Why go out for a great meal when you can create one yourself? Why eavesdrop on strangers at the next table when you can sit next to them and strike up a conversation? Underground breakfast salons, supper clubs, and soup making meet-ups are using locally produced foods to create great meals ...and a sense of community.
There are citizens and then there are members of your community that are like a force of nature. Meet the Ortbrings, Chelsea's über neighbors. Not only do they run a successful local advertising and marketing firm, they also bring new meaning to the phrase civic engagement.
As corporate mass media severs its ties to local communities homegrown media steps in to fill the gap. Meet Linda Meloche, Chelsea's very own version of Barbara Walters. Four times a week she captures the more-interesting-than-you-might-think stories of town residents. And people are watching.
When political leaders talk about getting Millennials to invest in Michigan's future, they're talking about people like Aubrey Martinson. The 30-year-old executive director of the Chelsea Center for the Arts not only brings fresh ideas and perspective to her job, she's proof positive that keeping our young creative talent is not only good for the community, it's good for the bottom line.
Bill Harmer sees Chelsea's Library as something more than a warehouse for books, music and movies. He sees it as a rock venue and comedy club and career center. More importantly, he sees it as an opportunity to connect with his community in new and innovative ways. No wonder Chelsea was named the Best Small Library in America.
When it comes to Ann Arbor restaurants there's eve and then there's everyone else. Since opening in 2003, Eve Aronoff's initmate bistro has emerged as an ambassador to the city's hipster/ foodie scene. From her curried mussels to Thursday night's popular cocktail scene to the sublime ginger-lime martinis, Eve has help redefine the local culinary landscape.
Bee Mayhew is out for world domination. But she's happy to start with some really great soup. In less than six months the 31 year-old owner of Beezy's Cafe in Ypsilanti has become an indelible downtown fixture, attracting fans at a breakneck pace and establishing the benchmark for how to build a locally-owned business.
No posers, please. Ann Arbor holds tight to its illustrious yoga history, but it's no longer a one-guru town. Vinyasa. Iyengar. Russa Yog. With nearly 16 million Americans now practicing some form of yoga, The Deuce has established quite a following, with over 40 studios to choose from.
Ann Arbor is known for its natural spaces, but few locals realize just how important the critters that live in those spaces are. Enter George Hammond - biolgist, educator and uber-volunteer. George not only keeps tabs on Tree Town's fabulous fauna, he's out to spread the word that you don't have to go to the Galapagos to experience the wonders of the natural world.
Kids come in all shapes and sizes. Kids clothes? Not so much. Ypsilanti's Merrill Guerra started RealKidz Clothing Company to put cool clothes on every body. And, no pun intended, her company has really taken off.
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