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Where Poetry Meets History

The Benzie Area Historical Society Museum and Oliver Art Center will collaborate to launch ARTiFACTORY, a place where poetry meets history. Poets of all ages in the community have the opportunity to have their poem published and to read their work at an opening reception held at Oliver Art Center on Saturday, April 22, from 4-6pm. For more info, visit oliverartcenterfrankfort.org.

4 Small Plates, Big Appetites

Wine and food, food and wine…we don’t care which order they come in—we just want them both. Enter the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail’s Small Plates Event on April 22, which functions as “an intimate progressive dinner along the trail.” Participating wineries partner up with local chefs or put their in-house cook in the limelight to create gourmet pairings at each stop. The wineries are: Amoritas Vineyards (with Mel & Fell), Aurora Cellars, Bel Lago Winery, Black Star Farms, Boathouse Vineyard, Bregman Brothers, French Valley Vineyard, Shady Lane Cellars, and Verterra Winery. Menus include everything from chicken tikka masala and miso soup to eggs benedict and chicken picatta. A $25 ticket gets you into three wineries, but you can buy multiple tickets as the event is staged throughout the day. Seating times are 6pm, 7:10pm, and 8:20pm. This event is known to sell out, so get moving if you want to join the fun! Learn more at lpwines.com/small-plates.

Hey, watch It! Not Dead Yet

Nell Serrano (played by the incomparable Gina Rodriguez of Jane the Virgin fame) has had a rough go of it lately. She’s been dumped, has moved back to her old town and her old job at a California newspaper, and is struggling with her latest beat: obituaries. The struggle becomes real—or, rather, surreal —when the subjects of Nell’s obits start to haunt her. (Luckily, these are well-intentioned ghosts who would rather impart unsolicited life advice than drive Nell herself to an early grave.) Meanwhile, Nell is juggling her own mental health, a slow reentry into the dating world, and the dynamics of new and old friendships. (Our second favorite cast member award goes to Hannah Simone as Nell’s BFF Sam.) While firmly a comedy, certainly tugs some heartstrings as Nell gets back on her feet and works through her grief and disappointments. Now airing on ABC, with episodes later available on Hulu.

2 tastemaker North End Pizzeria’s Big Hot Woody

North End Pizzeria of Northport is already stoking its fires for another season of slinging pies, and there’s not a soggy bottom in sight! While everything’s coming up to temperature, our go-to is the Big Hot Woody, named affectionately for their bright red ovens. This signature pie starts with house pizza dough (a script that took 20 years to hone), layered with fresh marinara, mozzarella, and Italian sausage with bacon bits. From there, the crew tops the whole shebang with roasted red peppers, jalapeños, and roasted garlic before it’s baked to thin and crispy perfection. Each bite is savory with just a hint of spice—eat your heart out, Mary Berry! Enjoy a Big Hot Woody ($26) on the patio at The Mitten Brewing Company in Northport (112 W. Nagonaba St.). Order on-site—each 12-inch pie takes about seven minutes—or reach out on their Facebook or Instagram pages @thebighotwoody.

DAZE $4.20 Deals Contests Giveaways

6 Winter in Spring

No, that’s not the weather report—it’s the Traverse City premiere of Frozen Stupid2:Open Water, a family-friendly comedy filmed in Michigan by NoMi director Rich Brauer. This is the award-winning sequel to—you guessed it— Frozen Stupid and follows Tony Norgard’s (mis) adventures on Houghton Lake as he attempts to win a local fishing tournament to pay off the hefty fine of rescuing his submerged vehicle from the lake. You’ll find some familiar-to-Michigancinema faces with actors like Joey Albright and Sam Idleman (Escanaba in da Moonlight and the first Frozen Stupid) plus Kimberly Guerrero, known for roles in Hidalgo, Barn Red, and Seinfeld. The movie was filmed prior to the pandemic, so the screening at the State Theatre on Wednesday, April 19, at 7pm has been a long time coming. For more information on the film, head to brauer.com/copy-of-frozen-stupid-2. Tickets can be purchased at the State Theatre.

Line 5 and the United Nations

The Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is getting some international attention these days—well beyond those of us in the United States and Canada. This month, representatives from 51 Tribal and First Nations brought the issue before the United Nations Human Rights Council with a report that calls on the Canadian government to halt the crude oil flowing through the pipeline. The report states, “Line 5 poses a current and foreseeable threat to a broad range of human rights” and that “Enbridge is operating Line 5 without valid easements, and has also been found to be trespassing on Indigenous Peoples’ land.” (You can read the full report by visiting earthrights.org and navigating to their News & Media / Press Releases section.) The timing of the report comes as Canada is on deck for a Universal Periodic Review, a process for a review of human rights records that all 193 United Nations member states undergo.

