The Betsie Current

12/09/2025

TONIGHT: We're so excited to be partnering with The Garden Theater to showcase a beloved holiday film to get in the Christmas spirit -- A Christmas Story (1983, PG)!

The showing is FREE to all guests, and if you dress up in your "best holiday outfit," you get a free Kilwins Frankfort treat! (Limited to first-come, first-serve basis.)

We couldn't BELIEVE the turnout to our free showing of Practical Magic back in October 2023 when we first started this thing; we had around 125 of you show up, and probably 90% of you were dressed up as a witch!

So we decided we'd like to make this a MONTHLY event, and we're calling it "Monthly Movie Club," where we will feature great nostalgic flicks!

January 2024: Grumpy Old Men - 75 people
February 2024: Casablanca - 130 people
March 2024: The Big Lebowski - 105 people
April 2024: A League of Their Own - 105 people
May 2024: The Great Outdoors - 70 people
June 2024: The Goonies - 210 people
July 2024: Dirty Dancing - 170 people
August 2024: Overboard - 100 people
September 2024: Clueless - 65 people
October 2024: Beetlejuice - 75 people
November 2024: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles - 85 people
December 2024: Love Actually - 125 people
January 2025: The Shining - 55 people
February 2025: Sleepless In Seattle- 80 people
March 2025: The Shawshank Redemption - 70 people
April 2025: You've Got Mail - 60 people
May 2025: Best In Show - 70 people
June 2025: Stand By Me - 155 people
July 2025: Top Gun - 255 people
August 2025: Now & Then - 60 people
September 2025: Ferris Buhler's Day Off - 115 people
October 2025: Practical Magic - 125 people

We can't wait to see you tonight, Tuesday, December 9, at 7:30pm--bring your friends! Learn more and RSVP at FREE "A Christmas Story" Showing & Party, and "invite" your friends to the Facebook event, too!

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A Christmas Story is a 1983 Christmas comedy film, directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash," by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters." The film stars Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, and Peter Billingsley, and follows a young boy and his family's misadventures during Christmas time in December 1940.

A Christmas Story received positive reviews from critics. Filmed partly in Canada, the film earned two Canadian Genie Awards in 1984.

Widely considered a holiday classic in the United States and Canada, it has been shown in a marathon annually on TNT since 1997 and on TBS since 2004 titled "24 Hours of A Christmas Story", consisting of 12 consecutive airings of the film from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day.

In 2012, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

11/11/2025

On Sunday, our friends at the Glen Arbor Sun reprinted a story that we published a few years ago by Jed Jaworski -- ever wondered what it might have been like to have been on the Edmund Fitzgerald?

Jed gives a sneak peak into a scary day on the inland seas!

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the infamous wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Nov. 10, 1975, we’re reprinting Jed Jaworski’s riveting account—originally published in The Betsie …

11/07/2025

DID YOU KNOW that our co-owner/editor Aubrey Ann Parker and Jacob Wheeler--the owner/editor of our Leelanau County-based semi-sister publication, the Glen Arbor Sun--are both on the Advisory Board for the Writers Studio program at North Ed Career Tech? (For those who don't know, Northwest Education Services brings more than 1,100 high school juniors and seniors from 20 different local high schools to Traverse City for education in 21 career fields, from auto repair to culinary arts to education and more.)

Last Tuesday, Aubrey (and Jacob, not pictured) attended a meeting of the Advisory Board and got the opportunity to hear from the current students: there are eight in the morning class--including a senior from Benzie County Central Schools!--and four in the afternoon class.

We were able to learn what the students are studying currently, in addition to insights of what sets this program apart, according to two former students--who now work on White Pine Press, Northwestern Michigan College's student publication, notably with Jacob as its faculty advisor.

Along with other journalists from the Traverse City Record-Eagle and others in the writing industry here in Northern Michigan, we were able to give students a preview of what a career in journalism looks like and the education/work pursuits that led us to this career path.

It was a super fun morning/lunch with the next generation of writers--the future is bright!

You can learn more about CTC's Writers Studio here: https://bit.ly/4qWn6bF .

11/05/2025

WE WERE ON THE RADIO last Wednesday morning. If you missed it, you can listen to it here: https://bit.ly/47Dzftb .

