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Here are a few upcoming events around the Old Mission Peninsula, including a Pumpkin Walk, Trunk or Treat, Holiday Bazaar and more. If I’ve missed your event, feel free to email me, [email protected], or leave a comment in the comments section at the bottom of this story.
Community Pumpkin Walk and Halloween Dance
Friday, Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., Old Mission Peninsula School
This is a free family event open to anyone in the community. The walk will start at 6:30 p.m. on the Karyl Tompkins Memorial Trail near the school, and will be lined with pumpkins donated by Local Yokels and carved by OMPS Students during the week. “Witch Wendy” – Vicki Shurly, director of Peninsula Community Library – will tell a not-so-spooky Halloween story at 7 p.m. in the outdoor amphitheater. Families can then head into the school gym for a Halloween Dance. If you have children attending, please accompany them to each event.
“When we moved back to Old Mission, my husband, Colin Seguin (OMPS Alumni), took our 2 1/2-year-old daughter to this event, and he had a great time meeting/seeing OMP families and she had a great time dancing!” says Amanda Seguin, President of the OMPS PTO. “Fast forward and she’s now in 1st grade as an OMPS student! We have so many great families at OMPS now, and so many new families out here on the Peninsula. We would love to meet you and show you a little bit of what OMPS has to offer! Also, to all you Alumni out there, bring your families to enjoy some Halloween magic and check out your old stomping grounds.”
OMPS is also looking for help with a new roof. Click here to read more about how you can donate.
Harvest Festival
Saturday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m., Peninsula Community Library
Enjoy Storyteller Extraordinaire Jenifer Strauss as she shares tales and songs of Autumn. Create a Mummy Candle Holder, stay for donuts, cider and more! The library is located at 2893 Island View Road, on the corner of Center Road and Island View.
Trunk or Treat
Monday, Oct. 31, 5 – 7 p.m., Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church
The church folks will be welcoming trick or treaters of all ages inside the community room at the church, 16426 Center Road. Families are welcome to stop in for hot dogs, chips, cider and donuts. And, of course, lots of treats for the kiddos! There will also be a craft table for them to enjoy.
Legion Dinner
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 6 p.m., Old Mission Legion Hall
The Legion dinners are the first and third Tuesday of the month, with appetizers at 6 p.m. and dinner served promptly at 6:30 p.m. The menu for Nov. 1 is pot roast, carrots, potatoes and salad; baked brie and spinach pie for appetizers; and lemon and pumpkin cakes for dessert. Carry-outs are available by calling (231) 223-4433 from 5 to 6 p.m. Cost is $15 per person. The Legion Hall is located at 4007 Swaney Road in the village of Old Mission.
Dougherty House Happenings
18459 Mission Road
Tuesday, Nov. 1 – The Traverse City Newcomers Afternoon Bookclub will be meeting at the Dougherty Mission House, discussion the book, “The Loon Feather,” by Iola Fuller. The book was first published in 1940 and renewed in 1968, and tells the story of an Indian girl destined to grow up with the incompatible traditions of her own people and the white traders on Mackinac Island.
Wednesday, Nov. 2 – Also, the Peter Dougherty Society is holding their annual volunteers get together and lunch at the Dougherty Mission House on Wednesday, November 2nd. This is to thank all the volunteers who make sharing our 1842 Register of Historic Places Museum possible. Email [email protected] to learn how you can volunteer at this amazing house and meet new friends.
Welcome Wednesday
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 10 a.m. – noon (and each Wednesday thereafter), Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church
This is a great time for women of the OMP community to get together for some conversation and connection. Feel free to drop by the community room in the lower level of the church, and bring a craft or project you’re working on. Can’t get there right at 10? No problem! Can’t stay til noon? No problem! Hope you can join us! The church is located at 16426 Center Road.
(Editor’s Note: On Nov. 2, I’ll be bringing along some Old Mission Coloring Books, in case you’d like to stock up for holiday gift-giving. Books are $20/ea, and all the images are based on my OMP photos you see here in the Gazette, like the one below of Freddy Dohm at his farm stand on Center Road. You can read more about the coloring books and also order them in my online store here. -jb)
Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society
Thursday, Nov. 3, 6 p.m. at Peninsula Community Library
The Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society will meet on Thursday, November 3, 6pm, at Peninsula Community Library, 2893 Island View Road. Prior to the program there will be a brief business meeting. Tom Peters and Linda Woods of the Grand Traverse Band will present the program for this meeting, “Anishinabek Traditions.”
Linda Woods is a tribal member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. She served in the United States Air Force in the deep south during the turbulent Vietnam Era, experiencing racism and prejudice more intensely than previously in Michigan. Following her military service, Woods became a substance abuse counselor, earning a Masters of Social Work in 1994 from San Jose University in California. She is the first female veteran in the U.S. to carry an Eagle Staff, an esteemed symbol in Native American culture, which she carries on behalf of all women, especially her fellow women veterans.
Tom Peters is also a member of the Grand Traverse Band. He is married to Karen Kay-Peters and the father of four daughters, 13 grandchildren, and two great grandsons. He is originally from Charlevoix, Michigan, and graduated from Michigan Tech in 1971 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He also attended Lake Superior State University, receiving a degree in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. Tom is an Anishinaabe traditional pipe carrier and is a founding board member of the An-ishinaabemowin Teg Inc. (an international organization dedicated to preserving the An-ishinaabe Language).
Christmas Bazaar
Saturday, Nov. 12, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m, Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church
It’s back! After a hiatus due to that little thing known as the pandemic, the Christmas Bazaar is back, and there will be plenty of treasures, crafts, baked goods and more. Soup and bread will also be available, in case you’d like to grab some lunch while you’re there. The bazaar will take place in the community room in the lower level of the church, 16426 Center Road.
Free Thanksgiving Dinner
Thursday, Nov. 24, noon to 2 p.m., Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church
If you don’t have other plans for Thanksgiving dinner, why not gather with your friends and neighbors for a free Thanksgiving dinner? No cooking, no cleanup, no fuss. Just relax and enjoy a great turkey dinner with your friends and neighbors. All are welcome!
The community dinner includes a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixins’. It’s a free event and reservations are NOT required, but to help the church crew plan better, feel free to call Wendy Warren, (231) 590-2363, and let her know how many people will be attending. If you’d like to help out in the kitchen or dining area, just show up! You’ll be very welcome.
Also Read…
SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper.
Because Old Mission Gazette is a "Reader Supported Newspaper" -- meaning it exists because of your financial support -- I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks our way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. In a time when local news is becoming a thing of the past, supporting an independent community newspaper is more important now than ever. Thank you so much for your support! -Jane Boursaw, Editor/Publisher, Old Mission Gazette
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