Stuff We Love: Growing Rural Land-Based Industries

Land-based industries sounds a little technical, but it’s the term the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) uses to describe businesses focused on food, agriculture, forestry, mining, and more. MDARD recently announced a series of grants to support those businesses in rural areas, and several northern Michigan outposts will be reaping the rewards! Ethanology of Elk Rapids is getting $100,000 to renovate a warehouse for increased barrel-aged spirit production; the Grand Traverse Area Children’s Garden is getting $20,000 to pursue infrastructure upgrades, new programming, and community connections; Lakeview Hill Farm in Leelanau is getting $100,000 to convert a one-room schoolhouse into a retail store; and McCormick Farmz of Cheboygan is getting $67,844 for equipment and infrastructure for a lavender farm. Cool things are headed our way! Learn more at michigan.gov/mdardgrants.

bottoms up Rare Bird Brewpub’s Grapefruit Rosé

Yes, we know it’s strange not to order a beer at a brewery, but every so often you just need something a little lighter. With spring making a fine effort Up North, we’re finding ourselves drawn to all things bright, sweet, and pink…like the Grapefruit Rosé cocktail, which is on tap at Rare Bird Brewpub in Traverse City. Surprisingly, the booze in this drink isn’t rosé wine but instead a blend of Champagne and Michigan-made vodka. From there, the bartender adds simple syrup, lime, rose essence, and—of course—a healthy dose of grapefruit juice. The concoction is slightly sweet, slightly tart, and all around refreshing for a sunny spring happy hour. Add an order of the Fried Avocado Tacos to your tab, and you’ll be feeling like it’s July in TC in no time. Get yours ($7) at Rare Bird Brewpub at 229 Lake Ave in Traverse City. rarebirdbrewpub.com

Kalkaska Michigan

Wed. April 26-Sun. April 30

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26TH

OPENING CEREMONY AT 5:45PM - TROUT MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN

TROUT-TASTIC! AT 6:30

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UNDER THE PAVILLION AT RAILROAD SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN KALKASKA

FRIDAY APRIL 28TH

TROUT FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT WITH THE FABULOUS HORNDOGS

Special Guests: Motor City Vibrations Railroad Square, Downtown Kalkaska Concert starts at 7:00 / Free Admission / Gate opens 6:30 For a complete schedule go to www.nationaltroutfestival.com

EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

On We Go

Spectator

By Stephen Tuttle

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has been living large on someone else’s dime for a long time. Thanks to reporting in ProPublica, we now know just how large that life has been. Thomas disclosed none of it.

Thomas’s benefactor, billionaire Harlan Crow, owns a real estate development and investment company founded by his father, who was once considered the country’s largest landlord. Crow is also a significant donor to Republican and conservative causes and once gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Tea Party-type organization founded by Thomas’ wife, Ginni. Then he paid her $120,000 annually to run it.

and Daryl Nelson, have been collecting plenty of taxpayer dollars annually for just such activities, among many, many others. We know this thanks to some intrepid research and reporting by Ted Wendling in the BOC Beacon newsletter, a publication of the Grand Traverse County Democrats.

The commissioners exposed were dismissive, saying the complaints were just partisan “bull****” and nobody else was complaining. So here’s your chance. Do you approve of commissioners receiving more than one $65 per diem a day? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65 for meeting with each other? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65

Clarence Thomas doesn’t even know he’s been corrupted, but another summer trip is likely planned. County commissioners are oblivious to their own greed and keep submitting those per diems.

(Ginni Thomas is an election-denying and conspiracy-believing participant in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Her texts to then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows from early November to mid-January are filled with nonsense about mythical election fraud and her belief the Joe Biden electoral victory was a “coup.”)

The problem here is that gifts are supposed to be disclosed. Thomas now claims his colleagues told him “personal hospitality” need not be reported. It’s a safe bet those colleagues were not aware of just how much hospitality Thomas and his wife have been receiving for the last two decades. Just one trip in 2019 included a nine-day excursion of Indonesian island-hopping that included Crow’s private jet, Crow’s private yacht, and Crow’s private resort at a cost of more than $500,000. That’s one trip among many over more than 20 years—that is some friendly hospitality.

What’s especially interesting is the CrowThomas friendship is not a lifelong thing. Their acquaintance began five years after Thomas became a Supreme Court justice. What a coincidence.

Meanwhile, our Grand Traverse County commissioners, or at least some of them, continue feeding at the taxpayer trough at $65 a bite. They don’t seem willing to change their gluttonous habits any time soon.

Our county commissioners are allowed to claim a $65 per diem payment for a variety of activities beyond their normal duties. Those normal duties, which we expect them to carry out, include contact with constituents and each other, among other things. Their own rules say they can’t claim per diem payments for those types of activities, but claim them they do.

The commissioners in question, Chair Rob Hentschel and Commissioners Brad Jewett for meeting with constituents? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65 for phone calls from home? Do you approve of commissioners receiving $65 for watching meetings online from home? If not, Chair Rob Hentschel (rhentschel@gtcountymi. gov) would like to hear from you, because, apparently, complaints must be issued before they start following their own rules.

In Traverse City, former city manager Marty Colburn is gone because…well, apparently for no reason at all. Mayor Richard Lewis tells us it’s not because anything “immoral, unethical or illegal” has been done. Those willing to speak about it have had nothing but praise for Colburn, who had indicated he wanted to continue serving. They bemoaned both the abruptness of the decision and the lack of transparency but did nothing to edify us on either issue.

The entire and quite sudden separation is shrouded in secrecy, though it’s hard to tell who’s being protected, given Colburn seemingly did nothing about which he would be embarrassed. Perhaps those involved now remaining silent need to do some uncomfortable explaining.

The problem with all this closed-door secrecy is it leads to significant speculation. Did Colburn do something wrong? Did he somehow run afoul of the City Commission or Downtown Development Authority? Was he the victim of some kind of in-house coup? Did others wanting the job find a way to orchestrate Colburn’s departure? Who knows?

Clarence Thomas doesn’t even know he’s been corrupted, but another summer trip is likely planned. County commissioners are oblivious to their own greed and keep submitting those per diems. City officials don’t seem to know anything at all about why they’re seeking a new city manager. And on we go.