
Celebrate elusive morel at Up North annual festival this weekend
Devotees can celebrate all things morels at the National Morel Mushroom Festival in Boyne City from May 15 through May 18. Now in its 65th year, the event will feature a morel-hunting seminar presented by Tony Williams, a five-time winner of the National Competitive Hunt, and a Morel Wine & Dine event sponsored by the Boyne Area Chamber.
Two seatings are available for the wine-and-dine event, where chefs will showcase morel-infused dishes. Tickets are $115 per person and available by calling 231-582-6222. Tasting tickets for the evening are available at $10 per person. Throughout the weekend, there will be entertainment events, a morel mushroom giveaway, craft shows and food truck vendors. For information, visit bcmorelfestival.com.
Morels are prized for their meaty flavor and cone-like shape. Foragers often find them in Michigan's forests and fields.
'Large burn sites in forested areas are ideal for morel mushroom hunting, especially in burned areas where jack, white or red pine once grew,' according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. It has produced an interactive map marking the state's burn field spots from the last couple of years that you'll find at michigan.gov.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: National Morel Mushroom Festival in Boyne City: What to know
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USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
'Bargain Block' is coming back to HGTV
"Bargain Block" host Keith Bynum was all smiles in a recent social media post, showing off a joyful hand between himself, his on-air (and real-life) partner, Evan Thomas, and their costar, Shea Hicks-Whitfield. "I haven't been as excited about the future as I have the last few weeks," Bynum wrote in the Aug. 11 Instagram post. "Life has an amazing way of guiding you exactly where you need to go. The more you fight it, the harder things get. Hope you all have an amazing week!" For fans of the HGTV home renovation series set in Detroit, Bynum's post comes on the heels of both good and bad news. HGTV canceled multiple shows this summer. Here's what we know. The good news is that "Bargain Block" will return at 8 p.m. ET Aug. 20, with the first of four new episodes that conclude Season 4. The bad news? "Bargain Block," the series that turns ailing and abandoned houses in Motor City into eye-catching starter homes, wasn't renewed for a fifth season. Viewers, understandably, are bummed. "I miss the 3 of you. My family and I have basically stopped watching HGTV. All our favourite shows have been cancelled. Keep pushing through," one fan wrote in the comment section of Bynum's post this week. Hicks-Whitfield, the real estate expert on the series, understands why some people are feeling sad. "I am, too, because I believe it is a really good show, and it highlights really great things happening in our city," she said in a phone interview with the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. HGTV to turn Barbie's Dreamhouse into real-life home in new series hosted by Ashley Graham According to Hicks-Whitfield, the past four seasons have been an exciting, often emotional journey. "A lot of those first few homes, I literally shed tears," she says. "I'm from the city of Detroit and I've seen a lot of these dilapidated homes sit for many years. To see the renovations that (Bynum and Thomas) complete, especially homes that have been sitting for 10 or 15 years, in neighborhoods … to have them come in and completely revive homes has been so rewarding, especially being able to sell these homes to first-time buyers." When "Bargain Block" debuted in 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it drew more than 20 million viewers. Bynum and Thomas renovated houses that were bought for as little as $1,000 and sold for 100 times that amount. Fans didn't just tune in to see the before-and-after look of the homes, though. They found comfort during the pandemic from the positive nature of the projects and the friendship between Hicks-Whitfield and Bynum and Thomas. She says people often mention that "Bargain Block" helped get them through that tough period, "just seeing our camaraderie or us being silly on TV and laughing, and that's how we are." The fourth season of "Bargain Block," which premiered in September, unveiled a location twist. At midseason, the focus shifted away from Detroit to a five-episode spin-off called "Bargain Block: New Orleans" that aired in the same time slot. On June 17, Bynum revealed on Instagram Stories that the show had been canceled and that the decision had been made in February. Days later, he posted on Instagram that the previous six months had been "a pretty wild journey" and called television "a fickle world" with "a lot of great people but it's also full of some of the worst people I've ever encountered." "Our entire business and lives have been put through the ringer at the hands of a giant corporation, yet we persist lol," he wrote at the time. "Though you may not be seeing us for much longer on HGTV, we're excited that we've built such an amazing base of followers and we're very excited about the future." Asked why the show wasn't renewed, Hicks-Whitfield says she doesn't know. "We don't really have much of an inside scoop of the why," she admits. Before the cancellation, she says that she, Bynum and Thomas were "excited with the prospect" of Season 5. "It seems to me in my 48 years of life and a TV watcher all my days, that in the past … quite a few really good shows get canceled,' she muses. When contacted by the Free Press, HGTV would confirm via email only that "the final four episodes of Bargain Block Season 4 will premiere on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 8 p.m. ET/PT."


USA Today
21-06-2025
- USA Today
Bryan Cranston champions Ford's new philanthropy push at revived Detroit landmark
It's midmorning June 17 and actor Bryan Cranston is in a private room deep inside Michigan Central Station seated in an overstuffed lounge chair. He leans back, smiling and welcoming the respite from the grueling 82-degree heat he'd just endured for more than an hour outside, speaking in front of hundreds of Ford Motor Co. employees, dealers and some media. Cranston, 69, isn't complaining. Heck, he isn't even sweating. The Oscar-nominated star volunteered to be in Detroit to emcee the event to kick off Ford's new philanthropy program: Ford Building Together. The program aims to better unite Ford's nationwide dealership network and employees so that they can provide more efficient relief during disasters. Ford is partnering with four charities in the new program. 'I'm here to build that community, that's what it's all about," Cranston told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, of why he supports Ford's philanthropy work. "I'm tired of the vitriol and the rancor and the finger-pointing. We're better than that. We have a variety of different opinions on religion and politics and life. But let's find the commonality. This is one of those events that finds that commonality. This is a celebration of the American spirit.' The American spirit is fitting for Ford as the company touts itself as the most American of all the automakers, often citing the statistic that 80% of the vehicles it sells in the United States, it also assembles here. That is a timely message amid President Donald Trump's trade war, which seeks to encourage more U.S.-based manufacturing. A quiet philanthropist Cranston is most famous for playing the dad in the early 2000s sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" and more recently as playing Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer, in the hit 2008-13 drama "Breaking Bad." In 2016, he was nominated for Best Actor for the movie "Trumbo." Despite his movie star credentials, Cranston is a dedicated philanthropist, though he said this is the first time he has talked so openly about it. "I've been involved in philanthropy for quite a while. My wife and I have a fund set up for a variety of charities," Cranston said. "It was Jane Kaczmarek, who played my wife in 'Malcom in the Middle,' who said, 'Paying back, donating time, energy and money to charities is reciprocal to our good fortune and it kind of comes with the territory.' " He has used social media to promote his involvement with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children over the years. And, even with his business endeavors, Cranston makes an effort to give back. "I'm so blessed; I'm so lucky. Why not share it?" Cranston said. "I don't know how good I'd be as a mogul, wanting to make more and more. I want to make and share, make and share. That's what we discovered when Aaron Paul (costar in 'Breaking Bad') and I started our mezcal company Dos Hombres — we have to give back to the people of Mexico. It's the right thing to do." 'You want me to show up?' Cranston's ties to Ford started years ago. The relationship has taken him from rescue work with the automaker's philanthropy arm after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, to more recently his visit to Dearborn, Michigan Truck Plant to donning a hard hat to trapse through the very building he sat in on June 17: Michigan Central Station, well before it was renovated. Cranston's famous voice — a deep, gutteral baritone — won him a contract as the voice of Ford commercials starting in October 2018 with the launch of the "Built Ford Proud" campaign, according to Ad Age. He has also voiced Ford Philanthropy promotional videos. Before that, he said he has personally bought several F-150 crew cab pickups over the years, donating them to charities to use after hurricanes to rescue people in flooded areas. As for his personal car, Cranston has been driving an all-electric Mustang Mach-E for the past few years. So when Ford told him about this new philanthropy program that partners with the American Red Cross (Cranston said he donates blood regularly), Habitat for Humanity, Feeding America and Team Rubicon, he didn't hesitate to help. "Ford said, 'Do you wanna …?' I said, 'You want me to show up?' They said, 'Will you? Really?' I said, 'Yeah, yeah.' So here I am," Cranston said. Cranston's visits to Michigan To get to Detroit on June 17, Cranston took a day and a half off from the set of his latest project, a dark comedy movie being filmed in Champaign, Illinois, called "Chili Finger." It also stars Judy Greer, Sean Astin and John Goodman. The timing is interesting, too. Cranston said it was nearly four years ago to the date when he entered "this building wearing a hard hat and a vest, stepping over puddles and fallen cables and graffiti and broken marble … it was a mess." That was in 2021 or so and Cranston said he'd come to Michigan to do research for the 2022 movie "Jerry and Marge Go Large" costarring Annette Bening based on the true story of Jerry and Marge Selbee, of Evart, Michigan, who figured out how to win the lottery. Cranston took a detour from his research to come to Detroit during that visit where he met up with