The Cover Story

The water and the weather are two reasons why the Harbor Springs area is such a popular destination. The cover image for the 2010 Harbor Springs Visitors Guide captures both of these in dramatic action. Artist Elizabeth Pollie’s painting of the Harbor Springs waterfront with a spectacular summer cloud overhead creates a smile when viewed: this is summer in Harbor Springs.

“Living on the water’s edge sparks such a deep reverence for the natural world. It is ever changing and yet constant,” she said.

Elizabeth Pollie grew up enchanted by museums and art classes and influenced by her father’s love of art and architecture. She took college art classes while in high school and earned a BFA at the College for Creative Studies where she later taught.

Hungry for a more classical approach, she traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe and studied at some small ateliers. Her love of travel and painting provide the foundation for many of her paintings. She has painted in China, Greece, Turkey and many other countries.

Harbor Springs has been her home for the last decade and she teaches from her studio and owns and operates her galley, West Wind Atelier, downtown Harbor Springs. Her work can be found at her gallery and at the Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey.

Welcome!

Everybody has “that place” that always makes them smile, let out a sigh of contentment and have all the cares melt away. That place that makes you say, “Ahhh... yeah... life is good!”

For many people who call Harbor Springs home, either full time or seasonally, or who visit us throughout the year, that experience happens right here. One visitor expressed it to me this way, “when I am driving on the highway and start to come near the Harbor Springs Area, I always feel like my cares instantly go away. Every happy memory from the last 30+ years of visiting Harbor Springs just comes flooding back and I am happy.”

There is something for everyone to do in any season: concerts on the waterfront, art fair in the park, wine festival, sailing, kayaking, beach time, fishing, hiking, biking, golfing, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and more. With all there is to see and do here, it is easy for us to tell people that no matter what is going on in the world or what the weather is like; “It’s always a great day in the Harbor Springs Area!”

From spring days with a landscape covered in trillium, summer afternoons on the beach or water, fall colors that capture the majesty of the hills and bluffs or crisp winter days on the slopes, Harbor Springs is the place to be outside. Situated on a beautiful natural, deep harbor, your eye is often drawn to the water. As you walk through downtown, you can’t help but look at the water, watch the sailboats dance across the bay, or see the children playing at the beach.

Whether you are here for a day on the beach, a weekend on the ski slopes, or a month filled with things to do, we are glad you are here, and we hope that you too will discover that; Yes, it is always a great day in the Harbor Springs Area!!

Take care, and see you soon.