top ten this week’s Viva the VIV Art Show

World-class horses and their riders won’t be the only draw to Flintfields Horse Park in Williamsburg this weekend. Saturday, June 24, from 4-8pm, the Traverse City Horse Shows venue will also be hosting the Veterans Inspiring Veterans (VIV) Art Show. Twenty-seven artists—all of them verified military vets—will display and sell their works. More than 100 pieces of art will be on display, from paintings to pottery sculptures to carvings. To learn more about the show and get a sneak peek at the artists’ works head to vivartshow.com. Tickets— which also include admission to Traverse City Horse Shows for the afternoon and food from Mane Event Catering—are $100 each and must be purchased in advance at mynorthtickets.com. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Reining Liberty Ranch, a local nonprofit that offers community-based programs that serve veterans, their families, and other disabled/at-risk individuals in the Grand Traverse area.

A Long Day of Open Mics

Head over to Bier’s Inwood Brewery in Charlevoix on Wednesday, June 21, from 4-9pm to support “The Longest Day,” a nationwide effort to help raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Association (AA). This will be an open mic style event with live music, raffles, donation opportunities and a portion of beer and pizza sales benefitting the AA. Short sets of music are scheduled with Lou Thumser, Significant Others, Blair Miller, Frank Cook, Rhett & John, and many others.

Hey, read It! Yellowface 4

Athena Liu was dead, to begin with. So is it wrong for June Hayward, her sort-of friend and would-be literary competitor, to take Athena’s first draft of a new book that will never otherwise see the light of day? Is it wrong for June to finish and edit the story? To send it to her agent and pass it off as her own? To rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in advances and royalties? To double down on the lie that June created the book—focused on Chinese laborers in World War I—all by herself?

(The answer to all of those questions is, of course, yes.) As June, our main character and villain, shares her unfiltered story, she gets ever more tangled in a spider’s web of her own making, and it’s impossible to stop turning the pages. Called “a brutal satire” by The New York Times, R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface is part thriller, part dark comedy, and 100 percent worth a read.

2 Tastemaker

Third Coast Bakery’s Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Third Coast Bakery did the impossible 10 years ago when they opened a gluten-free and dairy-free—and primarily soy-free and vegan—bakery in Traverse City. But no one is missing those ingredients a decade later as the little bakery that could continues to churn out incredible pastries, confections, and coffees. For summertime, there’s nothing better than Third Coast’s Lemon Blueberry Loaf. This tangy-sweet dessert—or is it breakfast? You do you—tastes impossibly decadent, and it looks good enough to serve at your next dinner party. (Buy a slice at the store or order a whole loaf, which serves 8-12 people, for $34.99.) The best part: The blueberries come straight from Buchan’s Farm on Old Mission Peninsula, so you’re truly getting the local touch in every bite. Visit the bakery at 523 Munson Avenue Traverse City or shop online at thirdcoastbakery.com. (231) 421-8696

6 Brewery Bookends on the Betsie Valley Trail

The Friends of Betsie Valley Trail are bringing you the first-ever Brew-to-Brew Trail Day this Saturday, June 24, from 10am to 2pm. The 22-mile trail runs through Benzie County, connecting key towns like Thompsonville, Beulah, and Frankfort. Lucky for us, there are two great breweries along the route: Stormcloud in Frankfort and Five Shores in Beulah. The Brew-to-Brew Trail Day encourages participants to bike the 20-mile loop between the breweries— or run/walk/roll a few segments—with a voucher for one beer at each brewery included in the $25 registration. (Good news: The vouchers are valid for a whole week in case you don’t make it from point A to point B.) Benzie Bus will offer free shuttle services between the breweries for those who traverse the route. Proceeds of the event will go to the Friends of Betsie Valley Trail, the nonprofit that helps make sure the trail is maintained and enjoyed. Learn more at betsievalleytrail.org/brew-to-brew.

Stuff We Love: Hidden Dragons in the Forest

Karl Rykert is a self-taught sculptor who was enjoying anonymity until he chose to carve a dragon’s head jutting out of the woods on a busy section of US-131 south of Boyne Falls, near the Charlevoix/Antrim county line. Drivers took notice, word spread on social media, and before he knew it, the secret was out. “I am a bit overwhelmed by the interest from everyone,” he says. “All the pieces I have done have been in the woods, without scrutiny, so when I did this dragon, I was surprised by the response.” Rykert took up sculpting about three years ago and learned through trial and error, using various chainsaws and hand tools. His less visible works, about 25 in all, include animals, humans, signs, and benches, and are tucked away in the woods close to his retirement home in Boyne Falls. “I love being in the woods for any reason, so sculpting was just another reason to be there,” he says.

Books from Birth

Munson Medical Center is hoping to give every baby born and registered at their hospital from Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska, Antrim, and Benzie counties a new book each month for the first five years of their lives. To get age-appropriate books into the hands of kiddos and their parents, Munson has partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Grand Traverse to pilot the program this fall for the first 100 babies born beginning October 1, 2023. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) is an international book gifting program started by the Queen of Country—who actually prefers “The Book Lady” as her go-to moniker—to help encourage literacy and a lifelong love of reading. The pilot program will cost $15,000—supported by funds from Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary—but the hospital and DPIL Grand Traverse are hoping to expand the project to reach a goal of $225,000 annually to serve all of the approximately 1,500 local babies born each year. Learn more at dpil-gtregion.org.

From across the pond to TC!

uspense writer Ruth Ware made her first NWS appearance during the pandemic. Now she’s returning in-person with an adrenaline-filled thriller that sheds light on the sinister workings of the digital world. She’ll take the City Opera House stage to talk about Zero Days, a heart-pounding mystery about a woman in a race against time to clear her name and find her husband’s murderer.

Join NWS on Sunday, June 25 at 7:00 p.m., livestreamed, for a conversation with Ruth and guest host Eric Hines, WNMC station manager.

For tickets, visit NationalWritersSeries.org

bottoms up Bailey’s Farms’ Hummingbird Nectar Kombucha

Pop quiz: what’s good for your gut, but still tastes great in a wine glass? If you guessed Bailey’s Farms small-batch kombucha, you’re right! Bailey’s Farms’ light and fizzy ferments are made from Light of Day Organics’ teas and are packed with local botanicals, making them totally poundable—in a healthy, booze-less sort of way. We love the Hummingbird Nectar flavor: It’s rife with notes of cherry, hibiscus, and currant—balanced by just a hint of maple syrup—and pairs beautifully with hot, sunny weather. Enjoy a bottle straight from the fridge, or, if you’re feeling extra fancy, go for a frozen kombucha smoothie or float. Sounds like serendipi-tea to us! Try all 12 tea-infused flavors online at baileysfarms.com (use the “Find Us” tab to locate statewide distributors), or visit them at farmers’ markets from June to October in Interlochen, Frankfort, and Traverse City.