Community Concert Planned for Thursday Night in Glen Arbor to Raise Funds for Storm Clean-Up Efforts

A Note to Glen Arbor Area Neighbors

Our community has gone through as difficult a time as any of us can imagine after Sunday’s storm that blew through the region. Rather than dwell on that it seemed to us that we needed to join together in some sort of community-wide pick-me-up.

By chance, BLACKTHORN, a wonderful band that plays Celtic music, was scheduled to play at the top of Bay Mountain Thursday night, August 6 at The Homestead. When we were without power, we thought we’d do a ticketed acoustic concert and invite emergency providers to be our guests. When we learned power was restored, we said: “Let’s do more.”

Let’s extend special invitations to the emergency providers and others who have taken the lead on safety and restoration to our community. Let’s include the sheriff’s department, fire departments, EMS providers, and the NPS rangers and the crews from Consumers Energy, the road commission and MDOT. Let’s invite everyone in the community so we can collectively recognize and thank those who have done such wonderful jobs.

Let’s not sell tickets. Rather let’s ask (and, without shame, ask again and again) for a free-will offering and donate 100% of proceeds to help families who are unable to replace or rebuild what was damaged by the storm.

Please join us on Thursday, August 6th as we celebrate all about our community that has been and will again be wonderful. Transportation will start at 6:00pm and the concert will run from 7-9:00pm.

Thank you.

The Homestead

P.S. We know we will not have enough parking or seating. We would, therefore, appreciate your making an extra effort to car pool with friends and neighbors and your bringing a blanket.

If you would like to volunteer to take donations and find needy families call our Group Sales Team at 231-334.5300.

FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS PLEASE CONTACT BOB KURAS: rkuras@thehomesteadresort.com | 231-620-8200

Michigan-Born/Nashville-Resident Kyle Jennings to Perform July 17 at The Homestead in Glen Arbor

American singer/songwriter Kyle Jennings arrived on the music scene in 2004 when his album “Shine” was released with Dark Horse Records in Nashville. Out of the box, Jennings’ music made an aggressive first impression likely due to cross-genre rock influences of his early youth, such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. A gritty mix of Americana, Rock, Country, and Blues marble Jennings’ musical style.

Raised in the rich Midwestern culture of Michigan's hard-wooded backcountry trails and the hard-working blue collar family, Jennings was the youngest of 3 kids from Comstock (between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek). Kyle comes to Northern Michigan after a recent appearance at the CMA Acoustic Music Festival in Nashville. Kyle is currently at work on his 3rd studio album set for release in the fall of 2014.

Tickets for Music on the Mountain are $15 in advance; $20 at the event. Special ticket packages also available: $39 for your choice of 3 or $55 for all 5 Music on the Mountain concerts. For tickets, click here.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, an area voted by viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America as the “Most Beautiful Place in America”. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. “Like” The Homestead on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi and follow on Twitter at @TheHomesteadMI.

Art, Wine & Delectables Warm the Leelanau Peninsula Night at The Homestead Resort

The Glen Arbor Art Association, The Homestead resort and the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail will again team up to offer Art From Michigan’s Wine Country on Friday, February 7, 6-8 pm at The Homestead’s Mountain Flowers Lodge. Now in its sixth year, this fun winter event kicks off Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trails’ Taste the Passion weekend. The Friday night GAAA benefit features wine from Leelanau wineries, original art exhibit and sale by local artists and a small plates menu designed by Chef Piombo.

Ticket price is $20 per person with advance reservation. Entrance fee includes one glass of wine, food stations with delectable small plates, and coffee. Additional wine is available for $4/glass or three glasses for $10. Call The Homestead, 334-5100, by February 5 to make an advanced reservation with will call ticket pick up at Mountain Flowers. At the door price is $25 per person the night of the event.

The invitational art exhibit and sale offers recent original works by Jane Batteiger, Jane Ditri, Mary Fuscaldo, Michelle Jahraus, Harriett Mittelberger, Joan Richmond, and Rodger Skinner. The artists will be on hand to discuss their work.

A portion of each ticket and painting purchase supports the Glen Arbor Art Association class scholarships, after school art, and a summer art program for migrant children. These programs provide arts opportunities for many families who would not otherwise have them.

For more information go to: www.glenarborart.org, www.thehomesteadresort.com or www.lpwines.com. Or call the GAAA office at 231-334-6112.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, an area voted by viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America as the “Most Beautiful Place in America”. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. “Like” The Homestead on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi and follow on Twitter at @TheHomesteadMI.

