WISSA 2012 at St Ignace, photo courtesy WISSA 2012
The 2012 World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships (WISSA) take place February 20 – 26 in St. Ignace, and are in the US for the first time in 17 years. This event is a major worldwide competition and you can read all about it right here on Absolute Michigan!
Ice Climbing – Tannery Falls, photo by James Marvin Phelps
“Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.”
~ John Boswell
Our February Michigan Event Calendar features all kinds of cool events, from races like the i500 snowmobile race, the UP 200 sled dog race or (we can’t make this stuff up) outhouse races to winter celebrations like the Winter WOW Fest in Traverse City or Perchville USA in Tawas. One of the neatest happens this weekend: The Michigan Ice Fest in Munising.
James took this shot at Tannery Falls near Munising. Click to view it extra-large and see more in his Michigan slideshow.
A little more about Tannery Falls on Michigan in Pictures.
2010 FIS Continental Cup – Pine Mountain -U.P Michigan, photo by ebaillies.
Next weekend (February 10 & 11, 2012) the FIS Continental Cup takes place at Pine Mountain. This annual competition celebrates the long heritage of on of the first ski flying sites and draws competitors from all over the United States and the world along with 20,000 fans!
Over on Absolute Michigan today we have a feature on the Pine Mountain ski jumping tournament. 2012 is the 73rd annual and you can learn all about it and see some videos at the link! There’s also a vintage shot from the 1930s on Michigan in Pictures!
See this photo on black and in Eric’s great Pine Mountain Ski Jumps 2010 slideshow!
Sugar Cookies – Michigan, photo by betsyweber
We, the PEOPLE of the territory of Michigan … mutually agree to form ourselves
into a free and independent state, by the style and title of “The State of Michigan’”
~Constitution of Michigan of 1835
While Michigan’s Constitution was written in 1835, it took until January 26, 1837 for President Andrew Jackson to sign the bill making Michigan the nation’s 26th state (more about that right here but the short answer is, blame it on Ohio). That makes today the 175th birthday of the Great Lakes State. We’ve been making a fuss of it and giving things away on Absolute Michigan all week, and joining a whole lot of people in touting the good things about our great state at #Mich175 on Twitter.
Here’s some fun facts about Michigan:
More fun facts from the State of Michigan.
Check this out background bigilicious and in Betsy’s Cookies slideshow.
PS: I made a little Michigan Birthday cover photo for Facebook that you are free to grab.
Two Pines, photo by Coniferous Mariner.
In addition to being Veteran’s Day, today we roll the calendrical odometer to the 11s.
11/11/11 is causing all manner of fun across the globe – they’re closing the pyramids in Egypt, hoping for good luck and getting married in the East and even playing a basketball game aboard an aircraft carrier (MSU meets North Carolina in the Carrier Classic tonight at 7 PM).
Today at 11:11:11, the time and date will be a perfect same-numbered palindrome, reading the same backwards as forwards, an event which can only happen on one day every 100 years. Read on for more. They note that:
The reason we ascribe significance to 11.11.11 is apophenia – the urge to find patterns in seemingly random data. It is this that explains why we see clouds forming certain shapes, and why we often hear of people finding ‘faces’ in things like potato crisps.
Here’s hoping you have luck & happiness today and faces in your potato chips. ;)
Check this out background big and in Coniferous Mariner’s beautiful A Peopleless Luzerne slideshow. (and isn’t “Coniferous Mariner” just about the coolest user name ever?)
Superior Seas, photo by PhotoYoop.
“NOVEMBER, n. The eleventh twelfth of a weariness.”
~ Ambrose Bierce
From simple weariness of the changing weather to the terrible fury of November storms, the month of November can take a heavy toll on Michiganders.
Fortunately, there’s great events all across the state to help us get through. With indoor enjoyment at events like Restaurant Week in Grand Rapids (Nov 3-13), the East Lansing Film Festival and the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music in Kalamazoo (Nov 10-12) to more hardy pursuits like Opening Day & Deer Season and tomorrow’s Iceman Cometh bike race in Traverse City, our November Michigan Event Calendar has you covered!
We even have FOUR tickets to give away to the Grand Rapids Wine, Beer & Food Festival (Nov 17-19) – click to check it out and chase away Mr. Bierce’s November weariness!
Cory took this shot in October on Presque Isle in Marquette, but it’s certainly indicative of what you’ll see on Lake Superior in November! Check it out bigger and in Cory’s The Yoop – U.P. slideshow.
powered by the sun, photo by Lou Peeples
The November show for the Exposure.Detroit photography group opens next Saturday (November 12) at 7 P.M. at the Bean & Leaf Cafe in Royal Oak. The show features the work of Lou Peeples and four more talented photographers: Kim Kozlowski, Sharon Foster-Lanzetta, Tim White and Mary Jo Boughton. Definitely check the show and Exposure.Detroit out if you can – these folks are great!
