Whitetail Woods Regional Park Celebrates Grand Opening

Room to Roam: Whitetail Woods Regional Park Celebrates Grand Opening

Years of planning, strategy and preparation finally came to a head, as Dakota County, MN officials officially unveiled Whitetail Woods Regional Park—the county’s first regional park in three decades—on a sunny September afternoon.

As visitors flew kites, listened to live music, and enjoyed horse-drawn wagon rides, they described their impressions enthusiastically: “Beautiful.” “Great for families.” “Nature-filled.” “Big spaces.”

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Top Dog: Traverse City’s D.O.G. Bakery Celebrates 10 Years

Hand made dog treats by D.O.G. Bakery
Last year, dogs everywhere gobbled up almost 8 tons of treats made by D.O.G. Bakery.

True dog lovers regard their pets as family members–and Karry Barolo from Traverse City, Michigan is among these ranks. She felt guilty leaving her two dogs — Daisy, a Lab-Chow mix, and Oscar, a Beagle mix — when she went to work every day. “Dogs have such a pure love for their owners. And I was missing out on that relationship,” said Karry. So in 2004 she quit her corporate job to work full time alongside her dogs  at the business she and her husband Chris had started in their spare time: D.O.G. Bakery.

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Macatawa Resource Center Celebrates 15 Years with Ribbon Cutting Celebration

The Macatawa Resource Center Sign

The Macatawa Resource Center is a facility that rents space for non-profits to run their organizations in Holland, Michigan. This year, the center celebrated 15 years of helping community organizations, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and anniversary celebration!

In 1999, founder Leroy Hernandez opened the doors to the Macatawa Resource Center with a mission of helping non-profit organizations to succeed, even if they may not have the funds to rent their own office space or facility. The center began with just a few organizations taking advantage of this opportunity. Over time, MRC has expanded its facilities, and is currently home to over 13 non-profit organizations.

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Afton Apple Celebrates 25 Years

A good pick: Afton Apple celebrates 25 years

Welcome to Afton Apple

When September comes around, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more telling sign of the season than the ubiquitous trip to the apple orchard (the Pumpkin Spice Latte might be a close second, but that’s a story for another day …). And as urbanites and suburbanites alike prep for their annual orchard outings, it seems that everyone has a favorite.

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House of Flavors Celebrates 66 Years

House of Flavors HistoryHouse of Flavors Sign

Park Dairy’s House of Flavors is one of Michigan’s original ice cream manufacturers, as well as an ice cream parlor and restaurant. They are independently owned and operated by the Neal family. Bob Neal Sr. purchased 50% of Miller Dairy in Ludington, MI in 1948. Miller Dairy was then renamed Park Dairy.  Today, the company is run by Bob Neal Jr. and his son Barry Neal.

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Beltline Bar Celebrates 60 Years

Beltline Bar

History

The original Beltline Bar was founded by George Wilkinson in 1953. In the beginning, the restaurant served popcorn, beverages, and chili dogs, which were the house specialty at the time.  Then, in 1964, Tony Rutkowski acquired the restaurant, and his son Jerry developed many of the secret recipes for today’s Mexican specialties.  As a result, the Beltline Bar became the Beltline Bar Famous Mexican Café.

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Hastings, MN’s Rivertown Days celebrates 35 years!

Rivertown Days Anniversary Celebration in Hastings MN

Ask residents what words come to mind when they think of “Hastings, Minnesota,” and you might hear a few frontrunners: Historic. Friendly. Scenic. It’s true; the town of 22,000 on the Mississippi, Vermillion and St. Croix rivers is well-known for being all of those things.

But this year, you might hear a few more…less conventional terms: Creative. Artist-friendly. And maybe even….Neon?

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Danish Festival 50th Anniversary

DF 50th

2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the Danish Festival in Greenville, MI.  The festival’s mission is to celebrate the homecoming of family and friends and Greenville’s Danish heritage. The Danish Festival has grown exponentially throughout the years and now draws over 80,000 people annually. The festival traces its roots back to 1964, when a contest was held to come up with an idea to promote the town of Greenville. The winning idea, from Dorothy Oliver, was that a day be set aside to honor Greenville’s Danish heritage. Thus, the Danish Festival was born, and the first festival was held on August 18, 1965.

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