Holiday fun abounds in and around Omena! The Annual Holiday Concert with the Village Voices and the Northport Community Band is always a highlight of the season. It is this Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Northport Performing Arts Center. You can go to the Northport Performing Arts Center website to get tickets. This Saturday is the Northport Women’s Club’s annual Treats and Treasures from 9 a.m. to noon at Trinity Church in Northport. The event supports educational grants.
Two Fridays, December 15 and 22, Northern Latitudes Distillery (NLD) will be holding a Holiday Hygge to raise money for two local organizations. Hygge is a Danish word that is the concept of creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. Both events are from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at NLD’s Lake Leelanau location. The first one supports the Leelanau Christian Neighbors’ (LCN) Blessings in a Backpack, and the second one supports Leelanau Investing in Teens (LIFT). Blessings in a Backpack provides meals for qualified students in all of the Leelanau County public schools. LIFT provides after school programs for students in Suttons Bay and Northport.
The Omena community is saddened at the death of two residents recently. Bob Koch was a life-long summer resident in Ahgosatown. Growing up, he spent every summer here. This is where he met his wife-to-be, Omena resident Gail Southwell. He and Gail returned to Omena for a vacation almost every year. Bob remembered being fascinated by the Traverse City, Leelanau and Manistique railroad train, locally nicknamed Maude, which ran all the way to Northport. He would sometimes hop on board in Ahgosatown and ride to Northport and back.
