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Petoskey Area, Here We Come!

There’s so much happening in the Petoskey corner of the Mitten this weekend that we couldn’t choose just one event to share. First up, Harbor Springs Area Restaurant Week kicks off Friday, Feb. 24, with 12 restaurants from Harbor Springs to Boyne City to Petoskey participating. The 10-day event has menu offerings that range from $25 to $60 for multi-course, prixfixe meals…some of which come with wine pairings. Between meals, you’ll have your pick of activities, whether you want to head to Maple Moon Sugarbush & Winery for their annual Wineshoeing celebration ($30 for a guided snowshoe tour plus a bowl of hot chili and two glasses of wine); brave the cold with the Waterfront Field of Dreams Polar Plunge in Lake Charlevoix (the $25 registration fee goes toward building a local baseball/softball field); or indulge in some fish-forward family fun with Boyne City’s Smeltania, featuring food, games, and history all day on Feb. 25. Make your plans at petoskeyarea.com/calendar-events.

The Great Indoor Folk Festival

We love when something is tailor-made for us, so it’s no wonder that Bad Dog Deli is our happy place. While the Old Mission Peninsula hotspot has a rotating menu of daily sandwich and wrap specials, most folks opt to build their own sandwich. Start with your favorite bread—we love the sourdough best—before topping it with Boar’s Head meats (your choice of two), cheese, spreads, and toppings as simple as lettuce and tomato or as upscale as roasted bell peppers and artichokes. We recommend getting the sandwich hot for a buttery, crispy exterior that warms you up on a winter afternoon. Sandwiches are generous in size and in quality of ingredients, and if you opt to add a bag of chips or a brownie, you’re bound to have delicious leftovers for a midnight snack. Create your perfect sammie at 14091 Center Rd. in Traverse City. tcpeninsulagrill.com/bdd, (231) 223-9364

6 Parallel 45’s Reading Series

Earlier this month, Traverse City’s Parallel 45 Theatre announced that they were canceling their spring and summer 2023 activities, sharing in a letter on their website, “While we were able to keep our doors open - and our artists and administrators employed - through a global pandemic, it proved to be a tremendous strain on the organization and revealed the need to reevaluate our operating model.” That means one of the few times to catch them this year is at their winter Reading Series, held in the brand-new Alluvion entertainment space at Commongrounds Cooperative in TC. Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6pm, P45 will tackle The Children, a play that focuses on “two retired nuclear scientists resid[ing] in an isolated cottage by the sea as the world around them crumbles.” Marie Antoinette, a retelling of the famous queen’s life, follows on March 9, with Smokefall, a family drama with splashes of magical realism, wrapping up the season on March 22. Learn more and get tickets at parallel45.org/reading-series-2023.

Take Precautions, Not Chances

The Coast Guard has recently issued several warnings about ice safety for northern Michigan residents and visitors. Due to this year’s warm and unpredictable winter, ice conditions are not as stable and thick as they usually are in February—in fact, in some areas, we are seeing historically low ice cover—and the dangers are mounting. Earlier this month, the Coast Guard rescued 14 people stranded on an ice floe south of us in Sebewaing. To the north, an ice climber fell at Pictured Rocks and remains missing even after an extensive search. The Coast Guard is recommending that those who are out on ice this winter continually monitor ice conditions, dress for water temperatures, carry a VHF-FM radio or personal locator beacon, and always tell someone on shore about your plans. Wearing bright colors and keeping an ice awl or screwdriver handy can also be vital in the event of an accident on the ice. Be safe out there.