New DVD Offers Tribute To Sleeping Bear Dunes

If you've got a loved one who's a Sleeping Bear Dunes fan, there's a Michigan-made product that's perfect for their Christmas stocking.

MyNorth Media, publisher of Traverse magazine, has released a new DVD, "Journey into Sleeping Bear Dunes," available for sale at MyNorth.com and its Traverse City office for $14.95.

The trailer for Journey into Sleeping Bear Dunes is available at www.mynorth.com/My-North/Video/Features/?vid=3617.

The footage spans Boekeloo Beach and Otter Creek to Glen Haven and Good Harbor Bay along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Northern Michigan. "Journey into Sleeping Bear Dunes" is 45 minutes of spectacular family-friendly viewing that includes remarkable wildlife footage, stirring moments from sun up to sunset and stunning scenes from the inland lakes and waterways to the Manitou Passage in Lake Michigan. 

"Journey into Sleeping Bear Dunes is Traverse Magazine brought to life," said Deborah Wyatt Fellows, founder of Traverse Magazine and president of MyNorth Media. "For the last 30 years, Traverse Magazine has covered the (Sleeping Bear) Dunes like no one else. And from the first rough cuts of the video, we all felt this video captures the essence of what we love about Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore."

Initial orders of the DVD proved so popular, MyNorth Media sold out the first two orders. As the holiday season approaches, consumers are ordering multiple copies; some have ordered as many as 8 or 9 copies, and the average order is more than 3 DVDs. Journey into Sleeping Bear Dunes is also available at the fine Northern Michigan retailers listed below. Crystal Crate and Cargo in Beulah sold all of its first order in three days then  reordered more than double the initial quantity.

The DVD should be available at Horizon Books, Traverse City; Crystal  Crate & Cargo, Beulah; Leelanau Books, Leland; Brilliant Books and Enerdyne, both in Suttons Bay; and Cottage Books in Glen Arbor.

It can also be ordered through MyNorth Media, where officials said orders received Monday should reach their destinations by Christmas. There's also a $25 overnight delivery option.

Last summer, MyNorth Media launched a free download, "10 Places Not To Miss at Sleeping Bear Dunes" and an e-mail newsletter for fans of the National Lakeshore. And Kerry Kelly, chairman of the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes board of directors regularly writes a blog in the MyNorth Community.

"Based on the popularity of the Dunes download and our 30 years' experience, we knew the extraordinary footage in the film would be popular," said Jodi Simpson, the MyNorth Media staffer heading up the Journey into Sleeping Bear Dunes promotion. "We sold out our first order before customers could watch the trailer. People were buying the film based solely on our reputation."

Journey into Sleeping Bear Dunes is the first of a series of DVDs that MyNorth Media plans. By next summer the company plans to complete DVDs on Michigan lighthouses, Mackinac Island and the four seasons in Northern Michigan.

MyNorth Media has accumulated a wide library of video footage on MyNorth.com, offering more than 200 free videos covering Northern Michigan across several topics, including travel, food and wine, outdoors, the arts, real estate and how-to videos that demonstrate decorating tips, camping skills and more. The video travel section covers Bellaire, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Frankfort, Glen Arbor, Harbor Springs, Leland, Mackinac Island, Petoskey and Traverse City as well as Houghton and Hancock in the Upper Peninsula.

In addition to videos, MyNorth Media also publishes, Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine, the company's flagship for 30 years. The Web site MyNorth.com provides 6,000 webpages and a social community for Northern Michigan with more than 1,600 members. MyNorth Media also recently launched Northern Michigan Now, a free magazine available at many Northern Michigan businesses. Combining all of MyNorth Media, the company reaches an audience of 800,000 individuals nationwide.

"It's our mission to celebrate everything good about life in Northern Michigan," continues Fellows. "And we'll use whatever medium can provide the high-quality platform that our landscapes, communities, shorelines and remarkable people deserve."

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