Art Rapids! Fine Arts Scholarship Program provides financial assistance to Elk Rapids eighth grade and high school students pursuing advanced studies in the visual or performing arts. This year, three scholarships have been awarded to students for summer studies.

Lauren Quinlan
Trumpet player Lauren Quinlan was awarded a $500 scholarship to be applied toward her participation in Blue Lake’s 2012 International Exchange Program. Lauren will tour with one of Blue Lake’s International performing ensembles this summer, presenting concerts in several communities while staying in private homes with host families. Before leaving on tour, Lauren will spend time at Blue Lake in intensive preparation for the concert series.

At Elk Rapids High School (ERHS), where she will be a senior next year, Lauren is a section leader for the Concert Band and plays with the jazz and marching bands. Music Director Dave McKeon calls Lauren “a strong musical asset to the program.” He adds, “She consistently demonstrates a very strong work ethic; pushing herself to improve her already solid musical skills.”

Speaking of her summer trip, Lauren says, “From this experience I hope to gain a new perspective towards trumpet playing, new experiences from foreign places I would otherwise never have a chance to visit, and a collection of memories that will last my entire life and inspire me to keep up with music and my dreams of traveling the entire world.”

Melanie Vandenberg
Melanie Vandenberg was awarded a $300 scholarship to attend Take it to The Top, a weeklong musical theatre workshop offered at the Traverse City Old Town Playhouse this summer. The workshop is taught by working Broadway professionals and allows participants to advance their skills in music, dance, and theatre. The week culminates in a final recital for family and friends.

Melanie, who will be a senior next year, says her passion for musical theatre blossomed after attending a performance of Rent at the Old Town Playhouse. “Idina Menzel (from the Broadway version) became my role model. Her voice, acting ability and passion inspired me. Because of her influence, I knew I wanted to be in theatre.” This led Melanie to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp where she has studied for the past three years.

Melanie performed in the ERHS production of Seussical the Musical in 2011 and this year’s production of The Pajama Game. Rob Stow, ERHS Choir and Drama Director, says that while working on last spring’s production of Seussical, he was impressed with Melanie’s creative thoughts and approaches to her character. “She worked tirelessly to achieve success in her dance steps as well as memorizing her lines. Melanie is a student who cares deeply for her work.”

Grace Boyles
Grace Boyles, who will be entering high school in the fall, will be taking dance classes at Company Dance Traverse this summer. She was awarded a $500 scholarship to be applied to her lessons, which will include a two-week intensive training program. Grace has been dancing since the age of three and has been recognized for her dedication and talent, earning high honors and special judges’ awards in competitions throughout the Midwest. Company Dance Artistic Director Betsy Carr, says, “Grace is a very powerful performer who is always striving to improve.”

As a long-time student at Company Dance, Grace has had the opportunity to learn from professional choreographers and dancers. “The great Andy Pellick has made much of an impact on me as a dancer, artist, and person. He’s an inspiring teacher because of his dedication to help you become the best artist you can be. If I hadn’t gotten the privilege to take a class with Andy Pellick, I wouldn’t be the same artist I am today.”

About Art Rapids!
Established in 2006, Art Rapids! is a non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board of arts-minded citizens. Its mission is to enhance and promote the arts and art education in the Elk Rapids area. Since its inception, nearly $38,000 has been given in the form of grants, scholarships, performances and artist awards. Art Rapids! receives income from two primary sources: donations from art-minded citizens and the juried art fair held annually on the last Saturday of June. (Source: Art Rapids! press release)

The Twisted Fish Gallery in Elk Rapids is featuring a show of wildlife art by six of Michigan’s prestigious award winning artists. The Great Lakes Nature Artists is a group of painters and sculptors whose love of flora and fauna dominates their work. The group consists of Rod Lawrence and Kim Diment from the Grayling area, Anni Crouter and Rick Pas from the Flint area, Roger Smith from Onondaga, and T.J. Lick from Boyne Falls. Each of these artists has shown throughout the country and is well known to appreciators of wildlife art.

The show opens with a reception for the artists and the public on June 8 from 6 to  8 p.m. and runs until July 8.

The Twisted Fish Gallery, located one mile south of Elk Rapids on US Route 31, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. The Gallery can be reached at 231-264-0123 or twistedfishart.com (Source: Twisted Fish press release)

Dayton sits on one side of a growing divide among American cities, in which a small number of metro areas vacuum up a large number of college graduates and the rest struggle to keep those they have.

The winners are cities like Bridgeport, Conn., San Francisco and Raleigh, N.C., where more than 40 percent of the population has a college degree. Cities like Youngstown, Ohio, Bakersfield, Calif., and Lakeland, Fla., where less than a fifth of the population has a college degree, are being left behind. The divide shows signs of widening as college graduates gravitate to places with a lot of other college graduates and the atmosphere that creates.

