Cover Story
At queer prom, a trio of Southwest Detroit teenagers cultivate belonging for LGBTQ+ youth
Tonight’s queer prom, an affair for vampire costumes and zombie costumes and splattered, fake blood galore, is the stuff of dreams. Ximena is beaming. On a Saturday afternoon in late June, the 18-year-old swaps their System of a Down band T-shirt for a gothic, Lolita-style black dress with tiered ruffles. A metal necklace, whose coiled…
Ann Arbor taps ‘poetjournalist’ Aaron Dworkin to help celebrate bicentennial
To celebrate Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial in 2024, the Michigan Theater Foundation recruited Aaron Dworkin to create six poetry compositions that reflect the town’s 200 years of history. Dworkin is a writer, MacArthur Fellow, social entrepreneur, professor at the University of Michigan, and member of the National Council on the Arts; his most interesting title however,…
Snoop Dogg’s Death Row Cannabis plans Michigan rollout
One, two, three, and to the four, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Death Row Records are at the door — and they’re bringing the goods with them. Death Row Records announced Death Row Cannabis in December 2022 after the rapper purchased the legendary West Coast hip-hop label. Following its California launch earlier this year, Death Row…
Detroit promotes peace with free ‘Peacenic’ festival this weekend
As violence in Detroit dominates the headlines in some media outlets, the city and its various law enforcement partners are promoting peace through a free “Peacenic” event this weekend with food, games, workforce programs, an exotic petting zoo, clothing drive, giveaways, and more. The festivities will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on…
The Kitchen by Cooking with Que brings much-needed vegan eats to Comerica Park
Thank the vegan gods for The Kitchen by Cooking With Que, which is bringing some plant-based options to Comerica Park. The Detroit-based restaurant is now serving a slew of vegan items at the Tigers’ home games for the month of July. Finally, vegan baseball fans will be able to get something resembling a hotdog with…
HopCat Livonia to open in July with a year’s worth of free Cosmik Fries for first 100 guests
HopCat will open the doors to its Livonia outpost on Monday, July 24 at 11 a.m. This is the craft beer and comfort food joint’s ninth location in Michigan. Located at 17800 Haggerty Rd., the Livonia HopCat has the largest bar seating of all the brand’s locations, with roll-up garage doors for open-air dining and…
Michigan still allows emergency takeovers of local governments. Is it finally time to reconsider this drastic measure?
Originally published by ProPublica. It is republished with permission. In Detroit, the past was all too present. Houses, businesses and schools that once supported nearly 2 million people sat vacant. Old debts forced city leaders into impossible choices. There was not enough money for public safety, not enough for streetlights, not enough for parks, not…
MIGOP meeting melee prompts further questions about Karamo’s leadership and party’s finances
The leadership, direction and finances of the Michigan Republican Party are being questioned following a physical melee that broke out at a state committee meeting over the weekend. Saturday’s special gathering at the Doherty Hotel in Clare came amid public questioning of the leadership of new Chair Kristina Karamo, specifically how party funds were being…
Local Buzz: George Clinton at Hart Plaza, new music from Ladymonix, Love Club’s third anniversary, and more
Got a Detroit music tip? Send it it [email protected]. Welcome to Ladymonix’s house: After releasing a string of consistent EPs over the last five years on her self-published Frizner Electric label, Ladymonix has hooked up with Swedish label Studio Barnhus for her latest four tracks. It’s an apt partnership, as the label has a reputation…
Madonna postpones North American tour due to health issues, including Detroit stop
Madonna has officially postponed her upcoming North American tour, including a scheduled concert on Saturday, Aug. 5 at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, citing health issues. The pop star was hospitalized in late June due to what her manager described as “a serious bacterial infection.” In an Instagram post published on Monday, Madonna released a statement…
You might be able to see the northern lights in Michigan this week
