Events
Big Event Weekend
Posted by Juliew on 18. April 2008
It is a weekend of big events in Ann Arbor. I’ve highlighted a few below, but also linked each day to the Observer’s schedule for that day in case you are looking for something different. Also, Michigan, Eastern, and Washtenaw are all in the final push before the end of the semester so there are a lot of music and art events this weekend in addition to the ones below.
- Buddhism and Art: How Buddhist Practice Informs Creativity with composer Philip Glass, actor Richard Gere, and musician Bobby McFerrin. 7:30pm at Hill Auditorium. Tickets are $5 and are still available.
- The Dalai Lama will be teaching and speaking all weekend in Ann Arbor. He will be doing two teachings at Crisler Arena on Saturday: 10am-12noon and also 2pm-4pm. All events are sold out, but webcasts will be available on M-Live. (Full-length videos from each of the events will be available again starting Monday at blog.mlive.com/annarbornews_multimedia.)
- Bobby McFerrin with Chick Corea and Jack DeJohnette If you like jazz, this should be an amazing show. 8:00pm at Hill.
- Bob Saget at the Michigan. For those Full House or Funniest Home Video fans out there, his show is nothing like that. 8:00pm at the Michigan.
- The Dalai Lama is back on Sunday with a teaching in the morning at Crisler Area from 10am-noon and the Peter Wege Lecture on Sustainability from 2pm-4pm. The Wege Lecture will be broadcast locally on Comcast cable Channel 22 in addition to the M-Live webcast and a UM webcast.
- Joe Jackson 7:30pm at the Michigan Theater.
- Kathy Mattea 7:30pm at the Ark.
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Local
Lane Closed Ahead
Posted by Juliew on 15. April 2008
Some big construction projects are going to close City street lanes and sidewalks for the next few, well, years.
Northbound State Street between Washington and Huron
Beginning in early March, both northbound lanes on State Street between Washington and Huron streets were closed. Northbound traffic is being detoured on westbound Washington to Division to Huron to State. Southbound State Street traffic is not affected. Lanes should open spring of 2010. The sidewalks adjacent to this project are also closed and crossing State can be difficult on foot because of the new turn lane.
Huron Street from Division(ish) to Fletcher
One east-bound lane of Huron Street from mid-block between Division and State streets to mid-block between State and Fletcher streets is closed until spring 2010. Two-way traffic will continue. Sidewalks adjacent to the project are closed.
East Washington
One lane of East Washington Street is currently closed east of Division. Sidewalks adjacent to the project (on Division and East Washington) are closed. The North sidewalk on East Washington is also closed between Thayer and State. East Washington between Fletcher Street and Thayer Street will be completely closed from June 9 through July 8 for the Summer Festival.
Possible South Main Street
This has been approved by Council with strings attached. The City and the University are now working on the details. The lane closure is one lane on South Main from Stadium to Pauline. The lane will be reopened temporarily for the week of Art Fair 2008 and then permanently reopened Julyish of 2009.
Huron River Drive
Huron River Drive will be closed on and off for the next two years. They anticipate it will be closed from May-September of 2008 and again from May-September of 2009.
West Stadium from Pauline to Seventh
This street resurfacing and improvement project is scheduled to begin Fall of 2008, but may be postponed depending on the Stadium construction.
Local Street Resurfacing Projects
These projects will impact 22 city streets over the summer.
Looks like it might be the perfect time to Curb your Car.
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Local
Art and Design at Liberty Lofts
Posted by Juliew on 11. April 2008
Homeless Dave sent in this update from the corner of First and Liberty:
Although Liberty Lofts living units (former site of the Eaton factory) are now largely occupied, the adjoining retail space still sits empty. But activity late last week included a delivery of 2 × 4s and sheetrock to the location, plus the start of construction of 600 lineal feet worth of walls. The walls are being built by 16 UM School of Art and Design students for The Warehouse Show. The opening reception is Saturday, April 12 from 4pm-7pm and the gallery is open April 14-18 from noon to 6:00pm. The students are graduating this spring and the exhibition is their thesis exhibition. Obviously, this is a temporary installation, but it’s nice to see something happening there, even if it’s for a short time.
Another intriguing project coming soon from the UM School of Art and Design is The Urban Forest Project from April 24 – May 15 on Main Street between William and Washington. From the school’s website:
Using the power of design to raise awareness of sustainability issues in urban areas, A&D senior Trent Busakowski creates an installation of banners designed by over 30 designers and students from across Michigan hung on Ann Arbor’s Main Street, between William and Washington. In collaboration with the Detroit chapter of AIGA, and with support from O2 Creative. The original Urban Forest Project was conceived by World studio in conjunction with AIGA NY and Times Square Alliance. The Urban Forest project has also been implemented in Denver and Portland by each city’s respective AIGA chapters and local partners.
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Local
Town Hall Meeting: Wednesday, April 9
Posted by Juliew on 9. April 2008
The public is invited to attend a Town Hall Meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, April 9) at City Hall from 7:00-9:00pm. The meeting will include a “State of the City” presentation from the Mayor. Traditionally, these meetings have had very low turnout so they have revamped the format and are hoping for more people. So show up and show the Mayor, City Staff, and City Council that you do care what goes on in the city. There will be opportunities to ask questions. For more information, see Monday’s Ann Arbor News article.
Comment [16]
City Council
City Council: Reconsiderations
Posted by Juliew on 7. April 2008
Monday, April 7 at 7:00 pm.City Council Agenda
Highlights:
- Living wage ordinance amendment—the Summer Festival clause.
