by orionontv | Jun 25, 2024 | Community Event, Feature Writers
ORION TWP, Mich. — On Thursday, June 20, 2024, residents from all across the Orion area flocked to the backyard of the Orion Center building to take part in fun, games and free food. The event was put on by a partnership between the Orion Parks and Rec. department and the First Baptist Church.
Photo by Joe Johnson
The overbearing heat mixed with brief showers did not stop or delay the event from happening, Orion area residents were treated to a ‘staycation’ right in their backyard. The celebration coincides with the Summer Solstice, a celebration of the start of summer.
ONTV’s Joe Johnson spoke with Jennifer Vezina, a recreation programmer at Orion Parks and Rec. about the event that took place on Thursday evening.
“Every year we put this event together, and it’s just amazing to me how many families come out and enjoy it. What’s really nice, is anyone, everyone can come out because everything is free,” Vezina said.
The First Baptist Church sent volunteers to put on fun games and activities for all ages, as well as supplying tasty food to feed dozens of hungry residents.
“We are privileged every year to be able to partner with the township,” said Steve Sanders, a member of the First Baptist Church said. “The most fun I have is watching other people have fun.”
Photo by Joe Johnson
From snow cones, face-painting, cotton candy and more, this event helped bring the community together, whether they are involved in the church or not.
“They do it all, they bring it, they set it up, they pass it out and their volunteers are just happy to do it,” Vezina said. “Look at it, there’s families, families that perhaps couldn’t afford to go to something else and here they are, having that quality time together… everybody is happy and having a good time.”
One of the next big events for the township is the Dragon on the Lake celebration on August 23-25, an annual festival celebrating Lake Orion’s history put on by the Orion Art Center.
For more information about events like these, visit orionparks.com.
by orionontv | Jun 19, 2024 | Community Event, Feature Writers, Music
ORION TWP, Mich. — On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, the Wildwood Amphitheater hosted its first outdoor concert of the 2024 season. The North Oakland Concert Band came to 2700 Joslyn Ct. to perform “music that will get you in the summer mood,” according to the NOCB’s website.
Buchanan and Kline – Photo by ONTV
The original date of the concert was June 13, however, due to potential bad weather the concert was moved to the following Tuesday.
The theme of the night was “Swinging with NOCB” and featured guest jazz vocalist Olivia Van Goor on several songs such as “Blue Moon” by Rogers/Hart (arranged by Warren Baker) and “Star Dust” by Hoagy Carmichael, (also arranged by Baker.) Mark Buchanan, former President of the NOCB and member of the trumpet section, welcomed gusts to the performance at the beginning of the show.
Buchanan detailed what was going to be performed that night, introducing the conductor Annette Kline as well as the guest vocalist, Olivia Van Goor. He then introduced the first piece that was played that night, a medley from the animated movie, “The Incredibles.”
The free concert attracted a sizeable crowd as dozens of concert goers eager to start off the season gathered at Wildwood to view the band. The setlist included classics such as “Havana Nights” by Randall D. Standridge, as well as “Hangin’ Ten” by Roger Cichy.
Guest vocalist Olivia Van Goor – Photo by ONTV
Other songs on the setlist that were played that night included “Pinball Wizard” by Peter Townsend, “Shrek Soundtrack Highlights” by John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams and “But Not For Me” by George and Ira Gershwin with Van Goor on vocals.
To conclude the night, the NOCB played “Satchmo! A Tribute to Louis Armstrong” a heartfelt piece dedicated to the timeless talent of one of music’s’ greats.
Up next for Wildwood is a free showing of the 2022 Pixar animated film, Lightyear, that will take place on Thursday, June 20. The next concert in the free concert series is the Lake Orion High School Band, that concert will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 7 p.m.
For more information on when free events like these are happening, visit orionparks.com and for more information about the NOCB visit nocb.org.
by orionontv | Jun 18, 2024 | Community Event, Feature Writers
LAKE ORION/OXFORD, Mich. — On Friday, June 14, 2024, Oxford and Lake Orion residents took to their downtowns, dressed in retro leg warmers, fanny packs and bright neon to have a tubular time during the ‘Ladies of the 80s’ ladies’ night celebration.
With the beginning of summer coming up in just a few days, the Oxford and Lake Orion Downtown Development Authorities (DDA) came together to put on a fun event that celebrated not only the decade of the 1980s,
Photo by Joe Johnson
but the women who grew up during that era.
Lake Orion’s neighbor to the north, Oxford, welcomed Orion Area residents to their downtown and vice versa. Local stores celebrated the night with special offers and treats, as well as restaurants serving 80s-themed drinks — there was even a replica of K.I.T.T. from the classic 80s TV show “Knight Rider.”
