Community Calendar

Join artist Matthew Grimmer to discover the world of oil painting in this engaging 6-week course! Whether you're completely new to painting or looking to explore a new medium, this class will guide you through the fundamentals of oil painting in a fun and supportive environment. You'll first explore how to utilize the tools and materials safely, learn essential techniques, including color mixing and brushwork, as well as composition and creating depth, while working towards an academic style still-life. All levels of experience are welcome.

This 6-week course will be held from 5:30-7:30 pm on Tuesdays, November 11-December 16, in the Idonea Hersee Classroom at Art Reach, 111 E. Broadway in Mount Pleasant.

Recommended age: 16 and up

The Hestia Women's Giving Circle’s Learning Series #3: Health Department of NW Michigan
Melissa Hahn, Director of Family Health, will cover topics such as: What are the health challenges of our community and what impact have state and federal budgets had on our citizens? A Q and A period will follow the presentation. The program will be held on Zoom. To RSVP and receive the Zoom sign-in, email
info@hestiacircle.org.

More information about the Hestia Women’s Giving Circle can be found at www.hestiacircle.org and on Facebook and Instagram.

Mini Masters is a delightful monthly acrylic painting class designed to inspire creativity in artists of all skill levels. With step-by-step guidance, participants will create an 8x10 canvas masterpiece to take home. Perfect for beginners, this class offers a welcoming environment where no experience is necessary, and all supplies are included. Whether you’re discovering art for the first time or nurturing a growing passion, Mini Masters is a wonderful way to enjoy a fun and fulfilling creative experience.

Mini Masters will be held from 5:30-7 pm Wednesday, December 10, 2025, in the Idonea Hersee Classroom at Art Reach, 111 E. Broadway in Mount Pleasant.

Recommended age: 6 and up

Please note: An active membership is not required to register. Active members receive a 15% discount on classes.

Capture the quiet beauty of winter’s feathered visitors in this continuation of watercolor bird studies with instructor Cheryl Meyer. You’ll learn techniques for painting the soft textures of feathers, the expressive eyes, and the delicate charm of birds perched in a frosty landscape.

Through layering washes, blending cool tones, and adding fine details, you’ll explore how to bring these beloved birds to life with light, movement, and atmosphere. Perfect for beginner or intermediate painters looking to refine their skills, this class offers a peaceful, creative escape into the world of winter wildlife. All materials are provided, and no prior watercolor experience is necessary, just a love of art and nature.

This workshop will be held from 10 am-12 pm on Thursday, December 11, in the Idonea Hersee Classroom at Art Reach, 111 E. Broadway, Mt. Pleasant, MI.

Check out our other session featuring Snowy Owls on December 4, 1-3 pm

Recommended age: 16 and up

Please note: An active membership is not required to register. Active members receive a 15% discount on classes.

Get in the holiday spirit and check a box off your list with an artful afternoon creating in acrylic. Instructor Annie Croft will guide participants in painting holiday themes on gift tags and wooden ornaments, for the perfect handmade touch on your gifts this season. Open to any skill level, you’ll leave with a collection of small-scale items to use for embellishing gifts or to decorate your home. All supplies are provided.

This workshop will be held from 1-3 pm, Thursday, December 11, in the Idonea Hersee Classroom at Art Reach, 111 E. Broadway in Mount Pleasant

Recommended age: 13 and up

Please note: An active membership is not required to register. Active members receive a 15% discount on classes.

Filmmakers Yvonne Drebert and Zach Melnick go on a journey into the life cycle of whitefish in the Great Lakes and the impact of invasive quagga mussel.

We originally showed this film during the 2025 Thunder Bay International Film Festival and we are hosting an encore presentation due to popularity and demand. Join us on Thursday, December 11th in the theater of the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center at 500 W. Fletcher Street in downtown Alpena. This is a free event and open to all. The film will begin at 6pm.

More on the film:
All Too Clear is a documentary series and feature that uses cutting-edge underwater drones to explore how quadrillions of tiny invasive mussels are re-engineering the ecosystem of North America’s Great Lakes at a scale not seen since the glaciers. The mussels are trapping nutrients, the building blocks of life, on the lake bottom. Without nutrients, organisms of all kinds – from the tiniest plankton to the largest fish – are vanishing, creating vast biological deserts.

While the consequences for nature and people are severe, the loss of life has had an extraordinary side effect: it’s made the lakes clearer than ever before. All Too Clear harnesses this clarity to tell the story of life in the world’s largest freshwater lake system. From dazzling shallow water worlds that look more like the Caribbean than the Great Lakes, to previously undiscovered shipwrecks, completely entombed in mussels, 300 feet beneath the surface – All Too Clear brings freshwater species and ecosystems into the spotlight usually reserved for ocean environments.

December 11 / 7:00-9 / $20 prepay, $25 at the door / BYOB

December 12 / 7:00-9 / $20 prepay, $25 at the door / BYOB

Experience the joy of this unique telling of hope and redemption. Let your imagination take flight as our story tellers unfold this timeless tale of curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge as he journeys with three ghostly spirits to discover the true meaning of Christmas. A tribute to the late Tom Lowrey, we wish to dedicate this production to his memory and his unforgettable performance as Scrooge. Adapted by Richard Swallow

Looking to enhance your drawing skills by working with a live model? Guided by instructor Matt Grimmer, students will have the opportunity to work from life with a model who will strike a variety of poses during this 3-hour, open studio drawing session. Artists are welcome to bring any dry medium art supplies they wish to work with. We will begin with shorter poses to create quick sketches before moving on to longer poses for more finished, detailed works.

This open studio will be held from 5-8 pm, Friday, December 1,2 in the Idonea Hersee Classroom at Art Reach, 111 E. Broadway in Mount Pleasant

Recommended age: 18 and up

Please note: An active membership is not required to register. Active members receive a 15% discount on classes.

December 11 / 7:00-9 / $20 prepay, $25 at the door / BYOB

December 12 / 7:00-9 / $20 prepay, $25 at the door / BYOB

Experience the joy of this unique telling of hope and redemption. Let your imagination take flight as our story tellers unfold this timeless tale of curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge as he journeys with three ghostly spirits to discover the true meaning of Christmas. A tribute to the late Tom Lowrey, we wish to dedicate this production to his memory and his unforgettable performance as Scrooge. Adapted by Richard Swallow

Brunch, music, games, cookie decorating, ornament craft and mini photo sessions with Santa!