Rick Coates

Features Rick Coates Country music legend Mickey Gilley is lucky to be living, let alone
performing. Two years ago while helping a friend move a piece of
furniture, he fell down a flight of stairs leaving himself paralyzed from
the neck down. Through a little luck and hard work Gilley is back on the
road and will kick off his first tour since his near fatal fall, this
Friday, May 27 at the Leelanau Sands Showroom. 
“I have been back performing at my theater in Branson, Missouri for a few
months now. I am excited and ready to get back out on the road,” said
Mickey Gilley. “It has been a tough road back but I have a sense of humor
about it. In fact I tell people at my show don’t call me if they want
something moved -- call Two Men and a Truck.”

Features Rick Coates Country music legend Mickey Gilley is lucky to be living, let alone
performing. Two years ago while helping a friend move a piece of
furniture, he fell down a flight of stairs leaving himself paralyzed from
the neck down. Through a little luck and hard work Gilley is back on the
road and will kick off his first tour since his near fatal fall, this
Friday, May 27 at the Leelanau Sands Showroom. 
“I have been back performing at my theater in Branson, Missouri for a few
months now. I am excited and ready to get back out on the road,” said
Mickey Gilley. “It has been a tough road back but I have a sense of humor
about it. In fact I tell people at my show don’t call me if they want
something moved -- call Two Men and a Truck.”

Music Rick Coates If you’re looking to get your summer off to a flying start, two headbanging events will get you there this week, with a run-up to Memorial Day Weekend:

Rock and Roll Circus
“The circus is coming, the circus is coming to town!” -- the four-ring Rock and Roll Circus that is. Ground Zero Nightclub in TC is hosting four nights of rock over the course of six days featuring 13 bands. 
Owner Doug Street came up with idea of packaging four concerts together with one ticket. For $67 and a $3 handling fee hardcore rockers will be able to see over $100 worth concerts. Individual tickets for all shows are available.
Saving Abel kicks it off on Friday, May 20. The Mississippi-based modern rockers roll into town with their number one hit “The Sex Is Good,” off their current “Miss America” CD. Saving Abel took their name from a Bible passage that said “there is no saving Abel.” They burst onto the scene in 2008 with their self-title debut CD that featured three top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Charts, “Addicted,” “18 Days,” and “Drowning (Face Down).”

Dining Rick Coates The restaurant at LochenHeath Golf Club (just north of the Grand Traverse
Resort) might just be the the region’s best kept secret. The golf course
closed its doors a few years ago as a result of financial difficulties and
since reopened just last week. Returning to the fold is Chef Joseph George
who was the chef at the time LochenHeath closed. George eventually took
over the executive chef responsibilities at the Grand Traverse Resort a
year ago but jumped at the chance to return to LochenHeath. With George at
the helm, guests can expect a first class dining experience. 

Features Rick Coates Judging by a confusing barrage of news reports over the last two weeks,
exactly what happened during the 40-minute mission carried out by an elite
team of Navy SEALs that ultimately resulted in the death of Osama bin
Laden may never be known.
Conflicting reports of the operation’s details began leaking just after
President Barrack Obama announced bin Laden’s demise on the evening of May
1. But for SEALs Team 6, the details are not important.It is all about
“mission accomplished.” 

Music Rick Coates Bass player and vocalist John Wetton’s middle name must be “Supergroup.”
Wetton was on the forefront of the Progressive (prog rock) scene in the
late ’60s and its heyday of the ’70s lending his vocal, songwriting and
musical talents to several “super” groups, including King Crimson, Roxy
Music, Uriah Heep and UK before forming Asia in 1981. 

Dining Rick Coates Despite recent unseasonably cold temperatures the often elusive morels are popping up all over Northern Michigan. That is good new for the 51st Annual National Morel Festival in Boyne City. The four-day festival begins this Thursday May 12 and continues through Sunday May 15 and is loaded with several events.
Here are a few highlights for the weekend. On Friday May 13 the MorelFest “Wine & Dine” will take place at the Beach House Restaurant at Boyne Mountain from 5 - 7 pm.  Tickets are limited and can be purchased at the Boyne Area Chamber of Commerce for $40 per person.  Ticket holders will enjoy assorted gourmet hors d’ oeuvres paired with assorted wines. Here is a sampling of what is being offered: Morel, Grilled Ramp and Gruyere Quiches, Marinated Morels served in Belgian Endive Cups with a Port Wine Vinaigrette and topped with Toasted Pine Nut and Morel Meatloaf Sliders.

Art Rick Coates The Swirly Art of Pammy Tinsley: Radio host offers twists & turns at Opera House exhibit
By Rick Coates
Pammy Tinsley grew up a “muse” for the bullies at her school. After years of verbal torment that led to her dropping out of school, she was uncertain of her talents and purpose in life. Now at the age of 50, Tinsley has focused the creative flame within her by launching into a new career path that includes radio personality, graphic designer and artist.
An exhibition of her works will be on display during the month of May at the City Opera House in Traverse City. She will host and artist reception on Tuesday May 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. that will also feature the musical stylings of Jon and Johnny, along with DJ Nesta.
For Tinsley, her life has been about either being in the wrong place at the wrong time or the right place at the right time. One of those right places was three years ago at a bar when she met up with WKLT Morning Show personalities Omelette & Finster.

