Midwest Guest

Midwest travel links for February 2010

Here are a few Midwest stories I’ve enjoyed reading this past month:

• Those of you observing Lent may still be savoring the idea of that last taste of sweets until Easter. Join Becks Davis of Detroit Moxie as she travels to Hamtramck, Michigan, for the traditional Polish Paczki on Fat Tuesday.

• Sarah went Wandering Off and found this cool art installation on the University of Kansas campus. What do you think? Bewitching, bewildering, or bedazzling?





• I love visiting those funky and largely unknown museums that are unique to a particular city or destination. Check out this great list of unusual and unexpected museums in Cleveland, Ohio, at What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus—a list that includes Lake View Cemetery, which Midwest Guest readers may remember reading about here.

• Amy of A Closer Look at Flyover Land invites readers to join her for a perfectly civilized afternoon in St. Paul, Minnesota with an up-close look at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

• Aimée takes readers of the Indiana Insider Blog on a tour of Bloomington, Indiana. Check out Indiana University, do a little shopping, and have a great meal to round out your day in Bloomington.

• Kath takes Great Lakes Gazette readers on a tour of Marquette, Michigan. See what makes this Upper Peninsula city a Distinctive Destination, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Northern Michigan University, Lake Superior shoreline, cool architecture—no wonder Marquette came in first among online voters among the Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010.

• Check out these ornate Lombard Lamps in Chicago, Illinois, on the Chicago Architecture Blog. The massive lamps are familiar to residents of Hamburg, Germany, where similar lamps have lined the famous Lombard Bridge in that city since 1869.

• Regular readers of Midwest Guest know that I have a special interest in unique bridges, so I have to include this story by Linda at Travels with Children about North Dakota’s Fairview Lift Bridge.





• Christopher of the Cleveland Area History blog began compiling a list of what he judges as the 100 most important Cleveland, Ohio, Landmarks and asks readers to help complete the list. There are some great places on this list, including Lake View Cemetery’s Wade Chapel (thanks for linking to my story about the chapel, Christopher). I can’t wait to get back to Cleveland to explore some of the places on this list.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Where I live: World music and coffeehouse culture take center stage in Dearborn, Michigan

Get over those cabin fever blues and see a bit of the world at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michigan, as it kicks off the winter/spring season of Global Thursdays with a performance from world-renowned multi-instrumentalist Bassam Saba on January 28.

The concert is also a release party for Saba's debut album, The Wonderful Land, described on his Web site as a mix of Arabic and gypsy Turkish music with hints of Western-style classical arrangement.

The winter/spring season of Global Thursdays continues through April with an eclectic schedule of film and concerts representing diverse cultures from around the world. Each program begins at 6:30 p.m.

"Global Thursdays is an extension of the annual Concert of Colors," says museum director of communications Kim Silarski. "Musical acts and films are selected to represent diverse cultures from around the world."

Global Thursdays, like the Concert of Colors summer festival, brings talent from around the world to metro Detroit with the idea of celebrating diversity and fostering unity through the arts.

The season kick-off for Global Thursdays coincides with the opening of "From Mocha to Latte: Coffee, the Arab World and the $4 Cup" at the AANM. This exhibit explores the history of coffee, from its origins in the Arab world as a crop first cultivated in Yemen, through the preeminence of Yemen's port city of Mocha as a major coffee marketplace, to the amazing popularity of coffee-based drinks and the rise of coffeehouse culture throughout the world.

Be sure to go to the AANM for a free opening reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Museum's Community Courtyard area and grab a complimentary Arabic coffee and sweet before the concert, where you can check out Bassam Saba's virtuosity with the nay, an open-ended cane flute.

The nay traces its origins back to antiquity in the Near East and may look deceptively simple to play, but it is one of the most difficult Arabic instruments to master. Saba's skill with Arabic instruments like the nay, oud, buxuq, saz, as well as violin and western classical flute, create high demand for him as a musician, conductor and music educator.