We are “look at the sky” kinds of people here at the Metro Times, and it’s about to do something really cool. For a short window, the northern lights (the aurora borealis, for all you fancy sky people) can be viewed in mid-Michigan on Thursday, July 13, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Specifically,…
Glorious Cannabis launches augmented reality-enhanced shopping program
Glorious Cannabis is going high-tech to spread the word about its “Ice Water” bubble hash-infused pre-rolls. The Rochester Hills-based company has partnered with augmented reality leader BrandXR to create a smartphone filter to educate consumers about the products. Augmented reality, or AR, combines the real world and computer-generated content, often by superimposing computer graphics over…
The ‘Barbie’ craze lands in Detroit with pink-themed Campus Martius beach party
This Barbie hangs out at fake beaches in Detroit. On Thursday, July 13, The Beach at Campus Martius will host a Barbie-themed beach party in anticipation of the upcoming film from 4-9 p.m. It’s giving so much pink that it hurts our eyes as Barbie lovers are encouraged to dress up in “Barbie pink” to…
Waterford couple wins $40,000 weed-themed wedding from local dispensary
A Waterford couple will have the weed-themed wedding of their dreams after beating out more than 15,000 couples who vied for a $40,000 wedding giveaway. The Greenhouse of Walled Lake, a medical and recreational cannabis dispensary, announced the giveaway in March and attracted far more contestants than it imagined. Judges selected Danielle Geralds and Nile…
Larry Nassar assaulted in prison — again
Larry Nassar, who is serving a de facto life sentence in federal prison for sexually assaulting girls and young women on the USA gymnastics team, was reportedly stabbed multiple times. The Associated Press reports that Nassar, 59, was attacked by an inmate at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida overnight on Sunday. According to sources,…
Buddy’s Pizza teams up with Slows Bar BQ for summer menu
Two Detroit icons have teamed up. Buddy’s Pizza and Slows Bar BQ are partnering for a new summer menu of barbecue-inspired Detroit-style pizzas and cocktails. The new items include the Yardbird Pizza, inspired by Slows’ Yardbird Sandwich with smoked Amish pulled chicken, sautéed mushrooms, and cheddar cheese, tossed in Slows whole grain honey mustard BBQ…
Why Marianne Williamson is running for president again in 2024
On Friday evening, a crowd of about 50 or so gathered at the Detroit Unity Temple near Palmer Park to support best-selling author and former local pastor Marianne Williamson’s second bid for U.S. president. But don’t call her 2024 campaign a “long shot,” she says. “That’s subliminal programming,” the 71-year-old Democrat tells the crowd. “Donald…
Lapointe: Mild crackdowns on loud cars and cellphones in Michigan
Four years ago, the website Clean Technica published an essay about offensively loud cars that increase the blood pressure and raise the stress level of their victims. “Driving a very loud vehicle seems to be preferable to some machismo males,” wrote Jake Richardson, “but can be very irritating to everyone else.” Since then, the problem…
Afrofuture Fest returns to Detroit to build an anti-capitalist community
What does a sustainable and equitable future look like for people of color? It looks like communities coming together to grow their own food, share labor, and educate their children outside the frame of capitalism. That’s according to the organizers of Detroit’s Afrofuture Fest. After a four-year hiatus, the community building festival will return to…
‘Golden Girls’ tribute starring Michigan actors coming to Royal Oak
A modern-day spin on The Golden Girls with a director and actors from Michigan is touring nationally, slated to be at Royal Oak Music Theatre from July 27-30. Golden Girls: The Laugh Continues features Sophia, Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy dealing with raunchy current issues. Vince Kelley, who plays Blanche Devereaux in the show, says his…
Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters finds a home in Ferndale
Even though it hasn’t even celebrated its grand opening yet, Ferndale’s Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters is already buzzing with activity. On a recent weekday, the sunny café is filled with customers sipping on lattes while working on laptops, with one pair appearing to be recording a podcast in the corner. “The community has just been…
You can sip on cannabis-infused tea at Q’s upcoming ‘High Tea’ party
