Sister Bay Buzz: Concerts in the Park, Trolley Service, Memory Cafés

by Zeke Jackson, Village Administrator

• Sister Bay has offered free concerts in the park for more than 25 years, and the first concert of the season was conducted June 14. Concerts will now be held Wednesdays through Aug. 23, and movies will be shown on select Saturdays throughout the season. The featured artists at the June 28 concert will be rootsy rockers The Sharrows. Bring your own chair, blanket or beach towel and snag a spot in front of the Performance Pavilion. Wednesday evening concerts begin at 6, and Saturday night movies begin shortly after dusk.
• Sister Bay’s Unplug & Play Family Sports Day on June 24 heralds the beginning of summer and provides an opportunity for everyone to get outside, enjoy life, check out our beautiful public beach, and all that’s new in the village. The annual Paddlefest celebration, a family friendly, flex-start disc golf tournament, Morning Yoga on the Pier and free volleyball is a great way for everyone to unplug & play in Sister Bay. To register for the disc golf tournament just look for the Door Disc Golf booth, and to register for Yoga on the Pier call Ironwood Yoga at 920.421.4766.
• Free Memory Cafés will be conducted at the Meadows Solarium at Scandia Village from 2 to 3:30 pm on the fourth Wednesday of every month. The Memory Cafés, which will be reminiscent of stopping by a café for a cup of coffee and conversation with old and new friends, are sponsored by the Northern Door Health & Wellness Ministry. They are intended to provide engagement, conversation, laughter, love and a feeling of normalcy for people who suffer from mild to moderate memory loss. If you have a loved one or friend who suffers from memory loss and would like to bring them to the June 28 café, call Kathy Wagner, R.N., at 920.854.7221. The theme of this month’s café is “picnics.”
• I’m pleased to announce that the Sister Bay Trolley is here and ready to begin operation on June 30. Funded, in part, by several local sponsors, the trolley is scheduled to run Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9 am to 9 pm as a free service to visitors as well as locals. The goal of the trolley is to provide transportation throughout the Village, as at times parking can be problematic. Folks who stay in local hotels or park in outlying areas now have the option of hopping on the trolley for a ride to their destination without the need to find their own parking space. Pick-up locations for the trolley are marked by signposts along the route, and maps are available. In this first year of operation, 14 stop/pick-up locations have been designated. Patrons of the trolley can board at any one location and enjoy the ride until reaching their destination. The trolley will run on its designated route in a continuous loop throughout the scheduled hours of operation.
• After a disappointing absence in 2016, “A Walk In The Garden,” which is sponsored by the Sister Bay Historical Society, will once again be conducted on July 6. Five wonderful gardens will be on display, plus guests will be encouraged to view the special plantings at the Old Anderson House Museum. The hosts in Sister Bay will be Grace and Gerhardt Bernhardt, Tom and Jeanette Sadler, and Don and Myrma Howard, and in Ellison Bay they will be Maury and Jeanette Brancamp and Rick Nelson. Tickets for the garden walk cost $20 per person, and will be available at local businesses as well as the Corner of the Past’s Farmers Markets.
• Mark your calendars for Sister Bay’s Freedom Celebration which will be held July 8. Thanks to the generosity of a local business owner who wishes to remain anonymous, a fantastic fireworks display will take place over the bay at dusk that evening and throughout the day. Waterfront Park will be transformed into a really cool play area. Kids will have access to bouncy houses, a bungee trampoline, water balls and bumper boats. On top of that corn dogs, funnel cakes, cotton candy, kettle corn, freshly grilled brats, burgers and ice cold beer and soda will be served. The proceeds from all these activities and any donations received will be used to help defray medical costs for Jim Hirschmiller, a village employee who is currently battling cancer. Jim asked me to thank everyone who has helped him out thus far and has expressed care and concern for him.
• The Plan Commission will meet at 4:30 pm on June 27 and the Village Board will meet on that same date at 6 pm. Both meetings will be held at the Fire Station on Mill Road. If you want to receive copies of agendas for any upcoming village meetings please provide your name and email address to the folks in the village office. Agendas and packet materials can also be accessed on the village website.

If you have any questions about upcoming village projects or village operations please don’t hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at 920.854.4118 and my email address is [email protected].