Last night the international sky over the Detroit River hosted the 50^th annual fireworks show celebrating the Independence of Canada (July 1^st) as well as the Independence of America (July 4^th).  I love the beginning of the show when helicopters fly overhead bearing the American and Canadian flags.  Being able to celebrate the country of my birth – Canada – as well as my adopted country at the same time is delightful.  I had the fortune of watching the display from the Riverfront Towers complex to the west of Hart Plaza.  Our complex hosts about 8000 people every year for the event.  Residents are limited to 8 guests each; wristbands are therefore a hot commodity; and the Signature Grille was hosting a ticketed public event as well.  The otherwise peaceful complex took on the feel of college dorms during frosh week complete with a band, outdoor food offerings, with a smattering of drunken shenanigans; thank you “Team Riverfront” for keeping good order.  It was a great party.  My favourite firework of the night was a red star surrounded by a white circle near the end of the show.      

The internet bugs attacked me, and I haven’t been able to even sign on to Metro Blogging in, well, forever I think.

Lots has happened in the D since this world wide web failed me, but at least this weekend will give me a good opportunity to jump right back in. The Detroit International Festival is happening, on way more streets and way bigger area than I though. Just drive to Midtown and pull over when you see people milling around and white tents set up.

As usual, I’m pretty geeked for the food and drink, but there’s something that will keep everyone busy.

Even hair sculptures. Only in the D, folks…

Where should you be Thursday night? Here’s an acronym-onious answer: DIA.

Why?

Boxers and Mexican masked wrestlers fight live at an art museum.

Not convinced yet? Well, then you’re crazy. Then maybe two more words to help: The Bang.

Anyone else think they’ll be calling in “sick” on Friday morning?

I can’t believe this is actually happening.

Pewabic is holding their annual Spring sale this weekend, with discontinued, overrun and even broken (they’re still really cool!) pieces on sale at hugely discounted prices.

The sale, which actually began today for members, will be open to the public on Saturday from 10AM to 5PM and Sunday from 12Noon to 6PM. Pewabic is at 10125 E Jefferson, which could not be a more perfect location on our first weekend of truly gorgeous weather. Once you finish your shopping head on over to the water and start enjoying the spring!

Holy Hip-Hop and ReFusing Fashion, two excellent exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Arts-Detroit, will close this Sunday, so this weekend is your last chance to see them. Here’s Metroblogging’s review of the exhibition.

MOCAD is offering two final events to celebrate the exhibitions: Sarah Lewis, Art Historian at Yale, will talk about the Holy Hip-Hop paintings, and several experts will hold a discussion titled The Relevance of Fashion. In addition, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum will be parked outside (or maybe inside?) the museum on Sunday, April 20.

All this is free: the exhibitions, the discussions, the vagabonding black history museum. All free. The MOCAD is a great place for Detroit, doing great things. Feel free to donate a few dollars while you’re there and let’s keep enjoying and supporting this institution.

The Wonder That Is Zaccaro’s!

I drove on over to the new Zaccaro’s Market on Friday - only to be super embarrassed when I learned that the store, on Watson and Woodward, is less than two blocks from my office, but oh well.

It was so worth the drive. While I still think it’s wacky that the addition of a mere grocery store can drive the Detroit blogosphere into a frenzy, we latch on to what we can get in this fair city.

I ordered my sandwich (very good), strolled around the store (very cute) and checked out some of the merchandise (very nice). This still isn’t the kind of place where I’ll be able to do my weekly (ok, monthly) grocery extravaganza but it’s going to be the place where I run in on the way home and grab something for dinner.

Zaccaro’s has staples like pasta, sauces, dairy, fruit and veggies and then some of the kitschy items that you’d want to find in an upscale grocery store. A coffee bar, some bistro tables, and what looks like it will become a wine room in the rear of the store. And the best part? It’s all pretty reasonable. My fear was that it was going to be a commodity in the area and charge $4 for a box of noodles or something, but I was pleasantly surprised. Of course my favorite item was little single use packets of spices, which will cut down on my buying a bathtub of cumin when I really need a teaspoon, but that’s just me.

I’m definitley going to be a regular at this place. I think I’ll even walk next time.