- Resolutions to establish the 1001-1013 Broadway Historic District and the Broadway Historic District.
- Changes to compost pickups including extending pickups through November and changes in how the city provides compostable carts. (City would deliver one cart per household for a $25 charge—additional carts would be at cost.)
- Reconsideration of the Village Green (First and Washington) decision.
- Courthouse and police facility resolutions.
- Resolution to approve funding for Art in Public Places.
Comment [61]
Local
Weekend Fun
Posted by Juliew on 4. April 2008
It is that kind of weekend in Ann Arbor. Farmer’s Market is back in full swing, the weather should be lovely, and there are lots of things to do. Here are some highlights:
Ann Arbor Pow Wow
The 36th Annual Ann Arbor Dance for Mother Earth Pow Wow is this weekend at Crisler Arena. Doors open at 10:30am Saturday and Sunday with Grand Entries at noon both days (and also at 7:00pm Saturday). This is the largest pow wow in the Midwest, with over 1,000 participants and 10,000 visitors. There will be intertribal dancing and dancing contests in full regalia, drumming groups, Native artists and craftspeople from around the country, and traditional foods. It is definitely worth seeing.
Hash Bash
These days the Hash Bash seems to attract mostly aging hippies from across the country or kids from the Detroit ‘burbs who need an excuse to drink, smoke, and wear tie-dyed shirts, but it is still is a defining event in Ann Arbor. Supposedly the Diag already has an event scheduled and the Hash Bash does not have a permit to be there, plus the Diag is being torn up for graduation preparations so we’ll see what happens. Either way, you can always head over to the Monroe Street Fair, have some sangria at Dominicks, buy something hemp from a vendor, and relive the good ole’ days.
Festifools
The 2nd Annual Festifools parade is Sunday from 4:00-5:00pm (and they do start promptly at 4:00!) on Main Street from Washington to William. It is hard to explain just what Festifools is. The closest I can come is that it is a colorful, energetic, loud, exhilarating pagan celebration of spring. Last year this was one of the best events all season. Hopefully year two will be just as fun. Everyone is invited to watch and/or participate. If you have kids from preschool through fifth grade, head to the Downtown Library from 2-3:30pm on Sunday to make a “wacky noisemaker” and join in the Festifools parade at 4:00.
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Gallery Opening Receptions - Tonight, April 4
Posted by Angela Martin-Barcelona on 4. April 2008
Along with all the other fun activities going on this weekend, tonight there are a couple of gallery openings downtown. Enjoy!
The Print
Exhibition Gallery & Gallery2; 117 W. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor
Exhibition Gallery: April 4 – May 9, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, April 4 from 6-8 PM
The Ann Arbor Art Center is proud to be hosting its 26th annual Print exhibition. Begun in 1982 The Print invites Michigan based artists to showcase works from a wide range of print techniques encompassing both experimental and time honored methods. This year’s juror is Janet Ballweg, a Professor of Art and the Head of Printmaking at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
http://www.annarborartcenter.org
Temporal: Semiotics of Time and Place
Gallery Project; 215 South Fourth Avenue, Ann Arbor
On exhibition: April 2 – May 11, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, April 4 from 6 – 9 PM
http://www.thegalleryproject.com
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Local
I saw the (wayfinding) sign
Posted by Nancy Shore on 2. April 2008
I was over on Main the other day when I noticed one of the two mock-up wayfinding signs recently put up by the DDA.
The two signs are located at Main heading north between Madison and Packard and on Miller Street heading east near First Street.
These signs are intended to give people an idea of where to find certain important locations in Ann Arbor as well as the different areas of Ann Arbor (Kerrytown, State Street, etc.).
The whole wayfinding process included public input and a lot of deliberation as to what should be on the signs and how they should look.
And now the DDA wants to know what the public thinks. Feedback can be provided to the DDA via email at dda@a2dda.org or by phoning 734/994-6697
You can view pictures of the sign-mockups and read more about the wayfinding project here.
Comment [16]
Local
Huron River Drive and Skatepark Meetings, April 2
Posted by Juliew on 1. April 2008
Huron River Drive Meeting
There will be a Huron River Drive improvements meeting tomorrow Wednesday, April 2, 2008, from 6:00-8:00pm at Forsythe Middle School Cafeteria (1655 Newport Road). Staff will give a short presentation at 6:00pm followed by time for questions and comments.
During the two year construction project, Huron River Drive will be closed to traffic from Main Street to Bird Road. The detour route for eastbound traffic will be Maple-Dexter-Huron-Main. The detour route for westbound traffic will be Main-Miller-Maple.
For more information, see the following .pdf.
Ann Arbor Skatepark Meeting
There will be a meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, April 2, from 6:30-8:00pm at Abbott Elementary School (2670 Sequoia Parkway). This is a joint meeting of the City of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Services Unit and The Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee. We will be making a presentation on why Ann Arbor needs a skatepark, and why Veterans Memorial Park is the best location for it.
For more information on this meeting, see the A2 Skatepark website.
Comment [1]
Local
Ann Arbor Observes Earth Hour
Posted by Juliew on 30. March 2008
The City of Ann Arbor is going to be observing “Earth Hour” tonight from 8:00pm to 9:00pm.
The City of Ann Arbor encourages residents and businesses to voluntarily observe a nation-wide “Earth Hour” and turn off unnecessary lights on Saturday evening, March 29 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Participating residents and businesses may officially sign up for this effort at the www.earthhour.org web site to pledge to turn off lights for one hour between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday evening and to locate additional energy conservation tips.
For more information on the City’s Earth Hour effort, see the city’s web site.
Comment [2]
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