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GM River Days (June 20-23)
You can walk your pet, fish for bass, run a
5K race, parade your boat or check out cool GM car stuff at GM River
Days this weekend – Friday thru Monday. The schedule has
favorites from last year, such as the DTE Parade of Lights, and
plenty of great music including performances by the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra, Rick Springfield, Michelle Branch, The Verve Pipe, Jack
Ingram, Dave Mason, Brian McKnight and many more. GM is celebrating
its 100th anniversary this year, and will be setting up its
GM Cool Events display on the riverfront to give people a
glimpse of the century ahead.
Fast boats from the APBA Gold Cup Races and the
tall ship Highlander Sea will also be on hand. Visit
GM River Days to get the full event guide.
With 17 media partners sponsoring GM River Days,
you will be hearing and reading more about this premier downtown
event right through the Target Fireworks display Monday, June 23.
Tickets are still available for the
Target Fireworks & VIP Rooftop Party by contacting Carol Ann
at the Parade Company at 313.432.7831.
Creative Corridor
Detroit Renaissance has taken another important step on its
Road to Renaissance by unveiling its plan to establish a Creative
Corridor along Woodward. Key to the announcement was the launch of
a new web site,
www.DetroitMakeItHere.com.
Crain’s Detroit Business is hosting the site to connect
creative people and companies with each other and with new resources
to help them grow locally.
Jobs in creative industries pay better than average U.S. wages and
are growing at twice the rate of other service sectors. It
makes sense to support efforts to attract them to the Woodward
Corridor — starting downtown. Creative industries include
advertising, architecture, art/historic preservation, digital media,
design, engineering, film/video production, marketing, media, music
production, photography, public relations and more.
The overall Creative Corridor initiative includes marketing,
incentives for creative enterprises and a business incubator.
Detroit Renaissance is looking for a building on or near Woodward
for a business incubator location.
Read more…
Eastern Market
Renovation of
Eastern Market Shed 2 is nearly complete and the 1891 structure
reopened last month to record Flower Day crowds. In addition,
removal of the old concession stand has created more space in the
center of the shed for special events and planned cooking
demonstrations.
The list of new vendors is impressive, with a focus on organic and
locally-grown produce and products:
-- Hampshire Farms (certified organic farmer
offering grains, beans and brick oven-baked bread)
-- Vang Family Farm (exotic vegetables)
-- Greening of Detroit/Garden Resource Collaborative
(“Grown in Detroit” vegetables from urban farms all over
the city)
-- Detroit Zen Center (organic fruits and
vegetables)
-- Garden View Farms (fresh cut flowers)
-- Dennis Gale (fresh wheatgrass)
-- Moo Moo’s (organic vegetarian food - eat at the
market or take to go)
-- American Premium Blends (cherry juice
concentrate)
-- CC Sweet House (homemade cookies)
-- Bloomfield Canopy Cheesecake
(cheesecake - slices and whole)
-- Kern Road Farms (jam, jellies, chutneys,
dressings)
-- Tabone Orchards (sparkling cider; fresh/dried
northern Michigan fruit)
College for
Creative Studies to Develop Argonaut Bldg.
The College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit has announced
a $145 million plan to develop the Argonaut building in New Center
and enhance the college's campus in midtown’s Cultural Center. General
Motors is donating the building to CCS. The school will convert
it to house undergraduate and graduate programs in design, community
outreach activities, student housing, research and professional
activities in the design fields, retail space, and a charter middle
school and high school with a special focus on art and design. It
will open in fall, 2009.
CCS views the ambitious expansion and outreach initiative
as a major contributor to development of the Woodward Creative
Corridor. The building itself already has a place in Detroit’s
creative history. It was designed by Albert Kahn and housed the
first automotive design studio, run by the legendary Harley Earl for
General Motors.
Bookings at the
Book
Construction is on
schedule for The
Westin Book Cadillac Detroit to open on October 1, 2008. The
hotel will begin taking reservations on August 5 for individuals who
wish to book a guest room for October 1 and beyond. Groups can
reserve rooms beginning November 1. Several weddings, meetings,
conferences and other events have already been booked for 2009.
Planning for the hotel's grand opening celebration, Book
Cadillac: The Next Chapter, is in full swing. A
free outdoor entertainment happening is slated for October 24 on
Washington Boulevard. A charity gala on October 25 will
benefit The Children’s Center of Detroit, and The Jennifer Ferchill
Brain Tumor Center at Rainbow Babies, Children’s Hospital, based in
Cleveland.
Guests will be invited to a
red carpet ribbon-cutting followed by an evening of gourmet dining
and a spectacular performance by five-time “blue-eyed soul" Grammy
winner
Michael McDonald, whose work includes two albums of
Motown hits. Top ticket holders will retire for the night at the
hotel and experience the Westin’s Heavenly Bed®. Ticket information
will be available soon.
