm. To watch individual dogs working together, becoming one. That’s why I do this.”

Dietzen’s day job is working second shift at RTI Surgical in Marquette, where she’s a newbie machinist running a lathe; she also

has a degree in digital cinema, which she hopes to utilize for a career in graphic design and videography to help support herself, her family and her dogsled dreams.

Her first memorable experience with mushing was at Snowy Plains Kennel in Gwinn.

“My first time out there, owner Jim Winkowski set me up on a sled and four dogs and basically pulled the quick release and said, ‘See you later!’ Off down the trail I went, with no experience at all,” she said.

The first time went well; the second, not so much.

“The next time, the trail was icy, we hit the first turn, I fell off the back of the sled and had to walk, and the dogs kept running off without me. About a mile later I found Jim and his wife, Jackie, sitting with my team. Jim said he knew I was going to lose them and went the other way down the loop to head them off. I was so embarrassed, but I’ve never let go of the sled since.”

Team Evergreen initially belonged to her mentor, David Gill; Dietzen took it over when he retired from mushing.

“Since then, I’ve bred a litter, bought some veteran dogs and some puppies,” Dietzen said. “Team size varies by race — the longer the race, the more dogs on the team.”

All 12 of her current dogs travel with her to all of the events she participates in; she has a trailer specifically built to transport them. “I call it our doggie hotel,” she said with laugh.

When in competition, the dogs race up to 50 miles at a time, with rests in between of about six hours. “This helps keep the team healthy and strong,” she said.

Team Evergreen was originally planning to run the Iditarod in 2017, but last season

proved difficult thanks to the weather.

“With the strange warm winter we had, some of the races I needed to complete in order to qualify for the Iditarod this year were canceled, and some other circumstances left us unable to attend other races,” she said.

“I still look forward to one day racing it (the Iditarod). I’m just not exactly sure when the stars will realign at this moment, and I’m OK with that. When it’s meant to happen, it will feel right, and I’ll know we’re ready.”

In the meantime, every day is a training day, even when she and the dogs aren’t directly on the trail.

“I’m constantly learning new things about myself, the dogs, and how to handle situations on and off the trail,” she said. “This sport is not for the weak of mind — we are continuously put into situations that could mean life or death. We’re out in the elements, training in blizzards, in negative 30-degree weather, across frozen lakes, and much more. There are many things that could go wrong.”

But the dogs, she pointed out, are bred for the cold.

“Their coats, their attitudes, everything,” she said. “They will always survive the cold better than any human. I always say there is no bad weather, just bad gear, and this is key — you have to know what you’re dealing with with Mother Nature.”

Dogsled rides at Treetops promise to be a unique experience. As McKinley described it, you’re close to the ground in the sled and moving fast — “it’s a lot like sledding, but on a straightaway,” he said. The ride is smooth, stable and safe in feel, but different than any other mode of transportation, especially when you hear how the ride is conducted.

“It was so impressive listening to the driver call out the signals to the dogs,”

McKinley said. “A lot of dog owners struggle to get their dog to just sit, and here’s this whole team of dogs working together. And the dog’s personalities are such a big part of the equation of how things work — how Dietzen decides where to put the dogs, who’s in the lead, when they need to rest — it functions very much like a human workplace team, and I found that fascinating.”

Appearances like those upcoming at Treetops will help Dietzen accumulate the funds needed for her and Team Evergreen to run a race like the Iditarod, which will cost roughly $40,000 from start to finish, including that aforementioned gear and other supplies.

For $50, you can ride with the sled dogs at Treetops; for free, you can stop by on one of their designated visit days and meet them up close and personal.

“This is the third year we’ve being doing sled dog rides at Treetops, and we absolutely love it,” Dietzen said. “We meet so many different people from different backgrounds, and it also introduces our dogs to all kinds of different people. This is a major thing for the socialization of the dogs. And I haven’t had anyone leave yet that didn’t have a smile on their face.

Part of our job as mushers is to educate and answer questions, and Treetops gives us an amazing opportunity to do just that.”

Team Evergreen will be at Treetops Resort on Jan. 23-24, Feb. 20-21 and March 5-6. Dogsled rides cost $50 per person ($15 for an additional person in the sled with a 200-pound limit). To make a reservation, call 866-3485249. For more information on Dietzen and her dogs, visit teamevergreenkennel.com.

Kristi Kates is a contributing editor and freelance writer.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 11

f o b m s i i l k S C y l r t l n i u h o C p r U e

p e p o h T aggy’s C Sh

Jeff Thompson shows off the underside of a pair of Shaggy’s Skis. Photo credit Christian Raguse Photography.

By Kristi Kates A family legacy, a talent for building things from scratch and a quirky eye for detail have resulted in a successful niche business for one long-time northern Michigan skier, and it’s a business that takes its inspiration from the late 1800s.

Jeff Thompson’s great-uncle Shaggy grew up in Kearsarge on the Keweenaw Peninsula, smack in the middle of Copper Country during the U.P.’s copper boom. “He was a true jack of all trades,” Thompson chuckled.

“But one of his skills that really stood out was carving skis, by hand, from a block of wood.”

Skis weren’t just sport where Great-Uncle Shaggy lived; Kearsarge gets an average of more than 200 inches of snow every year.

The entire Thompson family seems to have inherited its great-uncle’s crafty genes as well as his affinity for snow. Thompson was a competitive ski racer for years. He explained, “My parents ran a construction business for over three decades. They taught us stuff, so we were all always working with our hands. Once, I was cutting apart a pair of old skis to make skis for my bicycle, just as a fun thing. But as I was making the skis

shorter, I suddenly looked at the cut section that revealed all the layers and thought, ‘Huh, this isn’t that complicated.’ It was funny, because I’d been skiing six days a week, but I’d never thought about what was actually in the skis. Once I saw that, skis didn’t seem so foreign anymore.”

Thompson and his brother Jonathon decided to tackle making skis as a hobby.

They acquired a ski press that they stored in their parents’ barn and got to work. “But the way skis were made in the early 1900s versus now is vastly different,” Thompson said.

“They used to be solid wood. Now, they’re composites of wood, fiberglass, plastics, rubber and steel.”

Early attempts, Thompson said, were less than successful. “There’s a huge learning curve,” he laughed. “The very first set we made, the epoxy was too cold and the skis never cured. But I was 16 when we started doing this back in 2005; we eventually started making skis that were maybe not perfect but actually did work, and pretty well. And it was cool because we’d made them ourselves.”

After three years of fine-tuning their skis and letting people borrow them, they started getting inquiries as to where the skis

12 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

came from. “Once people actually wanted to buy them, we felt it was time to form our business,” Thompson said.

By then, the family had scattered somewhat. Thompson’s parents were in the middle of selling their house downstate.

Brother Jonathon was out in Colorado, skiing and pursuing another business venture. Thompson himself was at Michigan Tech in Houghton, getting a degree in mechanical engineering. “But the timing was right, so we all reconvened and decided to move to Boyne City,” Thompson recalled.

“We’d always gone to a lot of ski races there, and our family had built a cabin there, so it made sense.”

Naming the business in honor of their great-uncle, Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis was born, with the whole family pitching in.

Jeff Thompson partnered in the business with his father John. His brother Jonathon and sister Stephanie also work in the business, as does his mother Shari, who oversees the office and accounts. “When you call, you’re literally talking to my mother,” Thompson laughed. “So you get real personal service, plus the best product we can make. What’s nice about us is we can make just 30 pairs of

one model of ski and still make money; it’s not profitable for big companies to do that.”

Shaggy’s uses local resources as much as possible, from the wood core of each ski (“Michigan has some of the best hardwood in the world,” Thompson said) to the other “ingredients,” which include fiberglass, carbon fiber, steel for the edges and a plastic base and top sheet.

In addition to their excellent performance on snow, the ski graphics on Shaggy’s skis really make them stand out.

“People love putting their own graphics on skis, and only a handful of companies are doing this,” Thompson said. “They can call us to explain what they’d like or email us photos or an image, and we’ll work it into their ski design. For people who have a graphics background, I can even send them a template to work with. Original designs look fantastic; we love that!”

In turn, customers love Shaggy’s unique graphics. The company’s limited edition skis are top sellers, made in extremely limited quantities to foster collectibility. Shaggy’s Buffalo Plaid skis, individually signed and numbered by hand, arrive with a custom Stormy Kromer winter hat to match –

Jeff Thompson founded Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis with his family in Boyne City.

Meet Northern Seen Like nothing you’ve seen before A real-time, 24/7 online feed of social media posts we love from throughout northern Michigan Incorporating Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter An endless scroll of posts, accounts, friends and hashtags we follow Also now available: secure one of the top three positions for your company (ask us at info@northernexpress.com)

Check out Northern Seen at northernexpress.com

The skis at Shaggy’s are handcrafted and often made in limited editions.

recent production was limited to 50 pairs.

Skis featuring lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior were constructed with transparent tops to highlight the wood core underneath and incorporated graphics of nautical charts; those were made in a 75-pair run.

The current limited edition Wilderness collection showcases a hand-drawn pen and ink bear. “We commissioned artist Jason Limberg from Marquette to do the drawings for us,” Thompson said. “The tail of the ski also features a scene from the Keweenaw Peninsula.”

Regularly available models include powder skis, backcountry skis, park/jib skis and mountain skis; most retail for between $599–649. “We sell skis about nine months out of the year,” Thompson said. “In May and July, we don’t really sell anything, but we do a ski presale in June every year that’s pretty popular. We offer a big discount for people who preorder in the summer and deliver their skis in the fall. This also allows us insight into what the demand might be.”

Shaggy’s is snagging plenty of attention, not only from skiers but also from others who appreciate fine craftsmanship – most

notably PBS TV, which filmed an episode of A Craftsman’s Legacy a couple of weeks ago right at Shaggy’s, building skis with the host and heading to Boyne Mountain to test them out.

“The host of the show, Eric Gorges, comes to the area, and he’d driven by our factory shop,” Thompson said. “So he recommended us to his producers, who invited us be on the show. It’s set to air soon – I’m not sure when exactly, but PBS wants it to air while there’s still snow!”

The business has seen impressive gains over the past 12 years, but the Thompson family is in no hurry to push things.

Indeed, slow and steady wins the race. “Our growth has definitely been incredible so far,” Thompson said. “But we work pretty conservatively with our business. We don’t want to overextend ourselves, because we want to be around for a long time, keeping our customers happy.”

Great-Uncle Shaggy would be proud.

Visit Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis at its new location at 419 E. Main in Boyne City. You can also visit online at Skishaggys.com or phone (231) 459-4323.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 13

Hygge

A New Word for a Northern Way of Life

By Candra Kolodziej A golden glow illuminates a cluster of freshly snow-covered homes. Inside, the slow process of waking has begun. New fires blaze orange against windowpanes while smoke curls from every chimney.

Through one window, a simply furnished bedroom with a rocking chair and bed can be seen. Both pieces of furniture are handmade from locally sourced wood, with unpainted bark, pinecone adornments, and gracefully curved limbs. Candles flicker at the bedside. A quilt of sky blue, gold, and snow white has been pulled smooth across the mattress. In the next room, a long wooden table made of split log abuts a wall where hand-hewn utensils wait to stir muesli. Outside, the sun is rising.

A morning so pictorial could have descended from a cozy Lyderhorn hamlet or a ski chalet tucked away at Boyne Mountain, but the scene above actually describes a glance into Hygge: A Winter’s Glow, the latest mixedmedia exhibit at the Crooked Tree Arts Center (CTAC) in Traverse City.

If it sounds cozy and familiar and makes you want to sit around a table with warm beverages, friends and ample food, the artists who responded to the open call for work inspired by hygge (pronounced HUE-gah) have hit their mark: to give northern Michigan residents a new language for talking about a centuries-old feeling.

HOW TO HYGGE Hygge is a Danish word with no concise equivalent in American English; maybe this is because the term, which is used throughout Scandinavia, covers such a broad swath of life.

To practice hygge is to engage intimately with nature, to cultivate simplicity and enjoy life’s small pleasures, to relish open conversations with friends and eat good food and savor working with your hands.

The successful hygge practitioner will require locally sourced fabrics and foods, homespun

décor and ideas for entertainment, a quiet appreciation of peaceful moments, a vast outdoor playground, lots of books and ample candlelight.

Megan Kelto, the associate director at CTAC who came up with the idea for a hygge exhibit, recognizes a common thread between the Scandinavian countries where this cultural phenomenon originated and life in northern Michigan.

“Anywhere it’s cold and dark for six months, you need to have a way to understand and embrace that,” she says.

According to Kelto, the show’s directors left the theme open to broad interpretation, but most of the artists who contributed (all Michigan residents) still needed to perform research and generate new material to create something hyggelige (the adjectival form pronounced HUE-gah-lee) enough for the exhibit.

Why the need for so much preparation and investigation? Maybe because the word hygge has only become part of the lexicon of North American over the past couple of years.

Nonetheless, the concept seems like a natural fit, even if it is difficult to pronounce, especially in northern regions where elements of hygge – outdoorsiness, love of food and drink and staying in with friends – are already such an engrained part of the lifestyle.

“People in northern Michigan understand what [hygge] is,” Kelto said. “We just didn’t have a word for it.”

FOLLOWING THE TREND Jessilynn Norcross, co-owner of McLain and Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, has been buying books for northern Michigan shoppers since she and her husband purchased the store eight years ago.

A witness to publishing trends that come and go, Norcross has noticed a peaked interest in books on Scandinavian lifestyle that started at least five years ago with Nordic cookbooks.

She believes northern Michigan residents are interested in hygge in part because we “already savor the cornerstones of hygge philosophy:

14 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

being in a cozy environment with our friends and family during the winter months.”

Brilliant Books in Traverse City currently carries six different titles pertaining to hygge with more on the way. Peter Makin, owner and book buyer, sees this interest as a response to “a rapidly changing, uncertain world” and sees the hygge idea of enjoying the moment as offering “a very welcome, human comfort.”

HYGGE, LIGHT AND DARK Hygge is by turns a lofty philosophy and a cut-and-dried guide for practical application, an approach to being happy based on a pretty specific set of rules defining what happy should look like, all the way down to the silverware.

Jacob (pronounced YAH-cub) Wheeler is the communications manager at Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities in Traverse City and the founding editor and publisher of the Glen Arbor Sun. He is also a Danish American with dual citizenship whose mother is a citizen of Denmark although she lives stateside. He moved to Glen Arbor at age five and grew up in northern Michigan.

