Community Calendar

The Elk Rapids Cinema, located in the historic Chalfonte Theatre, will host a special community screening of the groundbreaking documentary All Too Clear. The event is presented as a fundraiser for Green Elk Rapid's environmental education and conservation initiatives.

All Too Clear: Beneath the Surface of the Great Lakes is a visually stunning 90-minute documentary that unveils one of the most dramatic ecosystem transformations in North America. The film explores how quadrillions of invasive quagga mussels are reshaping the lakes at a scale not witnessed since the last Ice Age—stripping nutrients from the water, threatening native species such as lake whitefish, and creating vast “biological deserts.” Ironically, this ecological collapse has made the lakes clearer than ever, allowing cameras to reveal freshwater environments with an oceanic level of detail.

5:00 PM – Doors Open / Meet & Greet
6:00 PM – Film Screening
Talk Back Discussion immediately following

For more information, please visit www.elkrapidscinema.com.

All Too Clear Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQa9vm2iCek

Free, peer-led mental health support: NAMI Connection Group. Held Wednesdays, 5pm Online (see website for zoom link) and at Child & Family Services, 3785 Veterans Dr.

Virtual presentation by Chris Gillcrist through the National Museum of the Great Lakes about history of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Mr. Gillcrist will explore a brief history of shipping on the Great Lakes that lead up to the impressive Edmund Fitzgerald.

EXPAND Storytelling #10 will take place at The Alluvion community performance venue at 6:30PM on January 14, 2026. Storytellers invited from the NoMi community will take the stage to share their life stories around how they find fulfillment from the inside out wherever they are. How they came to find the little things that make them come alive and how they continue to expand their being from right here, right NOW. Mindful, aware, present, grateful. Never arriving, always expanding.

STORYTELLERS:
Ella Skrocki, Sleeping Bear Surf
Dana Falconberry, Artist, Musician and Chef
Ryan Hannon, Central United Methodist

Created and hosted by Chelsea Bay Dennis of C.Bay Design

Topics of discussion will be plans for upcoming programs, book sales and activities. Anyone interested in supporting the library is always welcome.

9:30am social time & 10am meeting held at Helena Township Community Center, 8751 Helena Rd, Alden.

Join us three times a year to discuss nonfiction books concerning mental and physical wellness. Facilitators for the discussions will be professional mental health providers courtesy of Head and Heart Therapeutic Services and Open Space Counseling.

This month's book is The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

"Between Us" explores connection, distance, and everything that exists in the in-between. This exhibition invites artists to reflect on how we reach for one another — and ourselves — across emotional, physical, and imagined spaces. Whether through intimacy or absence, care or tension, humor or vulnerability, the show looks at the invisible threads that link us and the quiet gaps that keep us apart.

Show will be on view 1:00am - 4:00pm daily from January 16 thru February 21, 2026!

The Annual Artist Guild Member Salon Show is one of our most anticipated exhibitions of the year—an expansive, energetic display celebrating the talent and diversity of Crooked Tree Arts Center’s Artist Guild Members. This special membership category is designed for individuals who identify as practicing artists, whether emerging, mid-career, or established.

This year’s Salon Show will feature 120 artists and more than 200 works of art spanning every medium—painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, fiber, printmaking, mixed media, and more. True to the historic “salon” style, the gallery walls will be filled floor-to-ceiling, creating an immersive viewing experience that reflects the breadth and vitality of our region’s creative community.

The exhibit rotates annually between CTAC–Traverse City and CTAC–Petoskey, offering Guild Members across Northern Michigan the opportunity to participate. The Salon Show showcases not only the artistic range within our membership, but also the depth of connection between artists, audiences, and the arts ecosystem they help sustain.

Visitors can expect a vibrant, community-centered exhibition that shines a spotlight on the artists who contribute so much to CTAC year-round—as instructors, exhibitors, mentors, and makers.

Come celebrate the talent, passion, and creative spirit of our Artist Guild Members in this extraordinary annual showcase.

Show will be on view 1:00am - 4:00pm daily from January 16 thru February 21, 2026!

A shy hobbit discovers his true potential in this play presented by OTP youth performers. Bilbo Baggins unexpectedly joins a group of dwarves on an epic quest to reclaim a stolen treasure from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Their travels take them through dangerous lands, facing trolls, goblins and giant spiders. Along the way, Bilbo finds he is brave, a good friend, and ultimately plays a pivotal role in the battle for the treasure.

Kentucky singer/songwriter Joan Shelley has a warm and mellifluous voice which she applies to songs that evoke both American and British folk traditions. With melodies that are often quiet but full of drama, her observant music often bears a dark and bittersweet quality as on releases like 2015’s Over and Even, the album that marked the beginning of a long collaboration with guitarist Nathan Salsburg (the two are now married). i.am.james will open the show.