The other concerts scheduled for Global Thursdays also sound intriguing. You can check out the jazzy, high-energy fusion of the Chicago Afrobeat Project on February 25; enjoy a night of flamenco dancing and music with metro Detroit's La Chispa & Company featuring flamenco artists from around the country on March 25; and hear the fusion of Chinese and Western classical music with Xiao Dong Wei, featuring Yang Wei and Yuki Mack, on April 22.

Film fans will want to mark their calendars for Global Thursday programs featuring films you won't find at the local multiplex. February 11 brings the Michigan premiere of All About Dad, the story of a Vietnamese American family and their sometimes conflicting paths to each finding their own way in life. The 1983 film El Norte follows the story of Mayan Indians through a brutal civil war and the tale of two teenagers who flee to the North to escape the violence, screening on March 11. The series' films wrap with another Michigan premiere on April 8 with the showing of Children of Invention, an official selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival that tells the story of two homeless children orphaned by the disappearance of their mother.   

Global Thursday concert tickets are $10 and tickets for films in the series are $6. You can purchase tickets at the door, or order advance tickets online (online sales end at 5 p.m. the day prior to the show).

Note: "Where I live" posts are part of a series of periodic stories about special events and people in, and around, metro Detroit. "Where I live" posts are stories I'll post in addition to my regular schedule of stories about attractions around the larger Midwestern region. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

My three best Detroit-area travel secrets

The Detroit area may be one of the best-kept travel secrets around.

Sure, Detroit may be facing some challenges these days, but the spirit and perseverance of metro Detroiters is still strong-and I can't count the number of times I met or read about Detroit visitors who say how warm and welcoming metro Detroiters are to those who visit our hometown.

So, when I received an invitation to join travel bloggers and share my three best travel secrets, I immediately knew I had to share some of my favorite Detroit-area destinations!

Most people seem to think of automobiles when they think of Detroit, and while the automotive industry may drive much of Detroit's fortunes and misfortunes, I'd contend that music really represents the heartbeat of Detroit.

Growing up in the Detroit area meant that I grew up hearing music from an amazing array of Motown talent. It's easy to take that musical heritage for granted when it was essentially the soundtrack for your early life, but Motown's 50th anniversary celebration this year gave me a new appreciation for the music and the people responsible for making it.

Detroit's Motown Museum is in the modest blue-and-white house that served as Motown's original home and today draws avid Motown fans from around the world, although few Detroiters or other visitors seem to make the trip. Motown's story is one of pride and empowerment, and it holds a unique place in the city's music, culture and politics of the volatile 1960s. The museum tour is well worth taking, if only to see the fabled Studio A and be amazed at how many big sounds came from such tiny quarters.

The Detroit suburb of Dearborn is home of one of the largest Arabic populations in the nation, so it makes sense that it is home to the Arab American National Museum (AANM). The museum looks rather nondescript from the outside, except for a bright blue tile facade over the front door, but visitors will find a sun-filled interior centered by a spectacularly domed, three-story atrium. Ornate woodwork and intricate tile mosaics lining the walls give visitors a sense that they are visiting an exotic location, while the thoughtful displays tell the story of Arab American history, culture, and contributions to society.

The AANM also plays a large part in sponsoring one of our favorite events every year, Detroit's multi-day world music and diversity festival, the Concert of Colors. Festival highlights the last couple of years for us came when Detroit's own, musician and super producer Don Was, orchestrated Super Sessions highlighting an eclectic bill of new and vintage Detroit talent.

The third secret I'll share with you is Woodward Avenue. I drive a portion of this road nearly every single day, but maybe the recent designation of Woodward Avenue as one of a select group of 31 routes qualifying as All-American Roads through the National Scenic Byways program will give me a greater appreciation for this gem in my own neighborhood.

Woodward isn't scenic in the classic sense, but it has its own urban beauty and holds a unique place in the country's automotive history. Self-guided tours of the road available through the America's Byways Web site allow visitors to easily locate Woodward landmarks like the location of the world's first four-way, tri-color traffic light, Henry Ford's innovative assembly-line factory that spurred Detroit's growth by drawing workers in the early 1900s to take then-generous five-dollar-a-day-jobs, and the mile of road that was the world's first mile of concrete roadway.

