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Door County - Lookin' Good!
Ephraim Beach - August Days
August Sunset!
Cave Point, Jacksonport
Alpine Resort Coastline, Egg Harbor
Horseback Riding - Kurtz Corral
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Please Visit Our Sponsors
Some of Our Favorite
Places to Stay In
Door County!
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| Greetings!
Summer is here and Door County is in full swing and here's your July issue of Navigator News(tm), our monthly publication!
We'll keep bringing you some unique insights through Navigator News(tm) - this issue is particularly exciting, with lots of summer fun!
All the Newsletters are "archived" and available anytime through our website, DoorCountyNavigator.com. So you can go and read all of our back-issues if you'd like!
- The August 2-Night Giveaway is already running . . . have you entered yet? A wonderful 2-night stay in Egg Harbor can be yours! Tell your friends about it! And the July Winner is posted!
- TWITTER WITH US! You can now follow DoorCountyNavigator.com on Twitter! Yes! Look for DoorCountyInfo or click right here and follow our Twitter posts (they also feed to our BLOG). You can even have Twitter alerts delivered to your mobile phone - so when you are in Door County you might get some important info! Follow us on Twitter!
Visit Our Sponsors!
And please visit our Sponsors' websites! They make the Navigator News(tm) possible! And they are some of the best places to stay in Door County - click on their pictures and see what they have to offer - you will like what you find! Thanks!
Dan Silvestri
Founder |
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What's to do?
By Donna Marie Pocius
Special to DoorCountyNavigator.com
Believe it or not, sometimes vacationers to Door County wonder what they should see, do and try once they arrive.
Here are just a few ideas to help frame an itinerary or to stop the kids from whining, "What is there to dooooo?" Also, see our Activities Section for things like horseback riding, para-sailing, pontooning, sailing, catamaraning, kayaking, theater, music, swimming and more!
See Cave Point
When you return from Door County, everyone will ask if you saw Cave Point. So be sure to check it out at 5360 Schauer Rd. Sevastopol. Take note of the posted caution signs as you view this natural landmark: rock and water, rugged yet beautiful, peaceful but popular.
Waves crash on the dolomite bedrock, which formed millions of years ago but changed shape as erosion took its toll. On a still day, the waves may not crash, but you'll hear clear lake water lapping about 50 feet below you. Awesome! Watch our video now to get ready! And see our Cave Point Thaw video too - pretty! Please also note: Cave Point County Park posts a sign, "No unsupervised children. Dangerous conditions exist." High bluffs, no fences.
Talk to the animals
The kids will probably enjoy The Farm, four miles north of Sturgeon Bay on Hwy. 57. This is a family-owned business and a kind of outdoor museum. Kids learn about rural life and history while interacting with (feeding, petting, holding) animals. Also, kids  love Plum Loco Animal Farm in Egg Harbor! Lots of animals, great space for playing, gazebos, and a "play farm" for kids with kid-sized buildings and more!
Pick cherries
Families can head to one of the local markets to pick their own cherries at this time of year. Most growers are pleased with the 2009 cherry crop.
At HyLine Orchard, 8240 Hwy. 42, Fish Creek, you can even use an old black metal pail as you pick the cherries. "Some of the pails have been used for 100 years," says Loretta Robertoy, co-owner of the market.
By the way, if you prefer not to pick your own fruit, Loretta sells all kinds of homemade cherry products in her market, which is open year-round. Take home jams, pies, ciders, juices, salsas and much more. Or try Sweetie Pies in Fish Creek for awesome pies too!
Hit the beach
There is so much to do on the water in a Peninsula place, of course. Try sailing, boating, kayaking or just enjoying one of the lovely beaches - in Ephraim you can do it all (check out South Shore Pier). As for beaches, the lovely light-colored sand beach at Whitefish Dunes State Park, Sturgeon Bay near Jacksonport, stretches far and wide along Lake Michigan.
Also here are hiking trails and cross country skiing trails.
Hike it
Other great places to hike are Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek. It celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Pay homage to the old park by hiking the famed Eagle Trail, which affords woods and water views and a good workout to boot.
