Top Ten

this week’s top ten

Be Our Ear To The Ground!

Northern Express is for and by the people of northern Michigan. So hey, here’s your chance to be a part of it! We’re looking for your tips and ideas for several upcoming winter issues. Know any… - romantic, heartfelt or downright quirky engagement or love tales for our Valentine’s Day issue? - northern Michiganders whose stories are so impressive or fantastic they belong on our 10th annual Fascinating People list? - true experts on making something great out of basically nothing? We’ll be showcasing interesting people and projects in our DIY Experts’ Guide - inside scoops from the trails for our massive spring 2022 Hiking & Biking Guide?

If you have leads or ideas, we’re all ears! Drop us a line at info@northernexpress.com. As always, our readers make Northern Express a better read!

North of the 45th: Gattle’s Greets 2nd Century • Traveling Pierogi • Night Sledding • Snowshoes Aglow NORTHERN express norther nex press.com

NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • december 14 - december 20, 2020 • Vol. 30 No. 49

tastemaker Old Mission General Store Pizza

The Old Mission General Store cooks up some of the tastiest pizza in town … 15 miles out of town, on Old Mission Peninsula. (Trust us — it is well worth the drive!) Their New York-style pies have a perfect blend of cheese, sauce, and thin, crispy crust that can be finished with any of your favorite toppings. Grab a large to go — which easily feeds four — for a day trip on Old Mission, after a hike at Mission Point Lighthouse or before an afternoon of winery visits. The historic trading post has been in business since 1839 and is also home to a mini coffee bar, dipped ice creams, and barrel pickles. Be sure to bring some extra change to treat your sweet tooth with a few impulse buys from the oldfashioned candy collection. $18+ for a large. Available to enjoy inside the old-timey parlor or to go at 18250 Mission Road, Traverse City. (231) 223-4310.

Better than a Bar: Highlands on the Rocks

Some folks apres ski; others shake or stir, then ski. Those in the latter camp will love Highlands on the Rocks, held Jan. 14 through 17 at Boyne Highlands Ski Resort in Harbor Springs. Sponsored by High Five Spirits Craft Distillery in Petoskey, the weekend brings a bevy of on-hill cocktail events, two race events, and even in-room cocktail gifts. The Slopestyle competition (pictured), open to skiers and boarders of all ages, will be held at the Lower Heather Terrain Park at 11am Saturday, Jan. 15. The Snow Cross event, which starts off 11am Sunday, Jan. 16 on MacGully, will pit racers against one another in a challenging double-elimination-style tournament that’ll have them navigating bumps, jumps, dips, and berms galore. For more info visit highlandsharborsprings.com/events/highlands-on-the-rocks.

4

Hey, read it Crying in H Mart

The way to one’s heart is through the stomach — or so the familiar adage goes. But for author and recording artist Michelle Zauner, “heart” is hardly the end of the line. Following the loss of her mother to cancer, on whose piquant packed lunches and love she was raised, Zauner turns to H mart — an Asian specialty store — to keep her Korean heritage close, and her connection to her mother closer. An outgrowth of her essay in The New Yorker, Zauner’s debut memoir, “Crying in H Mart,” paints an unembellished portrait of the ties that bind bloodline to tradition. A tale of pain recast as progression, Zauner’s delicate prose is just a taste of the slices of self we all stand to lose or gain.

5

The First Stop on Your MLK Weekend Itinerary: Brewery Book Fair

There’s nothing we love more than a great team-up. Northern Michigan E3, the Traverse City region’s antiracism taskforce, has partnered up with Right Brain Brewery to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend with good books, good cheer, and good changes for our community. On Saturday, Jan. 15, the dynamic duo is putting on a book fundraiser and art market at Right Brain. The goal: raising money to purchase diverse and inclusive books for Traverse City Area Public Schools libraries. A booklist is available from the MISelf in Books project, an annual list of diverse books for Michigan learners, at mimame.org. There will also be an art market focusing on local Black makers and an open mic playing into the evening. The free event (donations encouraged) runs from 4pm to 8pm at Right Brain Brewery. Find it at 225 E 16th St. in Traverse City. For more information, visit northernmichigane3.com.

Motown Gospel in Traverse City for MLK Day

We don’t get a lot of opportunities to hear gospel music in Traverse City, but when we do, man, is it extraordinary. The upcoming Jan. 17 show in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. at City Opera House promises to be just that. First, there’s the headliner: the nationally acclaimed Motown Legends Gospel Choir — the 16-piece group with original members of The Miracles (“Shop Around”) and The Contours (“Do You Love Me, Now That I Can I Dance) that wowed TC audiences back in 2015. That powerhouse of voices will be further backed up with special guest Laurie Sears, Northwest Michigan Children’s Choir Cantus and — Chamber Singers (under the direction of Jeffrey Cobb), plus the famed Joe Wilson on dobro and Kevin Larose on tuba. Then there’s this: The show, presented by Building Bridges with Music, is free. Tickets are limited to 50 for the in-person show but all are invited to watch, sway, and sing along to the livestream, also free, at musichub.live/mlk2022NMC.

S

EY

Pure Michigan Wildflower Local Honey

HILBERT'S HONEY CO.

T R A V E R S E C I T Y | 1 8 8 7

Visit our store or shop online. Shipping, curbside & after-hours pick up available

HilbertsHoneyCo.com 3555 5 Mile Rd. TC | 231-252-4569

Stuff We Love: Bringing Rad Artists, Writers & Composers Up North

Tiny enclave though it is, Good Hart manages to bring some of the coolest creatives we’ve seen Up North. It just announced the selected artist for its Elevating Diverse Voices Curated Residency Program this summer. Rashaun Rucker, a photographer, printmaker, journalist, and the first African American to be named Michigan Press Photographer of the Year (2008). Rucker won’t arrive until this August but you can see his work — which he says “examines social and cultural issues in America, with a particular focus on human rights, mental illness, the black experience, and the influence of inequality” — now at www.rashaunrucker.com and above. You can also get to know this winter’s artists in residence (and check out some associated events) at goodhartartistresidency.org. Wish your name was among them? Guess what? The open calls for artists, writers, and composers looking to be part of a late 2022/early 2023 Good Hart residency is currently live there, too.

bottoms up Two K’s 2020 Heirloom Ice Cider

You’ve heard of ice wine, but what about ice cider? With ice wine, winemakers harvest grapes that have frozen while still on the vine. When grapes freeze, their water content turns to ice; not the sugars or other dissolved solids in the grape. That means frozen grapes give way to a markedly more concentrated, sweeter wine than what most people are used to. Similarly, ice cider makes use of apples that have frozen on the tree, which concentrates the sugars in the fruit and leads to sweeter ciders with higher alcohol content. In our humble opinion, the Suttons Bay-based Two K Farms makes the finest ice cider in northern Michigan, and we’re particularly taken with the 2020 vintage of their Heirloom Ice Cider. For this delicious treat, Two K handpicks four varieties of frozen apples from its own trees – Macoun, Golden Russet, Baldwin, and King David — and then presses them and ferments them at their peak ripeness. The result is a rich, satisfying ice cider that conveys both the dessert wine sweetness you expect from a good ice cider and the bursting apple flavors and crisp finish that makes hard cider unique. Enjoy a glass of the stuff as an after-supper treat with some chocolate or a good, fruity pie. Just don’t drink too much of it: The 9 percent ABV might just sneak up on you! Stop in at Two K (3872 SW Bay Shore Drive in Suttons Bay; (231) 866-4265) to grab a 375mL bottle for $20.