He agrees that the “relative homogeneity in this area, the common bond of people who choose to live off the beaten path…[and] the love of this place” are all equated to hygge.

Those things sound mighty cozy, but the idea of prizing homogeneity makes some people feel downright uhyggelige (pronounced ew-HUE-gah-lee).

Since January of 2016 when the Danish government passed a law that made asset seizure legal in the case of refugees, Denmark has received quite a bit of attention for its treatment of immigrants. In September of 2016, the New York Times published an article titled, in part, “I’ve Become a Racist” exploring how some Danish citizens feel the waves of new asylumseeking (mostly Muslim) migrants are “draining Denmark’s…social welfare system but failing to adapt to its customs.”

According to Wheeler, who moved back to Copenhagen in 2000 to learn the language and explore the culture and who describes the city as being “filled with five-story apartments, [where] every window has a candle,” Denmark has become much more ethnically diverse in recent decades.

For him, hygge’s prerequisite of conformity is less insidious than the behavior of the Danish government. It comes down to something he recalled hearing Garrison Keillor once say about Danish custom: “It’s okay to talk about politics at the dinner table, it’s okay to argue about it, but there’s only one way to eat your lunch.”

Apparently, that’s no joke. The fork goes in the left hand and the knife goes in the right, and no one wants to suffer the consequences of failing to make proper eye contact while toasting with aquavit – seven years of bad sex.

Still, Wheeler acknowledges that a right wing anti-immigrant movement is “gaining steam” in Denmark. He admits, “There are a lot of Danes who would say, ‘No, they [immigrants] don’t conform and that’s one of the problems. They don’t learn Danish; they don’t conform to a lot of the hygge standards.’”

If the push to conform represents the dark side of hygge, then the sense of community and satisfaction in simple pleasures must be the light.

After all, the United Nation’s 2016 World Happiness Report listed Denmark as the single happiest country in the world followed closely by its Scandinavian neighbors like Iceland, Norway and Finland. In fact, of all the Scandinavian countries, only Sweden missed a top five ranking (they’re number 10 by comparison to the U.S., which ranked 13).

“Hygge: A Winter’s Glow” will be free and open to the public Monday – Saturday, January 16-February 26 at the Crooked Tree Arts Center, 322 Sixth St. in Traverse City. More information visit www.crookedtree.org/hygge or call (231) 941-9488.

ALL THINGS SNOW TO BE CELEBRATED IN CADILLAC at the 2017 North American Snow Festival

By Kristi Kates When it first began years ago, the North American Snow Festival was actually the North American Snowmobile Festival, at which the winter sleds were the focus of the entire event. “Today, snowmobiles are still of course a component of the festival, but now it’s more about the snow overall, celebrating snow and winter in northern Michigan,” explained Joy VanDrie, executive director of the Cadillac Visitors Bureau.

In previous years, many of the events were held at venues away from the downtown Cadillac area, but this year, the city is debuting its new Cadillac Commons area and plaza, which will be taken over by heated tents and various Snowfest activities.

“The Cadillac Commons is such a great thing for us,” VanDrie said. “Our old main parking lot was converted into a huge walkable park that leads to downtown. It has an ice skating rink and a fireplace area, and in May of 2017, we’ll complete the Commons with a covered area for the farmers market.

Bringing Snow Fest back downtown is so cool, because we always have stuff going on downtown in the summer, so now this will extend that placemaking through the winter months, too!”

Snowfest, of course, begins and ends with snow, with a whole host of events and activities for guests to enjoy. For starters, the traditional snowmobile drag races are back, but with a new twist.

“Yankee Zephyr Racing is overseeing our snowmobile races this year,” VanDrie said. “This is a company with a big fan

following that stages snowmobile races around the state. We’re really excited to add timed races of up to four snowmobiles on the raceway, with the snowmobiles all racing against each other.”

A polar dip, snow drone demos, ice fishing and dog sled rides are additional features on Snow Fest’s chilly side; on the chili side, a cook-off of the popular winter soup will help warm everyone up after all the outdoor activities. Kids of all ages will enjoy the oldschool arcade games and the antique snowmobiles show, and nighttime will offer up live music, a silent disco, glow bowling, a winter beer mini-fest and a food truck rally featuring wood-fired foods.

Another highlight is sure to be the snow sculpture competition in which snow artists will compete for cash prizes. This year’s theme is Water Animals.

“I know that one team is making a huge turtle, the Michigan Tech alumni group is putting together an underwater Pokemon Go sculpture and the Cadillac Jaycees I think are making a water snake,” VanDrie said.

“The sculptures should be particularly great this year, as we have more snow right now than we had all last year!”

Always a family-oriented event at heart, Snow Fest has been run completely by volunteers since its outset. With so many components to bring together, entertainment was often the toughest aspect for the volunteer staff to seek out and book. “This year, we’re contracting with Sam Porter and Porterhouse Presents to take over our Friday and Saturday night entertainment,” VanDrie explained. “We want the music to start ear-

ly enough that it will help encourage more people to come in on Friday; Sam has more music connections than we do, plus he just throws a great party!”

Amping up the music, VanDrie added, will help meet the festival’s goal of upscaling and modernizing the event and drawing more guests from out of town. “We’re hoping to double our attendees this year,” she said.

The Lowdown Brass Band, rock n’ rollers Wayland and local favorites the Pair O’ Jacks Band are all on the music schedule.

For VanDrie personally, it’s all about bringing together the old school and the new. While she’s looking forward to the revamped music and new festival site, she also likes the classic Snow Festival events. “I really love Thursday night at the chili cook-

off, because it brings so many locals out,” she said. “I also like watching the snowmobile races, especially the crowds. Part of the fun of this whole thing is seeing all the different kinds of people who show up to take part in it.”

For tickets and more information on the North American Snow Festival, visit Nasfcadillac.com.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 15

Alpenfrost Welcomes Winter to Gaylord

By Kristi Kates

Congratulations Winners!

1 -Alarm: Munson 2-Alarm: Bayside Market 3-Alarm: Betty’s Hot Dish Vegetarian: The Franklin White: Red Mesa Grill Ethnic: Aerie Seafood: Scalawags

People’s Choice Award: Red Mesa Grill, White Chili Aerie Restaurant • Betty’s Hot Dish • Bayside Market • Blue Heron 2 • Burritt’s • Francisco’s The Franklin • Minervas • Morsels Espresso + Edibles • Munson • Olives & Wine • Oryana-Lake Street Cafe Peace, Love & Little Donuts • Red Mesa Grill • Scalawags Whitefish & Chips

The Downtown Chili Cook-Off is an annual fundraiser for the Downtown Traverse City Association & contributes financial support toward community events such as Friday Night Live, Holiday Events, The Celebration for Young Children, and the many free events offered in Downtown Traverse City.

downtown traverse city l downtowntc.com l 231.922.2050 #downtowntc

16 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Gaylord residents and visitors have long been familiar with the annual Alpenfest event, a summer celebration that’s become a tradition for many in this Alpine-themed village. In the winter, a flurry of activities of a different variety sweeps into town for the annual Alpenfrost, Alpenfest’s newer cousin that offers up a snowstorm’s worth of icy, chilly fun.

Gaylord’s ambiance lends itself well to Alpenfrost’s winter village theme, which features several anchor events and lots of extra wintery things to do, all set against a backdrop of vintage-styled Tyrolean architecture and a Norman Rockwell-esque open air ice skating rink on the lawn of the courthouse.

Downtown is also where you’ll find the start of the Frosty 5K running race, Alpenfrost’s opening ceremonies, the refreshments tent with DJ Bill Combs spinning tunes, live bands performing and an attempt at the world’s largest hot cocoa break.

“We do the world’s largest coffee break at Alpenfest, so this is the winter version,” explained Kelly Combs, the special events and marketing coordinator for the Gaylord Area Tourism Bureau. “Many of the Alpenfrost events purposefully mirror Alpenfest events from the summertime.”

Combs expects several hundred people to participate in the hot cocoa break. “It may not actually break the record, but it will certainly be the most delicious hot cocoa break!

Bruce Brown – aka ‘der Chocolatmeister’ from the Alpine Chocolate Haus – is providing his secret recipe cocoa, and it will be made in the same giant propane-heated cauldron we use for the coffee break.”

A short drive from downtown, Treetops

Resort is the site of one of Alpenfrost’s biggest events, the Cardboard Sled Race, which is exactly what it sounds like. “We’ll have huge sheets of corrugated cardboard available for people to make sleds and race them,” Combs said.

The rules can be found online, but as far as design is concerned, pretty much anything family friendly goes. “Last year, we had a Batmobile, a cardboard replica of a snowmobile and a FedEx truck,” Combs said. Also headquartered at Treetops is Alpenfrost’s Craft Beer and Wine Festival, which offers tickets for beverages from Michigan breweries and vineyards, great hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction with proceeds to benefit Special Olympics Michigan.

Visitors to Alpenfrost can purchase a unique $5 pin that yields special discounts throughout the event along with free horsedrawn carriage rides, soup cook-off tastings, winter dog sports demonstrations, a laser light show, free tastings at Cupcake Wars and visits with characters from the animated movie Frozen, including Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Kristof.

“Cupcake Wars is my favorite event,” Combs said. “We approach bakeries in the community, and they each bring in a different assortment of bite-sized cupcakes.

They’re judged on the cupcake tasting event that we have and also on how they display the cupcakes – some of the displays are really amazing.”

Bite-sized or not, what a way to make Alpenfrost even sweeter!

The 2017 Alpenfrost will take place February 2–4. For a complete schedule of events, Cardboard Sled Race rules and more information, visit Gaylordalpenfrost.com.

Spend 45 Days in the Traverse City Mental Hospital

For Traverse City area news and events, visit TraverseTicker.com

By Clark Miller Raised on his family’s farm on Old Mission Peninsula, accomplished journalist and author Johnston (Jack) Kerkhoff (b. 1900, d. 1958) later lost his sanity and nearly ended his life twice, but he knew where to turn for help: the Traverse City Mental Hospital.

To figure out how to go on with life, he voluntarily checked himself in for a short stay at the sprawling hospital during the early 1950s.

Kerkhoff had at least one thing working in his favor: he knew the outward reasons for his severe depression and failed suicide attempts.

His wife Eleanor had died suddenly in 1940.

Eight years later, his daughter Mary Ann, married and pregnant, also died.

In spite of his tragic personal circumstances, Kerkhoff seems never to have lost his writerly perspective. While being treated, he observed and recorded everything around him – the other patients, the hospital routine and even his own deep pain – and in 1952 published How Thin the Veil: A Memoir of 45 Days in the Traverse City State Hospital.

The title refers to a line by Irish painter and poet George W. Russell: “Ah, to think how thin the veil that lies between the pain of Hell and Paradise!”

It is a fitting description of the precarious life Kerkhoff – and most of his fellow patients – led.

Now in the public domain and just reprinted by Traverse City-based Mission Point Press, this very personal story is also a chilling account of standard, mid-century mental hospital treatments such as electrotherapy and insulin therapy.

How Thin The Veil offers a detailed account of the daily life of patients at the hospital. Out of bed at 5:30am. Lights out early. Supervised baths.

Saturday dances (no more than three turns on the dance floor with the same partner.) Canteen privileges for the better behaved. Reassignment to different wards if a patient’s mental state improved or declined. Work “therapy” for many.

The Colonic Room. The Day Room, where so many personal dramas were acted out.

DEEP ROOTS The hospital’s roots reach deep here in northern Michigan. Today’s younger set might think of wine shops, restaurants and summer concerts in the former hospital’s vast expanses, now called The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, but older readers no doubt remember how some patients were allowed to walk downtown and how, over the life of the original facility (1885–1989), many people had family members who worked (or were patients) at the hospital.

RESPECT FOR HOSPITAL STAFF Ask longtime Grand Traverse-area residents about the mental facility, and they are likely to say that it was a gentle and caring place. In spite of some of the more unsettling details included in his book, Kerkhoff reinforces that impression. With very few exceptions, he paints the attendants, nurses and other staff members empathetically.

Kerkhoff particularly singles out for praise male attendant Ken Bates, with whom he formed a friendship of equals. By the time he finally felt strong enough to leave the hospital – something many patients never achieved – Kerkhoff had also developed great respect for the doctor who guided his recovery.

ABOVE ALL, THE PATIENTS Kerkhoff, a self-admitted champion of the underdog who had already written a book about the Dreyfus affair, saves his best depictions for the patients he came to know in his month and a half on Ward D-3. Changing names to protect identities, he portrays them as real-life human beings, worthy of respect and with incredible if at times delusional stories to tell.

There’s Willie, the hermit squatter and erstwhile guitarist who plays one chord over and over. There’s the taciturn German with the nickname “Heil Hitler” who spends most of the day reading the Bible and otherwise yelling “Heil Hitler!” There’s Franklin, a former store owner who is convinced that electrotherapy is merely a prelude to his death by electrocution. There’s also Boy Blue, who eats “like a starving dog” and holds his shoes in his hands but never wears them. Then there’s the Brat, a persistent moocher, and Teddy, the awkward young backwoods womanizer, and of course the Frenchman, who is known for his violent streak.

Kerkhoff can see the sad humor in each story, but he never belittles anyone. Along the way, he develops close friendships with two patients. Always there for support is his sidekick Len, an alcoholic and close observer of the human condition, and Kerkhoff ’s spirits are also bolstered by his growing affection for Suzie, a sensitive longtime patient who intuits much about the author and who understands that her uncontrollable mood swings mean she will probably never leave the hospital.

HEALED When Kerkhoff ends his self-imposed stay at the Traverse City Mental Hospital, he decides to live near his surviving daughter in southern California. Recovered from suicidal thoughts and better equipped to deal with the loss of his wife and family, he went on to restart his writing career but died in 1958 of unexplained causes during a trip to Mexico.

His daughter died in 1999. It is believed he is survived by a granddaughter.

Kerkhoff started his career as a journalist at the Traverse City Record-Eagle. He later worked for the Grand Rapids Herald, the Detroit Times, the New York Journal-American and the Philadelphia Record. His other two books, which are still available in limited supply, are Traitor! Traitor!

The Tragedy of Alfred Dreyfus and Aaron Burr: A Romantic Biography.

THE BOOK LAUNCH A book launch of How Thin the Veil and discussion of a new State Hospital museum will take place Thursday, January 26, 7pm–8pm in Kirkbride Hall.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENING INCLUDE: • Raymond Minervini, leader of the movement to save Building 50 and other Grand Traverse Commons structures, who will speak about plans for a permanent display of State Hospital history.

