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From the August/September 2006 Issue

Lake Magazine covers the hottest information on the Lake Michigan area.

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Back in 1979, Orville Redenbacher was America’s best-known popcorn magnate. Okay, he was the only known popcorn magnate. But that gave fans in his native Valparaiso a great idea: why not celebrate the man and the snackfood with a festival? It was a hit, and they’ve been doing it ever since, cooking up a fine time for everyone every September. This year’s Valparaiso Popcorn Festival, Sept. 9, promises to be a terrific one, with more than 500 food and craft booths, the 5-mile Popcorn Panic run, lots of live music, and what’s billed as the nation’s only Popcorn Parade. There’s no admission charge. (7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.;

www.popcornfest.org; 219-464-8332)

2. COME ABOARD, MATEY

Here’s your chance to sail Lake Michigan in high style — in a tall ship. The Michigan Maritime Museum’s replica tall ship, Friends Good Will sails from South Haven to Ludington, Sept. 6-7, and you can be one of six passengers aboard. You’ll participate in the overnight watch sequence and sample several crew jobs, including helmsman and lookout. The price of the one-way trip is $225. (The return trip from Ludington is already sold out.) Shorter trips, between South Haven and St. Joseph, are available for $60; southbound is Sept. 25, northbound Oct. 1. Reservations are required. (www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org;

269-637-8078)

3. KING OF ARTS

He’s in the Smithsonian and New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and now Joseph Norman is also in Three Oaks, Mich. Six works by Norman, a stellar artist whose work is not only in museums but in private collections worldwide, are now on view at Gallery H. “Much of Norman’s work on display at Gallery H has been exhibited in museums worldwide and has never before been available for sale,” says Nancy Hoffman, the gallery’s owner, who beams with pride at having his works in her space. She says the works in her show, opening August 13, capture Norman “at the critical peak of his artistic powers.” (15 S. Elm, Three Oaks; www.galleryh.net; 269-756-7777)

4. CHOCOLATE’S FINEST DAY

Tina Buck’s Chocolate Garden is always the sweetest place to be in Coloma, Mich., but on Sunday, Sept. 10, it’s twice as nice. That’s when she hosts her fifth annual 65 Roses Garden Party, a lavishly tasty event that raises money for research on cystic fibrosis. “Food, wine, music and chocolate,” Tina says. “What more could you want out of life?” Along with all that, there’s a silent auction, tours of the 144-year-old Italianate farmhouse and other attractions. Not to mention those wicked truffles she makes. Dress is casual but elegant; tickets are $75 and must be ordered in advance. (3 to 7 p.m.;

www.chocolategarden.com/goodworks.htm; 269-468-9866)

5. NEVER BORED BY THE BARD

Now in its seventh year, the University of Notre Dame’s Summer Shakespeare has quickly become an anticipated highlight of the season for those who know all the world’s a stage. This year the festival has a new artistic director, UND theater professor Jay Paul Skelton, who says his goal is to keep “Shakespeare’s genius accessible to everybody.” Part of that is the ShakeScenes, 15-minute segments of the plays performed outdoors by local school kids, Aug. 12 & 13 at 2 p.m. Another is a full-scale performance of one of the Bard’s most fun plays, “The Comedy of Errors,” Aug. 15 to 27. (http://shakespeare.nd.edu;

574-631-2273.)