As always, lots, and we mean lots, going on in the arts including openings around town at the BBAC featuring Ray Katz, Alley Culture, Paul Kotula Projects, and many more this weekend. Check out openings in our comprehensive and always up-to-date arts calendar here.

Poetry Slam Contest @ the MAX

The Max M. Fischer Music Center will host the Detroit Poetry Slam Finals this Friday, April 27, at 8 pm.
See our preview here.

Motor City Blow-Off @ the Glass Academy of Dearborn

The first-ever “Motor City Blow-Off” event to celebrate Michigan Glass Month will be held at the Glass Academy in Dearborn from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, 2007. The public is invited to attend the demonstrations to be held at the Glass Academy’s 14,000 sq. ft. facility at 25331 Trowbridge in Dearborn.

See our preview here

Belle Isle Spring Into Nature 5K!

The run walk is on Saturday, April 28th, beginning at 10:00AM at the Belle Isle Nature Zoo.
For more details, go to www.detroitsynergy.org or email runbelleisle@detroitsynergy.org
Pre-Registration is available on-line at www.dsgstore.com until Thursday, April 26th
Participant fees are $15 pre-registered and $20 on event day.

Friends of Belle Isle Spring 2007 Clean Up

MEET AT THE BELLE ISLE CASINO
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2007
9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.

Wear Boots & Gloves and,
if you have them, bring Rakes and Picks.
Cleanup supplies will be furnished.
Be prepared to get dirty ! ! !

Refreshments will be served to those that come to help.

If you plan on bringing a group, please call the Friends of Belle Isle (FOBI) Office at 313-331-7760

The site to be cleaned will be determined by the island administrator.
For more information call 313-331-7760

BOHEMIAN NATIONAL HOME

Saturday, April 28th: CD release for Frank Pahl's "Songs of War and Peace" Some of you may know that composer/inventor Frank Pahl has a weak spot for protest songs from a few of his recent, frenetic acoustic performances. His new CD "Songs of War and Peace" features some of this material, but in settings that bear a closer resemblance to the pretty and challenging music he's best known for. For this show, he's backed by a group including Doug Shimmin, Doug Gourlay, Terri Sarris, Marko Novachcoff and myself. Coincidentally, the show falls on National Impeachment Day. What could be more perfect? Doors at 9 pm; $5-10.

Wednesday, May2nd: White/Litchens
Lichens is Rob Lowe's (90 Day Men) vehicle for performing solo and with
collaborators- in this case he's working with the duo White/Light, thus
forming White/Lichens. "Matt Clark and Jeremy Lemos come up with seemingly endless variations on guitar drone as White/Light--and though the band's name was inspired by the Velvets' feedback-drenched White Light/White Heat, they also claim as influences Earth 2, Fripp and Eno, and the guitar solo on the title track from Maggot Brain. The drifting, ambient pieces on the duo's self-titled debut on Rebis Records are at once graceful and harrowing, and while they don't adhere to conventional song forms they do develop according to a certain logic. Clark and Lemos layer low-end rumbles, high-frequency sine waves, and lacerating bursts into constellations of sound that reward close listening, and even though the tone of each piece is essentially fixed, the two constantly rejigger details to keep the record full of surprises" -Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader.
Doors at 8:30 pm; $5.

Bohemian National Home
3009 Tillman (22nd)
Detroit 48216
313 737 6606

As always, lots, and we mean lots, going on in the arts including openings around town at the DAM (in a show which includes your arts editor and friends), the Cranbrook Graduate Degree show, Detroit Industrial Projects, Elaine L Jacob, and many, many more this weekend. Check out openings in our comprehensive and always up-to-date arts calendar here.

Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The College for Creative Studies' Woodward Lecture Series presents
STAN DOUGLAS, filmmaker and photographer

Vancouver artist STAN DOUGLAS combines traditional cinematic techniques with new technologies to produce remarkable installations, oscillating between film, video and photography, which rank among one of Canada's most important cultural exports. His visually complex works often look at the history of television, video and film, and can result in dramatic contemporary portraits of historic moments in relation to colonialism, urban development and cultural memory. Douglas' revered series "Detroit Photos," and the video "Le Detroit," (from 1998 and 2000 respectively) reflect not only his long-standing curiosity about the relation of people to habitat but also a specific interest in failed utopias of 20th century urbanism. His work has been featured in two Documenta exhibitions, the Whitney Biennial, the Carnegie International, the Venice Biennale, and in solo exhibitions around the world. Among his many honors, he has received the Hugo Boss/Guggenheim Prize, and Phaidon Press recently published a monograph on his work.

Lecture takes place in the
Wendell W. Anderson Jr. Auditorium
Walter B. Ford II Building (corner of John R. and Frederick Douglass)
CCS Campus
Call Center Galleries 313.664.7800 for more information
Free and open to the public
www.ccscad.edu

DSG: Third Thursday

Sail over to the Anchor Bar and toast the end of the workday.
Network, dish with the project crews, chart developments, navigate a new course for yourself in the city.
We'll be collecting non-perishable food donations for Crossroads Soup Kitchen, so bring a ca! n, if you can!
Date: Thursday, April 19th
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: Anchor Bar | 450 W. Fort Street | Detroit | 313-964-9127
Parking: The best mooring is probably on the street along Fort or Cass Ave. Or tie up at Grand Circus Park and catch the People Mover to the Cass/Fort station.
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2mlwbs
Contact: Nick or Paula

Lemberg Gallery Presents:
Word: CRAWFORD / FANNING / STONE-RICHARDS / TYSHSaturday, April 21 4:00 p.m.

Please join us for a literary afternoon featuring readings by Detroit’s own Lynn Crawford, Robert Fanning, Michael Stone-Richards and Chris Tysh.

Also coming up at Lemberg....
Monday, April 23 at 7 pm at the Lemberg Gallery in Ferndale, Michigan.
Artists Books: A Panel Discussion with
Susan Goethel Campbell, artist
Lynne Avadenka, artist
Nancy Sojka, Curator of Graphic Arts, The Detroit Institute of Arts
Joan Ortiz, collector

Project Clean Celebrates Earth Day with Recycle Detroit!
What: Recycle Detroit and the Paradise Valley Earth Day Observance
When: Saturday April 21st | 9am to 3pm
Where: Cass Park | 2nd and Temple | across from the Masonic Temple
Why? Through the act of community outreach, Cass Park will come alive by Recycle Detroit's initiative to remove litter, install landscaping, and fix minor repairs. In addition to the cleaning and beautifying of the park, Recycle Detroit will team up with volunteers to inspire, motivate, and energize kids of all ages to practice sustainable habits and healthy lifestyles.

Volunteers from Detroit Synergy/Project Clean will be helping out with the park clean up in the morning from 8:30am to 11am as well as assist with the *Round Robin* from 11am to 2:45pm.

Even if you can't volunteer, EVERYONE is welcome to attend that various events taking place throughout the day. For more details and a schedule of events, please email Jen at clean@detroitsynergy.org.

To Volunteer, you must contact Jen at clean@detroitsynergy.org by April 18th

For More Information on the event and Project Clean, visit http://detroitsynergy.org/projects/clean

Monday, April 23 at 7 pm at the Lemberg Gallery in Ferndale, Michigan.
Artists Books: A Panel Discussion with
Susan Goethel Campbell, artist
Lynne Avadenka, artist
Nancy Sojka, Curator of Graphic Arts, The Detroit Institute of Arts
Joan Ortiz, collector