In this pic, our Aubrey Ann Parker visited Ed Ronco and the folks at Interlochen Public Radio to record a short interview on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 28, and it aired the next morning.

She was talking about the two-year anniversary of our Monthly Movie Club, which we started with Kilwins Frankfort and The Garden Theater back in October 2023.

Did you listen to us on the radio?

Were you able to join us at our witchy event?

Let us know in the comments below!

11/04/2025

TONIGHT : We're so excited to be partnering with The Garden Theater to showcase a classic film -- All The President's Men (1972, R)! This is to honor the death of Diane Keaton last month.

We can't wait to see you tonight, Tuesday, November 4, at 6pm--bring your friends!

Learn more at the FREE "The Godfather" Showing - Garden Classic Movies event.

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The Godfather is a 1972 American epic gangster film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton.

It is the first installment in The Godfather trilogy, which chronicles the Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando) and the transformation of his youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.
It was the highest-grossing film of 1972 and was, for a time, the highest-grossing film ever made, earning between $250 and $291 million at the box office.

The film was acclaimed by critics and audiences, who praised its performances—particularly those of Brando and Pacino—direction, screenplay, story, cinematography, editing, score, and portrayal of the mafia.

The Godfather launched the successful careers of Coppola, Pacino and other relative newcomers in the cast and crew.
At the 45th Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola). In addition, it had seven other Oscar nominations.

The Godfather is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, as well as a landmark of the gangster genre. It was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1990, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and is ranked the second-greatest film in American cinema (behind Citizen Kane) by the American Film Institute.

It was followed by sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990)

11/04/2025

WE WERE ON THE RADIO last Wednesday morning. If you missed it, you can listen to it here: https://bit.ly/47Dzftb .

In this pic, our Aubrey Ann Parker visited Ed Ronco and the folks at Interlochen Public Radio to record a short interview on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 28, and it aired the next morning. She was talking about the two-year anniversary of our Monthly Movie Club, which we started with Kilwins Frankfort and The Garden Theater back in October 2023.

Did you listen to us on the radio?

Were you able to join us at our witchy event?

Let us know in the comments below!

Celebrating two years of community

11/04/2025

WE WERE ON TV last Tuesday morning? If you missed it, you can watch it here: https://bit.ly/47nISfa

In this pic, Cory Bissell from Kilwins Frankfort and our own Aubrey Ann Parker were waiting in the Green Room (but why is it blue?!) to be on 9&10 News talking about the two-year anniversary of our Monthly Movie Club, which we started back in October 2023 with The Garden Theater.

Did you see us on the news?

Were you able to join us at our witchy event?

Let us know in the comments below!

10/30/2025

DID YOU SEE US on 9&10 News on Tuesday morning? If you missed it, you can watch it here: https://bit.ly/47nISfa

Our own Aubrey Ann Parker and Kilwins Frankfort's Cory Bissell were on talking about the two-year anniversary of our Monthly Movie Club, which we started back in October 2023 with The Garden Theater.

Join us TONIGHT at 7:30pm for FREE "Practical Magic" Showing & Witch Party -- we can't wait to see you there!

10/27/2025

"My body and I have been in a constant battle with each other for as long as I can remember, at least back to the 1980s...

By the time I finished high school, I hated my body—and, by extension, myself. I was probably only 15 pounds above what my doctor would have liked, but all I saw was the “fat lady from the circus” every time I looked in the mirror.

College was no different—one fad diet after another...

The depression and shame turned into a cycle I couldn’t stop...

I joined gyms and occasionally took fitness classes, but I always quit--ashamed and feeling like I didn’t belong..."

But something earlier this year changed for writer Jessica Gardner.

This is one of our brave essays from our award-winning "Special September" issue, in which we publish first-person narrative accounts of "typically taboo" subjects.

Read the full essay here: https://bit.ly/47vV3a4 .

10/22/2025

We're very proud to continue to sponsor the Frankfort Film Festival--year after year, we give The Garden Theater a two-page spread of the movie showtimes and descriptions in our October issue (valued at $1,588).

This year, we requested to sponsor Checkpoint Zoo, a documentary that follows an extraordinary group of Ukrainian zookeepers and volunteers who cared for and eventually evacuated more than 4,000 animals during the first few months of the Russian incursion.

