Top Ten

this week’s top ten

Comedy Club to Debut in TC

With the future of the two-years-dark Traverse City Film Festival in question, and the short-lived Winter Comedy Festival long gone, a group of local comedians has just announced plans to launch the Traverse City Comedy Club inside the Grand Traverse Events Center this October.

“We’re bringing funny back to Traverse City,” proclaims Stuart Lazar, owner of the Traverse City Comedy Club. “And after the past year and a half that we all have experienced, funny is something that this area desperately needs.”

The newly renovated 4,000-square Events Center, located at 738 S. Garfield Avenue in Traverse City, seats about 150 — a just-right size that’ll enable the club to attract some bigger names without compromising its intimate feel, says Lazar.

The debut shows kick off Oct. 8 and 9 with comedian Mike Getter (Traverse City’s own Marti Johnson will serve as MC) and continues with dates through New Year’s Eve. Attendees should expect the comedic lineups to feature a mix of comedians from around the country, the vast pool of Michigan talent, and many local names. The club also plans to host open mic nights and offer comedy classes.

Tickets generally will be priced between $15 and $25 per person. For more information, and to purchase tickets for any of the shows scheduled through 2021, see www.traversecitycomedyclub.com or call (231) 421-1880.

tastemaker Barrel Back’s Chicken Wings

Named for the signature “barrel back” boats that once dotted the coasts of Charlevoix County, Barrel Back Restaurant in Walloon Lake tops any proper “Up North” to-do list. Since this hidden gem of an upscale eatery first opened its doors in June 2013, its scratch-made menu and impeccable service have made it a fast-growing local favorite. Featuring the area’s only “open air” dining experience, complete with sliding glass garage-style doors, Barrel Back diners can enjoy a meal inside, or simply tie their boat to the dock! And what better end to a bayside cruise than a little finger food from the grill? You guessed it: chicken wings. Featuring 12, locally sourced wings per order, these sassy little starters are smoked in the kitchen’s own wood-fired rotisserie before being drizzled with one of three homemade sauces; traditional Buffalo, tangy Chipotle Barbeque, or Korean Chili Glaze. Finished with a few stalks of celery and classic Bleu Cheese dressing, we dare you not to lick the plate. $32 for 12 wings,or $18 for 6. Find Barrel Back restaurant at 4069 M-75 in Walloon Lake (231) 535-6000, www.barrel-back.com 4 • august 23, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

Big Beautiful Balloons Over Bellaire Aug. 27 & 28

Take your lofty ambitions anywhere with a view of the sky over Lake Bellaire Friday and Saturday, Aug. 27 and 28. At 6:30pm both nights, the annual and awe-inspiring Balloons Over Bellaire will launch more than 15 hot air balloons from the alpine tubing hill behind The Lakeview Hotel at Shanty Creek Resort. There are plenty of locations to watch from, so organizers ask skywatchers to please keep social distancing and masks in mind. Early risers, you might want to grab your coffee and put in at Torch Lake at 7:30am Saturday instead; the balloons will also do a flyover there. Free event. shantycreek.com

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Hey, watch It Reservation Dogs

There are a lot of things that make FX on Hulu’s new series RESERVATION DOGS notable. That it is co-created by Oscar-winning genius Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit). That it’s set within an indigenous community in Oklahoma. Or that it has a groundbreaking all-indigenous writers’ room. But what really makes it stand out is that it is simply one of the best debut series of the year. With a lived-in, lowkey feel, this coming-of-age comedy caper follows four misfit friends with a propensity for petty crime as they drift through their small town and dream of escape. Peppered with playful film references (see the Tarantino inspiration of its title), the show balances its absurdist and distinctive sense of humor with something grounded and real. And its rich, oddball characters, played by a breakout cast of unknowns, bring us something with a profound sense of identity and place.

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6 boyne heritage center

Once upon a time, a team of active and passionate Boyne City volunteers painstakingly assembled the artifacts and documents that told Boyne City’s rich history. They even helped bring about a millage to fund a city building addition to house the stuff. As some volunteers died and others moved on, support and momentum faltered, and what was intended to be a museum became a kind of unmanned antique shop with a hodge-podge of interesting objects, photos, and papers — but few visitors. The coming Boyne Heritage Center aims to pick up that flickering torch. With a new nonprofit, an expanded geographical focus (Boyne Falls, Horton Bay, and other historic towns), and two of four phases of planned exhibit spaces underway (by a Dearborn designer with Henry Ford Museum cred!), the new Boyne Heritage Center is taking shape inside the city’s new waterfront municipal building.

