While summer won’t officially begin until later this month, the warm temperatures and big tourist crowds have certainly made it feel like summer. And with schools winding down for the year, we’re ready to start planning our summertime escapades. To help you do the same, the Leelanau Ticker has compiled a guide to many of the festivals, parties, parades, and other community events that will dominate the next four months.

June 7: This Friday kicks off the annual “Members Create” tradition at Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC). That summer kickoff exhibit, which showcases the work of 41 current GAAC members, will begin with a 5-8pm reception on Friday, and will then remain on display until August 8. Friday also commences GAAC’s “Late Night Friday” series, which will see the gallery “keeping the lights on a little later” for Friday evening live music performances. First up: Fivemind Reeds Quintet, performing 7-8pm this Friday.

June 7: Also kicking off the new season this Friday is the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay, which will switch to its summer schedule of two showings per day, at 4:30pm and 7:30pm. The arrival of summer also brings the Bay’s “Family Dollar Movies” each Tuesday at 1pm, with screenings of E.T. on June 11, Paddington on June 18, and Wonka on June 25. A full Family Dollar Movies schedule is reportedly “coming soon.”

June 8: Now in its 16th year, the popular M22 Challenge will go ahead inside the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Saturday. The sold-out race starts at 8am with a run up the Dune Climb, followed by a 17-mile bike ride around Glen Lake and a paddle race across Little Glen.

The M22 Challenge ushers in a busy racing season. Other races on the slate include Grand Traverse Lighthouse’s Rock the Light 5K and 10-miler (this Saturday), the Black Star Farms Wine Run 5K (June 23), the Northport Run for Cancer (July 4), the Friends of Fishtown 5K (July 20), the Glen Arbor Women’s Club Running Bear Run (July 23), the Port Oneida Run (August 3), the Run 4 the Kielbasa four-miler (August 24), the Bolt 5 in Northport (August 31), and Frankfort’s IRONMAN 70.3 Michigan (September 15).

June 8: Established in 1849, Northport is celebrating its 175th birthday this year. The Northport Area Heritage Museum will commemorate the occasion from 10am-4pm Saturday with “special displays, walking tours, and movies.”

June 14-August 23: Leland Township Public Library will offer children’s programming at 10:30am every Friday morning this summer (except for July 5) including a “mobile museum” courtesy of the Great Lakes Children Museum on June 21 and a kids improv class on August 9.

June 16: The first day of LivelyLands Summer Sun Sets in Empire, a music festival/concert series that will also have shows this summer on July 14 and August 17. This year’s lineup includes Seth Bernard, Jordan Hamilton, SoSoHiFi, The Accidentals, Laura Rain, and the Elizabeth Landry Trio.

June 21: The annual Suttons Bay Art & Wine Walk invites attendees to grab a “walking guide,” visit participating stores, collect stamps on their guides, meet local artists, and sample local libations. Leave your stamped guide with a participating merchant at the end of the evening for a chance to win $160 in gift certificates. The event runs from 5-8pm.

June 26: As the Leelanau Ticker reported earlier this year, the Leelanau Cancer Foundation is getting more ambitious with its fundraising this year with its first proper gala, called “A Gala of Grace: Compassion for Families with Cancer.” Tickets are $75 in advance and $80 at the door, and the event runs from 6-8pm.

June 27: It’s the return of “Music in the Air” at Leland’s Old Art Building, a free outdoor concert series that runs all summer.

June 28: Northport kicks off its summertime “Music in the Park” series at 7pm with Michigan soul band 1000 Watt Prophets. The series runs through August 30.

June 28-30: Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak in Empire will host “Beryl Days,” a 20-year anniversary party featuring a group paddle, a wine and cheese gathering, lakeside yoga, live music, and more.

June 29-July 6: It’s National Cherry Festival week in Traverse City! Top draws this year include an air show with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, a concert lineup featuring the Goo Goo Dolls, Stone Temple Pilots, and Bret Michaels, closing night fireworks, and more.

July 4: It’s a busy Independence Day in Leelanau County. Get into the patriotic spirit with the Glen Lake Women’s Club’s traditional flag raising ceremony (10am), take in a few parades (Stan Brubaker’s Celebrate America Parade starts at noon in Glen Haven, while the Glen Lake Boat Parade and the Leland Fourth of July Parade both typically get going at 3pm), and wrap up the day with Northport’s evening fireworks display.

July 17: 2024 marks the 52nd annual Glen Lake Women’s Club Art Fair, which runs from 10am-4pm at the Glen Lake Township Hall. Proceeds go toward scholarships to help Glen Lake Community Schools students attend Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp or Northwestern Michigan College.

July 17: “Celebrate Summer in Style,” a fundraisier for Leelanau Christian Neighbors, is scheduled for 6-8pm at Aurora Cellars. The gala event is $100 per person and will feature a silent auction, “fashions from Samaritans’ Closet, and “a picnic at the estate with food, wine, and beer.”

July 23: Speaking of gala fundraisers, the Leelanau Children’s Center (LCC) will host its signature summer event – the Leelanau Grown Feast & Fundraiser, at Aurora Cellars from 6-9pm. In addition to wines from Aurora, the gala will feature cocktails by Tonic & Lime, a farm-to-table dinner by Island Thyme Catering, and live music from i.am.james.

July 26: Catch the 32nd Annual Art Leelanau Benefit and Exhibit, which raises money for the Old Art Building. Tickets are $70 and include food from Island Thyme Catering, live music, and access to the Art Leelanau exhibit.

August 3-4: It’s Suttons Bay Art Festival weekend, which features 100 artists, food vendors, booths from community groups, a library book sale, and a children’s area, all next to Suttons Bay Marina Park. The spirit of the festival carries over to the following weekend’s Suttons Bay sidewalk sales, during which local retailers offer end-of-the-season discounts on summer wares.

August 9-10: The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, in partnership with Preserve Sleeping Bear, hosts the Port Oneida Fair, which turns Port Oneida’s six historic farmsteads into hubs for artists, crafts, food, and activities.

August 10: The second Saturday in August brings the 27th annual Northport Dog Parade, which invites “dogs and their families to walk the streets of Northport while dressed according to the theme of the year.” This year’s parade theme is “Barkum & Bailey’s Flea Ring Circus.” The parade starts at noon, with registrations kicking off at 10:30am. Northport’s annual sidewalk sale will also take place August 10.

August 22-25: In addition to live polka music and authentic Polish food, the 42nd annual Cedar Polka Fest will add some new twists, including a canine-focused series called “the Dog Days of Summer,” complete with dock jumping, a dog costume contest, and on-site doggy daycare.

August 30-September 2: Labor Day weekend is sidewalk sale time in Glen Arbor, featuring special deals, indoor/outdoor shopping, and more.

September 28: It may come a week after the autumnal equinox, but Leelanau UnCaged traditionally serves as the proper summer send-off in Leelanau County. Though the beloved festival is still nearly four months off, organizers are already accepting applications for artists, food vendors, dancers, and volunteers. The application window for musicians has closed, with the lineup to be announced soon.