“This is one of the most important developments in recent economic history of this country,” said Enrico Moretti, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, who just published a book on the topic, “The New Geography of Jobs.”         NYT

Chicago seems to be doing OK. Whither Detroit?

Music House Museum is seeking items to sell at the Music House Consignment Sale to be held on Friday June 22 and Saturday June 23.  Items should be valued at $10 or more.  They will be sold at the Consignment Sale with the Museum receiving 15% of sale price.  Why not let us do the work for you?  If you have items you wish to be included or if you have questions please contact Ellie at 231-264-5451 or Dorothy at (231)331-6587 or email info@musichouse.org. Music House Museum is a non-profit, 501 (c)3 organization.

It’s time to pull out your clubs and take some practice swings before joining us for the Elk Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce 13th Annual Golf Outing Thursday, June 28, 2012 at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort overlooking beautiful Torch Lake.  This fun-filled, four-person scramble event is a shotgun start at 1:30 P.M. on the fabulous Sundance course.  The cost of $60.00 per person includes 18 holes with cart, range balls, a delicious rib/chicken dinner, games, raffles and many prizes to be won.  We’re expecting a full field of teams, so please don’t hesitate reserving your spot.  We welcome all individuals to sign up and let us help you find a team.

To register to play or if you would like to be a sponsor of this terrific fundraising event, please contact the Elk Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce at 231-264-8202 or email us at info@elkrapidschamber.org. (Source: Chamber press release)

The gender pay gap starts early: 22-year-old women earn, on average, $8,900 less than their male counterparts for jobs that typically require a bachelor’s degree, according to Payscale, a salary-data collection service. Early on in their careers, however, women have a little bit of headway in playing catchup: The percentage growth in their pay is slightly higher than men’s pay growth throughout their twenties. By age 30, they still earn $14,300 less than men, but their pay raises up until that point had been higher than men’s, in percentage terms.

That trend, however, abruptly stops after the age of 30, when college-educated women typically start having children. Their wage growth then slows significantly for the rest of their working years, compared with men’s, and then almost levels off completely at age 39, as Payscale charts:       Suzy Khimm in WaPo

It’s that time again. Do you have a great photo of our beautiful Elk Skegemog Lakes Association (ESLA) area? Share your favorite shots and enter the Second Annual ESLA Photo Contest. It’s free to join and open to all ESLA members and their families. These contests create a historical photo archive of our rivers and lakes and their inhabitants. Photos are used for promotional opportunities for ESLA.

This annual photo contest is an important part of preserving and sharing our membership’s fondest memories of their time spent in this area. We hope everyone will participate!

Deadline
Photos must be submitted by September 15 in order to qualify. Any photos received after September 15 will be submitted into the following year’s contest.

How to participate

• Photos must be related to ESLA lakes and rivers and taken within the Elk Lake, Skegemog Lake, Torch River, Rapid River area.
• You must take and submit the photos yourself.
• Participants can enter a maximum of 3 photos.
• Photos must be electronic/digital.

An OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM must be included with every photo.

Download Form

Judging
Judging will be done by panel of judges.
First, second and third place winning photos will be chosen. Winners will receive cash awards and will be recognized at the ESLA annual meeting and in the ESLA newsletter. All winning photos will be prominently displayed on the ESLA website.

Questions?
Email: PhotoContest@Elk-Skegemog.org

Newsletter Excerpt:

A TALE OF TWO BAYS – the NEAR-SHORE Bay and OFF-SHORE Bay. 
With low water, the surf line has moved further from shore in most places.  The deep waters beyond the surf-line are OFF-SHORE waters.  This is where larger boats cruise and sport and commercial fishing boats ply their craft.  It’s a place of sunsets, storms and the wonderful seascapes we love to photograph.

NEAR-SHORE WATERS  – Are Where We Live, Play and Must Act

Waters inside the surf-line are NEAR-SHORE aka the littoral zone.  This is where our kids (and dogs) swim, we kayak, sail small craft and play on the beaches.  Brogan, the spaniel featured on these pages, contracted PA infection likely in the near-shore waters of GT Bay after human waste was land disposed nearby.

Complete Newsletter

Traverse is #5 on the AAA list of Michigan’s top driving destinations:

1. Frankenmuth
2. Detroit
3. Grand Rapids
4. Ann Arbor
5. Traverse City
6. Holland
7. Lansing
8. Mackinaw City
9. Mount Pleasant
10.  Midland   MLive

We need a good portion of these destinationers to come to Elk Rapids.

Controversy erupted near Intermediate Lake in Antrim County concerning property development. The headline in Northern Express asks the important question, Upland Forest or Forested Wetlands? Local environmentalist Greg Reisig is concerned that wetlands have been destroyed. A somewhat similar dispute arose closer to home at the Elk Rapids Preserve development. This issue of wetlands is important for Antrim County as it struggles to develop while also protect its local ecology.