PAID CONTENT
A table custom-made for your family reunion or wedding party is waiting at The Homestead in Glen Arbor.
Question: Can the table make the party?
Short Answer: Yes!
Long Answer: Read on to find how (much fun it is!).
If there is anything that gets Bob Kuras, owner of The Homestead in Glen Arbor, fired up about going to work each day, it’s watching family and friends reconnect at his resort. Set on 225 stunning acres along Lake Michigan and surrounded by Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, The Homestead is made for relaxing and reconnecting—that said, it is a natural fit for family-and-friend events, including weddings.
But still, on his walks around the beautiful grounds and adorable eateries, Kuras felt something was missing—a table that could seat large parties without the stiffness of the typical banquet rectangle. A table that was made for conversation. He envisioned the table outside, made for spring, summer and autumn evenings, set next to the huge fieldstone fireplace in the plaza outside of Whiskers Bar & Grill.
So Kuras started researching. “I spent a lot of time on the web with the goal of creating something new,” he says. Most of what I found interesting was in the far East. However, I did not see anything quite like what we built either in terms of its shape or lighting but took ideas from several sites.”
Photo by Allison Jarrell
From his research, Kuras determined that a table shaped in S-curves would be the best way to promote conversation in a large group. The table Kuras dreamed up from his research would be shaped in a series of S curves that would stretch approximately 40 feet long and seat 35 people.
Once he had a concept, Kuras turned the project over to some of the area’s most talented artisans. Derrick Bliss, a blacksmith from the nearby town of Bellaire, refined the design for the table legs and built them. Ace Welding in Traverse City put the steel frame together. And The Homestead’s own team installed the rustic-style slatted wood top. For just-right intimate lighting, Kuras turned to Bob White, a lighting designer at Peter Basso & Associates in Troy, Michigan. White’s trellis-shaped lighting is both functional and romantic.
Photo by Allison Jarrell
Photo by Allison Jarrell
A year after the installation of the Celebration Table, it has already been the site of many events, including a slew of casual, fun wedding meet n’ greets. “It was such a fabulous way for all of us to get together,” says Chicagoan Cindy Gillette who used the table to stage a casual friends-and-family reunion Up North. “It was a totally easy way for us to re-connect. Before I knew it people who hadn’t seen each other in years were exchanging numbers and email addresses. We ordered pizza and it was delish—so was the beer!”
Interested in reserving the table for your group event? Call The Homestead’s Group Sales Department at 231.334.5300.