Top Ten

this week’s top ten

Forest + Festival = Fun

For more than 80 years, folks in Manistee County have been celebrating the Manistee National Forest Festival. This year, the fun begins June 30 and runs through July 4 at Douglas Park at First Street Beach in Manistee. What’s on the docket for year 86? The Anderson Midway Carnival, an “Enchanted Forest” exhibit at Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts, a sand drag competition for RC cars and trucks, a mobile zoo, the Manistee Firecracker 5K (Saturday), a sidewalk chalk art competition, a magic show, and more. All the while, live music, art markets, and a library book sale will be happening in and around town. Fireworks on Fourth of July (scheduled for 10:30pm. over Lake Michigan) put a bright punctuation mark at the end of the event. Prices vary for the activities above, with many free options ranging up to $35/ person for the canvas painting party at the Purple Paintbrush studio. Get all the details at manisteeforestfestival.com.

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Nauti Inn Barstro’s Lake Trout

Summer staycation vibes come to life downtown Cheboygan’s Nauti Inn Barstro. Opened in 2017, this bar-meets-bistro’s maritime twist, complete with alfresco seating and woodplank accents, brings a day spent dockside ashore—minus all that extra sand. Known for its variety of shareable tapas and limited mains (swapping bites is highly encouraged), Nauti Inn’s “floating” menu changes often to feature fresh recipes and in-season dishes. The Lake Trout, however, is a mainstay. A menu highlight since the eatery opened, this flavor-centric fish selection is mindfully-sourced from Big Stone Bay Fishery in Mackinaw City and panseared to crispy-golden perfection. Topped with summer slaw of fennel bulb and citrus segment (grapefruit and orange), the freshwater signature dish is served atop a smear of house-made chive oil and finished with a drizzle of Japanese Yuzu. Available for $14, the starter-sized plate is best enjoyed in Nauti Inn’s spacious on-site garden—just don’t forget your sunglasses! Find Nauti Inn Barstro at 330 N. Main Street in Cheboygan. (231) 668-8250. nautiinn.com 4 • june 27, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

In Gratitude

“In Gratitude,” a free community concert, will be held at 7:30pm on June 30 to thank the many donors and supporters of Beyond Tomorrow: The Campaign for Your City Opera House that has been held over the last four years. Since 2018, more than 95 percent of the Opera House’s $3-million campaign has been raised to improve the 130-year-old space. The concert will feature Seth Bernard, Miriam Picó and Ryan Younce, and A.S. Lutes. Free admission, but ticket required. cityoperahouse.org. (Photo by Tom Kachadurian)

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Hey, Read It! small island

In 1948, former Royal Air Force serviceman Gilbert Joseph has just docked in England from Jamaica, packed in with 500 other immigrants. He rents a ramshackle room from Queenie Bligh, a blue-collar local, where he and his wife, Hortense, struggle to make sense of their new surroundings where race is at the fore. The surprise arrival of Queenie’s husband, Bernard—also back from the war—rounds out the interconnected cast of Andrea Levy’s historical tour de force, Small Island. Told through each character’s own (figurative) island, this award-winning novel masterfully renders the underpinning racial bias—and the resultant struggle for selfdiscovery—that surround the world of postcolonial Britain. Originally published in 2004, this 448-page whopper of a read is available in paperback and perfect for a spot in your beach bag. (Bonus: On a rainy day, you can catch up on the BBC One miniseries adaptation starring Naomie Harris, Ruth Wilson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and David Oyelowo.)

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6 Creative Solutions to Food Insecurity

Food insecurity remains an ongoing concern in Michigan, with the nonprofit Feeding America reporting that in our state, 1 in 7 children are facing hunger. To tackle the problem here in our community, Oliver Art Center and the Benzie MSU Extension have teamed up to offer a new visual and culinary arts program called HealthsmART. The free program is open to area youth ages 7 and up who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Kids will participate in a 1-hour art class and a 1-hour cooking immersion where they enjoy a meal while learning about recipes, nutrition, and kitchen safety. Best of all, they’ll bring home recipes and groceries to keep the culinary fun going at home. Classes run every Friday until August 26 from 10am to 12pm at the Oliver Art Center (132 Coast Guard Rd., Frankfort). If needed, students will be provided with round-trip Benzie Bus passes. Register at oliverart. org or by calling 231-352-4151.

Capping Tall Building Heights

The future lofty buildings in downtown Traverse City might be on the ballot again this fall. Under Proposal 3—a city charter amendment which passed in 2016 with 53 percent of voters in favor—a citywide vote is required for any new buildings constructed in downtown reaching more than 60 feet. Prop 3 has been challenged by developers and upheld in various courts in the ensuing six years, most notably with lawsuits involving development groups 326 Land Company and Innovo. The charter amendment now faces a new petition that would get rid of the voting requirement. Those in favor of repealing Prop 3 argue that it limits or deters developers from affordable housing projects in town. On the other side of the issue are groups like Save Our Downtown, an organization that seeks to maintain the small-town character of the city. If 700 signatures are gathered by the end of June, city voters will get a second swing at Prop 3 this November. (Pictured: a rendering of Innovo’s proposed development on Hall Street.)

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Stuff We Love: Electric Cruising

Elk Rapids Marina—and by extension, all of us who love our sweetwater seas—has just received a jolt of good news: Swedish electric boat manufacturer X Shore has named the marina the official Midwest distribution center of its Eelex 8000, a 26-foot electric boat that can reach a speed of 30+ knots. In turn, the marina is leading efforts to create a “supercharging corridor” along Northwest Lower Michigan waters. Elk Rapids and Northport will be among the first to install charging stations with AQUA superPower, a pioneer in environmentally conscious, ultra-fast marine charging networks. Soon to follow this summer and fall: additional superpower charging stations in Charlevoix, Traverse City, Torch Lake, and Petoskey. Says Susie Cooper, the president of Elk Rapids Marina, “We were excited to help and supply the local knowledge needed to bring all of this together in our home state first. We hope to bring further allocations of boats and charges to other Midwest markets in the years to come, as all three of us ramp up production and capacity to lead the way in the electrification of boating.”

bottoms up Sustain Sparkling Wine

Talk about perfect pairings. Two Up North companies who’ve transformed some of the region’s sweetest natural bounties into fruitful business empires have partnered up to create a product that truly sparkles. A blend of 60 percent cherry wine and 40 percent sparkling white wine, Cherry Republic and Mawby Sparkling Wine’s Sustain is an effervescent pour whose deep cherry hue, aroma, and flavor belies a delicate body and surprisingly light sweetness we didn’t expect from a cherry wine and absolutely adored. A portion of each bottle’s proceeds will go to the Great Lakes Business Network, which works to protect the Great Lakes and the blue economy that depends upon them. (That helps us feel extra good about making Sustain a mainstay of our backyard social hour this summer.) Find a bottle, $23, at Mawby (in-store and online) and at Cherry Republic’s Traverse City and Glen Arbor retail locations. Mawby.wine, cherryrepublic.com. Northern Express Weekly • june 27, 2022 • 5