Painting Outdoors!!
Twelve artists paint “En Plein Aire” on August 30, in the First Annual Wau-Ke-Na Art Walk on the 400 acre Wildlife Preserve near Saugatuck.

A full day of watching artists work outdoors, painting exhibitions, Antique Wagon Rides, Tours & Refreshments all day from 10-5.

“Art in the Meadow”, Ox-Bow’s Fall Classes begin September 9^th with both weekday and weekend Workshops. ”Impressionism Along the Lakeshore”, “Glass Beadmaking”, “Collage”, “Landscape”, “Still-life”, “Gouche and Egg Tempera”, “Chocolate”, and of course “En Plein Aire" are among the classes.
www.ox-bow.org

Mt. Baldhead Challenge
Early Saturday morning, September 13, 2008, the streets of Saugatuck and Douglas are energized as hundreds of runners of all ages get out and test themselves. At 8:40, children under twelve compete in “Little Feet, Big Feat”. At 9:00, the challenging 15K begins in Saugatuck, winds through Douglas and along Lake Michigan, up the 282 steps of Mt. Baldhead and along the Kalamazoo River. WHEW!!
 
At 9:15 the fast and fun USATF certified 5K course for serious runners begins with a tour of Saugatuck and Douglas eluding Mt. Baldy. Everyone is a winner!!!

"In Indian Summer, the song sings itself." - William Carlos Williams

Lakeshore Harvest Country Road Rally
On Saturday October 11^th, twelve of the farms located near Saugatuck will host a rally and receptions to welcome guests to life on the farm. Everyone will follow clues to visit the farms where they’ll meet the baby chicks, cows, bees and goats, u-pick fruits, and jams, ciders, syrups and honey of the farms. It’s a great opportunity to see farm life close up at Crane Orchards, Earl’s Farm, Dee’s Lakeshore Farm, Barden’s Farm, Overhiser Orchards, and Fernwood Farm.

Pumpkin Barn

The Harvest
It’s time to visit Crane Orchards to “pick your own” apples ... a wonderful way to take a step back in time.

There are Ginger Gold, Honey Crisps, Gala, Mutsu, Fuji, Ida Reds, Empire Goldens and Cortalnds – great for apple pies, sauces, cobblers, crisps, buckles, strudels and cider. No visit is complete without a stop at the Pie Pantry for terrific soups, homemade fruit pies, cider and cider doughnuts.

And, if you have time to get lost, there’s The Crane Corn Maze for a little exercise. During Halloween it because The Haunted Maze with ghosts and goblins. It’s time to be a kid again! Growing old is scary enough! www.craneorchard.com

The Four Seasons, "First you are young; then you are middle-aged; then you are old; then you are wonderful!" - Lady Diana Cooper

Our Antique Trail
Amble our own Antique Trail along the Blue Star where dozens of antique dealers highlight gems galore.

Antique ironwork, furniture, fine art, home and garden décor, retro, architectural salvage, glassware, armoires, vintage posters, stained glass, silver, fine collectables and junk are all in evidence. It’s great fun to discover your own treasure.

Celebrate Ethel Merman October 4^th, Mason Street Warehouse
“Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, “I Got Rhythm”, and “Blow, Gabriel Blow” sung by Klea Blackhurst in her acclaimed tribute to Ethel Merman.

“Everything The Traffic Will Allow” will indeed bring the rafters down! This knockout show with Blackhurst’s wit and powerful vocals will be a brilliant evening dedicated to one of American theatre’s greatest stars. www.masonstreetwarehouse.org   269.857.4898

Saugatuck-Douglas Heritage Festival September 20 and 21
A weekend full of the spirit of Saugatuck courtesy of The Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society. “Eight Moments In Time” Home Tour. A rare look at seven distinctive homes that reflect Saugatuck’s architectural heritage. Clothesline Art Show featuring local artists, Douglas Dutcher Vintage Baseball Match. Always great! Tallmadge Woods Hike to the “Crow’s Nest” overlooking Lake Michigan’s Dunes

"The only thing to do with family skeletons is to take them out of the closet and dance with them."
 - Anonymous

BOO!!

