Top Ten

Raven Hill Re-emerges!

Pending state and local guidelines, Raven Hill Discovery Center in East Jordan — which has been closed since March 2020 — has reopened just in time for spring. The 175-acre site still offers hands-on experiences for all ages through programs, exhibits and facilities connecting science, history and the arts, but some safety-minded changes are making the experience better than ever.

Visitor numbers and time spent indoors will be limited and offered by appointment only, with masks and social distancing required indoors and outside. The indoors has been redesigned into a one-way series of “eyes-only” exhibits, along with hands-on exhibits such as generator bikes, marimba, and kaleidoscopes. Preliminary work has begun on a half-mile Connections Trail, which features with 40 hands-on learning stations. The Connections Trail will parallel the existing Taxi Trail; together the two will nurture informal education while encouraging the mental and physical health of visitors. To reserve a date and or for information on programs such as outreach, field trips, and summer camps, call (231) 536-3369 or email info@miravenhill.org.

Fulfill Your Need for Theater Speed

Live theater might not be as high up as food, water, and shelter on your list of elements critical to survival, but lo, what a dull existence life would without such age-old human amusements. Thanks then to the perseverance of the Little Traverse Civic Theatre gang, which, after enduring months of pandemic-induced postponements to its inaugural Great Lakes Festival of Shorts, decided the live show they’d planned must go on … line. Originally planned to hit the stage for a live audience last November, the series of short plays — each running 10 minutes or less — will be available online for a 48-hour stint of the viewers’ choosing any time between now and May 3. Don’t like one performance? Simply fast-forward to the next. The stories, sets, and actors change with each Michigan-playwright-penned play; audiences — who can watch for just $10 a household — can expect six shows in one sitting. Visit www.ltct.org for the link to purchase tickets and watch.

9AM • JOIN US ONLINE • 11AM tccentralumc.org/sermons | facebook.com/cumctc Stuff we love Bringing the Stars Home for Kids

Want to excite your child’s imagination in the night sky? The North’s own star lore historian, Mary Stewart Adams, has teamed up with her illustrious illustrator sister, Patricia DeLisa, to create “The Star Tales of Mother Goose: For Those Who Seek the Secret Language of the Stars.”

Using DeLisa’s original artwork, traditional Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, and a few whimsical takes of Adams’ own, the book introduces kids to basic astronomical concepts and the history of each rhyme, as well as the history of Mother Goose herself. (Didja know the title “Mother Goose” first appeared in 17th Century France but originates much earlier in legends of the goose-footed Queen Bertrada of Laon? Us either.)

Complete with easy-to-use sky maps, a key for finding the stars, and fun connections between Mother Goose rhymes and the stars above, the book is suitable for children and fun for adults. Find it at www.starlore.co (no “m”), and Between the Covers in Harbor Springs beginning May 11. Can’t wait? Turn to p. 9 for a peek at what’s up in the sky this spring.

tastemaker Mary’s Kitchen Port’s Gobbler

Those who claim turkey as Thanksgiving’s bird have clearly never tried the Gobbler at Mary’s Kitchen Port. Much like Michigan’s own robin, Mary’s famed Gobbler is every bit as much a harbinger of spring, shaking off the dormant days of winter and welcoming us back to languid days where riverside picnics are once again possible. Much more like the brains of the bird the bears its name, however, the Gobbler is a strikingly simple thing — stacked layers of sliced roasted turkey, lettuce, shredded cheddar, and Hellman’s mayo between two slices of freshly baked and salted focaccia — but so singular in its tastiness that we can neither understand or resist its utter addictiveness. We suspect it has something to do with the salt, the simplicity, or the combo thereof. No matter. It’s undeniably a city-wide favorite and, we found, even better when paired with a side of the smoky-spiced-and-sliced baked Mexican Sweet Potatoes. A little lime juice, a little cilantro, a little cumin and heat — they’re a zingy, warming foil to the straightforward sammie, and the two together make a spring afternoon sing. Get yours before lunch if you’re smart; the early bird gets the Gobblers. Find both at Mary’s Kitchen Port, 539 W. Front St., in Traverse City. (231) 941-0525, www.maryskitchenport.com. Northern Express Weekly • april 26, 2021 • 5