Community Calendar

Ever wondered how Michigan ended up with the UP and it's interesting shape? Did you know there was a (mostly) bloodless Toledo War in our state's history?

Plan to join us in person for this event or register here to view from home on Zoom.

Free, peer-led mental health support groups: NAMI Family Support and NAMI Connection Group.

Both held Wednesdays, 12pm at Christ Church, 430 Fair St. (See website for zoom link)

Angie Linsenman, Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator, VA Medical Center will address the experiences and mental health needs of women veterans in northern Michigan and how the VA is addressing their mental health needs.

A Q. & A. session will follow. The program will be held on Zoom.

To RSVP and receive the Zoom sign-in, email info@hestiacircle.org.

Peninsula Fire Department will conduct free training on how to respond effectively to bleeding emergencies. Email ctaylor@peninsulafire.org to register.

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