Grayling Visitors Bureau

The AuSable Artisan Village Gallery is proud to present a showing of the photography of Jeff Gaydash and the sculpture of Lon Gauthier. An opening reception will be held at the Gallery at 108 Michigan Ave., Grayling MI on Friday, July 16, 5:00-7:00 p.m. There is no fee to enter the Gallery which will be open from July 17-29 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m.

Jeff Gaydash has a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in photography from The College For Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. He was a partner in a commercial photographic and digital imaging studio for 6 years and is now a web developer at Wunderman Team Detroit building websites for Ford Motor Company. Jeff has recently made a conscious decision to focus more seriously on his love of fine-art black and white image making. Jeff lives in Troy, Michigan with his wife Michelle and three daughters.

Lon Gauthier’s body of work focuses primarily on mixed media sculpture that merge industrial aesthetics with the organic forms of nature. Using found objects, fabricated metal and castable materials, Gauthier’s work is an attempt to tear down the walls between nature and what is deemed “Man Made” exposing the infinite layers of connections between all things, organic and inorganic.

Gauthier left art school at the University of Montana, that houses some of his early bronzes in their permanent collection, to move to Detroit and start a working studio. While in Detroit, Lon showed his two and three dimensional work at the Majestic Café, Detroit Contemporary, Tangent Gallery and Johansen Charles Gallery. Before leaving Detroit in 2004, Gauthier was co-curator of the show “Ordinary Things”, a group show with working artists from Detroit, and Graduate students from Cranbrook, turning the mundane objects of the everyday into objects of higher meaning.

Currently Lon has work displayed at the Twisted Fish Gallery in Elk Rapids and The Inside Out Gallery in Traverse City. When not making art, Gauthier owns and operates “4 Mile Welding LLC” in Grayling Michigan, making one of a kind architectural elements and performing repair work for the community.

For more information, please contact the Chamber of Commerce at (989)348-2921.

CONTACT: Rob Burg 989-348-2537

Hartwick Pines to Host Annual Wood Shaving Days July 17-18

Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling will host its annual Wood Shaving Days Festival on July 17-18 at the park’s Logging Museum.  From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, visitors can enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of the historic steam-powered sawmill cutting logs into pine boards; listen to traditional music played by “The Cousins Music Group;” and enjoy the art of wood carving, wood burning and other woodcrafters.  Also included at Wood Shaving Days are demonstrations by blacksmiths, weavers, and wool spinners.

There will be a match of “Vintage Baseball” with the home club Hartwick Pines Swampers taking on the Petoskey Moss Backs at 1p.m. Sunday, July 18, at the park’s picnic area. This is a chance to see baseball as it was played in the mid-1800s, without a glove and a few different rules than today.

Wood Shaving Days will be held on the grounds of the Logging Museum at Hartwick Pines State Park. The Logging Museum is a field site of the Michigan Historical Museum and interprets the white pine logging era of 1840-1910. Wood Shaving Days is sponsored by the Friends of Hartwick Pines and all proceeds go toward the interpretive and educational programs at Hartwick Pines State Park. 

For more information about Wood Shaving Days or other programs at Hartwick Pines, please call (989) 348-2537.  There is no charge for attending Wood Shaving Days, but a 2009 Michigan State Park Motor Vehicle Permit is required to enter the park. Permits are available at the park entrance, and cost $6 for a Michigan resident daily or $24 for an annual. Out-of-state visitors can purchase permits for $8 for a daily and $29 for an annual.

For more information about this event, Hartwick Pines State Park, accessibility or park amenities, contact the park at (989) 989-348-2537 (TTY/TDD 711 Michigan Relay Center for the hearing impaired), or visit www.michigan.gov/hartwickpines.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

The 63rd Anniversary 2010 Weyerhaeuser AuSable River International Canoe Marathon begins with sprints for starting positions on Thursday, July 22nd and ends with the Avita Water Black Bear Bicycle Tour on Sunday, July 25th.

This week long festival includes fun filled events such as Kid’s Day, Arts & Crafts show with over 100 vendors, and the Classic Car Show of Grayling. Other festivities include the AuSable River Festival Parade, 10k Fun Run & Walk, Food Court, Michigan Museum of Military Transport exhibit and the world-renowned Icehouse Quilt Shop’s Quilt Show on Friday & Saturday. Many local businesses will be participating all week with individual activities such as an Ice Cream Social, Community Coffee Break, Book Sale and a Chicken BBQ. Changes will be noted here as they become available.

The Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Canoe Marathon is the richest canoe race in North America. The $50,000 purse will be up for grabs by expert paddlers from around the world. The racecourse runs almost the entire length of the AuSable River, 120 miles. Paddlers begin by running LeMans style on Saturday, July 24th at 9:00 p.m. to The Old AuSable Fly Shop with thousands of shouting spectators watching on. On Sunday morning, the Avita Water Black Bear Bicycle Tour will depart for Oscoda to catch the paddlers at the end of their overnight adventure. The race ends Sunday, July 25th in Oscoda, MI on the shores of Lake Huron.

Saturday, July 17^th
- Sprints for C-2 Race at 8:00am in the City Park
- Spike’s Challenge C-1 Race at 6:00pm at Borcher’s Canoe Livery

Sunday, July 18^th
- Spike’s Challenge Race 9:00am at Old AuSable (use to be Ray’s Canoe Livery)

Tuesday, July 20^th
- KID’S DAY at the Grayling City Park from 10:00am to 2:00pm
- Chicken BBQ, Ice Cream Social at the Grayling Senior Center

Wednesday, July 21^st
- HUP Race at 5:30pm at the Grayling City Park (Hurry Up & Paddle…or sink race)

Thursday, July 22^nd
- Marathon Coffee Break 9:00am to 11:00am at the Citizens Bank
- Basic Communications & Kirtland College Time Trials for starting position for the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River International Canoe Marathon at 3:00pm – 9:00pm at Penrod’s Canoe Livery.
- Business Relay Races 4:30pm – 7:00pm, starts at Penrod’s and goes to Old AuSable
- AuSable River C-1 Express Race at 7:15pm at Penrod’s and goes to Burton’s Landing
- Arts & Crafts SET UP in the City Park from 12:00pm – 8:00pm

Friday, July 23^rd
- Borcher’s Annual Kids Race, the Casey Challenge, at 10:00am at Borcher’s Canoe Livery
- Grayling Eagles Pre-Marathon Steak & BBQ dinner w/ entertainment (dinner from 5:00 – 8:00pm / entertainment from 5:00pm – close) at the Eagles Club
- Arts & Crafts Show at the Grayling City Park 10:00am – 8:00pm
- Annual “Quilt Sitters” Quilt Show at 10:00am – 5:00pm at the Icehouse Quilt Shop
- Grayling Eagles Club Beer Tent at the Eagles Club from 11:00am – 2:00am
- Camp Grayling Conservation Club BBQ Social at the Old AuSable Fly Shop at Noon – 9:00pm
- Basic Communications & Kirtland College Time Trials for starting position for the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River International Canoe Marathon at 2:00pm – 5:45pm at Penrod’s Canoe Livery.
- Special Olympic’s Canoe Races at 4:30pm at Penrod’s Canoe Livery
- Paddler’s Dinner at AuSable Valley Inn (formerly Ramada Inn) – doors open at 6:00pm dinner is at 6:30pm.

Saturday, July 24^th
- Grayling Recreational Authority’s Annual 10K & 1 Mile Fun Run in town at the Middle School
* Registration at 7:30am – 8:30am, Race starts at 9:00am
- Classic Car Show on Michigan Avenue at 8:00am – 3:00pm
- Michelson Memorial UMC Youth Pancake Breakfast at 8:00am – 10:00am
- Arts & Crafts Show at the Grayling City Park at 9:00am – 6:00pm
- Food Court on Michigan Avenue from 9:00am – 6:00pm
- Annual “Quilt Sitters” Quilt Show 10:00am – 5:00pm at the Icehouse Quilt Shop
- Grayling Eagles Horse Shoe Tournament at 10:00am at the Grayling Eagles Club
- Eagles’ Annual Roast (hot dogs & hamburgers) with entertainment & $1,000 Raffle Drawing at 6:00pm at the Eagles Club.
- Grayling Eagles Club Beer Tent at the Eagles Club from 11:00am – 2:00am
- Grayling Rotary’s Annual Chicken BBQ at the American Legion at 12:00pm – 4:00pm
- Michelson Memorial United Methodist Church’s Ice Cream Social at 12:00pm – 4:00pm
- Camp Grayling Conservation Club BBQ Social at The Old AuSable Fly Shop at 12:00pm – 9:00pm
- AuSable River Festival Parade, starts at 3:00pm
- Paddler’s Pre-Race briefing at the Middle School fenced in playground on Spruce Street
- Paddler’s Mass at St. Mary’s Parish at 4:30pm
- Pre-Race Program at Old AuSable Fly Shop at 6:00pm
- Posting of the Colors at Old AuSable Fly Shop at 7:00pm
- Start of the Weyerhaeuser AuSable River International Canoe Marathon Race at 9:00pm (Grayling to Oscoda)

Sunday, July 25^th
- End of Weyerhaeuser AuSable River Int’l Canoe Marathon (ends on the shores of Lake Huron in Oscoda)
- Ride the Bear/Avita Water Black Bear Bicycle Tour beginning at 8:00am on Michigan Ave in Grayling and ending in Oscoda (100 mile ride).

