northern michigan

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Author & Educator Valerie Hemingway to Lead 3rd Annual Walloon Lake Writer’s Retreat

The quaint northern Michigan village of Walloon Lake provides an idyllic backdrop for writers to discover and hone their skills and the 3rd Annual Walloon Lake Writer’s Retreat (April 18-21, 2024) offers an inspiring, intimate and collaborative setting for those seeking stimulation and ideas for their literary works. This year’s special guest moderator is Valerie Hemingway, author of the 2005 memoir Running with the Bulls: My Years with the Hemingways.

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Hotel Walloon Welcomes John Patrick Hemingway for 2nd Annual Writer’s Retreat Weekend

Author John Patrick Hemingway – grandson of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway – will be the guest of honor at the 2nd Annual Walloon Lake Writer’s Retreat coming up April 13-16 in Walloon Lake. Activities will be held throughout the event at Hotel Walloon, Talcott Center, Walloon Lake Inn and other locations meant to inspire and motivate budding writers.

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A Ticket to Ride

Cruising the crystal blue waters of Little Traverse Bay has long been limited to those who have access to a boat. But, thanks to the community vision and historical reflection of the Little Traverse Bay Ferry Company, a new water taxi is bringing service back to the region.

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Featured ArticlesPromote Michigan Blog

FAREWELL TO BACHELORHOOD: Ernest Hemingway’s Wedding in Northern Michigan

It should come as no surprise that Ernest Hemingway chose northern Michigan as the setting for his first wedding. This rural countryside was his first real love, so it was fitting that he and his muse would begin their marriage alongside the towering trees and flowing rivers which shaped his life. This year – September 3 – marks the 100th anniversary of the marriage between Hemingway (at the time, a life-long summer resident on Walloon Lake) and Hadley Richardson.

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Promote Michigan Blog

Holiday Classic “White Christmas” Was Likely Written in Charlevoix

Each holiday season, we are inundated with hour after hour of movies about Christmas airing on television and now streaming services. A handful have ties to Michigan, like Prancer (1989) and The Polar Express (2004). But did you know the beloved 1954 classic White Christmas is believed to have actually been written right here in the Great Lakes State?

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News Releases

Michigan Hemingway Society Conference Focuses on Author’s Return Home from World War I in 1918

The theme for this year’s Michigan Hemingway Conference is “Hemingway and WWI” as 2018 is the centennial of his return home from Europe where he was wounded on the delta of the Piave River in Italy and then hospitalized in Milan. Dr. Verna Kale, Assistant Research Professor in English at the Pennsylvania State University, is this year’s Keynote Speaker.

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Daughter-in-Law of Famed Author Ernest Hemingway to share Stories with the General Public, April 28, in Walloon Lake

Valerie Hemingway, former personal assistant for and later daughter-in-law of the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author, is the guest of honor at a special program on Saturday, April 28 at t The Talcott Event Center in Walloon Lake. The event is part of a three-day “The Last Good Country: Walloon Lake, An Ernest Hemingway Occasion” weekend at the award-winning Hotel Walloon.

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Hotel Walloon presents The Last Good Country: Walloon Lake, An Ernest Hemingway Occasion

Hotel Walloon is pleased to present The Last Good Country: Walloon Lake, an Ernest Hemingway Occasion. This third annual event celebrating Ernest Hemingway’s connection to the northern Michigan area will take place Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29, with special guest Valerie Hemingway, who was both a personal assistant and daughter-in-law to the late author.

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Promote Michigan Blog

Giving Thanks for Life in Northern Michigan

It was Thanksgiving of 2009 when it really sunk in for me…spending five days alone in Empire for the holidays and being at peace with it. This year, I will celebrate Thanksgiving in Walloon Lake at “Mi Storybook Cottage” – where I am blessed and thankful once again for being able to live in such a beautiful place, making a living doing what I love and having the support of my family and friends.

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Explore Northern Michigan’s ‘Tip of the Mitt’ Wine Region Along the Bay View Wine Trail This Autumn

Northern Michigan is an ideal location to experience the changing of the fall colors and the bounty of the season. The 10 wineries that collectively that make up the Bay View Wine Trail are excited to host two weekends celebrating the harvest – November 10-12 and November 18-19.

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Hotel Walloon Awarded AAA Four Diamond Rating

Hotel Walloon is one of only two hotels in Northern Michigan (and only 17 statewide) to receive the coveted AAA Four Diamond Rating. This is the second year in a row that the luxury boutique property, first opened in May 2015, has made the list. The award was presented this spring at the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Detroit, in front of a record crowd of more than 1000 hospitality and travel leaders.

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