Dining Rick Coates Mother’s Day Brunch Stafford’s Style
Looking for that perfect spot to take Mom this weekend? Try one of the restaurants from Stafford’s Hospitality; each of their four locations will offer their annual Mother’s Day Brunch this Sunday. However, this year they will all have a little different “flavor” as Stafford’s Hospitality founders Stafford and Janice Smith will appear at each of the four brunches.
The Smiths will be signing copies of “Stafford’s Hospitality: Fifty Years of Historic Lodging and Waterfront Dinning.” Typically Stafford takes the position behind the carving station at Stafford’s Bay View Inn for Sunday Brunch during the summer months but this year the Smith’s, who winter in Arizona, returned early to help the company they founded 50 years ago celebrate. The couple will stagger their visits to each the restaurants with a schedule of their appearance times on their website. Of course this is a loose schedule as many patrons will want to share their memories of Stafford’s Hospitality while getting their books signed.

Art Rick Coates For women between the ages of 35-54 cancer is the leading cause of death. In 2003 a group of female artists and cancer survivors led by Rosalyn Tyge and Jen Hutchinson launched “From Women’s Hands,” an art show and sale to benefit the Women’s Cancer Fund of the Munson Healthcare Regional Foundation.
This year, the event will take place April 29 - May 1 at The Streeters Center in Traverse City, featuring over 100 female artists exhibiting and selling original art.
“We are really excited about the event this year it has been really ramped up with addition of the ‘Tickled Pink,’ our opening night celebration on Friday,” said co-chair Jen Hutchinson.
“Tickled Pink” will feature celebrity waitstaff from the area serving drinks and food. The ticketed event on Friday, April 29 includes a separate dance area featuring national touring seven-piece funk band Soul Xpress and goes from 6 to 10 p.m.

Dining Rick Coates 50 Years of Stafford’s Hospitality : New book takes a look back at the Stafford’s story
By Rick Coates
If a picture tells a thousand words, could a name do the same? Just mention Stafford’s Hospitality and for hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents of the region, wonderful stories and memories come to mind. This year Stafford’s Hospitality, with operations in Petoskey, Charlevoix and Harbor Springs, is celebrating 50 years of business.
In many ways, Stafford’s and Hospitality is somewhat redundant -- the two are synonymous with each other. Few if any have done the hospitality business better than Stafford’s. That tradition started with their founders and today, the “second generation” has been handed the torch with new ideas, while hanging onto the core values that have led to success over the past 50 years.
The company was founded in 1961 by Stafford “Duff” Smith and his wife Janice. The two met while working at the Bay View Inn in Petoskey, where Stafford was the assistant manager (he had been working there since 1957) and Janice had just started as the dining room hostess in the summer of 1960. Later that year, Stafford would be hired as the manager of the Perry Hotel. A few months later, in early spring of 1961, the Perry Hotel was sold and Stafford lost his position.
But in early summer 1961, Stafford was offered the opportunity to purchase the Bay View Inn on a land contract and did so. The couple were married soon afterwards. At the age of 22, Stafford and Janice Smith owned a 60-room inn and were probably the youngest innkeepers in the Midwest.

Dining Rick Coates Food For Thought Home Canning
This weekend Timothy Young, founder of Food for Thought in Benzie County, will offer a seminar on “home canning” at the Chef’s Challenge event at Boyne Mountain. Young considers himself to be an “avid home canner” who learned the art of canning from his mother when he was a kid.
Canning is gaining favor again in our country and while it’s no longer the necessity it was during our grandparents’ generation, it has new significance today. Primarily it offers one the ability to enjoy locally grown products year-round. The canning options are endless, from making spaghetti sauce from locally grown tomatoes and vegetables, to canning all sorts of fruits and vegetables, to making homemade preserves and jams.

Dining Rick Coates LuLu’s Bistro
Short’s Beer Dinner
Chef Michael Peterson has been a fixture on the Northern Michigan culinary scene for the past 20 years. After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America and training in Paris at the prestigious Le Grenadine, Peterson returned to his native Northern Michigan and launched the popular Spencer Creek Landing in Alden. In 2001, along with his wife Rebecca, he moved his culinary talents to downtown Bellaire and opened LuLu’s Bistro. They also recently opened Siren Hall in Elk Rapids.
In its 10 years of operation LuLu’s has helped to revitalize Bellaire. Toss in Short’s Brewing Company that opened seven years ago and the recent restoration of Shanty Creek Resort, and the Antrim County community has become a year-round destination.

Features Rick Coates The Greening of Business: Michigan Green Consortium blossoms with new ideas
By Rick Coates
“Going Green” may seem trendy or the hip thing to do right now, but soon
businesses may not have an option, it may be law.
While many businesses are incorporating self-imposed green initiatives,
laws are popping up all over the country mandating everything from reduced
energy use to required recycling laws, to the elimination of plastic
shopping bags.

Features Rick Coates The Serious Side of Drew Hastings
By Rick Coates
Comedian Drew Hastings loves performing in the Midwest, especially in small towns, where he feels his humor connects. He hopes to prove that theory this week when he returns to the Traverse City Opera House for an encore performance Friday, April 22.
Born in Morocco, Hastings grew up in the Dayton, Ohio area. After high school he pursued odd jobs until the age of 31 when he decided to give acting and stand up comedy a try. He moved to Los Angeles and found himself in some development deals and television show pilots that didn’t go anywhere. But what did take off for him was stand up comedy.
Hastings quickly found himself being booked on several network talk shows including receiving