Want a sneak peek? You’ll have your chance during downtown Boyne’s upcoming Stroll the Streets event, 6pm to 9pm Friday, Aug. 27. The BHC’s “Unearthing Treasures: Life in a Lumber Camp” exhibit showcases images and written remembrances left behind by a family who lived in a Boyne lumber camp more than a century ago. Visitors can see the city’s painstakingly restored 1905 town clock, and kids can climb aboard the American LaFrance fire engine — and hand crank its siren, just the way Boyne firemen did when the department bought it new in 1917.

“We’re in the early days still, taking inventory and high-res scans of our collection,” Kecia Freed, board president tells Northern Express. “These open houses are kind of like a show-andtell of some of the cool things we’re finding along the way … we have the design, thousands of artifacts. Now it’s which stories can we bring to life?” Learn more about what’s in store at www.boyneheritage.com

Learn & Listen: Vintage 78 RPM Spins at the Ramsdell Aug. 24

Somewhere on that vast timeline between classical music and classic rock, there is a blip that bears another kind of classic sound: those of-the-moment tunes captured on 78 rpm records. For the final presentation of its free Talks, Tunes, Tours lecture series, the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts is bringing in Alex Tank of 78s for the People — a 78 rpm DJ service that plays original records from the 1920s–1950s on a modern turntable. Tank’s talk, “American Mosaic: A Vintage Music Experience at 78 rpm” will take a look at the wild and wonderous landscape of America’s popular music market from its beginnings in the 1920s while taking audiences on an audio tour of selections from early country music, hot jazz, immigrant songs, and more, direct from the original 78 rpm records. Talks, Tunes, and Tours is a part of Midweek Mornings in Manistee, a collaborative program between the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts, Vogue Theatre, and Old Kirke Museum. The “American Mosiac” presentation begins at 10am Aug. 27. Register for your free ticket at www.RamsdellTheatre.org/MidweekMornings.

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Stuff We Love: Rare finds in accessible places

Ninety-one-year-old Bob Baynton has something local antique dealers and history junkies want: a colossal collection of Traverse City-area history, much of it passed down from his late father, also a longtime local antique seller, who himself had acquired more items from Julius Petertyl, who was born in Traverse City in 1903, died here in 2007, and spent most of his 103 years between documenting and cataloging remnants of the town’s early history. When Baynton deigns to lighten his load, he often calls Rolling Hills Antiques’ Glen Lundin, who doesn’t blink at the prospect of purchasing any part of Baynton’s trove. “He names the price, and I pay it,” says Lundin.

Lundin’s look into his recent haul has already revealed scads of rare Traverse City memorabilia, like an 1800s-era advertisement for Hannah & Lay flour featuring a “caddy” toddler and a set of hickory-stick golf clubs; a 1909 calendar starring photos of sweateredand-wool-knickered Traverse City High School football players (among them Loyd Cleveland, aka “That Village Butcher,” and George Petertyle, aka “The Rip Tail Roarer”; and, well … a large wooden basket. Nothing special, you think? Well, at first glance, maybe. But it turns out, this basket — in excellent condition, by the way — is one remaining of the thousands the city’s Wells-Higman Basket Co., located on State Street, made before 1900. (Several hundred examples of the same can be seen going out for delivery in this accompanying photo). Better yet, the basket was accompanied by a handwritten August 1898 sales slip recording full payment for an order of 8 dozen just like it — grand total: $9.47. You can find them and many, many more TC rarities at Rolling Hills Antiques & Art at 5085 Barney Road in Traverse City. (231) 947-1063, www.rollinghillsantiques.com

bottoms up Five Shores’ E Machine

Some of the world’s best ideas are born over a pint — or two or three. In the case of Five Shores Brewing co-founders Oliver Roberts and Matt Demorest, that idea just happened to be, well … beer. Since opening their historic quonset building doors last January, Five Shores has quickly carved a reputation for their brewing expertise and branding wizardry. Set just 30 miles southwest of Traverse City, this Beulah taproom features an impressive range of rotating brews, all carefully crafted using local ingredients, including Williamsburg’s own MI Local Hops. For a little late-summer thirstquenching, Five Shores’s “E Machine” more than fits the bill. A classic “juicy” IPA featuring fruity notes of lemon and nectarine, this crisp, golden pour is cold-kettle hopped for a bitter, herb-y kick with a clean finish. But don’t be fooled by the graband-go growlers; Five Shore products can’t be found at any party store. You’ll just have to stop into the pub for a pint. $5 for a 10-ounce snifter or $7 for a 16-ounce can. Find Five Shores Brewing at 163 S. Benzie Blvd. in Beulah. (231) 383-4400, www.fiveshoresbrewing.com