Mud Season Notes and a Few Warm Rooms to Gather In
A calm look at what’s on the community bulletin boards across Leelanau, Old Mission, and the bayside towns this coming week.
March 2026 has that in-between feel right now—the kind where the porch light catches the wet shine on the steps, and you can hear a few slow drips working their way off the eaves. Out by the door, there’s a small ridge of sand and salt at the edge of the mat, and somebody’s boots are drying heel-to-toe like they’ve been set there on purpose. You can almost feel the lake in the light—indirect, pale, and steady—coming through the window while the wind keeps worrying the bare branches.
Early in the week, a couple of quiet, indoors-and-still-very-local things are making the rounds by word-of-mouth and on the flyers: the Glen Arbor Arts Center wraps its winter exhibit, Exhibit: INteriors, with the last days landing before the week’s really underway, and it’s been the kind of show you can take in slowly—room by room, piece by piece. Then on Tuesday, March 24, the Leelanau Historical Society has “Lake Leelanau, Spirit of the Lake,” a documentary screening set for 7:00pm—one of those nights where you’ll hear coat zippers and the soft fold of a program as folks settle in.
Midweek leans into the steady rhythm of community meeting nights. Leelanau Township has Board of Review hours on Tuesday, March 24, running 11:00am to 3:00pm, and later that same day the Leelanau Township Board meets at 5:30pm at the Leelanau Township Hall. If you’ve ever stood close to a corkboard in a public hallway and watched the pushpins tremble a little when the door opens, you know the mood—people pausing to read, someone smoothing a paper flat with their palm before heading in.
As the weekend comes on, the shoreline communities shift into their “lights on, cars tucked into snowy-gravel lots” routine. Over in Traverse City, the Indoor Farmers Market at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is in its winter run—indoors, warm air, the low hum of conversation, and the small clink of change and jars as you move past the tables. And up in Peshawbestown, Leelanau Sands Casino has a live show on Saturday, March 28: Sammy Kershaw in the Leelanau Sands Casino Showroom—one more marker on the calendar that says winter’s still got a hand on the doorknob, but folks are getting out anyway.
That’s the shape of the coming days along The Coast: muddy shoulders on the roads, a little extra time wiping down the floor by the entryway, and a handful of gatherings where you can hear pages turn and chairs slide back softly when the night wraps up. If you’re heading between Leland, Suttons Bay, Glen Arbor, Traverse City, and the peninsula roads in between, keep an eye out for those fresh posters—new tape at the corners, crisp edges, and that slightly glossy paper catching the overhead light.
Event Info:
Leelanau Historical Society & Museum Events
Leelanau Township Calendar and Meeting Notices
Northern Express Event Calendar
Leelanau Sands Casino Showroom Schedule