Woodlawn Cemetery is also another interesting stop along Woodward. It is the final resting place of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks and many well known early auto makers, as well as home to a unique tribute to Michael Jackson.

Classic car buffs may know Woodward best as the site of the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise, a celebration of vintage vehicles that draws more than a million people each August.

So, come to Detroit! There are plenty more great Detroit-area "secrets" where these came from, many which you'll read about here at Midwest Guest.

Meanwhile, I'm tagging five more members of our travel blogging community to see what secrets they may be willing to share with readers!

TheWordWire.com

A closer look at flyover land

Wandering Educators

The Vacation Gals

Perceptive Travel

Things To Do
Detroit

New at the Urbane Life

Check out some of my latest articles at The Urbane Life:

Explore global diversity through film, music, dance and performance art in Dearborn-Visit the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI, during  December for their three-day Arab Film Festival and a Latin-flavored music and dance installment of the museum's ongoing Global Thursdays series

Buy Local: Oakland Community College Potters Market creates showcase for local artists-Check out the work of over 130 local potters at this annual marketplace presented by students and alumni of OCC's well regarded Ceramic Technology program.

Motown memories tell a tale of empowerment and Detroit pride-Visit the Motown Museum (a.k.a. "Hitsville U.S.A.") as the label wraps up its fiftieth anniversary year.

Buy Local: The 3/50 project shows how to get the biggest bang for your buck-Invest in your community by supporting local businesses--where $68 of every $100 spent returns to your local community in the form of taxes, payroll and other spending.

The Urbane Life is a community blog for Urbane Apartments, a growing group of apartment buildings, luxury lofts and condos in metropolitan Detroit.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Food for travel giveaway and more Midwest links

My father's good, Jack, had an April birthday, but Jack pretty much celebrated his birthday for weeks leading up to the big day--and for weeks after the big day.

Perhaps Jack's influence explains why I'm still celebrating the first anniversary (August 1) of Midwest Guest!

Besides, I had a lot of fun giving away my BlogHer kids' swag bags last month. Congrats again to Tracyn and Beth!

This month, the theme is food.

Pasties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula? Skyline Chili in Cincinnati? Fried whitefish livers in Wisconsin? Crawfish in Louisiana? Grits in Kentucky? Fried catfish in Arkansas? We love eating in the little local joints and eating local specialties when we travel.

When we're not on the road, we love watching shows and reading books about great regional road food finds.

Planning a road trip this year? Here's your chance to win a two-book package that should help you find the best eats from Maine to California--and everywhere in between.

I'm opening this giveaway up to U.S. residents who leave a comment on this post telling me about their favorite road food or roadside "joint" by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Daylight Savings Time) on Friday, October 16.

The winner receives two books: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives by Guy Fieri and 500 Things to Eat Before it's Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them by Jane & Michael Stern.

Fieri's book is the New York Times best-selling companion to his fun show of the same name on The Food Network. The Sterns' book includes tips on side trips as you're eating your way through the country, and mail order resources for some of their food finds.

Both books look like just the thing to whet your appetite for travel!

Only one entry per person. Midwest Guest reserves the right to eliminate entries that are rude or spam comments.

Meanwhile, check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in New Ulm, MN-Linda starts us off on a musical note at Travels with Children as her family learns about Minnesota's musical history and an eclectic group of musicians with Minnesota ties that include Bob Dylan, Judy Garland and Whoopee John!

The Dequindre Cut: An Urban Gallery-Becks takes us on a tour of one of Detroit's newest greenways and recreational paths for walkers, runners and bicyclists and tells us about the cool graffiti art along the way.  Check it out at Detroit Moxie!

South Dakota's Black Hills Buffalo Roundup-James takes a look at the world of cowboys with this Man Tripping story about the annual Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park, where experienced wranglers help thin the park's herd to a level the park can support over the winter.

Oh Dakota! Update on My Tour of the West-Reading about Gary's travels around the globe at Everything Everywhere is always fascinating, but I especially loved seeing his take on the Dakotas. Make sure you click on the Theodore Roosevelt National Park link in this post to see Gary's gorgeous North Dakota wildlife photos.