Lou took this shot on a late August morning in Grosse Pointe. Check it out bigger and in his Grosse Pointe slideshow.
More mist on Michigan in Pictures.
The Made-in-Michigan Film Festival (MiMFF) takes place October 21-22 in Lapeer. The festival was created to showcase independent films exclusively from the state of Michigan, thereby enhancing the quality of economic and cultural life in the State of Michigan. They’ll have nearly 50 films this year – click the link above to learn more and also get info from the MiMFF Facebook (MiMFFF?).
The host theatre is the Pix Theatre in Lapeer. Their history page begins:
The PIX Theatre was built by George Smith, who began his “show business” life in a production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin at the White Opera House. When the show went on the road, 18 year-old George went with it. Before long the troupe ended up broke in Chicago and George returned to Lapeer. Next, George began playing in theater orchestras in Flint and Saginaw where he met and married Vera, the band’s pianist. In 1914, the Smiths opened a small movie theater next door to what would become the PIX Theatre. Business was good, with tickets selling for five and ten cents. By 1921, the Smith’s were ready to expand their business, so they built the Lyric Theatre, “the fanciest show house around.” Silent movies reigned supreme, accompanied by Vera on the piano until 1928, when the “talkies” came to town.
Early in 1940, with movies at the peak of popularity, it was rumored that Harry Holboth, owner of the Deluxe Theater in neighboring Imlay City, was planning to build a new theater in Lapeer. George Smith, not to be outdone by the competition, quickly set to work locating a site for a new, modern movie house that he would name The PIX Theatre… (read more)
The PIX closed in 1996 and was purchased by the City of Lapeer Downtown Development Authority. PIX Arts Council now manages the Theatre on behalf of the DDA, offering around fifty live performances per season. FYI, the Made-in-Michigan Film Society that produces the MiMFF shows Michigan films at a monthly gathering, providing a regular opportunity for film-goers to interact with film makers.
Check Darryl’s photo out bigger and in his Lapeer slideshow.
A River Runs Through It, my New Years Resolution version, photo by posthumus_cake (www.pinnaclephotography.net).
“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”
~John Burroughs
We’ve posted our October Michigan Event Calendar on Absolute Michigan. It’s one of Michigan’s best listings of events, featuring everything from ArtPrize in Grand Rapids to the Famous Pumpkin Train. Check them all out and learn a lot more about the 10th month!
The photo is the Big Carp River seen from one of Michigan’s premier vistas, the Lake of the Clouds Overlook in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Check it out on black and in his Porcupine Mountains slideshow. He adds that one year later, it was a blizzard! More from Matthew at pinnaclephotography.net.
“September Gale” Grand Haven Breakwater Lighthouse is located in the harbor of Grand Haven, Michigan, photo by Michigan Nut.
There is no other festival like it in the United States. The organizers have done a fantastic job of drawing both vendors and lighthouse buffs from around the globe to what has become the largest and best lighthouse festival in the nation. October is a wonderful time of the year to visit Michigan, with the beautiful fall colors, close proximity to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island and lots of lighthouses, what more could one ask for?
~Tim Harrison, President of the American Lighthouse Foundation
What more indeed? According to Wikipedia’s US Lighthouses page, Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present lights.
It’s definitely fitting to use the most popular lighthouse photo (from John McCormick, the most popular lighthouse photographer) in our Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr to let you know about the annual Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival which takes place October 6-9, 2011 in Alpena.
The Fyddeye Guide to America’s Maritime History says that the festival is the country’s largest lighthouse festival, adding:
The four-day event provides activities for the young and old, including lighthouse tours by personal vehicles, a helicopter tour, or boat tour, entertainment, auctions, dining events, lighthouse exhibits, and shopping. The festival boasts more than 75 maritime-related vendors, including lighthouse preservation groups, artists, nautical crafters, photographers, and authors. This year’s featured guest speakers include Terry Pepper, executive director of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, national gold medal award winning photographer and author Larry Wright, and Sandy Bihn, president of the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Society, which operates the 2011 featured attraction, the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse.
If the name Terry Pepper sounds familiar, he’s the authority we turn to for our lighthouse features and his books on lighthouses are fantastic. Check out Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light and read much from him in the lighthouse category on Michigan in Pictures including our post on the Grand Haven Pier Light.
John took this photo last September. He says to note the guy with the pink surfboard (then see him in the waves in this shot). Check it out bigger and in his fantastic Michigan Lighthouses slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 