Take a scenic drive
Highways 42 and 57 run along Door County's coasts, and everyone finds them, to be sure. But during a stay on the Peninsula take a drive inland to discover the center of the Peninsula. It's the corner of Cty. Rd. A and E, and there are nearby places to eat or have a drink of wine.
Hear music in the barn
Hear music at Birch Creek Music Performance Center, 3821 Cty. E., Egg Harbor. Performances continue through August in the Dutton Barn. Symphony, jazz  and percussion and steel band concerts are available, and the place has a wonderful mission of education and bringing professionals and aspiring music students together for the public's enjoyment.
See art everywhere
So many galleries, so hard to write about just one. One lovely place gives you a sneak peak at Door County history as well as functional art. The Juddville Clay Studio-Gallery, 8496 Hwy. 42, Fish Creek, shows functional and decorative pottery, sculptures and furniture for home and garden.
Rebecca Carlton, resident artist, shows clay tiles with her original designs. Tony Staroska, her husband, presents pots of all sizes that have been saggar-fired.
The gallery is housed in the renovated Juddville School.
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Performances going on at Peninsula Players Theatre through October
By Donna Marie Pocius
Special to DoorCountyNavigator.com
The rustic curtain is rising at the Peninsula Players Theatre through Oct. 18.
The theatre in a garden is staging "Is He Dead?" through Aug. 16. The Players describe this as a madcap comedy by Mark Twain and adapted by  David Ives. A young painter fakes his death to pay off his girlfriend's debts. Then, he tries to find offbeat ways to come back to life.
Next up is the thriller by Frederick Knott,"Wait Until Dark," running Aug. 19 through Sept. 6. In this renowned work, con men meet their match in a courageous blind woman. They seek "material evidence" against her husband, who is implicated in a murder.
Coming soon to the Fish Creek theatre is "Around the World in 80 Days," on the playbill from Sept. 9 through Oct. 18. This play is adapted by Mark Brown from the Jules Verne's classic adventure. The Peninsula Players say they will take their audience on a "whirlwind spin around the globe in a comic family-friendly adventure." Somehow there will be raging typhoons, runaway trains and stampeding elephants on the stage.
Speaking of the stage, the plays are now being performed in a new audience pavilion which sits on the same footprint as the old structure. But this building, which opened in 2006, is outfitted with comfortable chairs, has enhanced sight lines and radiant floor heating. Also constructed was a new stage and support space for the actors.
The building replaced a tired structure, which theatre management believes was made by actors and interns in 1937.
"The story we have to tell is a good one: just what a big step this has been for us, for audience comfort and convenience and for capacity. And what we can do in the theater for them," said Alan Kopischke, Peninsula Players' development director.
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A Special Place: The Farmers' Market in Sturgeon Bay
By Donna Marie Pocius
Special to DoorCountyNavigator.com
What's it about: Local farmers and craftspeople gather on Market Square each Saturday morning mid-June through mid-October. They set up their exhibits, tables and stands early. The locals know to get their before the official opening time. Included  are vegetables and fruits in season, homemade canned goods, locally grown plants and even handmade furniture, soap and jewelry.
Why it's special: This is a great way to meet the locals and become aware of what is growing in Door County. In July and August, you can sample and buy blueberries and cherries. In September, there are locally grown applies of all varieties, and the market closes with pumpkin sales in October. Don't miss the Wienke's Market booth each week in the northwest corner of the square. The staff brings canned goods from their southern Sturgeon Bay store like pickles, jellies and jams. Also, find homemade baked goods. Also, check out the colorful exhibit of painted rocks by Susan and Elizabeth Gauger. They paint insects such as butterflies, natural vistas like barns and animals on rocks. You can use them as paperweights, door stops and garden art.
Quick facts: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays through mid-October at Market Square, 421 Michigan St., Sturgeon Bay, 920-746-2914. Other farmers markets in Door County are held as follows: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays at Corner of the Past, Hwy. 57, Sister Bay, 920/854-5487; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, Lakeside Park, Hwy.57, Jacksonport, 920-823-2288; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays at Settlement Shops, 9106 Hwy. 42, Fish Creek; and 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, 10588 Country Walk Dr., Country Walk Shops, Sister Bay, 920-868-3788.
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