Grayling Plein Air Garden & Art Walk

Grayling, MI – Beyond the Garden Wall Garden Club and the Watershed Art Project have teamed up this year and are excited to present its 2010 Plein Air Garden Walk on Saturday July 17  from 10 AM to 5 PM. (En plein air is a French expression which means “in the open air”, and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.)This has become a favorite annual event celebrating gardens of Northern Michigan. Extraordinary gardens abound, providing inspirations for the novice and garden enthusiast alike. New this year, local artisans will join forces where a juried art display and demonstrations will be taking place at each of the gardens in addition to down town.

This year’s gardens feature a diverse mix, from lake and riverside retreats, to forest hideaways, small space and city gardens. The homes on the tour offer a variety of unique sites with water features, extensive perennial gardens, eclectic garden art, bountiful containers, luscious vegetable gardens, rock and Zen gardens and even a Labyrinth! Annuals, perennials, evergreen and native plantings abound. Do not be surprised if you catch a glimpse of hummingbirds, butterflies and other native wildlife, making this garden walk a photographer’s paradise.

In addition to the visual inspirations, you will have the opportunity to speak to fellow gardeners and glean tips from deer-proofing your garden, to encouraging plants to grow in the sandy dry soil so common to the area. After a day of strolling the gardens you will be equipped with many ideas in which to emulate some of these great garden secrets in your own yard!

This year’s garden walk will prove to provide something for everyone. Whether you want to go for a leisurely stroll, garner ideas for your next garden project, or are just curious about some of the gardens that flank the cottages, log cabins, and city homes, you are sure to enjoy this event.

Picture-perfect gardens are all but assured as local artists set up easels and begin to paint. Each garden on this years exciting walk will be host to an artist who will be working on site to complete an “en plein air” painting. This on location competitive event is sponsored by the Watershed Art Project. Artist will begin at 10 AM and must complete their entry by the time the garden walk ends at 4 PM. The completed work will be displayed at the Winners Circle Art Gallery at 203 Michigan Avenue (formerly known as Fanny Finns). There will be a silent auction during the week and on Friday, July 24th an art reception will be hosted at the gallery where the award winning works will be announced. The En Plein Air competition is open to all interested artists.

This event is co-sponsored by Beyond the Garden Wall Garden Club and the Watershed Art Project. The Garden Club provides educational and inspirational events for its members and the community. Additionally, the Garden Club sponsors several gardens within the Grayling community. Proceeds from the event go to these community gardens and events. The Watershed Art Project was organized in the fall of 2007 and sponsors four art events each year beginning with the Spring Art Walk in April and ending at the Christmas Walk Exhibition in November. Combining the En Plein Air competition with the annual Garden Walk creates the kind of synergy that brings excitement and interest to the days events.

A “Super Saturday event” will take place at Wellington Farm, USA on Saturday, July 17 and will feature the Summer Kitchen with farm ladies baking sticky-buns, bread and rolls. Take a tour of the park’s Grist Mill, Carpenter Shop, Blacksmith Shop and Summer Kitchen – all portraying life as it was during the Great Depression.

Park officials say that “Super Saturdays” at the farm are special when the interpreters concentrate on one specific subject. The first product to be taken out of the oven of the old Kalamazoo wood stove is the delectable sticky-buns. The flour used in the baking is ground in the Grist Mill located at the farm. To the flour are added raisins, walnuts, sugar, molasses, and butter. The mix is divided in small portions, baked and doled out to the audience while still warm.

An interpreter pointed out that it is easy for us to take something for granted when it is as common as bread or rolls; now it comes from the supermarket or the bakery. She said that life in the 1930’s during the depression was life of dependence on oneself for food. If there was no money it was necessary to bake your own bread.

People who have attended previous sticky bun Saturdays say that there is nothing better than the smell of bread baking in the oven of a wood stove or the taste of a sticky bun along with a good cup of coffee.

A visit to Wellington Farm USA is a great full day outing for the entire family. The complex, located near Grayling, Michigan, is a 60-acre living history farm depicting life during the Great Depression. Gates to the farm open at 10 a.m. and tractor drawn shuttles are waiting to provide transportation from the Visitor Center to the heart of the agricultural complex where activities are happening all day long.

Wellington Farm Park is located on Military Road between North Higgins Lake State Park and the Michigan National Guard Camp. Admission to the farm is $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for students and seniors. For a map, or more information, call 888.653.3276 or visit the farm’s website at www.wellingtonfarmpark.org