• Clinical psychologist Greg Holmes, who will provide his perspective on mental health treatment.

• Actors Guy Molnar, Joe Kirkpatrick and Caitlin Bowden from Reader’s Theatre, who will read excerpts from How Thin the Veil.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 17

The Tavern Burger is running for “local office” as best burger in town with its bacon, caramelized onion and mushroom toppings.

East Park Tavern Elevated Basics and Friendly Faces

By Kristi Kates Charlevoix’s East Park Tavern has been through many incarnations of its former self. Back in the day, it was the Silver Birches Bar, which eventually became the Topside Lounge. Much later, it morphed into Whitney’s Oyster Bar and became a mainstay for both locals and summer visitors. After Whitney’s closed, an upscale restaurant tried to take hold but didn’t quite make it. Today, East Park Tavern seems to have found the balance between old and new, casual and quality, with its nautical pub feel and aim to claim the title of best burgers.

Evan Chappuies is East Park Tavern’s managing partner and co-owner. Born in Charlevoix and raised in East Jordan, he’s lived in northern Michigan his entire life.

The other co-owner is Eric Hodgson, who also owns several restaurants on Beaver Island. When the two men met several years ago, Hodgson was the one trying to make that upscale restaurant (Quay) succeed, but as soon as September hit, he found out that what worked in the summer during tourist season wasn’t as appealing to the local clientele when fall and winter arrived.

“We talked and decided to redo the restaurant to make it more casual and fun, with more approachable food that would work year round,” Chappuies explained.

With a new plan established, Hodgson left Chappuies in charge (“Eric is kept incredibly busy on Beaver Island,” Chappuies explained), Quay folded and the restaurant re-opened as East Park Tavern in May of 2015.

The new eatery lives up to its name.

Reminiscent of a European pub, it has an abundance of dark wood, tin-stamped ceilings and large, glossy picture windows over-

looking Round Lake. It’s also bigger than you might expect, offering three floors of dining service: the main floor, of which one wall opens to the sidewalk in the warmer months; the second floor, which has additional dining and event space; and the third floor, an open-air terrace bar.

“The bar itself is pretty special,” Chappuies said. “It’s around 18 feet long and made from the hull of an old boat. Back when this place was Whitney’s Oyster Bar, the previous owner saw an old Spanish schooner at Irish Boat Shop that was going to be destroyed, so he bought it and brought the hull here.”

While Whitney’s is long gone, the new East Park Tavern has a new American menu and a warm and welcoming feel, “kind of like that Cheers bar, where people know your name,” Chappuies said. “I think everybody might have hoped we’d bring the place back to what it was back when it was Whitney’s, but we had a different vision. And I think it’s turned out pretty well.”

The popularity of their burgers is a good indication that Chappuies’ and Hodgson’s idea is succeeding. Crafted of a half pound of certified Angus grade A prime ground chuck, the two burgers – the East Park with veggies and cheese or the Tavern Burger with bacon, caramelized onion and mushrooms – are one of their clientele’s favorite menu items and best sellers. “Every tavern has to have a great burger, and I think ours might just be the best in town,” Chappuies said.

The burgers are just one part of East Park Tavern’s philosophy to do “special twists on simple items.” The Bavarian pretzel sticks appetizer is accompanied by craft beer cheese and locally made Mike’s Mustard. The French fries are elevated with truffle oil, truffle salt, Parmesan cheese and roasted garlic aioli for

18 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

Evan Chappuies, co-owner and managing partner of East Park Tavern in downtown Charlevoix.

dipping. The beer-battered cod fish fry is accompanied by house-made coleslaw that includes kale and Brussels sprouts in a poppy seed vinaigrette. And the mussels are tossed with fire-roasted tomatoes, smoked bacon and sambuca and served up with grilled focaccia bread.

The restaurant keeps things fresh by making its own sauces in-house, baking its own breads and smoking its own turkey for its turkey club sandwich. And it keeps its clientele happy by changing things up regularly.

In addition to sending a nod back to Whitney’s by serving oysters in the summer as well as a New England clam chowder that’s

very similar to Whitney’s original recipe, East Park Tavern offers weekly dining events like Monday night lasagna (with a Caesar house salad and garlic bread for $12) and Two Dollar Tuesdays, which include $2 burger sliders and Coney dogs from 4pm to close.

“The people, our clientele, are what I really like best about running this place,” Chappuies said. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of them and have made some great friendships.

Charlevoix is just such a great community.”

East Park Tavern is located at 307 Bridge Street in downtown Charlevoix. Visit online at eastparktavern.net or call (231) 547-7450.

up to 60% off at both locations!

A Skier’s Tragic Accident Reminds Us to Ski Safely

By Tyler Parr A recent local ski tragedy brought safety issues to light for all northern Michigan athletes. A ten-year-old girl from La Grange, Ill., Delaney O’Connell, died at Crystal Mountain Resort after hitting a tree while participating in her ski instruction class. The girl was reportedly on terrain suitable for her ability, yet the helmet she was wearing when she crashed did not deflect the fatal impact.

Staff followed medical procedures following the incident, which was the first fatality to take place within its ski school and the fourth fatality since Crystal Mountain began operations in 1957. Safety continues to be Crystal Mountain’s number one priority each day, said Communications Director Brian Lawson.

He explained, “We’ve obviously taken a close look at what happened. We found that the instructor who was leading that group of three students was teaching the class the way the Professional Ski Instructors of America and the NSAA [National Ski Areas Association] trains instructors. But everybody is on heightened focus after something like this happens.”

When asked about the propensity of people to act bravely while wearing safety gear like helmets and to perhaps try tricks they wouldn’t otherwise attempt, Lawson commented, “It’s discussed industry-wide…[the problem with] people getting overly confident because they are wearing a helmet.”

He added, “Helmets are an essential part of overall safety out on the slopes. We encourage everybody to wear helmets. [But] it’s using what’s under the helmet that’s going

to keep you safest.”

Don Orr Ski ’n Beach Haus Manager Eric Shutler agreed with the necessity of wearing helmets. Shutler recently returned from the Midwest Retailers Association show where he viewed next season’s safety gear styles. He explained, “The newest thing, and we’re seeing it in bike and snow helmets, even motocross, is MIPS [Multi-Directional Impact Protection System] technology. It’s an extra layer of skull protection that you don’t even know is there.”

The MIPS system attempts to stabilize the brain during the tumbling and rolling that can occur when a person falls. Shutler added that MIPS is quickly becoming commonplace in the industry but noted there’s a lifecycle for helmets. “The typical rule of thumb is that a helmet will crack, and once it cracks, it’s done. Or, if you take a hard enough fall and wake up and see stars, you get a new helmet.”

Shutler insists that fit is important. “If it’s too big and you take a crash, it’s not going to protect your head, or if it’s too tight, you’re going to be exposed. Even though most helmets are adjustable, they all fit differently, depending on the brand.”

The National Ski Association’s safety helmet speed ratings say helmets offer protection at 12 to 14 mph. Most people ski or board at 20 to 30 mph.

Since children can be difficult to spot on a ski hill, one company has introduced a flashing light set into the back of its helmet that alerts parents as well as other skiers that a short and presumably young person is ahead of them and potentially moving slowly. The kit the helmet comes in also includes a neon vest.

231.932.0510 DOWNTOWN TC • 126 E Front St

231-421-8868 DOWNTOWN TC • 13o E. Front St

RANDY’S DINER IS THE PLACE FOR OUTSTANDING BURGERS! Open 6am-9pm Monday-Saturday

Gluten Free Burger Buns Now Available!

20th Anniversary 1997-2017

Car Show every Summer!

Visit Randy’s Diner for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Gyros, Cod, Subs, Soups, Salads, and much more!

Nothing’s Finer Than Randy’s Diner!

VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR NEWS & SPECIALS.

1120 CARVER STREET, TRAVERSE CITY 231 946-0789

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 19

1

3

2

4

5

6

7

NORTHERN SEEN 1. We caught Brad, Kelly, Faith, and Doug at POUR in Petoskey during Biz After Hours.

2. Petoskey’s Chamber of Commerce Crew of Lisa, Peter, Alexis Carlin (aka Mr. Petoskey), and Nikki were all smiles at Pour Chop House in Petoskey.

8

3. Tim Nixon and Kim Hope were hanging out at Cambria Suites during the TC Chamber’s Business After Hours event.

4. Claire Walters, Jenna Stump and Blair Griewahn meet Piper the Airport K-9 at Recess at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City.

5. Past and current Ambassadors of the Year Cindy Pasant and Matt Hausler share a laugh during Business After Hours at Pour Chop House in Petoskey.

6. Having too much fun at a Business After Hours, Lindsey, Debbie, Ashley, Jenny, Janet, Lee, and Shelly sharing some laughs.

7. Dentistry By The Bay’s Andrea, Carla, Bethany, Kacey, and (retired DDS) Johnna took Petoskey’s Business After Hours Hawaiian theme seriously at Pour Shop House in Petoskey.

8. Tess Seelye, Molly Fitz Henry, and Zach Thurston share some beer, food, and smiles at Petoskey Brewing.

20 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

jan 21

saturday

JOHN CRAIGIE: 8pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. This folk-rock songwriter will release his new album “No Rain, No Rose” on Jan. 27. Tickets range from $7-$20. crookedtree.org

-------------------FEAST & FILM: Wild Foraged Food Potluck & Film Showing: 5:30pm, Martha Wagbo Farm & Education Center, East Jordan. Bring a dish to pass. RSVP: 231-536-0333.

--------------------

JB DAVIES & DAN HOUSE, FINGERSTYLE GUITAR: 7:30pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey.

Tickets: $10 advance, $15 night of. 231487-0000.

-------------------ROY TAGHON EMPIRE SNOWMOBILE DRAG RACE: 8:30am-5pm, Empire Airport.

Admission for spectators: $5 adults, free for ages 15 & under. Find ‘Roy Taghon Memorial Empire Snowmobile Drag Race’ on Facebook.

--------------------

FAT CHANCE FAT TIRE BIKE RACE: Noon, Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville. Takes place on Otter Loop near Kinlochen. Choose 90 minutes or 45 minutes of fast, flat & wide open laps. Info: crystalmountain.com

--------------------

52ND ANNUAL MOOSE JAW SAFARI: 10am, starting at Harbor Springs Skating Rink. Registration, 8:30am. An easy ride that will take two hours with 15 minute stops. Ride scenic trails on the way to Larks Lake. Info: business. petoskeychamber.com

24TH ANNUAL MACKINAW CITY WINTER FEST: Jan. 19-22. Featuring an Amateur & Professional Snow Sculpting competition, sleigh/wagon rides, Outhouse Races, Poker Walk, Chili Cook Off, Euchre Tournament, Ice Fishing Tournament, & more. mackinawcity. com/24th-annual-winter-fest-144/

--------------------

21-29

--------------------

send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

KIDS MOVIE NIGHT: 7:30pm, Aspen Room or Alpine Room, Treetops Resort, Gaylord.

Tonight will feature “Stuart Little”. Free. treetops.com

SIPS & SOUPS: Noon-5pm. Soup & wine pairing at participating wineries along the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail. Tickets, $20/ person. $5 from each ticket is donated to local food banks coordinated by Leelanau Christian Neighbors. mynorthtickets.com

-------------------“COMPANY”: 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Tickets for this Tony Award-winning show are $28 adults, $15 youth under 18. oldtownplayhouse.com

-------------------WINTER HIKE: 10am, Arcadia Dunes, Arcadia. gtrlc.org

-------------------WOODY PINES: Presented by Blissfest. 8pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. Woody combines country blues, jugband, hokum & hillbilly jazz to create his American roots music. John Cragie will join him with his deep humor & witty songs. Tickets: $15 adults, $7 students for members, & $20, $10 non-members. blissfest.org

--------------------

--------------------

ROBIN LEE BERRY & GLENN WOLFF: 7:30pm, Redheads Café & Tasting Room, Lake Leelanau. Berry is an eclectic songwriter, singer & guitarist with roots in jazz & contemporary folk music. Wolff is a bassist who has recently added slide guitar & dobro to their duo performances. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 door. 231-256-7720.

--------------------

BIGFOOT 5K & 10K SNOWSHOE RACE: 9am-noon, Timber Ridge RV Resort, TC. A hilly off trail run with logs to jump & branches to duck. Register: runsnow.com

--------------------

PARTY IN YOUR PARKA: 2pm, Leland Lodge. Featuring live music by Chris Weaner & Broom Closet Boys, sledding, ice skating, indoor & outdoor winter activities & more. 231256-9848.

DOG GONE FUN DOG SHOW: 1:30pm, EJ Civic Center, East Jordan. Registration, 1pm. $5/dog. Proceeds benefit the Charlevoix Area Humane Society.

‘WE GOT THE BEAT!’: 11am-noon, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Move to the beat with TSO Principal Percussionist Robert Sagan & Kindermusik while exploring percussion & rhythm with hands-on musical fun. traversesymphony.org

--------------------

MARCH IN TC: “We Are Watching”: Noon, corner of Cass St. & Grandview Parkway, TC. Held in conjunction with the millions of women across the country who will rally together on the day after inauguration. Bring signs & dress for weather. At 1:45pm you will head to Workshop Brewing Co. for follow-up speakers. 231-360-1065.

-------------------FREE TRAINING IN RAPE AVOIDANCE & SELF-DEFENSE: 9am-3pm, The Rock Youth Center, Kingsley. For seventh through tenth grade girls. Free on a first-come, first-served basis to those who reserve a spot by calling: 231-263-7000. Lunch will be served. Parents are welcome to attend.

-------------------DEPOT DINNER CONCERT: 6-8pm, After 26 Depot, Cadillac. Featuring Chris Winkelmann & Zak Bunce. Tickets, $20 advance or $25 at door; includes dinner & concert.

231-468-3526.

-------------------HISTORY SNOW SHOE HIKE: 10am, Grand Traverse Lighthouse, Northport. grandtraverselighthouse.com

-------------------36TH ANNUAL SNO-BLAST: East Jordan.

Today includes the Classic & Antique Snowmobile Show, Blessing of the Sleds, Antique/ Vintage/Classic Snowmobile Ride, Softball in the Snow Tournament, Dog Gone Fun Dog Show, & much more. ejchamber.org/events/ winter/sno-blast/

january

--------------------

jan 22

sunday

MOSTLY MUSIC: The Big Bands: 7-9pm, The Leelanau School, Glen Arbor. A lecture with Bob Foskett with recorded examples of the continuing metamorphosis of the jazz big band in American music. Presented by Glen Arbor Art Association. Admission, $12. glenarborart.org

--------------------

DARK & STORMCLOUDY FILM & BEER SERIES: “Spy Time” will be shown at the Garden Theater, downtown Frankfort at 2pm.

