Church sale
TRAVERSE CITY — The annual Treasure Sale is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 18 at Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church.
Spring cleaning
TRAVERSE CITY — The Dougherty Mission House Spring Cleaning Day will begin at 10 a.m. May 18 at 18459 Mission Road on Old Mission Peninsula. Volunteers can help get the 1842 house and outbuildings ready for this year’s tour season.
Craft show
TRAVERSE CITY — The Outdoor Craft and Vendor Show will go from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 18 at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. Booths will be on the front lawn.
Art workshop
EMPIRE — Glen Lake Community Library will host a nature drawing and journal workshop from 10 a.m. to noon May 18.
Local artist, educator and environmentalist Penny Krebiehl will provide sketching and writing tips. Some of the session will take place outdoors. Bring a notebook and a pencil or pen. Contact: penny.ok.art@gmail.com.
Author conversation
GLEN ARBOR — The “Coffee with the Authors” series will feature Brittany Cavallaro at 11 a.m. May 18 at Glen Arbor Arts Center.
Cavallaro has written several young adult novels. She will discuss this genre with GAAC Gallery Manager Sarah Bearup-Neal during this free event.
Armed Forces Day event
FIFE LAKE — The American Legion Post 219 will celebrate Armed Forces Day with ceremonies at 1 p.m. May 18. Ceremonies will feature Wayne Blank, second vice commander for the State of Michigan American Legion.
Activities include lunch from 2-6 p.m., cornhole, face painting, music, raffles and kids’ games.
Volunteer training
EMPIRE — Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes will provide its annual training at 1 p.m. May 18 at Empire Township Hall.
New and returning volunteers can learn about park news and programs like Adopt-A-Trail, Adopt-A-Beach, Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, Preventative Search and Rescue and the Track Chair.
A virtual session is available at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88906579534.
Church raffle
ELK RAPIDS — Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church is selling raffle tickets until the drawing at 11 a.m. May 19 in the church social hall.
Tickets are $10, and proceeds go to the New Church Building Fund. More details: 231-264-8087.
Teen Creativity Corner
TRAVERSE CITY — The Teen Creativity Corner is open from 4-5:30 p.m. May 20 and 27 at Traverse Area District Library. Work on a craft. Snacks are provided.
Planting project
PETOSKEY — North Country Community Mental Health is hosting the “Grow Through What You Go Through” event from 1-4 p.m. May 21 at Bear River Shelter Park. Paint a pot and plant a flower or seed.
Author visit
BELLAIRE — Michigan Notable Author Janie Paul will visit Bellaire Public Library at 7 p.m. May 21. She wrote “Making Art in Prison: Survival and Resistance.”
Homeschool Hangout
ELK RAPIDS — Elk Rapids District Library’s Homeschool Hangout will begin at 10:30 a.m. May 22.
Kids can make clay beads. This is the last session for the summer. Questions: 231-264-9979.
Documentary showing
TRAVERSE CITY — Stand Up for Great Lakes will be showing the documentary “Crossing Lake Ontario” at 7 p.m. May 22 at the State Theatre. Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is free.
Free film showing
TRAVERSE CITY — View “The Tuba Thieves” for free at 4 p.m. May 23 at the Dennos Museum Center.
Preregistration is encouraged at http://tinyurl.com/y7fafu9f.
Photography session
BELLAIRE — Antrim Photography Workshop will meet at 6 p.m. May 23 at Torch Lake Nature Preserve. RSVP: 231-313-8820 or LL.pics44@gmail.com.
Concert tickets
TRAVERSE CITY — The National Cherry Festival will host Bret Michaels on July 1 on the Pepsi Bayside Music Stage.
General admission is $45; reserved seats are $70. To purchase, visit cherryfestival.org/bretmichaels or call 888-212-3258.
The Mirage casino is closing
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The iconic Mirage hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip will shut its doors this summer, the end of an era for a property credited with helping transform Sin City into an ultra-luxury resort destination.
The July 17 closure will clear the way for major renovations and construction on the 80-acre (32-hectare) property, which is to reopen in 2027 as the Hard Rock Las Vegas, featuring a hotel tower in the shape of a guitar soaring nearly 700 feet (about 210 meters) above the heart of the Strip.
“We’d like to thank the Las Vegas community and team members for warmly welcoming Hard Rock after enjoying 34 years at The Mirage,” Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, said Wednesday in a statement announcing the closure.
It will be the second time this year that a Strip casino shutters. The Tropicana Las Vegas closed in April after 67 years to make room for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium planned as the future home of the relocating Oakland A’s.
Developed by former casino mogul Steve Wynn, the Mirage opened with a Polynesian theme as the Strip’s first megaresort in 1989, spurring a building boom on the famous boulevard through the 1990s.
Its volcano fountain was one of the first sidewalk attractions, predating the Venetian’s canals and the Bellagio’s dancing fountains. It was known as a venue where tourists could see Siegfried and Roy taming white tigers or a Cirque du Soleil act set to a Beatles soundtrack.
The final curtain on the Beatles-themed show, which brought Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr back together for public appearances throughout its 18-year run, also comes down in July.
Hard Rock International said Wednesday that more than 3,000 employees will be laid off and it expects to pay out $80 million in severance.
The Culinary Workers Union, which has represented about 1,700 employees at the Mirage since it opened, said in a statement that the contract it won last year ensures laid-off workers will get $2,000 for each year of service. The contract also gives them the option of being called back to work and maintaining their seniority when the hotel reopens.
“Culinary Union will continue to ensure workers are protected and centered in the property’s future,” the statement said.
The Mirage became the first Strip property to be run by a Native American tribe in 2022, after Hard Rock International, which is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, purchased it from MGM Resorts in a cash deal worth nearly $1.1 billion.
Hard Rock said at the time that the property would remain open and operate under the Mirage brand for several years while it finalized renovation plans.
The Mirage is accepting no bookings for after July 14 and said any reservations past that date will be canceled and refunded.