ONTV’s Joe Johnson spoke to Kelly Westbrook of the Oxford DDA on the evening of the event about the activities people were participating in.
“Our two DDAs collaborated to do another Stronger Together event, we’ve got the trolley running until 10, and all of us ladies are dressed up in 80s,” Westbrook said.
The festivities began at 5 p.m. and spanned for most of the evening. Participants checked in where they were offered fanny packs filled with coupons, as well as a trolley to shuttle the funky-fresh partygoers to and from Oxford.
“It’s nice for our businesses, it brings a lot of business into our retail, and then also into our bars and our restaurants, so just a wonderful way to support the community and have a fun time doing it,” Westbrook said.
Photo by Joe Johnson
ONTV’s Lexi McKinney talked to Debbie Burgess, chair of the Lake Orion DDA, who gave some insight on why the 80s are so beloved.
“I think what I love most about the 80s is the freedom to express yourself, the freedom just to be who you are, you didn’t have to fit into a mold… the pressure wasn’t there,” Burgess said.
The “Stronger Together” campaign has brought the two neighboring municipalities closer together since 2022, supporting each other with events like these.
“So, the fact we can now collaborate together and really offer something to both communities but use our same marketing on just one event is huge… We have so many people who live in Oxford and work in Lake Orion or vice versa so its really important to see us all together, its 2.3 miles downtown to downtown on the trolley, so it just makes sense and I am so glad we formed a partnership and gotten to do this,” Westbrook said.
Photo by Lexi McKinney
For more information and to find dates for upcoming events like this one, visit downtownlakeorion.org.
by orionontv | Jun 12, 2024 | Community Event, Feature Writers
ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. – On Saturday, June 11, 2024, volunteer workers from Faith Works and Faith in Action of Oakland County (FIAOC) came together to build an aluminum wheelchair ramp for an Orion Township resident with mobility issues.
The volunteers arrived early Saturday morning to put together a donated aluminum ramp for a resident on Chalice Rd. ONTV’s Joe Johnson spoke to Chris Sturges of Faith Works on the day the ramp was installed.
“These are all aluminum ramps, they’re very lightweight and they don’t rust so it’s a lot easier to put in than the wooden ones…” Sturges said.
Photo by Joe Johnson
In just a few hours, the volunteers built and installed the ramp for the resident. This grateful act was made possible in part by Mission Possible.
‘Mission Possible’ is a subset of the non-profit group FIAOC, created in 2019, and is a dedicated team of volunteers that help residents across Oakland County with mobility-related needs.
“We bought some of the pieces, but most of the material is donated,” Sturges said.
According to the Faith In Action website: “In Oakland County we are still Faith in Action of Oakland County (FIAOC) but our name has added another more explicit definition regarding what we are doing as we are calling our program ‘Mission Possible’ that will focus on more specific help for our poverty level elderly and disabled homeowners.”
Aluminum ramps are traditionally expensive, however, if they are donated, they can be reused over and over again. This helps a lot with the volunteering aspect of these programs since the non-profits do not have to spend a lot of money in order to install the ramps – volunteers can bring their own tools as well.
If you or someone you know has an aluminum wheelchair ramp that is no longer in use, reach out to FIAOC or Faith Works and they will send volunteers to disassemble it and store it until a new residence needs it.
“You’re more than welcome to donate anything you want, we’re desperately in need of any resources all the time… and it goes to bless someone who can’t do it for themselves,” Sturges said.
For more information on how to get involved with these groups, or to put in a request, visit faithworksmichigan.org or faithinactionoakland.org.
by orionontv | Jun 11, 2024 | Community Event, Feature Writers
ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. – On Saturday, June 8, 2024, Orion Township Public Library hosted their annual Summer Reading Kickoff. The event featured several different activities, community partnerships, and fun performers.
ONTV’s Joe Johnson spoke to Ashley Lehman, Head of Youth Services at OTPL about the event on Saturday and what the summer reading program entails this year.
Photo by Joe Johnson
“We turn the backyard of the library into a big huge party, we have circus performers, we have food trucks, we have bounce houses and a bunch of other community organizations hosting activities,” Lehman said. “Our summer reading program is online and we also have a bingo sheet for kids – it kicks off today and runs through August third – so kids can do reading challenges and library related activities to earn bingo squares and adults can do library challenges weekly to earn prizes and free books.”
The event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. filled the parking lot with families of eager kids wanting to have fun on a gorgeous Saturday outside the library. The Summer Reading Kickoff was funded by several different means, Lehman expanded on this speaking to ONTV.
