Sound the (Chili) Alarm!
Metro Detroit's fire fighters got together for an inaugural event Saturday at the Corktown Tavern. The 10 Alarm Chili Cook Off raised money for the Detroit Firemen's Benevolent Fund and got a slew of Detroit's who's who under one tent. Fox 2's Amy Andrews, along with Detroit police chief James Craig spoke at the event. Charlie LeDuff posed for tons of pictures, and Tino Gross and the Howling Diablos performed for the beer-drinking and chili-eating crowd. More importantly, Detroit Engine 41 won the chili contest, and tons of money was raised to help injured firefighters and their families. DDays' informants tell us the first-ever event went off without a hitch and was much larger than initially expected.
A Big Bush
On Friday night the folks behind Red Bull House of Art unveiled a giant mural of Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush on the outside of Athens Grocery Co. in Greektown. The mural has been in the works for a while and we'll admit at first we thought it was Barry Sanders. When the final product was revealed last weekend, the famous football player wasn't just there in spirit, he also made an appearance. Bush posed for pictures with Tylonn J. Sawyer, the artist behind the massive portrait, as well as a few fans and RBHOA employees.
Belly Up
A little birdie tells DDays that Pink Pump, the locally owned chain of women's clothing and shoe stores, is going out of business. The chain's owner, Tawny Thieu-Walker, closed Pink Pump's Bloomfield Township and Birmingham locations in May and June of this year. She'd stated that the Royal Oak and Oakland Mall locations would remain open and that she'd be revving up her business online. However, the promise of a new website was never fulfilled and PinkPump.com, which was supposed to relaunch in June, still reads "Coming Soon."
Kid Rock launches 'Orbit' book
You might have seen our earlier reports about Re-Entry: The Orbit Magazine Anthology, a coffee-table book helmed by metro Detroit native Rob St. Mary that will look at the history of Detroit alt magazines Orbit, Fun, and White Noise, due on Wayne State University Press in fall 2015. The ambitious book, with its large, full-color pages, incurred a hefty printing fee, so St. Mary launched a crowdfunding campaign on Patronicity to help curb costs (and offer supporters a chance to win fabulous prizes, like the "Orby" T-shirt sported by Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction.) We're happy to report that with mere days left in the campaign, one Bob Ritchie (aka Kid Rock) has cut a $20,000 check in support of the book, which more than covers St. Mary's $17,000 goal. Apparently, Kid Rock hasn't forgotten his modest origins, having been featured in Orbit more than 25 different times throughout the '90s, first appearing in Issue Nine in December 1990.
"It's an honor to receive this gift of support from Kid Rock in support my upcoming book," St. Mary said in a release. "The gift will help tell this story of innovative, yet, ephemeral publishing history in the best possible way — saving it from the recycling bin. Kid Rock has shown that Detroit culture, history, and community matters greatly to him." The generous donation makes Kid Rock's Made In Detroit the lead sponsor of the project. Congrats!
And Many More
DDays would like to wish very happy birthdays to the Freep's Ashley Catherine Woods, former Live Nation talent buyer Shannon DeVries, and Groovebox Studio's Jeff Wenzel.
Got some gossip? Send DDays the word on the street to [email protected].