Halloween Weekend brings out the best creativity all over town!  Houses look scary and a glow – Costume Contests prevail and everyone dreams up and struts their stuff in one parade or another. The Children’s Parade, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is re-enacted, Haunted Houses and Corn mazes, and the wild Adult Parade after dark in Douglas are not to be missed events!! October 24^th and 25^th all around town!

Round Barn Winery

The Wine Crush Is On
Local wineries throughout Southwest Michigan bustle all Fall. It’s the best time of the year to visit the s “the vendage” or the harvest of the grapes takes place. Start in downtown Saugatuck at the Fenn Valley and Tabor Hill Tasting Rooms, head out to visit nearby Fenn Valley Winery and then meander The Wine Trail where you can talk to real winemakers :

“You can buy a wine’s body, but you cannot buy it’s soul”
Neal Rosenthal, Wine Merchant

The Wine Wars Circa 2008
Wine is not what it once was. And more and more wine drinkers want it the way it used to be. Just as serious cooks are demanding that their ingredients have the flavor integrity they once did and insisting upon locally grown organic credentials; wine drinkers want naturally nuanced authentic wines that have complexity with every sip and age well.

To our dismay, over the past twenty years, in an effort to please some wine critics and second guess the American public's palate, wine makers around the world have created sweet, plush, “jammy fruit bombs” that might attract attention at Tastings, but overwhelm when they accompany food. They have resorted to adding sugars, flavorings, yeasts, wood chips and using ultra filtration systems to create highly manipulated wines. These wines are to be served immediately and need no time aging. A far cry from centuries old wine traditions.

Today there are winemakers, importers and wine lovers who are in rebellion and we are amongst them. We want the subtle nuanced interesting and authentic wines that are made from grapes grown in complex soils by winemakers using traditional blending and aging methods. These are the winemakers who respect “terrior” above all else. They realize that the best grapes in the world are grown in soil whose vines drill though layers of porous and dense minerals to find its water source thus flavoring the grapes superbly. Ironically, many of the recently established vineyards today are based on former deserts.

Instead we want to drink wines from winemakers that use organically and/or biodynamically methods and use little or no sulphur, only natural yeasts, no enzymes, no roto-ferments, no fancy consultants and leave the stems and seeds in the wine for natural tannins. They make simply delicious and interesting wines that develop more character over time.

To discover which camp you’re in, try a simple test. Collect some of your favorite wines and then seek out some of those from the list below. Ask your local wine shop, they may be right under your nose. Then, simply taste several side by side and decide for yourself. The difference is huge. Old fashioned wine has become cutting edge. We trust: www.kermitlynch.com; Neal Rosenthal Wine Merchant at www.madrose.com; Becky Wasserman Selections at www.leserbet.com; and Louis Dressner at www.louisdressner.com to import wines that are authentic.

In California, wineries producing traditional wines are Frog’s Leap, Chateau Montelena, Clos du Val, Dominus Estate, Grgich Hills, Heitz Cellar, M by Michael Mondavi, Tom Eddy Wines, Trefethen Family Vineyards, Mayacamas Vineyard and Smith-Madrone.

"Making good wine is a skill, fine wine an art." - Robert Mondavi

"Christmas waves a magic wand over the world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."
- Norman Vincent Peale

Catch the Holiday Spirit in Saugatuck - 11/15/08 to 1/5/09
Plan now to visit us as the holiday season approaches. Saugatuck and Douglas become an Old Fashion Christmas Card - with twinkling lights everywhere beginning in mid-November. For six weeks our towns are magical - horse drawn carriage rides, mulled cider and holiday cookies in shops brimming with unique gifts and stocking stuffers, even Dickens' "Christmas Carol!"