“This is possible mostly through our Friends of the Orion Library organization we also have a couple sponsorships from community organizations like Kids Tooth Team and Flip Spot and then we also got a grant through Michigan Humanities Council to fund this,” Lehman said.
Photo by Joe Johnson
The event fortunately coincided with the library’s reopening after a small electrical fire that occurred last month. The library started and stopped pickup services in-between the library’s reopening in order to fully dedicate time to clean out the smoke and to keep the staff inside safe.
“We were almost down to the wire but we opened back up on Thursday fully… everything got cleaned up after the fire, there was no damage so we are ready to go for the summer,” Lehman said.
According to the Lake Orion Review, around 500 kids participated in OTPL’s Summer Reading Challenge. But how much time do adults and kids have to dedicate towards reading new books in order to get in on some prizes? Lehman also answered that question to ONTV.
“So, they have to read 600 minutes or 1000 minutes, or read 50 books if you are a little kid and then adults have various library related challenges throughout the summer and then we end with a fun finale party where we raffle off prizes for kids and adults as well,” Lehman said.
Overall, the myriad of different fun activities and community partnership helped encourage kids and adults to participate in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. Lehman summed up why these events are important for the library to host.
Photo by Joe Johnson
“You learn best by reading and the library is a great place to just… expand your knowledge and suck in that information and having these parties just entices people to come to the library and see what we are all about,” Lehman said.
The finale for the Summer Reading Challenge will be a Meet and Greet with Reptarium, an interactive reptile zoo. That event happens Saturday, August 3.
For more information on events like these visit oriontownship.librarycalendar.com.
by orionontv | Jun 5, 2024 | Community Event, Feature Writers, School News
CLARKSTON, Mich. – On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, 491 seniors from LOHS graduated in a ceremony held at Pine Knob Music Theatre. The graduating Dragons gathered in the outdoor music venue that has held bands such as Chicago, The Beach Boys, Blue Oyster Cult, Steve Miller Band – just to name a few.
“Pomp and Circumstance” played the graduating class in, eager to sit down and begin the ceremony, the “Star Spangled Banner” played and LOHS Principal, Dr. Daniel Haas, welcomed the guests and gave a brief introduction. A video presentation played, highlighting the seniors’ past year at LOHS.
Photo by ONTV Production Team
Next, Danielle Bresett, President of the Board of Education gave a few brief remarks.
“As you step into the next phase off your journey, I encourage you to embrace this mindset: embrace the fun in tackling challenges that seem impossible…” Bresett said. “Seize these moments with confidence and a sense of adventure, the world is waiting for the unique contributions that only you can make.”
The Superintendent of LOCS, Ben Kirby, gave an inspiring speech after Bresett’s remarks.
“Whether you are moving on to the Military, learning a skilled trade, vying for one of the over 200 jobs that will be filled at the GM Orion Plant, or moving on to college – you have the foundation to be successful,” Kirby said. “Dragons, the world is a better place because you are in it.”
This is Kirby’s last LOHS graduation as Superintendent, he recently took a superintendent position at Forest Hills Public Schools in Grand Rapids – he starts the position next month.
After a performance of “We Rise Again” by the LOHS Choir, Elizaveta Bruner gave the student message titled, “With Roots, We Grow.”
“We came to LOHS ready to make it count, and we are leaving as leaders, our diplomas will be proof. We were greeted with the ideas of strength and the ability to succeed here each morning hearing Dr. Haas telling us: make it count, be a leader – let Dr. Haas’s consistent motto live with you,” Bruner said. “There is a universal truth we must face: everything eventually ends”
Ryann Pawlaczyk gave the next student address, the leadership message, titled, “Celebrate the Possibilities.”
“Without the friends we have made over these four years, I don’t know if we would be the people we are today….” Pawlaczyk said. “Today we celebrate our accomplishments, but also the endless number of possibilities that lie ahead of us.”
Photo by ONTV Production Team
Principal Haas gave the final address before the presentation of diplomas and the moving of the tassels.
“Protect the Thunder’s entire message, is about the understanding that you are never alone, and you always have people to back you up and to be your safety net,” Dr. Haas said. “Be sure to always take pride in your accomplishments, and ownership in your actions. You’re going to do great things and remember: your LOHS Thunder is always right here supporting you – thank you, Go Dragons.”
Pawlaczyk took the stage once more after all the diplomas were presented to the graduates to finish off the ceremony with the moving of the tassels. All of the graduating Dragons moved their tassels from one side to the other to signify their accomplishment and then threw their caps up in the air to celebrate.
“Congratulations Dragons, you have now graduated!” Pawlaczyk cheered.
To view the speeches and ceremony in full, visit orionontv.org/watch.
