Happy Gwen Frostic Day!

In 1978, Michigan Governor William Milliken proclamed May 23 Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan, and in 1986 Frostic was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. A dancer, choreographer, and founder of the Northwest Michigan Folklife Center, Gretchen Eichberger considers Gwen Frostic an icon of northern Michigan culture, and she has created a dance performance to celebrate the artist’s life. In this month’s Elberta Alert, Eichberger discusses how she and her collaborators Anne-Marie Oomen, Breathe Owl Breathe, and a group of local dancers will bring Frostic’s spirit to life in an exciting new way this summer. The Alert also spoke with Elbertians who played their part in the creation of Presscraft Papers and Gwen Frostic Prints, a year-round and world-famous local enterprise. Said Governor Milliken this weekend in an e-mail on Eichberger’s project: “What a wonderful tribute to Gwen Frostic and her artistic legacy. Nothing could be more appropriate than Chaotic Harmony, a heartfelt act of innovation inspired by Frostic’s words and art.”