Memorial Day has come and gone, and for us that heralds the beginning of our summer season. It's been cooler than usual here, so the spring flowers are still going strong, and the Lake Michigan temps remain chilly (luckily our hip and groovy pool is heated and ready for a dip-the mural looks awesome). The days are getting longer as we head toward the summer solstice, so we hope you'll be able to make it for a visit soon to enjoy this delightful time of year.

Sherwood Forest Picnic Baskets
Venture forth from Sherwood Forest with your own basket of goodies this summer. The picnic includes a fine selection of Italian meats, cheeses, and baguettes, along with fresh fruit and sweets to make your afternoon rendezvous complete. To wet your whistle, choose from spritzers or bottled water (vegetarian selection also available). Price: $55 for two.

Melt Your Stress Away
Upon arrival, you'll find a beautiful wine and cheese basket with a bouquet of fresh flowers. During your visit, you'll each experience a soothing massage in a style suited just for you and a $30 voucher good toward a romantic dinner at a fine restaurant. Upon your departure (which we're sure you'll want to delay as long as possible before returning to the real world), a gift from us: a compact disc of relaxing music and an illustrated guide to massage. The cost for this R&R is $165 with one massage; $235 with two massages (does not include room rate). To view more specials on our website you can go to http://www.sherwoodforestbandb.com/ATTRACT.HTML

Here's what's happening in and around the area:

Sherwood Forest and Golf
Spend a couple of nights at Sherwood Forest, and we'll arrange for you to play at The Ravines, an Arnold Palmer Signature Championship Golf Course, a sweeping, 18-stanza epic, where nature meets sport in ways you simply must witness to believe. Here's what you get: a 2-night stay at Sherwood Forest, 18 holes of golf for two (with a cart) with a guaranteed tee time at The Ravines, and some great dinner recommendations so you don't have to do the hit and miss thing (cost ranges from $404-$645). To book this package, call us at 800-838-1246. We have lots of different packages, so for more info and prices, check out http://www.sherwoodforestbandb.com/GOLF.html

Movies
From June 12-15, head to Saugatuck for the coolest event of the year: the Waterfront Film Festival. With close to 60 films (ranging from shorts, documentaries, comedies, and dramas), seminars, and panel discussions with experienced film industry veterans, it promises to be a great event. The annual flick on Thursday starts with a street party at 7 p.m. on Water Street, followed at dusk with an outdoor movie. For more info, call 269-857-8351 or visit http://www.waterfrontfilm.org.

Wineries
Head out to Fenn Valley Winery on June 28 for their open house from 1-5 p.m. where once again they'll kick off the beginning of summer as they open their cellars for wine tasting, ethnic foods, and live music. Call 269-857-2396 or visit http://www.fennvalley.com.

Theater
The Mason Street Warehouse has announced its 2008 season, which will open June 20 with the Michigan regional premiere production of Das Barbecu, a comic opera of Wagner's Ring Cycle set as a Texas fable. On July 11, the theater will present As Bees in Honey Drown, a plot twisting a clever story about a mysterious woman and a hot young celebrity--life is always not what it appears to be. Opening August 1 is Evita--this famous musical about Eva Peron creates an arresting theatrical portrait you won't want to miss. On August 22 is Ain't Misbehavin, a rollicking, jumping, finger-snapping revue set during the golden age of honkey tonk at the Cotton Club. The Mason Street Warehouse is at 400 Culver St. in Saugatuck. For more info, call 269-857-4898 or visit http://www.masonstreetwarehouse.org,

More Theater
Hope Summer Repertory Theatre opens on June 13 with the musical Kiss Me Kate in which Cole Porter meets genius playwright William Shakespeare in this rollicking front and backstage battle of the sexes. Forever Plaid opens on June 20. Call 616-395-7890 or visit http://www.hope.edu/hsrt/.

Art
Volmod Gallery Interesting name, voluptuous and modern. Volmod was the right combination, with a certain modernity, simplicity, and slight humor in itself. Jeff Blandford joins the Saugatuck area displaying his pottery. Having a great passion for interior design, his pieces are designed so that the aesthetic of the piece is strong enough on its own. Function is not necessary with all of his work, but whenever possible he likes to increase and manipulate an object's uses. Pieces include bowls, vases of all shapes and sizes, sinks, tables, lamps, and other lighting units. The gallery is at 3480 Blue Star Highway, Saugatuck. For more info, call 616-566-2335 or visit http://www.volmod.com.

Nines Gallery
The Nines Gallery in Holland will be offering thoughtful anniversary and wedding presents. Art makes memories, and because it lasts a lifetime, art can serve as a reminder for those special events that shape our lives. On exhibit will be new works by Kathleen Putman, Jennifer Gardiner, and David Zimmermann. The Nines Gallery and Framing Studio is inside 17 W. 10th St, Holland. For more info, call 616-392-3239 or visit http://www.theninesgallery.com.

