Youths in Leelanau County are fortunate.
Not only do they wake up and go to schools that are comparatively safe, they’re also in academic settings where the arts are alive and well.
Much of the reason can be attributed to the support of the arts on the peninsula. One need only look at the pages of the local newspaper to see examples.
Spring musicals involving more than 100 students were presented at both Glen Lake and Leland last weekend. Sure, there were auditions and casting decisions to be made. But most any student with an interest could find some way to participate — on stage or behind the scenes. And regardless of the roles students played, the community was there to support them.
Another example of strong community support of student arts is on display this month through Exposures, the county student literary magazine that has focused on the work of Leelanau youths for 21 years. English and art teachers encourage students to submit poems, short stories, sculptures, photos, paintings and jewelry for the arts journal, which is released the first weekend in May. In this year’s Exposures, 137 literary and artistic creations were selected for publication by a volunteer group of artists and writers. With nothing to gain monetarily, the volunteers give many, many hours to evaluating, selecting and laying out the pages where student artistic expression is the focus.
Leelanau students are able to shine — on stage, on canvas and on paper — largely because of volunteers and groups who financially support the arts. Included are Glen Arbor Art Association, Genuine Leelanau, Suttons Bay Art Festival, Leelanau Township Foundation, the Verdier Circle of Friends, and the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fund.
What a great place to grow up.