Clean Downtown
Makes a Stanley Cup “Sweep”
DDP’s
Clean Downtown made a clean sweep with trucks and 35 crew
members from Goodwill Industries after the Stanley Cup parade and
rally for the Detroit Red Wings. A Clean Downtown truck
also joined the parade, and the Red Wings announced reminders to the
crowd to put trash in receptacles.
George W. Jackson, president and CEO of the
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, complimented the work,
saying the post-event cleanup was excellent. He added, “I
really appreciate the way Clean Downtown is keeping all our
streetscape improvements looking good day after day.”
The Partnership is encouraging announcements at
all downtown gatherings to keep public places free from litter.
You may have heard them already at a Red Wings or Tigers game or an
event at Chene Park. Jason Huvaere, the producer of the
Movement Electronic Music Festival, reported that their
recycling initiative during the festival collected more than 3,000
pounds of plastic, fiber, and cans.
2-1-1 On the
Go! Locker Space Needed
Downtown’s
2-1-1 On the Go! program was featured June 9 in a
Detroit News column by Daniel Howes. He praised the work
of John Azoni and Nick Monterosso, who are out there every day in
the specially-equipped
2-1-1 On the Go! vehicles, connecting homeless people with
services and pathways to employment.
Howes noted that the program is looking for a place to set up
lockers for homeless individuals. One obstacle to employment is the
need for a place to store personal belongings while on the job. If
you have a space downtown that might work, contact Bill Sullivan at
313.226.9453.
The program has removed other barriers to employment by providing
voice mail boxes, prepaid calling cards, mailboxes and State-issued
photo IDs.
2-1-1 On the Go! is a DDP initiative in partnership with
United Way of Southeastern Michigan and
Strategic Staffing Solutions.
Big Doings Downtown
on June 27
Friday, June 27 will be a big night for fun
in downtown Detroit. The evening will feature Pat
Benatar at
Rockin' on the Riverfront; the Cherry Poppin' Daddies
(and more) at Campus Martius Park's
4th Fridays with Ford; Bobby Brown, Genuwine, Sisqo' and
Dru Hill at
Chene Park; and the Tigers taking on the Colorado Rockies at
Comerica Park.
Detroit Medical
Center Downtown Clinic
The DMC Family Medicine Center in
the Compuware building is now open to anyone who lives, works, or
visits downtown. The full-service clinic is staffed by
board-certified family practitioners. It is open weekdays from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. for walk-ins or appointments.
The Detroit Medical
Center also offers a related Friends and Family program for
downtowners. Patients who enroll in the free program receive free
valet parking at DMC hospitals or sedan service from any downtown
location to a DMC hospital, as well as an appointment hotline and
other benefits. The Friends and Family program also provides local
businesses with onsite health screenings and additional services.
For more information or to make an appointment at the clinic call
313.227.0065. Visit
www.dmcfriendsandfamily.org for information about the Friends
and Family program. For onsite services at your place of business,
contact Cassie Sobelton at 313.319.7846.
Volunteers Needed
for Great Labor Day Events
The Detroit International
Jazz Festival (Aug. 29-Sept. 1) and the Detroit Belle Isle Grand
Prix (Aug. 29-31) are recruiting upwards of 1,500 volunteers
(individuals or groups) to assist with these two outstanding Labor
Day Weekend events. Find volunteer opportunities on both web sites
at
www.detroitjazzfest.com and at
www.detroitgp.com.
Indianapolis Motor
Speedway Contributes to Belle Isle
The
Indianapolis Motor Speedway and
IndyCar Series
have made a $50,000 contribution to the
Friends of Belle Isle.
The funds came from the purse for the annual pit stop competition
before the Indianapolis 500 race. Rain washed out the competition,
so the purse was split between two charitable causes, and one of
them was Belle Isle Park.
Red Bull Air Racing
The first U.S. broadcast of
the
Detroit Red Bull Air Races is scheduled on the Fox Sports
Network July 27 at 6 p.m. Check listings for changes. Repeat
broadcasts are listed on the
Red Bull web site which also has a
photo and video gallery of Detroit race highlights. No word
yet on whether the racers will be returning to Detroit and Windsor
next year. This year's race was a sellout in Detroit.
Downtown Detroit Partnership News
Board
Appointments
Announced
The DDP Board of Directors
welcomes Lorenzo Creighton, President & COO,
MGM Grand Detroit; Kandia Milton, Mayor’s Chief of Staff, City
of Detroit; Cameron H. Piggott, Senior Member,
Dykema Gossett PLLC;
Carl D. Roehling, President and CEO,
SmithGroup; and John W. Stroh III, Chairman and CEO,
The Stroh Companies, Inc. DDP
extends its appreciation to all board members for their personal
commitments to the betterment of downtown Detroit.
DDP
Welcomes New Professional
The Downtown Detroit
Partnership is pleased to welcome Khalilah Burt to our staff.
Khalilah obtained a Master of Urban Planning degree, with a
specialization in Economic and Real Estate Development, from the
University of Michigan. She brings a valuable mix of
professional experience, including skills in project management,
marketing and real estate.
Welcome New
DDP Members
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Detroit
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