michigan

News Releases

Illuminating “Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses” Just in Time for Halloween

Every fall, a growing interest in the paranormal means that people around Michigan (and beyond) begin talking about the state’s many spirited sites…most notably, it’s historic lighthouses. Of the more than 125 lighthouses in the state, 30 or so are also rumored to be haunted…and 13 of those are included in the pages of the best-selling book “Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses” by Dianna Stampfler.

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News Releases

Michigan Hemingway Society Announces Literary & History Conference Dates: October 18-20, 2019

The Michigan Hemingway Society (MHS) is once again hosting its annual literary and history conference, October 18-20 at The Terrace Inn in the Northern Michigan Chautauqua community of Bay View. It was here, and in the surrounding countryside and lakeshore communities that the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author, Ernest Hemingway, discovered his love of nature and the quite solace that can be found “Up North in Michigan.

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Uncategorized

Storyteller, Historian & Author Dianna Stampfler to Present “Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses” at the Alice & Jack Wirt Public Library in Bay City on July 17

Michigan storyteller, historian and author Dianna Stampfler will present a lively and upbeat historical program on Wednesday, July 17 at 6:30pm at the Alice and Jack Wirt Public Library in downtown Bay City – drawing stories from her newly released best-selling book “Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses”  (which includes the Saginaw River Rear Range Light in Bay City on the cover). The program is free and open to the public as the community rallies to welcome the 2019 Tall Ship Celebration.

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Featured Destination

Festival Celebrates Aldo Leopold

Imagine hiking wooded island trails and paddling the open waters of northern Lake Huron where America’s “father of wildlife ecology” and “founder of the conservation movement” explored as inquisitive youth. That’s what conservationists and nature lovers are planning May 30 through June 2 when they attend the third annual Aldo Leopold Festival in the Les Cheneaux Islands, including the communities of Cedarville and Hessel.

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Promote Michigan Blog

An evolution of writing

I’ve been writing professionally (meaning getting paid) since I was in high school. From news articles to magazine features stories, I have hundreds of pieces with my byline. In 2019, I’ll add a book–titled “Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses”–to my portfolio. Research and writing continues, and I want to hear YOUR stories if you have any to share about your ghostly encounters at any of Michigan’s historic beacons.

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Featured Destination

Touring the Newest Pure Michigan Byway™

Last summer [2016], a 184-mile stretch of the West Michigan Pike, from St. Joseph to Silver Lake, became the state’s latest Pure Michigan Byway™ during a public ceremony at Muskegon’s Heritage Landing. The Michigan Beachtowns Association, which represents more than a dozen shoreline communities, collaborated with Travel Michigan and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to develop the byway.

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Promote Michigan Blog

Cooking Up Food & Friendships

Growing up, many family traditions were centered around the table. After launching Promote Michigan in 2004, I found myself drawn to certain sectors of the hospitality industry: restaurants, wineries, breweries, distilleries, farm markets and agricultural organizations. Yes, I found a way to get paid to eat and drink…how lucky! I was also building a network and often friendships with chefs who were eager to feed my desire to learn more about locally-sourced ingredients and unique ways to prepare them into delicious dishes.

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News Releases

St. Julian Brings Home 34 Medals from International Eastern Wine Competition

St. Julian Winery was recently presented a total of 34 medals—including one “Best of Show,” four “Best of Class” and three “Double Gold” awards—at the International Eastern Wine Competition held February 6-7 in Santa Rosa, CA. St. Julian was one of five Michigan wineries from four distinct federally-recognized American Viticultural Region (AVAs) to participate in the competition.

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Promote Michigan Blog

Celebrating Michigan’s Irish Communities

Irish immigration to Michigan dates back to the early 1800s, with a heavy increase between 1845 and 1855 during a period of famine in Ireland, lasting well into the 1920s. Starting first in Detroit, the Irish made their way north and westward, landing throughout both the Lower and Upper Peninsulas where they found work in factories, fishing villages and copper mines. Nearly one-third of Michigan’s foreign-born population was from Ireland in 1870. Today, only about 10% of the state’s 9.9 million population is of Irish descent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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