The Apostle Islands-Visit the pristine wilderness of Lake Superior as photographer Ian Plant of Mountain Trail Photo Blog explores the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin via sea kayak. Ian shares some stunning images of sea caves and Superior shoreline.

Kayaking at the Pictured Rocks-Move east into Michigan along the Lake Superior shoreline to check out northern_latitudes at Michigan in Pictures and click through to Tim's beautiful Pictured Rocks kayaking 2009 Flickr photo set.

Wandering on a Water Taxi-Join Farsighted Fly Girl Rosalind and her family as they explore Chicago via water taxi.

The Tiltons-Canadian photographer Sandi Wheaton embarks on a trip traveling the length of Route 66. Follow her adventures on pictureRoute66, especially through the initial leg of her journey as it takes her through Illinois and she meets the hospitable Tiltons.

Kansas Underground Salt Museum: the tornadoes can't get you here-Sheila of the Family Travel Guide takes us on a tour of a working salt mine 650 feet below Hutchinson, Kansas.

Ernie Harwell and the moment-I'll leave you with a particularly poignant goodbye as Billfer of The Detroit Tigers Weblog shares the moment when beloved baseball broadcaster Ernie Harwell thanked Detroit Tigers' fans and bid them adieu--and the fans, in turn, thanked him for many years of joy and expressed loving support for Ernie as he faces a foul ball of a health challenge.  

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Photo Friday: Begin your road trip in Chicago, at the start of Historic Route 66

We wandered a few blocks south on Michigan Avenue after leaving the Travel Blogger Exchange conference late last month and found something of special interest to travelers a few blocks away from our conference venue at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The intersection of Adams and Michigan in downtown Chicago may look like an ordinary city streetscape to many folks, but look a little more closely.

Yes, this is marked as the official starting point of one of this country’s most storied highways—and one that captured the imaginations of travelers over the years yearning to head west to wend their way to California.

Bobby Troup gave voice to the optimism and the urge to live their dreams many travelers felt during the highway’s heyday with his song, “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”. Nat King Cole first recorded Troup’s song in 1946. An eclectic collection of musicians throughout the years that included the Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Buckwheat Zydeco and Natalie Cole covered the song as well.

My own fascination with Route 66 began when my mom became a regular viewer of the 1960s show of the same name, which starred Martin Milner and George Maharis as two drifters traveling the road in a sporty Corvette. The show filmed in 40 different states during its 1960-64 run and portrayed its starring duo as socially conscious and exploring the quickly changing times as they searched for their place in the world (it was the 1960s, remember?).

I was too young to really grasp the social issues raised in the show, but I certainly remember that spiffy car and catchy theme song!

The highway became roadkill as high-speed expressways bypassed and supplanted highways like Route 66, which originated in the 1920s and ran for 2,400 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles.

The route originally began at Michigan Ave. on Jackson Blvd., the now eastbound street just south of Adams. The 1933 world’s fair in Chicago forced the highway’s starting point to move a bit east to Jackson and Lake Shore Dr. Route 66 never officially started on Adams, but today the westbound street bears the designation as official starting point to Historic Route 66.

Details, details! I just enjoyed reliving a bit of the sense of romance for the road and great memories that the sign evoked for me.

Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Photo Friday: Motown remembers Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson fans gathered at various places around the country, and even around the world, to remember the iconic music star in the wake of his sudden death on June 25, 2009.

Detroit’s Motown Historical Museum served as an impromptu gathering place for many fans in the first days following Michael’s death, and I remember seeing television footage of those fans singing his songs, sharing their favorite memories of him and watching a few Jackson impersonators trying to replicate some of the star’s dizzying spins and dance moves.

Fans left hundreds of stuffed animals, with many of them wearing Jackson’s single signature white glove, and other memorabilia outside of the museum to create a temporary memorial to Jackson.

What happened to all of those toys and other souvenirs?

You see it.

They gave the toys their own grave and headstone!

Detroit holds a special place in its heart for the kid from Gary, Indiana who wowed Motown exec Berry Gordy and snagged a Motown recording contract with his brothers.

