Editor’s note: This article was published in Grand Traverse Scene magazine’s Summer I 2023 issue. Pick up a free copy at area hotels, visitor’s centers, chambers of commerce or at the Record-Eagle building on Front Street. Click here to read GT Scene in its entirety online.
On July 19, the village of Glen Arbor becomes the epicenter of Leelanau County’s arts scene as Glen Lake Woman’s Club Art Fair transforms the community into a carnival of the creative spirit.
The 51st annual juried art fair in the heart of Sleeping Bear country takes place along a shady lane beside Glen Arbor Township Hall. Paintings in various media, vintage jewelry, handcrafted furniture, textiles, photographs, pottery and more present a one-of-a-kind shopping experience.
The variety of vendors, both returning and first-timers, affords wide appeal to art lovers.
“There are all different price points and something for everyone,” says art fair co-chair Meg DeJager. “It ranges from elegant to rustic and recycled.”
Ninety artists and artisans from the region, across the state and as far away as Arizona offer their work at the free, day-long event.
For some local creatives, Sleeping Bear’s natural beauty inspires their original works. Lake Leelanau resident Leslye Robinson showcases rain chains, mobiles, suncatchers and frames made from stones found along area beaches and the shores of Lake Superior and Huron.
A rockhound since childhood, the retired Suttons Bay Middle School teacher incorporates into her creations colorful specimens, such as the pink unakite, smooth basalt and agates. Robinson also crafts with Petoskey stones, colored glass from an area winery and Leland blue “man made gems.”
The objects Robinson elevates into artistic works speaks to the region’s geological and industrial footprint. “They’re an interesting part of our history,” she says.
Steve Brunger of Point Betsie Creations applies a like alchemy to found natural treasures. His jewelry making journey began in Sleeping Bear country more than a decade ago.
“The first pendant I made using coral I found at Point Betsie,” he says.
The Frankfort summer resident scouts the shores of Lake Michigan for Petoskey, horn coral, Honeycomb and Charlevoix coral, pudding stone and beach glass. He cuts, shapes and polishes the gifts of the inland sea.
Brunger accents his jewelry with semi-precious stone beads. Necklaces, bracelets and earrings, some in abstract shapes, also feature jaspers, amazonite, turquoise, clamshell, jade, and aquamarine, leather and sterling silver.
Lake Leelanau artist Karen Popa creates mandala designs on functional objects such as garden posts and bird houses, as well as 20 and 30-inch wall décor pieces.
Creating designs with dots of acrylic paint, her modern adaptations reflect the ancient mandala geometric patterns which symbolize the cosmos in Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
“I love playing with color,” Popa says. “Color evokes emotion in people.”
While Glen Arbor’s charm is an attraction in itself, along with the lakes and Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore, the quality of arts and crafts enjoyed at the Glen Lake Woman’s Club Art Fair is icing on the cake for summer visitors.
Club members enhance the welcoming art fair festivities with sales of popcorn, baked goods, a lunch counter and auction of vendor-donated art works. It results in one of the busiest days of the year in the village.
Club members, and a network of friends and family, volunteer to make the event happen. Those lending a hand include Empire Lions Club members who help with set up and traffic.
It all started in 1937 with the founding of Glen Lake Woman’s Club, which from the beginning aimed to foster social, civic and educational projects.
Their motto then and now: “If you wish to live in a better place, better the place in which you live.”
The Art Fair generates funds for one of the club’s major outreaches. Since 1980, the Woman’s Club has awarded $307,110 in scholarships to 240 Glen Lake Community School graduating seniors attending Northwestern Michigan College.
Eighty-five years strong, the Leelanau County nonprofit has served as a cornerstone and model for community leadership. Members step in to maintain the interior of the chapel and gardens at Old Settlers Picnic Grounds, a venue used for weddings, vow renewals and funeral services.
They conduct a flag raising ceremony every 4th of July at the site. Every Christmas, members bring holiday festivities and cheer to residents of Maple Valley Nursing Home in Maple City.
Rain or shine, Glen Lake Woman’s Club Art Fair 2023 promises opportunity to discover new connections to the beauty and joys Sleeping Bear country inspires.