06/09/2026
2026 Beaver Isand Sustainability Fair! "Braiding Cultures"
Don't miss the "Irish & Odawa Jam Session" on Fri. 6/19, 7pm:
Storytelling, Music, Spirit Lake Drum & Jingle Dress Dancers!
Tickets just $20: https://store.biccenter.org/product/sustainability-fair-braiding-cultures-irish-odawa-jam-session-with-song-storytelling-drumming-dance/
Free workshops & programs Thursday - Saturday!
This year’s 10th Anniversary Beaver Island Sustainability Fair will feature the Powerful “Spirit Lake” Odawa Tribe’s Singers & Drummers with traditional Jingle Dancers, along with enchanting tales told by 5 times Champion Irish Storyteller Jane McDaniel from Eagle (Achille) Island Ireland! Storytelling will weave Celtic tales by Ms. McDaniel with Anishinaabe stories told by Nichole Biber, Turtle Clan of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, honoring both ancient and historical cultures of Beaver Island.
FRIDAY, JUNE 19 EVENING EVENT at the BEAVER ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER:
7PM – IRISH & ODAWA “BRAIDING CULTURES” PERFORMANCE: The Drumming, dance and storytelling tickets are just $20 and can be purchased via this link: https://store.biccenter.org/tickets/. Order now to save your seat!
This concert performance is sponsored by Tara’s Meadow Education & Retreat Center, and supported by a generous anonymous donor from the Charlevoix County Community Foundation. It will be just the highlight of a stellar weekend of fascinating free educational workshops, presentations, and “hands-on” Sustainability Activities for the Summer Solstice Weekend: Thursday June 18 - Saturday June 21.
FRIDAY JUNE 19 – MORNING EVENT, PARADISE BAY PARK (Downtown St James)
9AM - ANISHINAABE WATER CEREMONY AND CELTIC BLESSING – You are welcome to join this special annual gathering to kick off the Beaver Island Sustainability Fair. We will come together along the waters of Michigami to honor the Day, have gratitude for our Waters of Life, and give thanks for our Lives as we come together in peace.
FRIDAY JUNE 19 - DAYTIME EVENTS, BEAVER ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER
12noon WELCOMING RECEPTION: Begin the Beaver Island Sustainability Fair weekend with “Seanachie” Irish Storyteller Jane McDaniel at this public reception complete with snacks and refreshments. Ms. McDaniel is co-hosted by Tara’s Meadow and the Irish Heritage Group, and with the reception sponsored by the BICommunity Center.
Also welcome and meet Dr. Nichole Biber, Water Protector from the Turtle Clan of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, along with visionary author activist Mitch Distin of the New People Foundation.
FRIDAY JUNE 19, 1PM - “On Being Native - Indigeneity & Environmental Activism.” After the reception, join these fascinating folks in a free workshop that will guide us on a journey to “Landscapes of the Soul”. We will also hear from the front lines of Michigan’s Water Protectors and the Resistance Movement to Michigan Data Centers. Everyone is welcome!
SATURDAY, JUNE 20 BISF EVENTS
10am, WHISKEY POINT (NEAR THE BEAVER ISLAND HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE) –
“New Innovations in Wave Generated Electricity”: The University of Michigan will once again demonstrate the most recent innovative models demonstrating electricity generated by Lake Michigan’s Waves.
SATURDAY, JUNE 20, CMU BIOLOGICAL STATION (on East Side Drive): Afternoon events
12pm, LUNCHEON (OPTIONAL): Start off the afternoon of Sustainability Fair programs with an informal luncheon by the CMU chefs. Lunch is “Open to the Public”. A donation is requested, and you must PRE-REGISTER for this meal by emailing: [email protected]. Please send in your request BY FRIDAY, JUNE 13.
(Edited Version of the above)
1pm, PLANTING FOR OUR FUTURE : Plant your own “3 Sisters Garden” to take back home with Beaver Island’s new resident and ‘Woman Farmer-Activist-Educator’ Marcia Coleman. Marcia will discuss the importance of cultural foods while guiding you through a make it & take it “3 Sisters” Garden of corn, beans and squash. Marcia will also highlight the role of women in farming & local food production, and will share topics such as farm labor issues, regenerative agriculture and ‘carbon farming for climate mitigation’.
2:30pm - SOIL BUILDING, COMPOSTING, AND PFAS REMEDIATION IN YOUR HOME GARDEN: Ecology Center Director Jeff Gearhart will provide an informative session on soil building and potential PFAS contamination in composts, fertilizers, and soils — and what gardeners, growers, and community members can do!
3:30pm - MULTILEVEL SELECTION THEORY with Dr. Mitch Distin: Multilevel selection is an exciting new theory that mirrors what ecologists have been teaching us all along: systems and overall communities rock! Looking just at the individual is looking at that single tree so closely that we miss the Forest. In evolutionary biology, Multilevel Selection suggests that natural selection can occur at multiple levels of biological organization, including genes, individuals, groups, and communities. This systems-oriented approach challenges the traditional view that selection primarily acts on individuals, suggesting instead that evolutionary processes are multi-faceted, more complex, and involve the cooperation of biological communities.
SATURDAY, JUNE 20, CMU BIOLOGICAL STATION - Evening Events
7:00pm - CMU FISHERIES RESEARCH with Dr Kevin Pangle: We’ll learn what’s happening with whitefish and other species in our Great Lakes, and hear fascinating updates from recent Beaver Island local Lake Michigan research.
7:30pm - BEAVER ISLAND ASSOCIATION REPORTS with Craig Peirano: Hear the latest on Broadband, Blight, and Community Composting during these updates from the Beaver Island Association’s Sustainability Initiatives. The BIA is a local Island nonprofit with years of good service for Beaver Islanders.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS!
To reserve your place at the Saturday 12noon lunch at CMU Bio Station, email [email protected].
Register BY FRIDAY, JUNE 13. Donations for the meal will be taken at the luncheon.
The CMU Biological Station is located at 33850 East Side Drive.
SEE THE CALENDAR OF EVENTS for this year’s Beaver Island Sustainability Fair in this edition of the Northern Islander! Keep up to date on Sustainability News @ page: https://www.facebook.com/BISustain.
To get updates by email, sign up for Tara’s Meadow E-News - https://bit.ly/TarasEnewsSignUp.
What an Amazing 10th Anniversary for the Beaver Island Sustainability Fair this will be. Please join us!
For inquires, contact [email protected].