Woodlawn Cemetery, 19975 Woodward Avenue southwest of Woodward’s intersection with 8 Mile Road (yup, the same 8 Mile immortalized in Eminem’s movie, 8 Mile) is the final resting place of many prominent people like civil rights activist Rosa Parks, David Ruffin of the Four Tops, the Temptations’ Levi Stubbs, poet Edgar Guest and, in two cemetery donated plots, toys left at Motown in memory of Michael Jackson.

Private companies donated the vaults and headstone.

I initially wondered why the museum didn’t donate the toys to needy children, but Tim said he heard that exposure to the weather for several days rendered the toys unfit as donations.

News stories say that Woodlawn officials suggested the burial to museum officials as a way to give area fans some closure, celebrate Jackson’s close connection to Detroit and safely dispose of the items in a respectful manner.

Tim was driving in the area and spotted a procession with two hearses carrying the memorial items and a few cars entering the cemetery. He realized what he’d seen after listening to the news later that day (so you now know who to credit/blame for this blog entry).

We went back later to find the memorial site, which is a short distance in from the cemetery’s front gate.

The Motown Historical Museum, which already proudly displays one of Michael’s sequined gloves, kept a few of the memorial items to use in a planned exhibit honoring Michael Jackson.

Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Sizzling Concert of Colors does Detroit proud

Detroit has an amazing array of musical talent—both new and vintage—and that fact was never so evident as it was last Saturday evening as musician and producer Don Was took the stage during Detroit's Concert of Colors to introduce acts ranging from the dapper and frisky Sir Mack Rice (whose music career is still going strong after more than 50 years in the business!) to Mick Bassett and the Marthas (a band led by the 21-year-old Grosse Pointe native that Was said he discovered while checking out MySpace pages looking for new Detroit-area talent).

Was took the helm of last year’s Super Session I, fielding an eclectic bill of homegrown performances that thrilled the festival crowd and left them clamoring for an encore.

This year’s Super Session II demonstrates that Detroit has an amazingly deep talent team as an all-new line-up of diverse Detroit talent hit the stage.

I’m hard-pressed to name a favorite moment from the revue. Was it hearing one of my favorite Detroit blues divas, Thornetta Davis, with a sound system that finally did her magnificent pipes justice? Was it Sir Mack Rice, brought back onstage after Was decided to break his “one-song rule” to have Rice follow his classic “Mustang Sally” with a hot, hot, hot version of his “Respect Yourself” (ably supported by Thornetta)? Was it the quirky Question Mark with a mini-medley of a cool arrangement of “Stand by Me” and his classic “96 Tears”? Was it a reawakening of Teegarden & Van Winkle to, in their first appearance onstage together in years, lead the entire revue in a sing-a-long of “God, Love and Rock & Roll”?

Thornetta Davis and Sir Mack Rice

There were just too many great moments to make a choice!

Let’s just say that Don Was and the killer cast of musicians he assembled for this revue did Detroit proud and, as someone remarked, this was just the kind of positive experience our region needs right now.

As if that weren’t enough, Super Session II was just one slot on a two-day Concert of Colors schedule of diverse music and good vibes.

It’s always difficult to decide which shows to see during each year’s Concert of Colors, and even though this year’s festival was an abbreviated version of prior four-day festivals, the choices were no easier.

Candy Band, was a lot of fun as they got the crowd to sing along with old songs and nursery rhymes performed with a punk twist.

Candy Band

I loved Aaron Neville and his Quintet’s smooth take on so many classics, including: “Tell it like it is”, “A Change is Gonna Come” (which got one of the most enthusiastic crowd responses) and a H-O-T sax solo of “Besame Mucho” from his brother Charles Neville.

We caught shows ranging from Galitcha’s Eastern Indian folk, Mali blues and rock from Vieux Farka Toure, alt-rock Yo La Tengo, the Latin Funk of Grupo Fantasma, Native American folk from Joe Reilly to a rip-roaring show closer with Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas.

Vieux Farka Toure

We worried when the Concert of Colors lost Chrysler as a major sponsor due to the crappy economy this year, but we’re overjoyed that organizers managed to pull together enough support to stage a two-day festival and keep the Concert of Colors as a free event.