Admission is $7, plus each movie ticket purchaser receives a $5 Stormcloud Brewing Co. token. January’s beer is Anacleto. Beer is not served inside the Garden Theater. stormcloudbrewing.com

-------------------36TH ANNUAL SNO-BLAST: Starting at 7am at the East Jordan Sno-Mobilers Club House.

Featuring the Sno-Lovers Breakfast, Interpretive & Interactive Guided Ski/Snowshoe Hike, Mid-Winter Classic Fishing Tournament, & much more. ejchamber.org/events/winter/sno-blast/

--------------------

TREETOPS BRIDAL EXPO: 1pm, Convention Center, Treetops Resort, Gaylord. Meet local vendors, win prizes, take a tour or attend a mini-class. Admission: $5 at door or $3 in advance. treetops.com

-------------------24TH ANNUAL MACKINAW CITY WINTER FEST: Jan. 19-22. Featuring an Amateur & Professional Snow Sculpting competition, sleigh/wagon rides, Outhouse Races, Poker Walk, Chili Cook Off, Euchre Tournament, Ice Fishing Tournament, & more. mackinawcity. com/24th-annual-winter-fest-144/

Head over to Suttons Bay for YetiFest on Sat., Jan. 28, beginning at 11am. This festival & fundraiser for Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce includes a Yeti Discovery Program at the Suttons Bay Bingham District Library, a scavenger hunt hosted by Downtown merchants, free movie “Frozen” at the Bay Theatre, chili cook-off at Hop Lot Brewing Co., snowman building contest, variety show & much more. Find ‘YetiFest 2017’ on Facebook.

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE: 2pm, Helena Township Community Center, Alden. Featuring author & Dr. Katherine Roth, MD. 231331-4318.

-------------------“COMPANY”: 2pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Tickets for this Tony Award-winning show are $28 adults, $15 youth under 18. oldtownplayhouse.com

jan 23

monday

jan 24

tuesday

1950s Petoskey: 7pm, Carnegie Building, Petoskey. Presented by Rick Wiles & Friends of the Petoskey District Library. petoskeylibrary.org/

CWIB LUNCHEON: 11:30am-1pm, Stafford’s Perry Hotel, Petoskey. Dr. Gretchen Carroll of NCMC will explain how organizations across the globe are trying to understand the generational differences in their work forces. $17 CWIB members; $22 not-yet-members. 231-347-4150.

Advance registration required.

-------------------CARDIAC REHAB SUPPORT GROUP: 2-3pm, Munson Community Health Center, classroom A & B, TC. 935-8560.

-------------------OVERDOSE TRAINING: 6-7:30pm, Thirlby Room, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Presented by Harm Reduction Michigan.

Learn how to recognize an opioid overdose & respond to an overdose emergency. Free.

Register: eventbrite.com

COFFEE @ TEN LECTURE: 10am, Crooked Tree Arts Center, TC. A talk by artist & educator Megan Hildebrandt. Free coffee sponsored by Higher Grounds Trading Co. crookedtree.org

jan 25

wednesday

FREE WORKSHOP: 7-9pm, Acoustic Tap Room, TC. Focuses on backing a vocalist with rhythm guitar & melody instruments. Led by Dane Hyde & Patrick Niemisto. 231-275-2041.

-------------------PARKINSON’S NETWORK NORTH DAY SUPPORT GROUP: 10am, TC Senior Center.

Cathy Delave, BSN will present “All Things Parkinson’s”. 947-7389. parkinsonsnetworknorth.org

-------------------MAKERSPACE OPEN HOUSE: 3:30-5:30pm, Petoskey District Library lower level. Check out the new space, watch a 3D printing demonstration, try soldering, & learn about other tools. petoskeylibrary.org

-------------------NEW INTERLOCHEN PUBLIC LIBRARY THANK YOU COMMUNITY CELEBRATION: 5-7pm, Interlochen’s Golden Fellowship Hall.

Free pizza, refreshments, games for kids, an announcement re. the new IPL building plans, & more. tadl.org/interlochen

jan 26

thursday

DARK & STORMCLOUDY FILM & BEER SERIES: “Spy Time” will be shown at the Garden Theater, downtown Frankfort at 7:30pm. Admission is $7, plus each movie ticket purchaser receives a $5 Stormcloud Brewing Co. token.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 21

January’s beer is Anacleto. Beer is not served inside the Garden Theater. stormcloudbrewing.com

-------------------TIP OF THE MITT WATERSHED COUNCIL ICE BREAKERS: “A Day in the Life of an Ice Breaker Sailor”. Noon, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, Petoskey. Featuring the Commanding Officer of a United States Coast Guard Cutter. Free. Pre-register: 231347-1181.

-------------------BOOK LAUNCH: 7-8pm, Kirkbride Hall, TC. Mission Point Press will launch How Thin the Veil, a journalist’s 45-day account of his treatment at the State Hospital in the early 1950s. Originally published in 1952, Mission Point has re-packaged the book with a new cover & a foreword by Ray Minervini, Sr. There will also be an announcement of a new State Hospital museum. Free. missionpointpress.com

-------------------LOCAL AUTHOR DISCUSSION: Author & shipwreck hunter Ross Richardson talks about some of America’s most baffling disappearances. 7pm, Peninsula Community Library, Old Mission Peninsula School, TC. peninsulacommunitylibrary.org

-------------------FULFILLAMENT #7: Storytelling for Change: 6:30-9pm, The Workshop Brewing Co., TC. A storytelling event with five local community leaders & entrepreneurs. Tickets: $9 online, $10 door. For info, find ‘Fulfillament #7: Storytelling for Change’ on Facebook.

-------------------BEST BIRDING PHOTOS OF THE PAST YEAR: 7pm, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. GT Audubon Club members share their favorite photos from their bird trips over the year. grandtraverseaudubon.org

-------------------MAVERICK MINDS ALL ARTS FAIR: 5-7:30pm, TC High School. Students will display artwork, live performances, & a dinner. tcaps.net

-------------------BELLAIRE BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5:30-7pm, Moka, Bellaire. $3. bellairechamber.com

-------------------“COMPANY”: 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Tickets for this Tony Award-winning show are $28 adults, $15 youth under 18. oldtownplayhouse.com

jan 27

friday

THE DINOSAUR DIARY OF DR. T-REX & “REXIE”: 7pm, Kirtland Center for the Performing Arts, Roscommon. Tickets: $17 adults, $10 children 12 & under. kirtlandcenter.com

-------------------HORIZON BOOKS, TC EVENTS: 10-11am: Story Hour – Sandra Boynton’s Books. 8:3010:30pm: Live music with Sons of Brothers. Enjoy old folk tunes, blues & bluegrass. horizonbooks.com

--------------------

CABIN FEVER ARTIST TALK SERIES: Presented in conjunction with the Furniture, Fiber, Photography & Sculpture Exhibition. Featuring Aubrey Ann Parker, a local photographer who will talk about her global travels & local connections. 5:30pm, Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

-------------------PRE-VASA TRAINING PROGRAM: Today includes the fat bike session. Meet at the Timber Ridge Banquet Hall, TC at 6:30pm. Bring a dessert to pass. Must bring a helmet & light.

Timber Ridge trail pass required. vasa.org

-------------------LUNCHEON LECTURE: Held in the Library Conference Center at NCMC, Petoskey.

Lunch begins at 11:30am & the program begins at noon. Matt Claucherty of Tip of the

Mitt Watershed Council reviews the long-term data showing changes in local climate & explains the steps to avoid or reduce the disruption & damage that could lie ahead. Cost, $10; includes lunch. 231-348-6600.

BECOMING A HABITAT HOMEOWNER INFO SESSION: 10am, Thirlby Room, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Registration required: Call 941-4663, ext. 121 or email: kwise@habitatgtr.org

MARK MAKERS CHALLENGE: Watch live art being created at this painting competition from 7-9pm at Higher Art Gallery, TC. Vote for your favorite artist & in the end, watch two battle it out. $5 suggested donation. higherartgallery.com

CHINESE SPRING FESTIVAL: 6:30-8:30pm, TC West Senior High School Auditorium.

Includes traditional Chinese dance, musical performances & food. Free. tcaps.net

--------------------

-------------------“COMPANY”: (See Thurs., Jan. 26)

jan 28

saturday

COMEDY NIGHT WITH DAVE LANDAU: 8pm, Oak Room in the Lodge, Treetops Resort, Gaylord. Dave has been featured on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” & Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham”. Must be at least 18. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 door. treetops.com

-------------------NORTHWOODS FAMILY NATURE CLUB: 10am-noon. Play on the snowy hills at Wagbo Farm, East Jordan. 231-536-0333.

-------------------EXCERPTS FROM “THE PRINCESS PEONY”: 11am, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Featuring dancers in full costume & make up.

Presented by the Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre. The full-length ballet will take place on Feb. 4 in Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC at 2pm & 7pm. mynorthtickets.com

--------------------

AUTHOR SIGNING: Noon-2pm, Horizon Books, TC. Featuring Aaron Stander, author of “Gales of November”. horizonbooks.com

-------------------YETIFEST: Begins at 11am in Suttons Bay. This festival & fundraiser includes a Yeti Discovery Program at the Suttons Bay Bingham District Library, a scavenger hunt hosted by Downtown merchants, free movie “Frozen” at the Bay Theatre, chili cook-off at Hop Lot Brewing Co., snowman building contest, variety show & much more. Find ‘YetiFest 2017’ on Facebook.

-------------------WINTER HIKE: 10am, Arcadia Dunes Chestnut Loop at C.S. Mott Nature Preserve. Hike/ snowshoe along the trails. gtrlc.org

-------------------ALDEN MEN’S CLUB BREAKFAST/BUSINESS MEETING: 8am, Alden United Methodist Church, Downtown Alden. 231-322-6216.

-------------------LEGO MANIA EVENT: 9am-noon, Peninsula Community Library, Old Mission Peninsula School, TC. Free play with a large collection of Legos, & enjoy Lego crafts & activities. peninsulacommunitylibrary.org

--------------------

PARTNER PROGRAM: All local parents, grandparents, nannies & caregivers can bring their children ages 2-8 to the Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC from 10am-1pm.

Representatives from the Maritime Heritage Alliance will share info about their organization & do a fun water related craft. greatlakeskids.org

--------------------

PRE-VASA TRAINING PROGRAM: Today includes the cross country ski session. Meet at the Timber Ridge Banquet Hall, TC at noon.

A post event gathering will be held in the banquet hall featuring music & light snacks.

Timber Ridge trail pass required. vasa.org

-------------------TORCHLIGHT SNOWSHOE DEMO: 5-9pm, Camp Daggett, Petoskey. Presented by Bearcub Outfitters. Experience the snowcovered trails illuminated by more than 100 torches. Aferwards enjoy hot chocolate & cookies. Free. campdaggett.org

22 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

--------------------------------------VALENTINE CARD MAKING: 12-3pm, SCRAP, TC. Cost, $5; includes materials for up to 4 cards. scraptc.org

--------------------

MARTY STUART: 8pm, Leelanau Sands Casino Showroom, Peshawbestown. A fivetime Grammy winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, photographer & historian, this country music star’s latest release with his band The Fabulous Superlatives is “Saturday Night & Sunday Morning”. Tickets, $30. ticketmaster.com

--------------------

FROZEN FOOT RACE: Starts at Eastern Elementary, TC. Kids 1 mile, 9am; 5 mile, 9:30am. Goes through neighborhoods at the base of the Old Mission Peninsula. frozenfootrace.com

-------------------COMEDY NIGHT FEATURING DAVE LANDAU: 8pm, Oak Room, Treetops Resort, Gaylord. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 door. treetops.com

-------------------KIDS MOVIE NIGHT: 7:30pm, Aspen Room or Alpine Room, Treetops Resort, Gaylord.

Tonight will feature “Bee Movie”. Free. treetops.com

-------------------“COMPANY”: (See Thurs., Jan. 26) -------------------GRASS RIVER SHIVER: 10am, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. 5K & 10K snowshoe races. $20 in advance or $25 day of. Includes race & chili-cookoff lunch. grassriver.org

jan 29

sunday

FROZEN NORTH CONCERT SERIES: Blissfest Folk & Roots Mini Concerts Series with breathe owl breathe.

7pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey. Tickets: $10 advance, $15 night of; students, $8; 12 & under, $5. redskystage.com

-------------------“PDQ BACH”: The Traverse Symphony Orchestra will perform Peter Schickele’s most recent composition at 3pm in Corson Auditorium, Interlochen Center for the Arts. Tickets start at $25. traversesymphony.org

-------------------GREAT LAKES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA’S SUNDAY SERIES: Woodwinds & Brass.

4-5:15pm, First Presbyterian Church, Boyne City. Free will donation. glcorchestra.org

ongoing

HELP PRESERVE HICKORY HILLS: $1 of every pint of Double H Double IPA purchased at Jolly Pumpkin, TC through Jan. will be donated to the Preserve Hickory Campaign. preservehickory.com

-------------------WINTER WALK WEDNESDAYS: Walk to school every Weds. this winter through March 15. elgruponorte.org/winter/walk

--------------------

SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES!: Explore the easy to moderate trails at Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay & then warm up with a glass of mulled wine & a bowl of chili. Held every Sat. & Sun. through Feb. 25-26 from noon-4pm. blackstarfarms.com

SUPPORT NORTE! For the month of Jan., Morsels Espresso + Edibles, TC will feature a unique morsel, “bocado” with dark chocolate cake with signature Norte! orange frosting & blue sugar sprinkles. For each one sold, Morsels will donate $.25 to Norte! at the end of the month. morselsbakery.com

--------------------

SUNDAY SKIING FOR FAMILIES: Held on Sundays through Feb. 5 at 2pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. Donations appreciated. Call ahead to reserve kids’ XC skis. grassriver.org

-------------------SUNDAY SNOWSHOE HIKES: Meet at the Michigan Legacy Art Park trailhead, Thompsonville at 2:30pm on Sundays through Jan. 29. $5/adult. Free for youth 17 & under with paying adult. michlegacyartpark.org

-------------------SNOWSHOE, WINE & BREW: Sundays through March 5, Old Mission Peninsula, 10:40am-noon. Park at Jolly Pumpkin to board the TC Brew Bus & start your trek. $20. tcbrewbus.com/events

-------------------ICE SKATING GAMES: Saturdays through March 11, 1-3pm, Harbor Springs Sk8 Park/ Ice Rink. Find ‘Harbor Springs Sk8 Park’ on Facebook.

