What’s Up North…
News and Information from Traverse City, Michigan
January-April 2013
A free news tip service from the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau
1-800-TRAVERSE or www.TraverseCity.com
Traverse City Named One of America’s Top 10 Winter Destinations
Livability.com has just named Traverse City to its list of “America’s 10 Hottest Cold Cities” – the nation’s best winter vacation destinations.
The list highlights those communities that embrace their cool climates and offer residents and visitors a wealth of outdoor recreation, arts and culture, dining and entertainment options. Livability.com is a national website that highlights more than 500 of America’s best places to live and visit.
This is the third accolade Traverse City has received this year for the quality of its winter experience. In February, Budget Travel called it one of the 11 “Coolest Winter Places in America,” and in July Midwest Living ranked it among the nation’s “coolest Midwest vacation spots.”
Livability.com said Traverse City has “all the ingredients for a great winter vacation – a quaint downtown with beautiful views of Lake Michigan, microbreweries, restaurants, shops, performance venues and lots of snow.” The article cited the community’s popularity with skiers, snowmobilers and snowshoers—particularly the ski facilities at Shanty Creek Resorts -- as well as its bustling craft brewing scene, and the indoor pampering available at the Great Wolf Lodge and the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.
2013 Winter/Spring “TC Escape Packages”
The Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau is offering a Winter/Spring “Traverse City Escape” package – good until May 16 – that combines special rates at more than 17 participating hotels and resorts with a wide range of discounts on winter recreation, shopping, dining and entertainment.
For winter sports enthusiasts, the packages include deep discounts on lift tickets, ski lessons and equipment, trail passes and snowmobile rentals. There are also great deals at some of the area’s best restaurants and special discounts on shopping, spa services, movies, wine tastings and other entertainment.
Traverse City named “Best Buddies-Trip Destination” by Golf Digest
Traverse City was named one of Golf Digest’s Top Ten “Best Buddies-Trip Destinations” for 2013. The magazine is running a list of 36 such destinations in its January issue -- a list created by surveying the roughly 1,100 panelists who produce the magazine’s biennial rankings of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.
Traverse City’s spot in the Top Ten was revealed by Senior Travel Editor Matt Ginella, in his blog, where he talked about some of his favorite northern Michigan courses and particularly recommended the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, which has been ranked as high as #48 on Golf Digest’s own list of the Top 75 Gold Resorts in North America. “There are three courses, a nice restaurant, and its marketing staff gets creative with golf packages, but if I had time for only one round on the property, I’d play The Bear,” he wrote.
Openings, improvements, expansions, etc.
Incredible Mo’s, a new family-oriented fun center, hopes to open its doors around the New Year on US 31 between Traverse City and Interlochen. Owners Chris and Sandra Mohrhardt, are revamping a 34,000 square-foot building on 3.5 acres that has been vacant for the past two years. The new center will include indoor bocce and cornhole courts, 10 bowling lanes, a laser tag area, and a Kid Zone designed for toddlers. Its restaurant will seat 100 guests and specialize in artisan pizzas, burgers, salads and "lots of appetizers.” Sporting events will be broadcast on several big-screen TVs.
Yet another winery tasting room has opened on the Leelanau Peninsula. Blustone Vineyard, whose first vintage of unoaked 2010 Chardonnay won a gold medal at the Pacific Rim Wine Competition and Double Gold at the Taster’s Guild International Wine Competition, can be found on North Sylt Road in the village of Lake Leelanau. It is open Thursday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. throughout the winter.
The former Giovanni’s Roadhouse in Interlochen is now Maddy’s Tavern. Jeff and Trish Wiltse, who operated the long-standing Italian restaurant for nearly five years, say the name better reflects the many non-Italian items now on their menu. (The name refers to Dr. Joseph Maddy, who founded of Interlochen’s National Music Camp in 1928.)
New Faces
Scott Newmann, owner and operator of Scott's Harbor Grill for more than 20 years, has been named Assistant General Manager and Food & Beverage Director at the Traverse City Cambria Suites. Newman has already revamped the menu at the hotel’s in-house restaurant, Reflect.
Awards and Honors
For the second year in a row, Horse Shows by the Bay, Traverse City’s month-long summer equestrian festival, was named “Best AA Show” for its geographical zone by the United States Hunter Jumper Association. A total of 25 "AA" shows were held this past year in Zone V which encompasses Michigan, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana
The Left Foot Charley Winery was awarded a prestigious Jefferson Cup for its 2011 Seventh Hill Farm Riesling. It was the only Michigan wine to make the list this year.
From the original 700 invited wines, 79 were selected as nominees and only 29 made the final list.
Grand Travers
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