MOCAD Gold is a first annual fundraiser for the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and will feature a broad survey of Detroit bands to play “pop cover songs spanning the last 30 years in their band’s own distinctive style.”

Here’s the line-up:

9:30 - Rabid Eye (ex-Lee Marvin & Genders)
9:45 - Dark Red (ex-Paik, current Chris Turner)
10pm - Esquire
10:15 - Bad Party (ex-White Devil & Tamion 12 Inch)
10:30 - the Silent Years
10:45 - Deastro
11pm - Tyvek
11:15 - the Sisters Lucas
11:30 - the Go
11:45 - T-3 presents

all night - Dee Jay Frankie Banks

MOCAD Gold will include the current Holy Hip-Hop and Re-Fusing Fashion Exhibits. See my review of these exhibits here.

Tickets are $15 for the music part of the evening, with a ritzier early program for $75.

After months of bitter cold and gray skies, I was beginning to think I would never say this again, but it appears that spring has finally arrived!

We hit the 50-degree mark yesterday and again today, and in less than a week, one of my two favorite seasons (fall is the other) officially arrives.

It couldn’t have come soon enough, either; I was starting to feel like a bear that has been holed up and hibernating for the past 5 months.

Now, let’s just keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get any snow on Opening Day …

This message courtesy of a friend of mine who writes under the name of Whalebomb:

I’ve just been listening to Mr. Duey’s “Class Dis-missed” CD, which is a brand new rap/hip-hop album straight out of the local Detroit area. It’s excellent and I’m really enjoying it. The beats are fantastic and the melodies and rhymes are extremely catchy. Oh wait. What’s that? This is an educational CD? It’s geared towards 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders?

So yeah, it’s an educational CD made for teachers and students, but it’s definitely not limited to that market. Mr. Duey takes up topics stressed nation and statewide by teachers, parents, and school administrators and turns them into study guide rap songs for children. What topics? Topics that are on standardized tests. Want your students and children to do better on their MEAPs, as well as their school work? This CD is made for that.

The CD includes 17 songs on the following topics: Math (Integers, Point Plotting, Factor Tree, and Fractions); English (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Writing Essays); Science (Animal Cells, Atoms, States of Matter, and 3 Types of Rocks); Social Studies (Longitude and Latitude, Core Demographics, and Government Branches); and History (Martin Luther King Jr.). The CD also includes a bonus track on Measurement.

Mr. Duey is not only a rapper, writer, and musician, he is also a teacher! He uses innovative ways of teaching his classes and has seen lots of success from this work. There are testimonials on his website as to how successful students can be after listening to this entertaining CD. Also on his website is a streaming mp3 of “Verbs” and a music video for “Fractions.”

I’ve been lucky enough to hear most of the CD before it gets released tomorrow (March 14), and I have to say it’s still entertaining for me even though I’ve been out of middle school for years now. Mr. Duey is having a CD release party tomorrow (March 14) from 6-10 p.m. It’s at Orlando’s Familia Banquet Center, 15001 Sibley Rd., Riverview, Michigan, and includes a live performance at 8:00 p.m.

If the party is too short notice, you can order CDs right from his website starting Friday afternoon, or contact the record label, Kaas Records, LLC, P.O. Box 765, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48332 (phone: 248/275-5708).

The CD is excellent and is a must for teachers. Go to the CD release party or check out the website (www.mrduey.com) for more information. The state demands for the MEAP and other standardized tests are so high, you’d be a fool not to consider purchasing Mr. Duey’s “Class Dis-missed” for your classroom. It’s good for your children, your students, your ears, and your community!

I’m carefully watching the forecast today, and hoping that our snow advisory disappears pretty soon because I’m scheduled to be leavin’ on a jet plane in a few short hours. Sunny Florida, here I come!

I’m a bit bummed, however, that for the second year in a row I’ll be out of town for the Home and Garden Show at Ford Field. Check out the website for some of the exhibitions and promotions (you can get some really neat free stuff at this show!) at www.fordfieldhomeshow.com. (I’m still stumbling through the shiny new MetBlog site, and links are not yet in my repetoire) And since you’re already downtown at the show, stick around and use your ticket to get discounts at some great local restuarants like Small Plates and Vicente’s. The website has a list of all participating eateries.