Here is the short video in which our editor and co-owner Aubrey Ann Parker introduced the film; this was played just before the documentary, but we wanted to share it here, for those of you who missed seeing it on the big screen.

Big thanks to OB and Co. Media for making this video with Aubrey and Goldie, the New Mexican street dog. (They have been supporting the festival for many years by working with businesses like ours and individual sponsors to create these short video intros.) And big thanks to Goldie's paw-rents, Michelle and Dave Bissell, for lending us this beautiful on-screen talent.

10/22/2025

SAVE THE DATE: Well, two years into this "Monthly Movie Club" experiment of ours, and we're going back to where it all began: Practical Magic (1998, PG-13)!

We've had so much fun ever since October 2023, when we first showed this fantastic fall-themed movie, and we want to celebrate with all of you!

The showing is FREE to all guests, and if you dress up in your "best witch' outfit," you get a free KKilwins Frankforttreat! (Limited to first-come, first-serve basis.)

We can't wait to see you on Thursday, October 30, at 7:30pm--bring your friends!

Learn more and RSVP at FFREE "Practical Magic" Showing & Witch Party and "invite" your friends to the Facebook event, too!

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Practical Magic is a 1998 American fantasy/romantic drama film based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Quinn, and Goran Višnjić.

Bullock and Kidman play sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, descended from a long line of witches. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death from a family curse, the sisters were taught the uses of practical magic as they grew up. As adults, Sally and Gillian must use their magic to destroy an evil spirit before it kills them.

The film is considered a cult classic.

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We couldn't BELIEVE the turnout to our free showing of Practical Magic back in October 2023 when we first started this thing; we had around 125 of you show up, and probably 90% of you were dressed up as a witch!

So we decided we'd like to make this a MONTHLY event, and we're calling it "Monthly Movie Club," where we will feature great nostalgic flicks!

January 2024: Grumpy Old Men - 75 people
February 2024: Casablanca - 130 people
March 2024: The Big Lebowski - 105 people
April 2024: A League of Their Own - 105 people
May 2024: The Great Outdoors - 70 people
June 2024: The Goonies - 210 people
July 2024: Dirty Dancing - 170 people
August 2024: Overboard - 100 people
September 2024: Clueless - 65 people
October 2024: Beetlejuice - 75 people
November 2024: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles - 85 people
December 2024: Love Actually - 125 people
January 2025: The Shining - 55 people
February 2025: Sleepless In Seattle- 80 people
March 2025: The Shawshank Redemption - 70 people
April 2025: You've Got Mail - 60 people
May 2025: Best In Show - 70 people
June 2025: Stand By Me - 155 people
July 2025: Top Gun - 255 people
August 2025: Now & Then - 60 people
September 2025: Ferris Buhler's Day Off - 115 people

10/20/2025

Did you attend the 17th annual Film Festival at The Garden Theater over the past four days like we did?

Wow, it was sooooo good, right!?

We're very proud to continue to sponsor this great community event year after year with a two-page spread of the movie showtimes and descriptions in our October issue, on shelves all across Benzie and beyond--did you see it in there?

Also: Let us know what your favorite film was in the comments below!

And make sure to SAVE THE DATE for our upcoming events with The Garden later this month: FREE "Psycho" Showing - Garden Classic Movies on Tuesday, October 28, at 6pm and FREE "Practical Magic" Showing & Witch Party on Thursday, October 30, at 7:30pm--come dressed as a witch to get a free treat from Kilwins Frankfort.

On October 30, we'll be celebrating our 2-year anniversary of Monthly Movie Club: it all began back in October 2023 with Practical Magic, when 135 of you came out from our 5-county region, and 90% of you were dressed as witches, and we raised more than $300 for the Women's Resource Center for the Grand Traverse Area through donations, though the film was technically free!

Since then, we've shown 22 "nostalgic/throwback" films for Monthly Movie Club, and we've raised more than $6,000 for local nonprofits and causes in our community. We also started another movie club: Garden Classic Movies, showing 10 of your favorites from the 1930s to the 1970s, so far, and we plan to continue that for as long as y'all continue to show up!

So please, join us during the last week of October for this month's movie clubs; we're hoping to have more than 135 people show up to our two-year anniversary party, and we can't wait to see you there!!!