The Homestead Celebrates 30 Years of Great Northern Michigan Skiing with Special Events, Concerts & Nordic-Inspired Festivals

Hard to imagine there’s another Michigan winter right around the corner. Yet, The Homestead is already preparing for a season-long celebration marking three decades of ski and snowboarding fun.

“Our thirtieth ski season is a special milestone,” says The Resort’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Jamie Jewell. “There have been many changes to the ski area at The Homestead since it opened in 1983. It’s really amazing when you look back at how modestly it all started.”

1983 — The Homestead’s ski area opened with two three-person chair lifts, one two-person chairlift and a rope (pony) tow and state-of-the-art snowmaking equipment. Lifts were carefully installed below the tree line and closer to the ground than lifts at other ski areas for the purpose of providing a secure, safe feeling for new skiers and children learning to ski.

1985 — The Homestead became the first resort in the Midwest to limit ticket sales to prevent overcrowding.

1989 — The Homestead launched its $5 ski club program, a unique season pass for locals who paid just $5 for a pass and an additional $5 every time they came to ski.

1993 — The Homestead added three downhill race courses and broke ground on development of chalet style homes and rental properties for vacationing families and couples.

1996 — A Par 3, 9-hole golf courses was added, built in part on the downhill ski slopes.

2000 — The Magic Carpet© and was installed, along with a new “Lifetime Skills Learning Center: Ski School” and Gnomes lift-ticket and rental building.

2002 — Glade Run and terrain park were added.

2008 — Expanded multi-seasonal use of the ski area by adding wedding ceremony and reception patios overlooking Glen Lake valley and Sleeping Bear Bay.

2012 — The Homestead’s Snowsports School was remodeled

The Homestead has always been a favorite winter retreat for young couples and families with children, according to Jewell. Striving to improve service for this core group of winter guests has inspired every change to the ski area over the last 30 years.

“Children who learned to ski at The Homestead thirty years ago are now parents themselves,” she says. “There are hundreds of families that grew up skiing here. And in a way, The Resort has grown up with them. Yet some things have never changed. Namely our dedication to providing a top-notch experience, which includes limited lift ticket sales so the slopes are never crowded and the best lift ticket, rental, lesson and ski packages in Northern Michigan.”

The schedule of events celebrating 30 years of skiing at The Homestead’s is already shaping up to include many events, parties and special deals, says Jewell. Already on the docket are:

* A New Year’s Eve dinner and dance party — including a cocktail reception, three-course “surf and turf” dinner, champagne toast at midnight and dancing with special musical act The Corvairs — at Mountain Flowers Lodge.

* The Homestead’s 30th Anniversary sweepstakes offering $10,000 in prizes throughout the winter season.

* Ski demo days where representatives from major ski manufacturers will be at The Homestead allowing guests to try out new, state-of-the-art equipment.

* Special food events at the newly designed open-air at Beppi’s, which features outdoor seating, two outdoor gas fireplaces and outdoor heaters.

* Family magic show & dinner in early January featuring Magic Stu (aka Stuart MacDonald) World Class Magician who is in the Hall of Fame of Magic

* Live entertainment throughout the season at Beppi’s with regularly scheduled musicians including Chris Skellenger, New Third Coast, Accidentals, Blake Elliott, Drive South and E-Minor.

As part of its 30th Anniversary sweepstakes, The Homestead is currently running a photo contest on Facebook. Past guests who share their old ski vacation photos from The Resort get a chance to win some great prizes every month throughout the winter season. For more information on this and more 30th Anniversary events and festivals currently in the works, check out The Homestead’s website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

The Homestead Unveils Newly Remodeled Snowsports School

What do you get when you combine gently rolling terrain, perfectly groomed slopes, and a friendly team of ski instructors with a couple lifetimes worth of experience? The answer: One of the greatest places in northern Michigan to learn how to ski and snowboard.

While thousands have mastered the “snowplow” and cut their first stem-christie turn gliding down one of Bay Mountain’s 15 beautiful runs, many thousands more have spent idle hours waiting in the wings for The Homestead’s master staff of instructors to work their magic.

That waiting promises to be a little easier at The Homestead this season, thanks to the newly remodeled Snowsports School, located in The Village, at the base of Bay Mountain.

“Signing up for ski and snowboard lessons on the spot can be hectic and uncomfortable if the space isn’t laid out just right,” says Jamie Jewell, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Our goal was to create an inviting, convenient, and classy place for people to learn about and purchase our lesson programs. With windows facing the slopes, comfortable seating, and complimentary coffee and treats, it’s also a great place for parents to take a break and hang while their children tackle the slopes.”