It’s been a tough year for a lot of people here in the Detroit area, so those who helped make this happen for Detroit this year really do deserve special mention.

Meijer stepped in as the lead sponsor this year, and corporate sponsors included Comerica Charitable Foundation, AT&T, DTE Energy, Ford Motor Company, HAP, New Detroit’s Cultural Exchange Network and Yelp. Media sponsors Metro Times, MyDamnChannel, WDET 101.9 FM and WHFR-FM 89.3 supported the event as well.

The Arab American National Museum, New Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and ACCESS (Arab Community Center of Economic and Social Services) deserve tons of credit for having the heart and determination to make the Concert of Colors happen.

Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas

The two-day festival was over all too soon, but that just makes us anticipate future Concert of Colors even more!

Missed it? Check out my Concert of Colors preview over at The Urbane Life to see more about this year’s festival or check out the Concert of Colors Web site.

Want to hear more great Detroit talent? Check out MyDamnChannel for clips from the 2008 Concert of Colors Super Session I and watch the site for future posting of clips from the 2009 Concert of Colors Super Session II.

And if you really want to be part of the team that makes a 2010 Concert of Colors a reality, consider making a donation to be a Concert of Colors “Groupie”. Groupies receive perks like reserved seating at Main Stage shows and a T-shirt. People may ask why pay for a “free” event—but we jumped on this deal when organizers first made it available a few years ago, and it’s worth every single penny to support this event.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

New at The Urbane Life

Check out some of my latest articles at The Urbane Life:

Natural Oasis in Madison Heights-This story is about one of my favorite local walking trails in suburban Detroit.

Good Eats: Veggie out at Ann Arbor’s Seva-This is another one of our favorite Ann Arbor, Michigan restaurants. I always like to say that Seva is the vegetarian restaurant to take people that claim to be real meat-and-potatoes fans, and some of the comments I got on this post bear that thought out!

Hudson Mills, biking without the hills-This Ann Arbor-area park has a great level bike-hike loop. It’s my favorite place for a leisurely bicycle ride and a stop for a picnic by the Huron River.

Concert of Colors: Celebrating diversity in Detroit-Super producer/musician Don Was fields another stellar revue of Detroit talent as part of a two-day festival that brings the world of music to Detroit as a way to celebrate diversity and promote unity. We look forward to this festival all year long, and it’s a definite must-do if you’re anywhere near the Detroit area this third weekend in July.

The Urbane Life is a community blog for Urbane Apartments, a growing group of apartment buildings, luxury lofts and condos in metropolitan Detroit.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Photo Friday: Detroit's Concert of Colors

I always look forward to July and Detroit’s annual Concert of Colors diversity festival.

The Concert of Colors is a cooperative venture between the Arab American National Museum, New Detroit (a coalition of community leadership aimed at positively impacting race relations), Detroit Symphony Orchestra and ACCESS (Arab Community Center of Economic and Social Services).

New Detroit and ACCESS established the event in 1993 as an outdoor festival at Chene Park on the Detroit riverfront. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra joined the presenting team in 2006, and the symphony’s beautiful home at the Max M. Fisher Music Center became the festival’s new home.

The weekend celebration of Detroit’s cultural diversity offers plenty of free fun for everyone in the festival’s outdoor area next to the Max that includes drumming circles, Native American hoop dancers and vendors where you can grab a quick samosa snack, get a henna tattoo or choose a unique gift from a selection of multicultural food and products. Organizers encourage especially budget-conscious festival goers to bring their own picnic meal to enjoy in the outside festival area.

Inside the Max, an eclectic bill of artists entertain festival goers on two different stages—a larger Main Stage where the symphony calls home and a smaller stage in an adjacent room with a dance floor that quickly fills with dancers.

Concert of Colors offers every type of music imaginable, from symphonic selections to country folk to zydeco to rock, rap and more. This year’s July 18-19 concert features a revue of some of the most distinctive and diverse acts from around the Detroit metropolitan area in a Super Session organized by Detroit musician and producer, Don Was.

Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved