A revival of a dormant local tradition, a shot in the arm for the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce, a fundraiser for major town initiatives, and a tip of the hat to Leelanau County’s robust art scene: According to Raquel Jackson, the newly-rebooted Glen Arbor Area Poster Contest is all of these things and more.

Jackson is a board member and the longtime marketing director for the Glen Lake Chamber. She’s also the person spearheading the chamber’s newly relaunched poster contest, which is “inviting artists of all backgrounds and mediums to submit original artwork that captures the iconic beauty and spirit of the Glen Lake area.” Winning designs will be featured on commemorative posters to be displayed all around Leelanau County and sold as an ongoing fundraiser for the chamber.

According to Jackson, the Glen Lake Chamber initially introduced the poster contest in the mid-2010s, after its previous fundraiser, the Glen Lake BBQ and Brew Summer Celebration, fell by the wayside. BBQ and Brew was a beginning-of-summer celebration held annually on the third Saturday of June and featuring BBQ eats from local restaurants, craft beer, live music, games, activities, and more. The festival was last held in 2015.

“The board was trying to come up with alternative ways besides events to have a little bit of income, and an official Glen Arbor Area poster seemed like an easy place to start,” Jackson says.

The inspiration for the idea came from the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC) and its Manitou Music Poster project, which itself dates back to the early 2000s. Each year, GAAC selects one painting to serve as the official commemorative poster for its festival.

“We liked the idea, because the posters are beautiful, they’re frame-worthy, and they’re collectible,” Jackson tells The Ticker. “I proposed the idea to the board, they supported it, and I think 2017 was the first year we started doing posters.”

Originally, the intention was for the Glen Lake Chamber to hold seasonal poster contests, to showcase the area and its beauty at all different times of year – from full summer glory, to autumnal color, to winter calm. But the new tradition only got a few posters under its belt before stalling out. For one thing, the COVID-19 pandemic threw everything out of alignment. For another, Jackson says the chamber itself “lost traction” thanks to a series of major leadership shakeups.

“Our president passed away suddenly a couple years ago, and then we had a husband-and-wife couple, one of whom served as our treasurer and the other as a board member, and they retired and moved to Chicago,” Jackson explains. “We really had to rebuild, and aside from myself and Le Becasse co-owner Brooke Hazael-Massieux, everyone on the chamber board is newer in the last year or two. Now, I really feel like the chamber is taking on a new life.”

Jackson is hopeful the poster contest can play a significant role in bringing the chamber back to its former heights.

“The idea is for the poster to become a local product that could be carried in multiple places – at the bookstore, at Cherry Republic, at Cottonseed – and that it will eventually be a collectible thing that you’re proud to have on the wall of your home, or your cottage, or your vacation rental,” Jackson says. All proceeds from those poster sales will help pay for the Glen Lake Chamber’s lengthy to-do list of future projects.

“One big thing we’re working on right now is redoing the Glen Lake walking map,” Jackson notes. “We want to redesign the actual map itself, as well as the digital version, but we’re also getting to the point where we need to redo the physical walking map stanchions that are around town. There are at least five of those that I know have to be replaced. So, there's just cost and time involved with that project, and these poster sales will help cover it.”

Proceeds will also help pay for the chamber’s donations “to the township and the garden club for maintaining public restrooms and flowers” in the summertime, and could even prove crucial for an initiative aimed at making Glen Arbor an official “Tree City.”

“There’s a lot that goes into [becoming a Tree City],” Jackson explains, referencing an Arbor Day Foundation program that seeks to “raise awareness of the value of community trees, set foundational standards for communities of all sizes, and celebrate community improvement.” “So, we've got a few local business owners that are spearheading that project, and then the chamber will support the effort in any way we can.”

Artists interested in submitting Glen Arbor-centric work for consideration can send their art to events@visitglenarbor.com. Jackson says the contest is flexible, and that the chamber will consider work from any type of visual artist – including painters, photographers, cartoonists, and digital media artists – for any kind of identifiably Glen Arbor design (options might include landscapes, local events, buildings or landmarks, or “iconic Glen Arbor moments”). The deadline for submissions is July 31, though Jackson says the chamber is considering extending the contest timeline. More details are available on the Glen Lake Chamber website.