Guests are invited to stop in and check out the newly remodeled Snowsports School even if they don’t need a lesson. Have a coffee and take a break from the chill. With cold temperatures, fresh snow falling almost daily, and new ski packages and family-friendly offers like the “kids 17 years old and under ski FREE” deal,” the 2013 ski season is shaping up to be a great one for visitors to The Homestead.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, an area voted by viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America as the “Most Beautiful Place in America”. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting and banquet centers, and luxurious spa and salon throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. “Like” The Homestead on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi and follow on Twitter at @TheHomesteadMI.

The Homestead to Host THRIVE Women’s Retreat

If you’re like us, your vacations are usually balancing acts in an attempt to accommodate different work schedules, diverse interests, and everyone’s needs. At The Homestead, we strive to provide something for everyone. But we also recognize that sometimes what you need is a little time just for you. Time to relax with a friend you haven’t seen for years, or to make new friends. Time to allow your body, mind, and spirit to be nurtured. That’s why we’ve partnered with licensed therapists Mia Moyad and Megan Gunnell to organize a weekend for women like you, for women like us.

Join us Thursday, January 24 through Sunday, January 27 for a women’s weekend of solitude, discovery, and replenishment. Experience the ambience of live harp music while engaging in group activities. Delight in cooking classes with healthful intent. Awaken the body through outdoor recreation. Luxuriate in rejuvenating spa treatments and unwind with yoga.

You’ll be welcomed to a community of women committed to experiencing THRIVE: Transform for enrichment; Harmonize with environments; Replenish for joy; Integrate mindfulness; Visualize for growth; Empower for strength.

Package prices begin at $217 per person, per night based on double occupancy or $195 per person, per night based on triple occupancy. No matter which option you choose, you price includes a stunning suite at Stony Brook Lodge, two dinners, two lunches, three breakfasts, and the many activities scheduled during the retreat. They do not include: spa treatments, or outdoor activities such as skiing, gratuity or tax and tariff on the room. An advance deposit of $350 per person is required at the time of reservation. Cancellation prior to 7 days is subject to fee of $50. Cancellation within 7 days forfeits deposit.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, an area voted by viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America as the “Most Beautiful Place in America”. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. “Like” The Homestead on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi and follow on Twitter at @TheHomesteadMI.

Wings of Wonder Program Offered Free to Guests at The Homestead Resort

Guests and club members at The Homestead will be treated to a series of free nature-based programs this summer with “The Wonders of Raptors” – by Rebecca Lessard of Wings of Wonder. The programs will be offered in the Camp Tamarack amphitheatre.

Lessard will present a one-hour program that includes a basic introduction to Michigan raptors, an opportunity to meet some of our ambassador raptors up close and view a display of raptor artifacts 9wings, feathers, talons and pellets). Usually, 3-4 raptors attend each presentation and guests are encourages to bring their cameras to the program.

Programs will be offered:

• Wednesday, July 20 (7-8pm)
• Thursday, August 4 (7-8pm)
• Thursday, August 11(3-5pm)

The final program will incorporate an activity where guests can build a nest box for three of Michigan’s smallest raptors: the eastern screech owl, the northern saw whet owl and the little American kestrel. The next boxes will later be mounted on a trail system on The Homestead’s property. Guests and visitors will be able to walk the trail throughout the year looking for these nest boxes and any current raptor residents.

Wings of Wonder is a non-profit raptor sanctuary located in nearby Empire, although it is not open to the public. Active since 1990, the organization’s primary mission is education. Wings of Wonder presents almost 150 educational programs annually throughout Michigan, reaching almost 10,000 people each year. Presentations are designed to foster appreciation, understanding, honor and respect for raptors and the important role these birds play in healthy ecosystems.

Wings of Wonder is also a raptor rehabilitation and release facility. Sick, injured and/or orphaned raptors are admitted for treatment, rehabilitation, and eventual release back to the wild. All raptors are seen and evaluated by a team of participating veterinarians. The primary goal with rehabilitation is to release healthy and strong raptors back into the wild.

Lessard has been a wildlife rehabilitator and educator since 1990. She currently holds rehabilitation permits from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service and is also permitted to possess non-releasable raptors for use in educational programs. In 2009, she received the “Person of the Year” award from Boy Scout Pack 87 of Traverse City; in 2007, she received the Northern Michigan "Environmentalist of the Year" award in Education; and in 2001 was presented the President’s Award by the Michigan Audubon Society for her continuing work with raptors.

For more information on the Wings of Wonder, and Rebecca Lessard, visit www.wingsofwonder.org.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – a unit of the National Park Service. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100.