-------------------FREE COMMUNITY CLASS: Every Weds. at 7:30pm at Bikram Yoga, 845 S. Garfield Ave., TC. bikramyogatcgr.com

-------------------SATURDAY SNOWSHOE HIKES AT SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: Held on Saturdays through March 11. Meet at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center, Empire at 1pm. Free, but reservations required: 231-326-4700, ext. 5010.

--------------------

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS: No dues, fees, weigh-ins, or diets. Meeting Tues. at 12:15pm; Thurs. at 1:30pm; Fri. at 8am; & Sat. at 10:30am. Call Pat: 989-448-9024; Tom: 231-590-8800; or Genie: 231-271-1060.

-------------------ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - YOUNG PEOPLE’S MEETING: Fridays at 8pm, Grace Episcopal Church (basement), TC. www. district11-aa.org/

-------------------ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - OPEN SPEAKER MEETING: Saturdays at 8pm, Munson Medical Center (basement), TC. www.district11-aa.org/

-------------------SECULAR A.A.: Thursdays: The Porch, TC, 5:30pm. Fridays: By the Bay Alano Club, TC, 7pm. SecularAAinMichigan.org

-------------------COMPULSIVE EATERS ANONYMOUS HOW: Held every Thurs. from 5:30-6:30pm at Friends Church, 206 S. Oak Street - at 5th Street, TC. For more info: traversecityCEAHOW.org

-------------------YOGA 1-2: With Kelly Stiglich 500-ERYT at GT Circuit, TC on Tuesdays at 5:30pm. $10 suggested donation. gtcircuit.org

--------------------

ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS (ACA): 5:30-7pm, Thursdays in the basement of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, TC. For those who seek to address the residual effects of having been raised in dysfunctional household. adultchildren.org

-------------------OM GENTLE YOGA: With Kelly Stiglich 500-ERYT at GT Circuit, TC on Saturdays at 10:30am. $5. gtcircuit.org

-------------------MCLAREN NORTHERN MI DIABETES SUPPORT GROUP: Meets the second Mon. of each month from 7-8pm at the John & Marnie Demmer Wellness Pavilion & Dialysis Center, Petoskey. northernhealth.org/wellness

DEBTORS ANONYMOUS (NEW LOCATION, NEW TIME): 6:30-7:30pm on Tuesdays, Cowell Cancer Center (Munson), room 1073, Sixth & Madison streets, TC. 12-Step Recovery Meeting for those with money problems. More info, call John P at (973) 476-7384.

-------------------ADOPTION SATURDAYS: Pets Naturally, TC hosts one dog & one cat from the Cherryland Humane Society on Saturdays from 11am2pm. www.petsnaturallytc.com

--------------------

INDOOR FARMERS MARKET, THE VILLAGE AT GT COMMONS, TC: Held in The Mercato on Saturdays through April 29 from 10am2pm. thevillagetc.com

--------------------

CTAC ARTISANS & FARMERS MARKET: Fridays, 10am-1pm, Bidwell Plaza during good weather, or Carnegie Building, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. crookedtree.org

-------------------BLISSFEST JAM SESSIONS: Every Sun., 1-4pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey. Bring your instruments or just sing along or listen. www. redskystage.com.

--------------------

BOXING FOR PARKINSON’S: Parkinson’s Network North meets at 10am every Mon. at Fit For You, TC for these free sessions. gtaparkinsonsgroup.org

-------------------“JUST FOR US” BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP: Meets the first Tues. of every month from 6:30-8:30pm at the McLaren Northern MI John & Marnie Demmer Wellness Pavilion & Dialysis Center, Petoskey.

800-248-6777.

-------------------SONG OF THE MORNING, VANDERBILT: Free yoga classes, Tues. – Fri., 7:30-8:30am. songofthemorning.org

-------------------PETOSKEY FILM THEATER: Showing international, indie, art house & documentary films on Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays. Carnegie Building, 451 E. Mitchell St., next to Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. Donations welcome.

For schedule find ‘Petoskey Film Theater’ on Facebook. 231-758-3108.

--------------------

DEPOT COFFEEHOUSE: Fridays from 6-7:30pm at After 26 Depot Café, Cadillac. Enjoy coffee with dinner or dessert while listening to live entertainment. 231-468-3526.

art

ANNUAL FURNITURE, FIBER, PHOTOGRAPHY, & SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Through Feb. 24, Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

-------------------6TH ANNUAL GRAND TRAVERSE ART BOMB: Through March 25, Right Brain Brewery, TC. Artists of all media in & from the GT region will display & sell their work commission-free. Encore Reception/Art Bomb Prom on Feb. 11, & Closing Reception on March 25. Featuring live music & performance art. facebook.com/GrandTraverseArtBomb

-------------------THROUGH THE WINDOW, ALL MEDIA: Through March, Three Pines Studio, Cross Village. threepinesstudio.com

-------------------MIDWEST TWILIGHT: This painting by Glenn Wolff has been installed on the south wall of the Omelette Shoppe, Cass St., TC. dennosmuseum.org

-------------------PROTECTION: This Woodland Indian screenprint by Jackson Beardy is installed on the east wall of Cuppa Joe, 1060 E. Front St., TC. dennosmuseum.org

-------------------“MAKING ART TOGETHER”: The Northport Arts Association hosts this open studio every Thurs. from 10am-1pm in the Village Arts Building, Northport. northportartsforall.com

GAYLORD AREA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS, GAYLORD: - Black & White with a little Red Exhibit: Through March 4. A reception will be held on Sat., Feb. 11 from 5-7pm.

- Artful Afternoons: Every Weds. through April 26 at 1pm. Free. gaylordarts.org

-------------------HIGHER ART GALLERY, TC: - Call for Artist Submissions: For the spring show “Sacred Spaces”. Deadline to apply is Feb. 20. Visit higherartgallery.com for info.

- Open Mic Night to Begin in February!: Seeking music, storytelling, poetry, spoken word, performance art, magic & more. Submit your idea to be a part of it. Please submit your info & performance medium to: higherartgallery@ gmail.com

--------------------

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, PETOSKEY: - Crooked Tree Photographic Society Exhibit: Runs through March 17 in the Atrium Gallery.

Featuring diverse digital works from more than 30 members.

- 2017 Juried Photography Exhibition: Runs through March 23 in Gilbert Gallery. Juried by renowned photographer Howard Bond. Includes works selected from 140 submissions.

- Tinker, Tailor, Welder, Weaver: The Art of Assemblage: Runs through March 23 in Bonfield Gallery. An opening reception will be held on Weds., Jan. 21 from 2-4pm. crookedtree.org

--------------------

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, TC: - Hygge: A Winter’s Glow: This multimedia exhibition celebrates all the ways those in the northern latitudes embrace & find contentment during the winter months. Runs through Feb. 25.

- Art History Talk: Fridays through March 17, noon-1pm. Each week will cover a decade of the 1800’s. $5 suggested donation. crookedtree.org

-------------------DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC: - Permanence & Impermanence: Iceland – a Land of Temporal Contrasts. By Jean Larson.

Runs through Jan. - Grandmother Power: A Global Phenomenon: The works of renowned photographer Paola Gianturco. Runs through Jan. dennosmuseum.org

NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN BESTSELLERS HARDCOVER FICTION She Stopped for Death by Elizabeth Buzzelli| Crooked Lane Books $25.99 Curtain of Death by W.E.B. Griffin G. P. Putnam’s Sons $29.00 Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult Ballantine Books $28.99 PAPERBACK FICTION My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout Random House $16.00 Gales of November by Aaron Stander Writers & Editors $17.95 Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron Forge Books $9.99 HARDCOVER NON-FICTION Killing the Rising Sun by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard Henry Holt & Co. $30.00 Thank You for Being Late by Thomas L. Friedman Farrar, Straus and Giroux $28.00 When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi Random House $25.00 PAPERBACK NON-FICTION You Are a Badass by Robert Campbell Mission Point Press $22.50 How Thin the Veil by Jack Kerhoff Mission Point Press $16.95 Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur Andrews McMeel Publishing $14.99 Compiled by Horizon Books: Traverse City, Petoskey, Cadillac

Mon -

Ladies Night - $1 off drinks & $5 martinis closed at 9pm

Tues - $2 well drinks & shots OPEN MIC WITH HOST CHRIS STERR

Wed - Get it in the can for $1

with DJ DOMINATE

Thurs - MI beer night $1 off all MI beer

w/ CHRIS STERR AND RON GETZ BAND

Happy Hour: Joe Wilson Trio Then: BRETT MITCHELL & THE GIANT GHOST Fri Jan 27:

Sat Jan 28: Brett Mitchell & The Giant Ghost Sun Jan 29:

KARAOKE (10PM-2AM) 941-1930 downtown TC check us out at unionstreetstationtc.net

THE FINEST SKI TUNES AND CUSTOM BOOT FITTING, PERIOD. From novice to racer, our professional technicians will get the job done.

24 hour turn around on most services.

231-946-8810 800-346-5788

890 Munson Ave. • Traverse City www.donorrskihaus.com

WESTBAYBEACHRESORTTRAVERSECITY.COM

Celebrating 60 Years!

615 EAST FRONT STREET | TRAVERSE CITY, MI 49686

H E AT U P W I T H O U R

Events all

Winter!

JAZZ every Thursday BLUES every Friday BUILD YOUR OWN BLOODY MARY BAR every Sunday starting at Noon

FRIDAY FISH FRY

4-9pm • $14.95 all you can eat

PRIME RIB SATURDAY

Dinner 4-9pm • 12oz $16.95 or 16oz $20.95 Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 23

FOURSCORE

BAGEL SANDWICHES

HAND-CRAFTED O N LY A T Y O U R N E I G H B O R H O O D B I G A P P L E B A G E L S ®

“Where Friends Gather” Featuring Super Greek Food in a Relaxed Atmosphere

Named "Best Dance Studio in Traverse City" TUESDAY NIGHT

TRIVIA starts at 8pm

2012

1133 S. Airport Rd. W., Traverse City • (231) 929-9866 www.bigapplebagels.com

WIFI Four spacious studios at our state-of-the-art facility

WIN GIFT CERTIFICATES!

214 E Front St • Downtown Traverse City

231-946-8932

Named "Bestinclude: DanceDance Studio Studio in Traverse City" Named "Best in Traverse City" Classes

Mommy & Me (18 months & up) Home of the Award Winning Company Dance Traverse Creative Movement (Ages 2 & up) Dance Exploration Monday - Saturday • 9 AM - 9 PM Pre-Ballet W Located in the Expan NO g Hipstudios Hop •atatTap Four spacious studios our Four spacious our n Outlet Center Adult P ded new state-of-the-art Enrolli es! Preferredformerly rogram state-of-the-art facility Modern •facility Jazz ss for Cla Classes include: Horizon Outlet Center Pointe • Ballet Classes include: Mommy & Me (18 months & Up) Mommy & Me (18 months & up) Guy's Classes Home of the Award Winning Company Dance Traverse Creative Dance (Ages 2 & up) Creative Movement (Ages 2 & up) Graded Cecchetti Ballet Examinations Studio Hours Pre-K Ballet Dance Exploration 3811 Marketplace Circle • Preferred Outlet Center Monday - Saturday • 9 AM - 9 PM Musical Theater Preballet Pre-Ballet Traverse City W O Located in the Expand N• Hip Hip Hip Hop • Hop Tap• •Tap Modern Jazz Pilates • Zumba • Cardio e gHopPreferred Outlet Center in www.danceartstraverse.com A ll d u ro lt Prog d 8.15.223045.tcaps En ram Pointe • Modern Ballet ••Jazz Musicalfo Classes! Horizonformerly rTheater Outlet Center Pointe • Ballet Adult Tap, & Jazz Enroll NOW for Winter Classes!

Guy's Classes Pre-School Ballet/Tap combo classes Graded Cecchetti Ballet Examinations 1015 Garfield Avenue • 231.941.4244 3811 Marketplace CircleS• Preferred Outlet Center more!

Musical&Theater

by kristi kates

Deadmau5 – “W:/2016ALBUM/” – Mau5trap Recordings

The intriguing thing about the mau5 has always been that he seems to have more skill than he lets on, even considering his already impressive catalog, which leaves fans to wonder when he’s going to really bring out all his audio gold. This collection doesn’t quite make that step forward – the artist himself calls it “rushed” – although it’s still a respectable set, from the dark alley techno of “Deus Ex Machina” to the electroheavy “2448” to the absorbing “Snowcone,” which in its best moments recollects early Squarepusher. It’s just time for Deadmau5 to push himself a little more.

Studio Hours

The xx – “I See You ” – Young Turks

Brighter than the group’s previous album and already being lauded as its best collection of tracks in years, The xx’s latest opens with a new flash of inspiration in the horns of “Dangerous,” which showcases further poise via its cement-solid dance floor bassline. First hit “On Hold” begins with an instantly memorable hook, and the ballads – most notably “Say Something Loving” and “Performance” – offer not just a transformation of mood but further evidence that Jamie xx and crew are expanding their songwriting.

231-941-4244

Open House August 16th231-941-4244 & 17th from 10:00 to 4:00. Come Join Us! Traverse City

www.danceartstraverse.com Open House August 16th & 17th from 10:00 to 4:00. Come Join Us! Pilates • Zumba • Cardio Hip Hop 8.15.223045.tcaps

www.danceartstraverse.com

Enigma – “The Fall of a Rebel Angel” – Universal

Michael Cretu and Enigma haven’t dropped an album since 2008, and a lot has changed in electronica music since then. Enigma always stood out because of its incorporation of Gregorian chants and other audio exotica, and thankfully it retains those unique features on this set. No other acts really blend pop and such esoteric influences as Enigma has always done, and here it does so beautifully on concept tracks like “Circle” with vocals from Nanuk, the lush “Lost in Nothingness” and the much-anticipated sequel song “Sadeness (Part II),” which completely lives up to the hype.

Tech N9ne – “The Storm ” – Strange Music

Calling his latest set The Storm was an apt choice for the Kansas City indie rapper/sound chopper, since it’s a literal barrage of new tracks, 33 in all. The idea of a three-part album theme showcasing the three sides of his personality – id, ego and superego – is definitely interesting, but you’ll wish N9ne had done a little editing, as many tracks start with a lot of promise yet never quite reach their full potential. That said, highlights like “Erbody But Me” and “The Needles” nicely showcase N9ne’s always impressive rhyming skills.