friends. While in the city, he took a tour of Dearborn Truck Plant to see the F-150 pickup being made and then he made his way to Michigan Central Station. "I came here to see what Ford was doing to this and why," Cranston said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh this is a huge undertaking.' I knew it was Bill Ford's baby and people thought he was a little crazy to do this and look at it now. It's gorgeous.' Executive Chair Bill Ford was on FOX News Channel's "FOX & Friends" the morning of June 17 talking to co-host Steve Doocy about the long-standing desire to repair the train station. "It had become a mecca for drug dealers and everything else. I drove by it almost every day and often, what happened was, there were stories, national stories about the decay of Detroit ... and this was often the visual," Ford said of the train station. Ford spent close to $1 billion to renovate the old train depot, which now holds shops, offices and soon, a luxury hotel. Since it opened to the public in June 2024, Ford said it has had about 300,000 visitors. On June 2, NoMad Hotels, an upscale boutique brand affiliated with Hilton and featuring a bourgeois-bohemian flair, said it plans to open an approximately 180-room hotel on the top floors of Michigan Central Station in the first half of 2027. Cranston's take on Detroit sports Cranston glances around at the marble walls. The sunlight pierces through the skylights illuminating the once downtrodden train depot. He is aware the building reflects the Motor City, a place he calls a "great town" that he visits often. "I'm really, really happy to see it come back," Cranston said. "There were times when I was here, where it was almost like a ghost town and to see that urban renewal is really rewarding.' Cranston has a couple of hours before he has to catch a flight back to Champaign, Illinois, and return to his real job. He doesn't mind going back to work, saying he is grateful that he gets to do what he loves for a living and it has given him a platform to help others. There is one regret though, being a Tigers fan, Cranston wishes he could have caught a game while here. "But the last time I was here, it was about a year and a half ago, and I'm from Los Angeles originally so I'm a Rams fan," Cranston said. "We came to play the Lions and the Lions beat us. They played a better game and they won. They've got a great team and it was a lot of fun." Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Yahoo
This state fair marks end of summer. Where to celebrate in Michigan
Come summer's end, the Michigan State Fair will be back to celebrate with a packed lineup of contests and activities. The annual tradition, now held in Novi on Labor Day weekend, dates back to 19th century Michigan, per local historians. The fair showcases the state's agricultural industry, with a farmers market featuring fresh produce and a competition judging livestock from across Michigan. From farming to carnival rides, baking contests, fitness, live music, craft beer and beyond, there will be something for everyone at the 2025 Michigan State Fair. "The Michigan State Fair, LLC, is devoted to the ongoing development and support of agriculture, business entrepreneurship, and family entertainment, while preserving the legacy and beloved traditions of the original State Fair," the event website says. "This privately produced event carries forward all of the positive aspects of past Fairs, including substantial positive economic impact, with major charitable and community benefits, all with no burden to the taxpayer." Here's what to know. The Michigan State Fair will be Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, 2025. The Michigan State Fair began in 1849 in Detroit, with a previous version held in 1839 in Ann Arbor, according to the Detroit Historical Society. The event then moved around before settling back in Detroit for good in 1905 at the State Fairgrounds at 8 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. Here are some of the activities you can check out at the state fair: Baking contests Steamers Thrill Show Flagstar Farmers Market Live entertainment musical acts Friday Night Flights beer festival Livestock exhibits and competitions Blood drive Midway carnival rides and games Rock-N-Roll K-9 dog performances Butter cow sculpting Moovin' thru the Midway 5K run/5K walk Pig races Fair admission is $10, with children ages 2 and younger free. Ultimate admission, including unlimited carnival rides and BMX/FMX shows, costs $42. Tickets for the Friday Night Flights craft beer festival are $20, including 10 drink tickets, for ages 21 and older. Minors must have a parent or guardian with them to attend the state fair, per organizers. Fair admission does not include carnival rides. The state fair will be held at the Suburban Collection Showplace at 46100 Grand River Ave. in Novi. The Michigan State Fair was previously held in Detroit, running out of the state fairgrounds at 8 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue from 1905 to 2009, the Detroit Free Press reported. In 2009, the state fair was discontinued due to budget issues and in 2012 the event was relocated to Novi. The Detroit Free Press contributed. Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: When is the Michigan State Fair