Smart Commute Week is June 2nd - 6th! Be a smart commuter and take part in the Commuter Cup Challenge! A friendly workplace competition to encourage area businesses, organizations and their staff members to "Smart Commute" by biking, walking, carpooling, or using public transit to get to work. Not every member of the staff needs to participate or participate every day! A little commitment goes a long way! Get more details at www.trailscouncil.org or call 231-348-8280.

Petoskey Downtown Summer Open House is Friday June 6^th!  Petoskey and Harbor Springs have had a long standing tradition between the Chambers to play a game to determine which town will shoot their fireworks off first on July 4th. This year, the Petoskey Area Junior Chamber is bringing the game to the community! On Friday, June 6th, Petoskey Rocks! is going head-to-head with Harbor Springs in an epic battle. The game? Human Checkers - leap frog style! Wear blue to support Petoskey! Come down for a full night of entertainment with games to play and street performers, the Young Adult Readers Theater final performance for the season, the Petoskey Steel Drum Band, and Dancing in the Streets with ZoeDance! 

Fustini's Oils and Vinegars will be celebrating 5 years in Petoskey on Saturday, June 7th!  We will have food and demos from 4-7 p.m. and Chef Andy will be here with snacks from our latest cookbook, Taste of Summer!  As our way of saying thank you to this wonderful community, we will be giving back 15% of our sales for the day to the Manna Food Project!

Boyne Mountain's 5th Annual Dirty Dog Dash, a 3.1 mile obstacle race, returns on Saturday, June 7th, with an all-new course and challenges.  And you can get muddy for a good cause.  A portion of each entry fee supports Wounded Warrior Project with a mission of honoring and empowering wounded warriors. Preregistration is open now at boynemountain.com with reduced rates through June 1.  Individual entry is currently $50, four-person wolf packs are $200, and ten-person packs are $450.  Participants can also register the day of the event. For reservations, call 800.462.6963 and mention Dirty Dog Dash or visit boynemountain.com.

Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra brings Opera to Bay View. Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra's new conductor Dr. Libor Ondras and resident chorus master Peter D. Sims will join forces to create a wonderful program of "Opera Overtures and Choruses," at the John Hall Auditorium in Bay View on Sunday, June 8th, 2014 at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets cost $20 for general admission, and $35 and $50 for your choice of reserved seating.  All tickets may be purchased online at glcorchestra.org and MyNorthTickets.com, or at the orchestra office:  231-487-0010. General admission tickets are available at Chambers of Commerce: Boyne City, Charlevoix, East Jordan, Harbor Springs and Petoskey.  18 and under, military personnel and people with disabilities registered with VSA Arts of Michigan are admitted free of charge.

Horticulturist to speak at Castle Farms.Nationally renowned horticulturist Rob McCartney visits Castle Farms on Tuesday, June 10th at 7:00 p.m. to share his expertise on "When Plants aren't Enough: Art, Ornaments and Garden Structures". McCartney has extensive experience in the design, display and care of formal gardens, woodlands, children's gardens, ponds and streams. A nationally recognized authority on botanical gardens, McCartney also contributes to the designs for Castle Farms. The June 10th presentation, which begins at 7 p.m., is free and open to the general public.

McLaren Northern Michigan and Local Dermatology practice offers Skin Cancer screening on Wednesday, June 18th. Dermatology Associates of Northern Michigan will host the screening from 4-5:30 p.m. at 4170 Cedar Bluff Drive in Petoskey. This is a rapid screening to visually inspect your skin. If indicated, you may need to see your physician for a complete skin care examination. Individuals who have not had a screening of an area of concern on the skin during the last two years are eligible for this skin cancer screening. Those people who are currently being treated by a dermatologist are not eligible to participate in the screening. There is no charge for the screening, but pre-registration is required by calling (800) 248-6777.

Let's have some fun... Enter Brown Motors' Summertime in Northern Michigan Photo Contest. To enter: Like the Brown Motors Petoskey Facebook page. Submit the best photo of what you think Summertime in Northern Michigan means. Share the contest to encourage your friends to vote for your submitted photo.The photo with the most votes on July 7thwill win a trip to Mackinac Island (1 night Metivier Inn Bed & Breakfast plus 2 tickets on Shepler's Ferry). Retail value = $325!

Vernales - the new restaurant on M-119 is now open for both Lunch and Dinner! The kitchen is open Daily from 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. - 7 days a week! Happy Hour starts today 4-6:00 p.m. - Live Music every Thursday and Friday for Happy Hour!

JOMAR and OsborneKlein Merge to Create Enhanced Client Experience. Two well-known financial advisors,  Shaun M. Osborne, CFP®, CRPC®, CFS® of OsborneKlein and Joel R. Marciniak of JOMAR, A Financial Company, are merging their individual practices to form the sixth office of OsborneKlein, a platinum financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial. Effective immediately the firm will consist of six (6) office locations throughout Michigan. These include Portage, Battle Creek, Petoskey, Grand Rapids, Hillman and now Ossineke. OsborneKlein has not only expanded geographically, but has formed a combined 51 years of expertise that strives to provide excellent advice and outstanding service to clients. The firm's focus is to enhance client experience through comprehensive financial planning, wealth management and retirement income strategies.

North Central Michigan College's Corporate and Community Education department is offering a wide variety of summer workshops in Petoskey - from grant writing to QuickBooks, photography to painting, farming to boating safety. Pre-registration is requested for all workshops.  Please visit www.ncmich.edu/cce2 or call 231-348-6705 to register. All workshops will be held on the Petoskey campus. For more information or to register, visit www.ncmich.edu/cce2. CCE also offers customized workshops at your business.  We'll tailor the content, materials and schedule to your needs.  To learn more, please call 231-348-6613.

What do you enjoy in the summer - food, gardening, boating, painting, photography, exploring the outdoors, reading, or growing your business? 

North Central's Corporate & Community Education department offers short hands-on sessions on these topics and more.  This summer, you can learn from the experts and have fun practicing new skills.  From Plein-Air Painting to Cottage Food Law, Quickbooks to Karate, Boating Safety and Grant-Writing, CCE has courses at convenient times and online. Check out the attached flyer or visit our website at www.ncmich.edu/cce.  Hope to see you this summer. Mention this email and take 10% off.