24 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

MODERN

JAMES MERCER AND THE SHINS RETURN

The Shins

ROCK

BY KRISTI KATES

Quietly worming in (yes, I just said that) under the radar is The Shins’ brand new album Heartworms, their first studio effort in five years and also the first produced by the band’s own James Mercer since 2001’s Oh, Inverted World. The album includes first singles “Dead Alive” and “Name for You” as well as additional tracks “Fantasy Island,” “Rubber Ballz” and “So Now What” in an ambitious effort made more impressive by the fact that Shins’ frontman Mercer has also been working on new music with his Broken Bells bandmate Danger Mouse. Let’s ignore the fact that the album’s title makes us think we jotted down a reminder to take the dog to the vet…

The Ann Arbor Folk Festival has announced the lineup for their 40th anniversary show, which will include the usual complement of folk, roots and country music turned up a notch. Headlining Friday night will be country singer Kacey Musgraves and indie-emo singer Jenny Lewis; Saturday night’s headliners will be singer Margo Price and actor-turned-country singer Kiefer Sutherland. Also appearing at this year’s fest at A2’s Hill Auditorium will be Zach Heckendorf, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Over the Rhine, We Banjo 3 and the Corn Potato String Band; the whole

thing happens January 27 and 28, with more information available at Theark.org.

Following in the audio footsteps of Peabo Bryson and Celine Dion are two singers new to the Beauty and the Beast film’s theme song – John Legend and Ariana Grande, who will team up to cover the track for the upcoming live action remake of the movie.

The original film won an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe, so time will tell if the new version will do the same; the movie arrives in theaters March 17, with the single arriving to radio and streaming outlets a couple of weeks earlier.

Detroit city officials have named a street in honor of iconic Motown musician Stevie Wonder just a mile from Motown’s original headquarters and a couple of blocks from Wonder’s first Detroit home. Located at the corner of Milwaukee and Woodward Avenues, Stevie Wonder Avenue was unveiled at a special event featuring a crowd of several hundred people, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Wonder himself, who declared his affection for the Motor City and broke out in a spontaneous a cappella version of “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.”

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Ed Sheeran is finally back from his yearlong hiatus and has jumped right back into the music scene with a pair of brand new

singles, “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill,” both on Atlantic Records. You can snag both at most digital outlets and streaming sites. Learn what else Sheeran’s been working on, including his upcoming new album, at his official site, Edsheeran.com.

THE BUZZ Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids will welcome the Total Package Tour on May 13, an ‘80s extravaganza that will feature live sets from Paula Abdul, New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men. The Total Package will appear in Detroit, too, but you’ll have to wait until June 29, when Paula and the boys will be appearing in full force with all their ‘80s hits at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Electronica music guru-ess and Grammynominated composer Suzanne Ciani is set

to perform at MOCAD (The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit) on Thursday, April 13, complete with her Buchla synthesizer and a long list of complex compositions.

Founding member of Nickel Creek, Decemberists tourmate and multiinstrumentalist Sara Watkins will be in concert Saturday, January 21, at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe and Pub in Kalamazoo.

The 18th Annual Jammie Awards are heading back to The Intersection in Grand Rapids on February 10, when regional performers from The Go Rounds and Heaters to The Mainstays and Red Tail Ring will gather to honor their peers… and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Comments, questions, rants, raves or suggestions on this column? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 • 5-7PM

Taste of the Mediterranean AT

$10 cover charge for mediterranean cuisine, beer/rum punch/soda, and great networking!

Prizes include:

• OLIVES & WINE GIFT CERTIFICATES • BEARDS BREWERY GIFT PACK

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 25

nitelife

Jan 21 - Jan 29 edited by jamie kauffold

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

Manistee, Wexford & Missaukee

• 522 - MANISTEE Tues. -- Karaoke Thurs., Fri., Sat. -- DJ • AFTER 26 DEPOT - CADILLAC 1/21 -- Chris Winkelmann & Zak Bunce, 6-8 • BUCKLEY BAR - BUCKLEY Fri. -- DJ Karaoke/Sounds - Duane & Janet • CADILLAC SANDS RESORT Porthole Pub & Eatery:

Thurs. -- Live music SandBar Niteclub: Fri. & Sat. -- Phattrax DJs Fri. -- Karaoke/line dancing, 8:30 Sat. -- Dance videos, 8:30 • COYOTE CROSSING HOXEYVILLE Thurs. -- Open Mic Sat. -- Live Music • DOUGLAS VALLEY WINERY -

MANISTEE Sun. -- Live music, 1:304:30pm • HI-WAY INN - MANISTEE Wild Weds. -- Karaoke Fri.-Sat. -- Karaoke/Dance • LOST PINES LODGE HARRIETTA Sat. -- Karaoke, dance videos

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska • 7 MONKS TAPROOM - TC 1/25 -- Levi Britton, 7:3010:30 • ACOUSTIC TAP ROOM TC Tues. -- Open & un-mic'd w/ Ben Johnson, 7-9 • BUD'S - INTERLOCHEN Thurs. -- Jim Hawley, 5-8 • FANTASY'S - GRAWN Adult Entertainment w/ DJ • GT RESORT & SPA ACME Grand Lobby: 1/20-21 -- Blake Elliott, 711 1/27 -- John Pomeroy, 7-11 1/28 -- Blake Elliott, 7-11 • HAYLOFT INN - TC Thurs. -- Open mic night by Roundup Radio Show, 8 Fri. - Sat. thru Jan. -- The Cow Puppies • HORIZON BOOKS - TC 1/27 -- Sons of Brothers, 8:3010:30 • LEFT FOOT CHARLEY - TC 1/27 -- Amanda Egerer, 6-8 Mon. -- Open mic w/ Blake Elliott, 6-9 • LITTLE BOHEMIA - TC Tues. -- TC Celtic, 7-9 • NOLAN'S CIGAR BAR - TC 1/27 -- Blues Boy Stanton, 9-11 • NORTH PEAK - TC Kilkenny's, 9:30-1:30: 1/20-21 -- Brett Mitchell & the Giant Ghost 1/27-28 -- Honesty & the Liars Mon. -- Michigan Team

Trivia, 7-9; Toxic Trivia, 9-11 Tues. -- Levi Britton, 8-12 Weds. -- The Pocket, 8-12 Thurs. -- 2 Bays DJs, 9:301:30 Sun. -- Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7-9 • PARK PLACE HOTEL - TC Beacon Lounge: Mon. -- Levi Britton, 8:3011:30 Thurs. - Sat. -- Tom Kaufmann, 8:30-11:30 • PARKSHORE LOUNGE TC Fri. - Sat. -- DJ • RARE BIRD BREWPUB TC 1/23 -- Open Mic Night, 8:30 1/25 -- Benjaman James, 8:30 Tues. -- Trivia night, 7 • SAIL INN - TC Thurs. & Sat. -- Phattrax DJs, karaoke, dance videos • SIDE TRAXX - TC Weds. -- Impaired Karaoke, 10 Fri.-Sat. -- DJ/VJ Mike King • STUDIO ANATOMY - TC 1/21 -- Comedy Night, 9 1/28 -- ACLU Benefit featuring J. Marinelli, Goats of Death, Parking Lots, Fuzzbuster, & Mellow Out, 7 • TAPROOT CIDER HOUSE - TC Tues. -- Turbo Pup, 7-9 1st Weds. of month -E-Minor open mic, 7-10

Thurs. -- G-Snacks, 7-9 Fri. -- Rob Coonrod, 7-9 Sat. -- Chris Dark, 7-9 Sun. -- Kids Open Mic, 3 • THE OL' SOUL KALKASKA Weds. -- David Lawston, 8-12 • THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO. - TC 1/21 -- After Ours, 8-11 1/22 -- Big Dudee Roo, 7-10 1/28 -- Wink Solo, 8-11 Mon. -- Rotten Cherries Comedy Open Mic, 8-9:30 Weds. -- WBC Jazz Society Jam, 6-10 • TRATTORIA STELLA - TC Tues. -- Ron Getz, 6-9 • UNION STREET STATION - TC 1/21 -- DJ Dante 1/24 -- Open mic w/ Chris Sterr 1/25 -- DJ DomiNate 1/26 -- Chris Sterr & Ron Getz Band 1/27 -- Happy Hour w/ Joe Wilson Trio, then Brett Mitchell & The Giant Ghost 1/28 -- Brett Mitchell & The Giant Ghost Sun. -- Karaoke, 10-2 • WEST BAY BEACH RESORT - TC View: 1/21 -- DJ Motaz, 9-2 1/27 -- The Muze, 9-2 1/28 -- DJ Motaz, 9-2 Thurs. -- Jazz w/ Jeff Haas Trio & Laurie Sears, 7-9:30

Antrim & Charlevoix • BARREL BACK - WALLOON LAKE 1/25 -- Michelle Chenard, 5 • BRIDGE STREET TAP ROOM CHARLEVOIX 1/21 -- Kellerville, 8-11 1/22 -- Chris Calleja, 6-9 1/24 -- Sean Bielby, 7-10 1/27 -- Josh Hall, 8-11 1/28 -- Ben Overbeek, 8-11 1/29 -- Pete Kehoe, 6-9 • CELLAR 152 - ELK RAPIDS 1/21 -- Jeff Brown, 7:30-9:30 1/27 -- Blair Miller, 7:30-9:30 1/28 -- Jim Moore, 7:30-9:30

• JORDAN INN - EAST JORDAN Tues. -- Open Mic w/ Cal Mantis, 7-11 Fri. & Sat. -- Live Music • MURRAY'S BAR & GRILL EAST JORDAN Fri. & Sat. -- Live Music • QUAY RESTAURANT & TERRACE BAR - CHARLEVOIX Weds. -- Live jazz, 7-10 • RED MESA GRILL - BOYNE CITY 1/24 -- The Shifties, 6-9 • SHORT'S BREWING CO. BELLAIRE 1/21 -- The Moxie Strings, 8-10:30

26 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

1/22 -- Short's Battle of the Bands Week 1, 4:45-6:30 1/27 -- Melophobix, 9-11:30 1/28 -- Steve Leaf & The Ex Pats, 9-11:30 1/29 -- Short's Battle of the Bands Week 2, 4-6:30 • STEIN ERIKSEN'S - BOYNE FALLS 1/21 -- Michelle Chenard, 6 • VASQUEZ' HACIENDA - ELK RAPIDS Acoustic Tues. Open Jam, 6-9 Sat. -- Live music, 7-10

Featured on NBC's Last Comic Standing & Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, & a favorite on the "Bob and Tom" radio show, Dave Landau brings Comedy Night to the Oak Room in the Lodge at Treetops Resort, Gaylord on Sat., Jan. 28 from 8-9:30pm. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 door. treetops.com

Leelanau & Benzie • BELLA FORTUNA NORTH - L.L. Fri.-Sat. -- Bocce e DeRoche, 7-10 • BLACK STAR FARMS - SB Third Weds. of ea. mo. -- Jazz Café w/ Mike Davis & Steve Stargardt, 7-9 • CABBAGE SHED - ELBERTA Thurs. -- Open mic, 8 • DICK'S POUR HOUSE - L.L. Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-2 • JODI'S TANGLED ANTLER BEULAH Fri. -- Karaoke, 9-1 • LAKE ANN BREWING CO. - LAKE ANN 1/24 -- Mike Moran & Pauly, 6:30 1/25 -- Elizabeth Rivers & Pete

Murphy, 6:30 • LAUGHING HORSE THOMPSONVILLE Thurs. -- Karaoke, 9 • LEELANAU SANDS CASINO - PESHAWBESTOWN 1/28 -- Marty Stuart, 8 Tues. -- Polka Party, noon-4pm • LUMBERJACK'S BAR & GRILL - HONOR Thurs., Fri., Sat. -- Phattrax DJs, karaoke, dance videos • MARTHA'S LEELANAU TABLE - SB Weds. -- The Windy Ridge Boys, 6-9 Sun. -- The Hot Biscuits, 6-9

• ROADHOUSE - BENZONIA Weds. -- Jake Frysinger, 5-8 • ST. AMBROSE CELLARS BEULAH 1/21 -- Syd Burnham, 6-9 1/27 -- Amy Andrews, 6-9 Thurs. -- Open mic night, 6-8 • STORMCLOUD BREWING CO. - FRANKFORT 1/21 -- Dot Org, 8-10 1/27 -- Blake Elliott & the Robinson Affair, 8-10 1/28 -- Blair Miller, 8-10 • WESTERN AVE. GRILL GLEN ARBOR Fri. -- Open Mic Sat. -- Karaoke

Emmet & Cheboygan • BARREL BACK RESTAURANT - WALLOON LAKE VILLAGE Weds. -- Michelle Chenard, 5-8 • BEARDS BREWERY - PETOSKEY Weds. -- "Beards on Wax" (vinyl only night spun by DJ J2xtrubl), 8-11 • BOYNE CITY TAPROOM 1/21 -- The Shifties, 7-10 1/27 -- Teabag, 9 1/28 -- Sean Bielby, 7-10 • BOYNE HIGHLANDS - HARBOR SPRINGS Slopeside Lounge: 1/26 -- Michelle Chenard, 8 Zoo Bar: 1/28 -- Teabag • CAFE SANTE - BOYNE CITY Mon. -- Nathan Bates, 6-9 • CITY PARK GRILL - PETOSKEY 1/21 -- Ari Teitel, 10

1/24 -- Lee Dyer, 9 1/27 -- The Honorable Spirits, 10 • DIXIE SALOON - MACKINAW CITY Thurs. -- Gene Perry, 9-1 Fri. & Sat. -- DJ • KNOT JUST A BAR - BAY HARBOR Fri. -- Chris Martin, 7-10 • LEO'S TAVERN - PETOSKEY Weds. -- Karaoke Night, 10-1 Sun. -- S.I.N. w/ DJ Johnnie Walker, 9-1 • MOUNTAINSIDE GRILL BOYNE CITY Fri. -- Ronnie Hernandez, 6-9 • MUSTANG WENDY'S HARBOR SPRINGS 1/21 -- Bill Oeming 1/27 -- Chris Koury 1/28 -- Bill Oeming

• OASIS TAVERN - KEWADIN Thurs. -- Bad Medicine, DJ Jesse James • STAFFORD'S PERRY HOTEL - PETOSKEY Noggin Room: 1/21 -- Pete Kehoe 1/27 -- Pistil Whips 1/28 -- Michelle Chenard, 8 • STAFFORD'S PIER RESTAURANT - HS Pointer Room: Thurs. - Sat. -- Carol Parker on piano • UPSTAIRS LOUNGE - PETOSKEY 1/21 -- 3 Hearted 1/28 -- Biomassive

Otsego, Crawford & Central • ALPINE TAVERN - GAYLORD 1/21 -- Mike Ridley, 7-10 • BENNETHUM'S NORTHERN INN - GAYLORD 1/24 -- Michelle Chenard, 6 • MAIN STREET MARKET GAYLORD 7-9:30:

1/21 -- Lee Dyer 1/27 -- Nelson Olstrom 1/28 -- Zeke Clemmons • TIMOTHY'S PUB GAYLORD Fri.-Sat. -- Video DJ w/Larry Reichert Ent. • TREETOPS RESORT -

GAYLORD Hunter's Grille: 1/20-21 -- CP2 1/27-28 -- CP2 Oak Room in the Lodge: 1/28 -- Comedy w/ Dave Landau, 8

The reel

by meg weichman

Hidden figures

T

PATRIOTS DAY It’s been almost four years since the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013, but as real-life events as adaptable movie narratives go, it’s been screen-ready from the moment it ended. The two perpetrators, Chechen brothers Dzhokar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were acting independent from any larger terror network, and they were brought to justice swiftly and decisively. The case, as a fictional Boston police detective of a different movie says, “has a frickin’ bow on it;” it was wrapped up neatly and its story can be powerfully told with little need to speculate or embellish beyond the facts.