Thirdstone Gallery
Summer Group Show, Phase Two, Ludicrosa Mimosas n Samosas will be showing june 7 thru July 12. Featured will be additional new sculpture works from Billy Mayer, more new paintings from Tom DePree and Sarah Hurley, Lynn Arnold's new horses series of mixed media works and Mary Hatch's latest series of digital mixed media works.ThirdStone is at 120 E. Main St., downtown Fennville. For more info, visit http://www.thirdstoneartgallery.com or call 269-561-8149.

Water Street Gallery
Currently at the Water Street Gallery is Oxbow Memories, vintage photographs by Gail Kaplan. The photographs document Oxbow, the art school in Saugatuck, which began in 1910 and is currently affiliated with the school of the Art Institute in Chicago. These photographs record the creative spirits that inhabit the architectural spaces. Water Street Gallery is now in downtown Douglas. For more info, call 269-857-8485 or visit http://www.waterstreetgallery.com.

Petter Gallery
The Constance Petter Gallery will exhibit sculptor Gert Olsen and artist Michael Maitner. Olsen's sculpture is the result of working and experimenting with various materials and methods of carving. She personally picks her stone from quarries and stone yards in the United States and Europe. Maitner's rural landscapes portray a unique world--a combination of the beauty and variety of nature with near surreal architectural forms. The gallery is at 161 Blue Star Highway in Douglas. Call 269-857-7861 or visit http://www.constancepettergallery.com.

Music

Marcia Ball at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts
On June 7 at 8 p.m. listen to Grammy-nominated singer/pianist Marcia Ball, who knows how to raise roofs and tear down walls with her infectious, intelligent, and deeply emotional brand of southern boogie, rollicking roadhouse blues, and heartfelt ballads. Ball's piano playing and passionate, playful vocals fuse New Orleans and Gulf Coast R&B with Austin's deep songwriting tradition. For more info, call 269-857-2399 or visit http://www.sc4a.org.

Folk
Visit Journeyman Café/Rye in Fennville for music with The Mickey's (Americana/ acoustic original) on June 6; Dave Boultette (singer/songwriter original) on June 13; Jen Sygit with Tamineh Gueramy (folk/singer/songwriters) and on June 20; and Mark Duval and Tracy Seuss (singer/songwriter) on June 27. For more info, visit http://journeymancafe.com/events.htm or call 269-561-2269.

Jazz
There is some awesome music being played at the What Not Inn (a neat little restaurant) every Saturday and Sunday in June. Enjoy the heartfelt show tunes sung by one of Saugatuck's favorites, Michael Holmes, and there's some cool jazz by vocalist Mary Rademacher and Edye Evans Hyde. Show times are 7-11 p.m. For more info, call 269-543-3341 or visit http://www.whatnotinn.com.

Blues/Jazz
Join the hip and groovy folks at Everyday People Café every Friday and Saturday in June from 6:30-10 p.m. to hear some really cool jazz. You'll see the likes of the Eddy Curtis Jazz Duo and Rick Hicks Blues Guitar. For more info visit http://everydaypeoplecafe.com or call 269-857-4240.

Music in the Park--Saugatuck
By the river next to the bandshell in Saugatuck, you can listen to some free music this summer. On June 11, What About Bob (rock); on June 18, Spiritual Rez (funk-beat); and on June 25, Los Bandits (Tex-Mex). For more info, visit http://www.saugatuckdouglas.com/.

Music in the Park--Fennville
Free music every other Tuesday: June 10, Freshwater (Celtic); June 24, Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys (honky tonk/country); July 8, Zion Lion, (reggae); July 22, Truth in Jazz (big band jazz); and on August 5, Shout Sister Shout (traditional jazz/folk) . The concerts will be held at Memorial/Paradise Park on north Maple Street in downtown Fennville. For more info, visit http://www.greaterfennville.com.

Farmers Market
The Green Market is at the SCA from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every Friday starting June 13 until October. New this year will be a Monday Market (July 7-August 25) from 3-7 p.m. where local farmers and growers will bring fresh produce, flowers, and perennials, plus homemade jams, jellies and baked goods to the SCA. For more info, call 269-857-2399 or visit http://www.sc4a.org.

Exhibition
The award-winning Saugatuck-Douglas Museum will unveil its 2008 exhibition: 13 Moments in Time: The Artist as Storyteller, using artwork (13 paintings) to tell vignettes of the history of Saugatuck-Douglas. From Carl Mauch, Albert Krehbeil, Elsa Urbricht, and Francis Chapman, to name a few. These representations will give a window into a past era, some long ago and some not so. This exhibit will open to the public on May 23 and will be open daily, noon to 4 p.m., until Labor Day, and on the weekends only in the fall. Admission is free. For more information, call 269-857-7901 or visit http://sdhistoricalsociety.org/.

Exhibition
Polyester: American Fashion of the 1960s & 1970s will be at the Holland Museum through August. This exhibition of festive-occasion to everyday clothing from the museum's collection spans several decades of American fashion with particular attention paid to the rise in use of synthetic textiles and psychedelic design of the 1960s and '70s. The Herman Miller Foundation sponsors the exhibit. For more info, visit http://www.hollandmuseum.org/ or call 888-200-9123.