Cannabis enthusiasts and knowledge seekers alike can visit the Detroit Foundation Hotel from 12-3 p.m. on Saturday, July 22 for a “High” Tea party. Former Fox 2 News Anchor Anqunette “Q” Sarfoh is hosting the event, which is presented by Qulture, a company she founded with the mission to create a positive narrative surrounding cannabis.…
Parisa Ghaderi’s ‘For dancing in the streets’ addresses Iran’s ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement
We don’t envy the panelists who had to decide the winner of this year’s Envision: The Michigan Artist Initiative. They had to make an impossible choice between three finalists including Levon Kafafian’s futuristic costumes and textiles, Parisa Ghaderi’s Iranian protest collages, and Bakpak Durden’s time-traveling paintings. In the end, Ghaderi was announced as the 2023…
Detroit part of national tour to promote electric vehicles, new EPA rules
Cleaner cars and lower emissions across Michigan and the nation are the goals of an event by environmental groups. They are calling attention to an Environmental Protection Agency proposal, recommending ambitious new standards to help reduce vehicle emissions starting with model year 2027. Advocates of tougher emissions rules took to America’s highways for a relay…
In ‘Joy Ride,’ a trio of Asian American women brings a fresh perspective to raunchy comedy, with mixed results
Concerned moviegoers have been mourning the death of the R-rated studio comedy for far too long now. This lingering concern for the current state of raunchy Hollywood productions was no doubt borne from the phasing out of the Frat Pack: Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Owen and Luke Wilson, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, and all the…
Cafe Sous Terre is bringing a French-style coffee and cocktail bar to Detroit
A stairwell to the basement of a 19th-century mansion in Detroit’s Midtown leads to a new coffee shop, Cafe Sous Terre. The European-style cafe is located at 445 W. Forest Ave., and the name is Pronounced “sue-tear” (like “I’m about to tear this place up,” not like a “teardrop”). Soft jazz music plays quietly in…
USA Today Wine + Food Experience launches 2023 tour at Belle Isle
Last visiting Detroit in 2019 at Campus Martius, the USA Today Wine + Food Experience will kick off its 2023 tour on Aug. 12, highlighting local chefs and cuisine at Belle Isle’s Cricket Field. Metro Detroit native and Hell’s Kitchen alum Jared Bobkin is the culinary director of the experience in all 11 cities the…
The Eagles to perform in Detroit as part of ‘The Long Goodbye’ final tour
Classic rock band the Eagles are landing. After more than 50 years of performing, the band has announced that its upcoming “The Long Goodbye” tour will be its last. The tour is set to make a stop at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Friday, October 13. The band will be joined by Steely Dan for…
Cutter’s Bar & Grill in Detroit is a cut above
Like many of you must, I keep a short list of favorite restaurants. They’ve earned their way onto it for a few reasons: the time and place remembrances they return me to, my affections for the people I broke bread and made merry with there, and, of course, that occasionally magic spell of vibe and…
Cinema Detroit hosts pop-up series of outdoor movies this summer
Cinema Detroit, the beloved indie movie theater that closed in the Cass Corridor last month, is returning to the big screen with a pop-up series of outdoor movies this summer. Grab a chair or blanket and head to New Center Park, where Cinema Detroit will screen three favorite movies beginning at dusk. Kicking off the…
Mosquitoes carrying rare, deadly disease detected in Michigan
A rare and deadly mosquito-borne disease that causes brain swelling in humans has been detected in Michigan, and state officials are urging residents to take precautions. Mosquitoes in Bay County tested positive on Monday for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE, a virus that caused a deadly outbreak in Michigan in 2019. EEE is one of…
Chowhound: What I’ve learned to look for in hiring food service workers
Chowhound is a weekly column about what’s trending in Detroit food culture. Tips: [email protected]. Screening applicants: For hiring managers these days, good people are harder to find than ever. The process is grueling. Sifting through resume responses to Indeed postings is generally job one. Over time, you learn to read between the lines. For example:…
Free Will Astrology (July 5-11)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Genius physicist Albert Einstein said, “The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old questions from new angles, requires creative imagination and makes real advances.” What he said…