The attack depicted here was a reprehensible act of violence, but one that had a pseudo-happy ending; these two men walk the streets of America no more.

“Patriots Day,” the first of supposedly three forthcoming films about the attack, is efficiently directed by Peter Berg (“Friday Night Lights”) and tells the story of the bombing from before it starts all the way to its moving and pseudo-satisfying conclusion.

First a few details from the news story you remember. On the morning of April 15, 2013, two bombs were set off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring hundreds more. The investigation into the attack initially yielded few results; only grainy security cam footage captured from sources in the area that picked out the then-unidentified Tsarnaev brothers (Themo Melikidze and Alex Wolff) from among the crowd.

Then with their images released to the public, the brothers attempt to flee to New York City to attack Times Square. But a few foolhardy and reckless decisions expose them, leading to a ferocious shoot-out and unprecedented manhunt that makes for some captivating viewing.

To shepherd us through these events, Berg mainstay Mark Wahlberg (“Deepwater Horizon,” “Lone Survivor” -- the bromance is real, folks) stars as a Boston Police sergeant who somehow manages to be present for all the major moments of the case. But Wahlberg’s Tommy Saunders, unlike pretty much everyone else we meet in this film, isn’t real; he’s a composite of several officers and their experiences.

He’s a compelling audience surrogate – and Wahlberg’s performance is one of his best – but I for one was disappointed to learn that the film decided it needed so simplistic a device to connect with the audience. The real people depicted here – including Boston Police Commissioner Ed

his might not be the greatest “cinematic” achievement you’ll see this year, but gosh darnit if it isn’t one of the most enjoyable and rewarding. From the incredible performances and ebullient spirit, to its warm tenacity and overflowing heart, this is Hollywood entertainment at its finest – gleaming, accessible, and delightful with a message that illuminates and inspires. It’s not just feel-good, it’s feel great.

“Hidden Figures” tells the extraordinary true story of a trio of impressive African-American women (Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe) whose incredible contributions to NASA have long gone unheralded. Working at the Langley Research Center in the segregated South of the early 1960s, all three were “colored” computers, using adding machines to run the complex calculations needed for space travel in the pre-computer age. With his pure, character-driven storytelling style, director Theodore Melfi (“St. Vincent”) doesn’t try anything ambitious. But with a story as incredible as this and with characters as ambitious, he doesn’t need to. Ultimately told in an unsurprising way with a highly conventional arc, it’s still unlike anything I’ve seen before. I mean who would’ve dreamt that a film about Black female mathematicians would top the box office? That alone is worth celebrating.

Mark Wahlberg

Davis (John Goodman), Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons), and Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) – are compellingly portrayed and would have sold the story on their own.

Overall the film does a solid job encapsulating the events in an exciting and respectful manner, and we get to know the victims, bystanders, investigators, and even the bombers in thoughtful ways I wasn’t prepared for. The rah-rah jingoism of, say, a Michael Bay film of the same type is for the most part absent. Yet it also lacks the artistry and knowing, quiet, and tense dread of the best GWOT-era procedural made so far, 2012’s “Zero Dark Thirty.” This is well done to be sure, but with its more intimate and humane approach, it’s a mixed bag in terms of addressing the geopolitical situation it toys with exploring.

Here the film’s big moment is Saunders relating a story about his wife as a generic “love triumphs over hate” example, and knowing that Saunders is merely an apparition, it feels uninspired and tackedon, side-stepping the complex issues at play.

There are moments though of the promise and brilliance that could’ve made this movie more, like a scene where the perpetrator’s wife (Melissa Benoist) is interrogated. Her speech is one of the more chilling, provoking, and alarming things I have seen on screen in recent memory and will stay with me long after the rest of the film becomes hazy.

Yet this is a practically a blip. After Dzhokar is apprehended, things immediately shift into cool-down mode. Throngs of onlookers cheering police as they leave the final showdown, and all the heroes gather for congratulatory drinks at a sepia-toned cop bar. Then a strange epilogue ensues where the real-life counterparts of the characters on screens have their say.

Nothing new is said, though. The bigger, more upsetting questions remain unanswered. Love Triumphs Over Hate™ like Saunders says, but what else is new?

“Patriots Day” tells a tragic, riveting story adequately, but it misses the big picture: that “procedurals” like this, and the true stories they are based on, will be with us as a society for a long time to come and the answer to that problem may never be solved until its too late.

Meg Weichman is a perma-intern at the Traverse City Film Festival and a trained film archivist.

la la land

I

In marvelous Cinemascope and like a Technicolor dream comes “La La Land” — a swooning love letter to a bygone era of studio filmmaking that will make your spirits soar and your heart sing. The wonderstruck giddy glee of MGM’s Freed Unit pictures of the ’40s and ’50s combines with the thoughtful drama and candy-colored confections of Jacques Demy (“The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “The Young Girls of Rochefort”) to bring the story of a couple of dreamers, actor Mia (Emma Stone) and jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), as they navigate the unforgiving landscape of Tinseltown. With the most contemporary of artistry and sensibilities, 31-yearold wunderkind director Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash”) will make even the musical-averse believe in its vitality, proving his film to be more than a nostalgic artifact. And that the script is so hilarious, affecting and true; that the costumes and visuals are so bold, beautiful and bright; and that the music

by Justin Hurwitz is so catchy and lovely — it feels like we got impossibly lucky. But when you pull it apart, “La La Land” isn’t perfect. It drags in sections and is rather predictable. Yet these shortcomings are hardly noticeable in the face of the sheer amount of joy and pleasure it delivers. It all comes down to the fact that for the two hours you get to bask in “La La Land’s” sun-kissed rhapsody, you’ll have a smile on your face.

It’s sheer cinematic bliss you won’t want to end.

PASSENGERS

W

ith two of the hottest and most likeable stars in the galaxy (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt), a primo Christmas release date, and super-compelling premise, “Passengers” showed so much promise. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by the mystery behind why two people woke up out of hypersleep 90 years too early on a spaceship headed to a privatized space colony, essentially stranding them “Castaway”style in space, except Wilson’s a woman and not a volleyball.

That’s a film I want to see, and that’s a film I still want to see, because it’s definitely not the film I saw. Within the first 15 minutes, the writers reveal they couldn’t write themselves out of that fascinating setup, and the intrigue as to why they woke up completely vanishes. In fact, there’s no real mystery except why anyone agreed to make this. Without any specific spoilers, the central conceit is one of extremely poor taste. It’s like Stockholm syndrome in the rapiest way. But despite this creepy turn of events, we are still supposed to believe in the great love between Pratt and Lawrence, a position made even more difficult since they have zero chemistry. There is a riveting moral dilemma here, it’s just too bad it’s explored in the most superficial of ways. I wanted to know so much more about this world: the privatized space travel and colonies, what Earth was like, everyone’s reasons for leaving earth for Homestead II, but instead I got to spend the movie with two dullards making goo-goo eyes. With the cheesiest dialogue, situations so patently ridiculous I kept expecting a dream sequence reveal, and deus ex machina after deus ex machine instead of actual development, this is a trip you won’t want to take.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 27

DOWNTOWN

TRAVERSE CITY 7 Golden Globe Wins!

SUNDAY - WEDNESDAY 1:30 • 4:30 • 7:30 PM THURSDAY 1 • 3:45 • 6:30 • 9:15 PM •••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••

upcoming issues the youth movement jan 30, 2017

•••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••

WEST SIDE STORYNR WEDNESDAY 10:30 AM

Oscar-Winning Musicals Month! - 25¢ matinee

SENSORY FRIENDLY FAMILY SURPRISE

valentine’s day feb 6, 2017

express

NORTHERN

FRIDAY 10:45 AM - 25¢ Kids Matinee

THE REVENANTR

FRIDAY NIGHT FLICKS - $3 or 2 for $5 - FREE Gummi Bears!

DOWNTOWN

northernexpress.com

IN CLINCH PARK

SUNDAY - TUESDAY 1 • 4 • 7 PM WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY 12:30 • 3:15 • 6 • 8:45 PM 231-947-4800

NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • February 08 - February 14, 2016 Vol. 26 No. 06

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION info@northernexpress.com

EXPERIENCE INTERLOCHEN

Feb. 14 An Evening with Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge | Aoife O’Donovan and her band

Aoife O’Donovan, the talented vocalist praised by national publications like the Washington Post, The New York Times, Rolling Stone magazine and more, teams with Grammy nominees Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge for an evening of music you won’t want to miss.

tickets.interlochen.org 800.681.5920

28 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

the ADViCE GOddESS Flee Willy

Q

: I’m a 27-year-old woman, dating again after a six-year relationship. I slept with a guy on the third date and was dismayed when he didn’t spend the night. It didn’t feel like just a hookup, and it wasn’t a work night.

Is this just how people date now — going home immediately after sex — or does this mean he’s not serious?

— Confused

A

: There are two ways to solve this problem. One is to say, “Hey, I’d really like you to stay the night.” The other is to hide his shoes and keys.

The “half-night stand” — avoiding the earlymorning walk of shame, often via middleof-the-night Uber — is being proclaimed the new one-night stand. The truth is, the just-post-sex adios isn’t exactly a new phenomenon; it’s probably just more prevalent, thanks to how easy smartphones make it to swipe office supplies, Thai food, and sex partners right to your door.

As for why this guy left, it’s hard to say. Maybe he’s gone for good, or maybe he just wasn’t sure you wanted him to stay. Maybe he sleepwalks, sleep-carjacks, or can’t fall asleep in a strange bed. Or maybe he’s got some earlymorning thing — seeing his parole officer, walking the goat, or (more likely) making the bathroom smell like 12 dead goats.

Your fretting about what the deal is suggests you might not be as comfortable as you think about having sex before there’s a relationship in place. You may unconsciously be succumbing to a form of peer pressure — peer pressure that mainly exists in your own mind — called “pluralistic ignorance.” This is social psychologists’ term for when many people in a group are personally uncomfortable with some belief or behavior but go along with it anyway — incorrectly concluding that most people are A-Okay with it and thinking they should be, too. (Basically, “monkey assume/monkey do.”)

Consider how the millennial generation is supposedly “Generation Hookup.” Looking at survey data from Americans ages 20 to 24, psychologist Jean Twenge actually found that people born from 1990 to 1994 (millennials) were “significantly more likely” than those born from 1965 to 1969 (Gen Xers) to say they’d had ZERO sex partners since the age of 18. (Fifteen percent of millennials went sexless, versus 6 percent of Gen Xers.)

And if millennials were clued in on pluralistic ignorance, the number in the “no sex for now” column might be even higher. For

adviceamy@aol.com advicegoddess.com

example, biological anthropologist Chris Reiber finds that women seriously overestimate other women’s comfort level with “hookup behaviors” (from “sexual touching above the waist” to sex) in situations “where a more traditional romantic relationship is NOT an explicit condition of the encounter.”

Figure out what actually works for you emotionally — whether you can just say ”whatevs!” if a guy goes all nail-’n’-turn-tail or whether you might want to wait to have sex till you’ve got a relationship going. That’s when it becomes easier to broach uncomfortable subjects — so you won’t have to wonder, say, why he’s running out at 2:27 a.m. You will know: It’s not you; it’s his sleep apnea and how he likes to go home to his CPAP machine rather than die in your bed.

Gimme Sum Of Your Luvin’

Q A

: Resolve an argument, please. How often should married people be having sex to have a happy marriage?

— Married Person

: It is kind of depressing if the last time you screamed in bed was two months ago when your husband rolled over in his sleep and elbowed you in the eye.

However, consider that more of a good thing is not always better. For example, having more in the boobage area is generally great — unless that means having three. Well, according to social psychologist Amy Muise and her colleagues, once you’ve got a relationship going, sex works kind of the same way. They find that having sex once a week is associated with greater happiness; however, more sex than that doesn’t make for more happiness, and it can sometimes make for less.

The researchers explain that many people are exhausted and feel overwhelmed, so “the pressure to engage in sex as frequently as possible may be daunting and even stressful.” But, interestingly, comparisons with one’s peers — positive or negative — also color how people feel.

Sociologist Tim Wadsworth finds that, beyond simply having sex, what really makes people happier is thinking they’re having more of it than everybody else.

Having sex just once a week can keep the spouse with a stronger sex drive feeling satisfied enough while keeping the less lusty spouse from feeling like a sexual pack mule.

This, in turn, helps keep resentment from taking over your relationship to the point where you go around grumbling that the last time somebody got into your pants, it was because they paid $3.79 for them at Goodwill.

aSTRO

lOGY

annual study to determine which of the world’s countries offers the most freedom. The Legatum Institute measures indicators like civil liberties, social tolerance, and the power to choose one’s destiny. The current champion is Luxembourg. Canada is in second place. France is 22nd, the U.S. is 26th, and Italy 27th. Since I’m hoping you will markedly enhance your own personal freedom in the coming months, you might want to consider moving to Luxembourg. If that’s not an option, what else could you do? The time is ripe to hatch your liberation plans.

is the name of a village in southwestern England. Its name is impressive because of the exclamation point. But it’s not as dramatic as that of the only town on earth with two exclamation points: Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, which is in Quebec. I invite you Aries folks to be equally daring.