Exhibition
The Creative Genius of Burr Tillstrom will be on display until June 16 at the SCA, with a collection of images and 3-dimensional works representing the artistry and legacy of this pioneer of television and puppetry arts, which aired from 1947 to 1959. For more info, call 269-857-2399 or visit www.sc4a.org.

Lecture Series
The Genius of Burr Tillstrom will be presented on June 11 at 7 p.m. at the SCA by Joel Sternberg. For more info, visit http;//www.sc4a.org or call 269-857-2399.

Antiques
The Allegan County Antique Market runs the last Sunday of the month from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Allegan County Fairgrounds. The 400 exhibitors will be there rain or shine--200 indoor and 200 under canopies (the market is always the last Sunday of the month, through September). For more info, call 269-735-3333. And don't forget about the newest antique hot spot in the area, the Blue Star Antique Pavilion at 2948 Blue Star Highway in Douglas.

Honorable Mentions

June 14, Saugatuck Arts and Crafts Show
June 21, Douglas Dutchers Baseball Game, Douglas
June 29, Allegan Antique Market, Allegan
July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, Music in the Park, Saugatuck
July 4, 11, 18, & 25 Saugatuck Green Market
July 11, 26, Summer Evening Cookout, Fenn Valley Winery
July 4, Independence Day
July 5, Waterfront Invitational Fine Arts Fair, Saugatuck
July 5, The Capitol Steps, Comedy, SCA-Saugatuck
July 10, Douglas Social
July 10-11, Chamber Music, Saugatuck Womens Club
July 12, Blues in the Vineyard, Fenn Valley Winery
July 13, Douglas Dutchers Baseball Game, Douglas
July 15, Conversation, Eco-Friendly Farming, SCA-Saugatuck
July 17, Conversation, Rain Garden, SCA-Saugatuck
July 17-18, Chamber Music, Saugatuck Womens Club
July 24, Douglas Social
July 24-25, Chamber Music, Saugatuck Womens Club
July 25, Venetian Weekend
July 27, Allegan Antique Market, Allegan
July 29-31, Plein Air Watercolor Painting Class, SCA-Saugatuck
July 30-Aug 1, Chamber Music, Saugatuck Womens Club
August 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Music in the Vineyard, Fenn Valley Winery
August 6, 13, 20, 27, Music in the Park, Saugatuck
August 7, Douglas Social
August 7-8, Chamber Music, Saugatuck Womens Club
August 8, Summer Evening Cookout, Fenn Valley Winery
August 14-15, Chamber Music, Saugatuck Womens Club
August 16-17, Figure Drawing Marathon Class, SCA-Saugatuck
August 21, Saugatuck Sidewalk Sale
August 21, Douglas Sidewalk Sale
August 21, Douglas Social
August 24, Taste of Saugatuck
August 29, Labor day Weekend
August 31, Allegan Antique Market, Allegan

Books
Sue's book of the month is The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He writes about how our food is grown--what it is, in fact, that we are eating. The book is really three in one: the first section discusses industrial farming; the second, organic food, both as big business and on a relatively small farm; and the third, what it is like to hunt and gather food for oneself. What should we have for dinner? To one degree or another this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time, we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America. You can purchase or order this book at the Singapore Bank Bookstore in Saugatuck (269-857-3785) or at Treehouse Books in Holland (616-494-5085) or visit http://www.treehousebooks.net.

Sherwood Forest Staples
We will pamper you to your heart's content with one of our Sweetheart Specials (we now can include Godiva Chocolates), or you can try one of our in-house massages--doesn't get much better than that. And of course, there's our ever-popular Famous Chefs of Saugatuck Gourmet Dinners November through April. You can link to our Sweetheart Specials at http://www.sherwoodforestbandb.com/ATTRACT.HTML.

Here's the link for gourmet dinner details and a sample menu: http://www.sherwoodforestbandb.com/DINNERS.HTML.

From the Sherwood Forest Files:

Trixie is a gal from down under. While doing her walk about The Planet, she discovered a small patch of wild strawberries in a peaceful and sheltered glade, and then built herself a wonderful small Aussie cottage next to it. Sharing food is central to her soul, so one day her walkabout this streusel made its way to our breakfast table. Cheers to our mate Trixie, we'll play your tribute on our didgeridoo.

Trixie's Strawberry Streusel Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients:
One cup white flour
One-half cup wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
One-quarter teaspoon salt
One-half cup sugar
One-half cup milk
One-half cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup fresh strawberries, washed, dried, hulled, and quartered

Topping:
One-quarter cup chopped walnuts
One-quarter cup white flour
One-quarter cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a smaller bowl, combine milk, butter, and egg, and then stir into dry ingredients. Spoon into 12 greased muffin tins and top with strawberries and push down slightly. Mix together topping ingredients and spoon on top of strawberries, and then bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes (until lightly brown). Cool 10 minutes then remove from tins.

For more hip and groovy recipes, you can visit our recipes page on our website at http://www.sherwoodforestbandb.com/RECIPE.HTML

Hope to see you soon!

Keith & Sue
Sherwood Forest Bed & Breakfast
938 Center St.
Douglas, Michigan
http://www.sherwoodforestbandb.com
800-838-1246

P.S. Peace on Earth