Jamie Jewell named Vice President of Sales & Marketing at The Homestead

In 1989, she was a Grand Valley college student working the phones at The Homestead as part of a summer internship. Jamie Jewell has been moving up the company ladder ever since—front desk manager; manager of reservations, senior manager of sales, and, now, The Homestead’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing.

“Over the years, Jamie has served in many keys roles,” says Bob Kuras, President of The Homestead. “She knows what makes this place and northern Michigan such a special destination for our guests. Jamie understands customer service. She also has great vision and creative ideas, which make her ideally suited for a leadership role in marketing and public relations.”

The Homestead, America’s Freshwater Resort, is a beachfront resort community situated on 350 acres in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. With several miles of frontage on the Crystal River and Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Bay, the four-season resort includes a spa, health and fitness center, year-round recreational facilities, restaurants, shops, resort hotels, a lodge, an historic inn and privately owned condominiums and homes. An affiliate owns an Arnold Palmer signature 18-hole golf course.

Two projects on which Jewell has worked extensively recently received national recognition. Last fall, the Manitou Passage Golf Club (www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com) was chosen by Golfweek magazine as one of its “Best New Courses” of 2010. Last month, The Homestead was named “2011 Best of Weddings” by The Knot the nation’s favorite weddings magazine.

Jewell sits on the board for the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau and directs the publication of Manitou: The magazine of Leelanau, an annual, northern Michigan lifestyle publication that highlights the people, places, and activities unique to Leelanau County.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – a unit of the National Park Service. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100.

Explore Leelanau in Fall During The Homestead’s Autumn Wine Tour Weekend

Celebrate the fall color show during an elegant weekend exploring the vineyards and wineries of Leelanau Peninsula with The Homestead – America’s Freshwater Resort. This year’s annual Autumn in the Vineyards weekend is set for October 29-31.

Located within a half hour’s drive of more than a dozen vineyards and winery tasting rooms, The Homestead has become Northwest Michigan’s premier wine country destination, working closely with the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association (LPVA) to offer seasonal wine tours and dinners.

This season’s tour includes visits to four of Leelanau county’s finest wineries – Circa Estate Winery, 45 North, Bel Lago and Chateau Fontaine. Brunch will be served at The Homestead on Saturday morning, prior to leaving for the tour, which departs at approximately noon and returns at approximately 4 pm. Then, guests will gather at The Homestead at 6pm for a decadent five-course winemaker dinner prepared by Executive Chef John Piombo.

Weekend packages for Autumn in the Vineyards, including two nights’ lodging, wine tour with transportation, Saturday brunch, winemaker dinner and Sunday breakfast, as well as welcome gift basket including a logo wine key, is $531 per couple, based on double occupancy (plus applicable tariff/taxes).

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community, located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – a unit of the National Park Service. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi.

The Homestead Names Tara Ziegler as 2009 “Associate of the Year”

Tara Ziegler, Manager for Spa Amira at The Homestead in Glen Arbor, has been named the resort’s 2009 “Associate of the Year.” Tara has been with the resort since May 2008.

“Tara has done a wonderful job managing the spa operations.” says Jamie Jewell, Senior Manager at The Homestead. “We knew when we added a spa that we needed a manager who had the skills to operate successfully, establish unique programming and hire and train a staff to deliver excellent service. Tara has done that and more which has earned her the recognition of Associate of the Year.”

“I was certainly very surprised,” said Tara, of both being nominated and winning the award. “One of the things I love about working at The Homestead is the extraordinary team of people – we support each other and have a sense of camaraderie that I haven't experienced anywhere else.”

In addition to the acclaim that the title “Associate of the Year” holds, Tara receives a trip to any vacation destination of her choice, including two airline tickets and $500 in spending money.

“The trip is such an amazing gift, and I intend to take full advantage of the opportunity,” Tara said. “I haven’t made a final decision yet, but I am considering Nice, France on the Riviera or Napa Valley, California. With a choice like that, I feel like I can't really go wrong.”

With 200 summer and 100 winter employees, The Homestead is one of the region’s largest single employers. The team is lead by members of a core group of associates who all believe that a job done right starts with taking a Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence. It’s called PRIDE.

From managers and trainers to year-round employees who do everything from taking reservations to working in outdoor maintenance, there are only 39 members of PRIDE. This special group is eligible for unique employment benefits at The Homestead – one of them being the distinction as “Associate of the Year.”

Other nominees for “Associate of the Year” in 2009 included:

• Cyndi Salisbury, Accommodations
• Dan Stewart, Accounting
• Lindy Kellogg, Group Sales
• Steve Sanborn, Service
• Craig Winowiecki, Service
• Kevin Hennessey, Food & Beverage

Celebrating its Silver Anniversary in 2009, The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – a unit of the National Park Service. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100.