According to my reading of the astrological omens, you have a cosmic mandate and poetic license to cram extra !!!!s into all your writing and speaking, and even add them to the spelling of your name! Why? Because this should be one of the most exciting and ebullient phases of your astrological cycle -- a time to risk showing just how enthusiastic and energetic you are!!!!!

"Arise!"--get up to the challenge. by Matt Jones

ACROSS 1 Body of beliefs 6 Zipped past 11 Heathcliff, for one 14 2016 Disney title character voiced by Auli’i Cravalho 15 Statement of empathy (or sarcasm, depending on tone) 16 He shared a phone booth with Bill and Ted 17 Sides at the monastery diner?

19 Commingle 20 Rotary phone feature 21 “Forbidden dance” popularized in the late 1980s 23 “Daily Show” correspondent ___ Lydic 26 Kombucha brewing need 28 Pitchblende and hornblende, e.g.

29 Is here 31 “Thank you,” in Honolulu 33 “Just don’t look nervous” 35 Pivotal 38 “Read Across America” gp.

39 Smoking alternative, once 40 Hogwarts letter carrier 42 Muhammad of the ring 43 The Jetsons’ youngest 45 Creator of “Community” and co-creator of “Rick and Morty” 48 Quenches 50 Most dangerous, as winter roads 51 ___ en place (professional kitchen setup) 53 “King ___” (Jackson moniker) 55 “Ring Around the Rosie” flower 56 Paper crane art 58 Makes a knot 60 B-movie piece 61 Team of nine that doesn’t draw, dance, or play an instrument?

66 Beehive State college athlete 67 “___ Joy” 68 Home of the Burj Khalifa 69 “WKRP” character Nessman

70 Tissue masses 71 Rating system basis, often

DOWN 1 “Unbelievable” band of 1991 2 Wrestler-turned-B-movie-actor Johnson 3 Yes, in Yokohama 4 How files were often stored, before the cloud 5 Bangalore wrap 6 Part of the NRA 7 Crossword puzzler’s dir.

8 Places where one may tip for getting tips 9 It’s visible on cold days 10 “O.K.” from Tom Sawyer 11 Special appearance by a Chevrolet muscle car?

12 Emulate The Dude 13 State with the most counties 18 Gives confirmation 22 New Mexico’s official neckwear 23 American Revolutionary patriot Silas 24 Shine 25 Places to buy Indian string instruments?

27 “I ___ robot, beep boop beep” (unusually common impersonation of a robot) 30 Tucker who sang “Delta Dawn” 32 Company with a duck mascot 34 Vague 36 At ___ (puzzled) 37 Like a clogged dryer vent 41 “Go forward! Move ahead!” song 44 Couturier Cassini 46 Cleopatra’s undoer 47 Removes, as an opponent’s spine in “Mortal Kombat” 49 ___ dragon (world’s largest lizard) 51 Business bigwig 52 Mad as hell 54 Others, in Spanish 57 Author unknown, for short 59 Comes to a close 62 Got into a stew?

63 “___ Action: It’s FANtastic” (old slogan) 64 Musical ability 65 “___ the season ...”

BY ROB BREZSNY

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) A London-based think tank does an

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Westward Ho!

“Jonesin” Crosswords

JAN 23 - JAN 29

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): ): The New

York Film Critics Circle named Casey Affleck the Best Actor of the year for his role in the film Manchester by the Sea. In his acceptance speech at the award ceremony, Affleck gave a dramatic reading of quotes by David Edelstein, a prominent critic who has criticized his work. “Mumbly and mulish,” was one of Edelstein’s jabs about Affleck. “Doesn’t have a lot of variety,” was another. A third: “Whenever I see Affleck’s name in a movie’s credits, you can expect a standard, genre B picture -- slowed down and tarted up.” I suspect that in the coming weeks, Taurus, you may get a vindication comparable to Affleck’s. I suggest you have wicked fun with it, as he did.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The roulette

wheels at casinos in Monaco have 37 pockets.

Eighteen are black, 18 are red, and one is green. On any particular spin, the ball has just less than half a chance of landing in a red or black pocket. But there was one night back in August of 1913, at the Casino de Monte-Carlo, when probability seemed inoperative. The little white ball kept landing on the black over and over again. Gamblers responded by increasingly placing heavy bets on red numbers. They assumed the weird luck would soon change. But it didn’t until the 27th spin. (The odds of that happening were 136,823,184 to 1.)

What does this have to do with you? I suspect you’re in a comparable situation -- the equivalent of about 20 spins into an improbable streak. My advice: Don’t bet on the red yet.

CANCER June 21-July 22): Born to a

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The next two

weeks will be a favorable time to kiss the feet of helpful allies, but not to kiss the butts of clever manipulators. I also advise you to perform acts of generosity for those who will use your gifts intelligently, but not for those who will waste your blessings or treat you like a doormat. Here’s my third point: Consider returning to an old fork in the road where you made a wrong turn, and then making the correct turn this time. But if you do, be motivated by bright hope for a different future rather than by sludgy remorse for your error.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the beginning

was the wild cabbage. Our ancestors found that it had great potential as food, and proceeded to domesticate it. Over the centuries, they used selective breeding to develop many further variations on the original. Kale and kohlrabi were the first to appear. By the 15th century, cauliflower had been created.

Broccoli came along a hundred years later, followed by Brussels sprouts. Today there are at least 20 cultivars whose lineage can be traced back to the wild cabbage. In my astrological opinion, you Libras are in a wild cabbage phase of your long-term cycle.

In the coming months you can and should do seminal work that will ultimately generate an abundance of useful derivatives.

ScORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1733,

workers finished building the New Cathedral in Salamanca, Spain. But if you go there today, you will see two seemingly modern elements on one facade: carvings of a helmeted astronaut and of a gargoyle licking an ice cream cone. These two characters were added by craftsmen who did renovations on the cathedral in 1992. I offer this vignette as metaphor for your life, Scorpio. It’s a favorable time to upgrade and refine an old structure in your life. And if you do take advantage of this opening, I suggest you add modern touches.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I suspect

that in the coming weeks, you will be afforded opportunities to bend the rules in ways that could make life simpler, more pleasurable, and more successful -- or all of the above. To help you deal with the issue of whether these deviations would have integrity, I offer you these questions: Would bending the rules serve a higher good, not just your selfish desires? Is there an approach to bending the rules that may ultimately produce more compassionate results than not bending the rules? Could you actually get away with bending the rules, both in the sense of escaping punishment and also in the sense of being loyal to your own conscience?

religious mother on July 8, 1839, John D. Rockefeller amassed a fortune in the oil industry. Even in comparison to modern billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, he’s the richest American who ever lived. “God gave me the money,” he said on numerous occasions.

Now I’m going to borrow the spirit of Rockefeller’s motto for your use, Cancerian. Why? Because it’s likely you will be the recipient of blessings that prompt you to wonder if the Divine Wow is involved. One of these may indeed be financial in nature. (P.S.: Such boons are even more likely to transpire if you’re anchored in your sweet, dark wisdom and your holy, playful creativity.)

necessarily guarantee that you will acquire paranormal powers in the coming weeks. I’m not saying that you will be able to foretell the future or eavesdrop on conversations from a half-mile away or transform water into whiskeyflavored coffee. But I do suspect that you will at least tap further into a unique personal ability that has been mostly just potential up until now. Or you may finally start using a resource that has been available for a long time. For best results, open your imagination to the possibility that you possess dormant magic.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What influence do

PIScES (Feb. 19-March 20): I love to see

you need most in your life right now? Are you suffering because you lack a particular kind of help or teaching? Would you benefit from having a certain connection that you have not yet figured out how to make? Is there a person or event that could heal you if you had a better understanding about how you need to be healed? The coming weeks will be a favorable time to get useful answers to these questions -- and then take action based on what you discover.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I don’t

dumpsters that have been decorated by graffiti artists. Right now there’s one by the side of a busy road that I often drive down. Its drab gray exterior has been transformed into a splash of cartoon images and scripts. Amidst signatures that look like “Riot Goof” and “Breakfast Toys” and “Sky Blooms,” I can discern a ninja rhinoceros and a gold-crowned jaguar and an army of flying monkeys using squirt guns to douse a forest fire. I suspect it’s a perfect time to for you to be inspired by this spectacle, Pisces.

What dumpster-like situation could you beautify?

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 29

IDEAS. OPINIONS. LEADERS. 2017 Opinion Writer Lineup

Northern Michigan’s Newspaper

CARLIN SMITH

Emmet County Supports a pro-business agenda I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you, we are in charge of our own attitudes. (Charles Swindoll)

STEVE TUTTLE

Grand Traverse County Registered Unaffiliated Voter “Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.”

ISAIAH SMITH

Grand Traverse County Independent “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

CHRISTIE MINERVINI

Grand Traverse County Critical Thinker, Independent Voter “We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.” (Will Rogers)

MARK PONTONI

Emmet County Proud Progressive “Where fair and balanced came to die.”

30 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly

JACK SEGAL

Grand Traverse County Progressive Internationalist “Ending the violence is never a bad strategy. “

TOM KACHADURIAN

Grand Traverse County None Of The Above “People can only be found in what they do.”

AMY HARDIN

Grand Traverse County Progressive “Our great democracies still think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.” (Bertrand Russell)

MARY KEYES ROGERS

Grand Traverse County Equally Disgusted By Both Parties “The world is run only by the people who take the time to show up”

CHRISTOPHER STRUBLE

Emmet County “Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual.”

GRANT PARSONS

Grand Traverse County Milliken Republican Democrat “One never knows, do one?”

(Fats Waller/Tony Berry)

NORTHERN EXPRESS

CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT STYLIST NEEDED The Beehive Salon, Elk Rapids is hiring a part or full time stylist. No clientele needed. Aveda sales commission based pay. Contact Nikki at 231-342-5852 or nikki49648@yahoo.com BREWERY CELLAR PERSON Right Brain Brewery seeks beer lover for moving, kegging, & packaging beer, & maintaining a clean, safe environment. Experience preferred but will train. See website for details. http://www. rightbrainbrewery.com/pages.php?tabid=1&p ageid=548&title=Careers ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - FULL-TIME Well-established, local IT business now hiring a full-time Administrative Assistant. Hours are 8-5, Mon-Fri. Includes full benefits package. http://www.safetynet-inc.com/careers DENTAL ASSISTANT Specialty practice looking for an energetic, friendly and reliable team member to join our busy practice. Strong interpersonal skills, prior dental experience and x-ray certification required. Excellent opportunity for long-term growth with flexibility and a generous benefit package. Please submit resume and cover letter to info@gtendo.com HOSPITAL MEDICINE OPERATIONS MANAGER Looking for an independent thinker to be responsible for supporting and managing hospital medicine programs. This individual will be a self-starter who brings an organized and consistent approach to our processes. Knowledge of Med. Terminology,

EMR Systems, Medical Provider Staffing and Project Management is ideal. Requires a four year degree in a health care related field and a minimum of three or more years leadership experience in a health care setting.

Operational management in a hospital setting or multi-site practice preferred. cguinan@indigo247.com P/T TELLER EAST TRAVERSE CATHOLIC FCU Part time teller to provide a variety of member service functions involving the receipting and/or disbursing of funds Work involves constant and direct dealing with credit union members and potential members. Must have math, computer skills and flexible schedule. Apply at 3797 Veterans Dr. Traverse City 49684 or email resume’ to jhansen@etcfcu.org.

HEALTH SERVICES STOP OVERPAYING for your prescriptions! SAVE! Call our licensed Canadian and International pharmacy, compare prices and get $25.00 OFF your first prescription! CALL 1-800-259-4150 Promo Code CDC201625

REAL ESTATE LANDLORDS & REAL ESTATE INVESTORS NMRPOA is having a lunch meeting Monday, March 6, at Flap Jack Shack in TC at 12:00 p.m. We are a non-profit organization assisting landlords and real estate investors. Services include leasing forms, how to best screen renters, financial/tax implications of owning rental properties and much more. Contact Kathy at gkroush48@outlook.com for more information.

30ACS AG LEELANAU COUNTY/BINGHAM TWNSHP 30Acs AG Zoning-Bingham Township/Leelanau County-AG USE ONLYPerfect potential for Vineyard, Hops, Malt, etc!

Cleared, Tilled & Maintained-planted yearly.

Not many of these left! h t t p : / / w w w. z i l l o w. c o m / h o m e s / f o r _ sale/2113083602_zpid/globalrelevanceex_sort/44.934638,-85.656978,44.92645,85.67157_rect/15_zm/

BUY/SELL/TRADE AKC DOBERMAN PUPS Reds, Blue and Black. Big healthy pups $800.

Great Companions, don’t miss!

SAWMILLS FROM ONLY $4397.00- MAKE & SAVE MONEY with your own bandmill- Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship!

FREE Info/DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com 1-800-578-1363 Ext. 300N

OTHER LOCALLY FARM RAISED Black Angus, No-Hormones, Non-Fertilized Grass Fed, Non-GMO Grain Finished, Butchered-Quarters (approx 100 to 124 lbs): Please call 231-3302028 or 231-388-3836 SEWING, ALTERATIONS, mending & repairs.

Maple City, Maralene Roush 231-228-6248.

GRAND TRAVERSE PIPES & DRUMS February 18th, 7:00-10:30pm at the Traverse City Elks Lodge Feat. Grand Traverse Pipes & Drums, The Wild Sullys, and Celtic Fire Highland Dancers Light Hors d’oeuvres * Cash Bar Admission At The Door Only: 20.00 per adult * 10.00 ages 10 and younger

easy. accessible. all online.

Log on to submit your classified!

northernexpress.com/classifieds Easy. Accessible. All Online.

Northern Express Weekly • january 23, 2017 • 31

BUNDLE UP & CASH IN.

10

for

$10

EARN 10 POINTS, THEN SWIPE AT KIOSK TO RECEIVE $10 FREE PLAY.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28 | 10AM-10PM STANDARD PROMOTION RULES APPLY. SEE PLAYER’S CLUB FOR DETAILS. PETOSKEY LOCATION ONLY. BASE POINTS MUST BE EARNED ON DAY OF PROMOTION. ONE OFFER PER CARD HOLDER.

32 • January 23, 2017 • Northern Express Weekly