Story by
Michelle Simon

It’s finally spring in midtown – one of the first warm, sunny days of the year, and the afternoon streets are bustling with a particular, familiar vibrancy. It’s a distinct seasonal hallmark that we all recognize and celebrate: music is blaring from unrolled car windows, bikers and dog-walkers fill the streets, restless students are filing out of campus buildings, finally released for the day, everyone eager to be out and enjoying the weather. It is on this occasion that I meet with Claire Nelson, one half of the duo behind ‘Bureau of Urban Living,’ a brand new ‘modern day general store’ nestled on the ground floor of the Canfield lofts in midtown. Nelson and her husband, Francis Grunow, will open Bureau’s doors to the public in April, and it’s hard not to make a springtime analogy about the store itself – it will be the first of its kind to finally ‘bloom’ in this neighborhood, along with a growing number of lofts and independent neighborhood shops. It’s exciting.

Mr. Grunow and Ms. Nelson, who both share an intense passion for living in the city of Detroit, met in New York City in 1999, and decided to settle down here together in 2002. A native Detroiter, Grunow is Executive Director of Preservation Wayne – an organization which focuses on the conservation of historic neighborhoods and buildings throughout Detroit, and offers guided walking tours of the city throughout the summer. Grunow is also co-founder of Detroit Synergy Group, an ebullient blueprint for a more vibrant Detroit – whose goal is to assemble the wider Detroit community and strive towards a common vision: actualize ideas to improve upon and create positive perceptions of the city. The group is a catalyst for a wide variety of projects which focus on bringing Detroiter’s together to discuss new ideas, discover and showcase Detroit’s unique beauty, and promote economic development. Says Nelson, who is also involved with the group, “The mantra is ‘come up with an idea and make it happen.’”

Out of this same spirit of progressive determination and cultivation of community, Bureau was born. Specializing in stylish, cosmopolitan home and office accessories at affordable prices, Bureau could not have arrived a moment too soon. Nelson, who originally hails from Chicago, explained that the inspiration for the store stemmed in part from deciding to settle down and seeing firsthand the lack of inner-city boutiques so abundant in cities like Chicago and New York. “I know if I were shopping for a loft right now and was new to the city, I’d look around my neighborhood and think ‘where can I buy stuff that I need?’” Short of driving out to the suburbs, Detroiters are faced with few options. Beyond filling an inner-city retail void, Bureau lends the opportunity to shop at a unique local, independently-owned business, and not a large chain store. “We really like the idea of a neighborhood shop,” says Nelson, “There’s some charm about knowing the owner and being able to come in and ask for special things, and the kind of service you get from someone who cares about the business and its products.”

While it’s difficult to compete with the large retail chains in terms of sheer volume, the intention is to make up for that in quality, affordability, and good design. Nelson has products from highly acclaimed hand picked design studios and manufacturers, such as Coyuchi, Design Ideas, Hybrid-Home, Knock-Knock, Quilt Baby, and Umbra – to name a few – and mentions that many of the items can double as art-pieces. Gingerly unfolding a bold graphic-print cloth napkin, Nelson explains “These are things that I’d like to think help make your life a little more beautiful. I think people in Detroit get used to living with what’s available, and I think everyone deserves a little beauty in their lives. One way of doing that is through the things you use every day.”

It’s refreshing to see the trailblazing attitude that Nelson and Grunow have taken, altogether ignoring the harsh warnings about the massive amount of red tape involved in starting a business within Detroit. “The whole experience has been really good,” Nelson says. “There are so many myths and misperceptions about how difficult it is to do business in this city. I think on some level it might be true, but we’re sort of doing this on our own, so I don’t interact with a lot of city agencies. But I think it’s a bit of a myth.” Nelson went on to mention that part of the vision for the store is to encourage further growth in midtown, and show their peers who are thinking about opening a new business within the city that it can be done – successfully, no less. Nelson says, “Retail chains often walk away from the city based on demographics, and we’re hoping that we can prove them that there is a market here. We’re calling this a pilot store. If it succeeds we can think about expanding, and offering more.”

The Bureau is located at 460 West Canfield in Detroit. It opened on April 17 and will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 AM – 7 PM. For more info: www.bureauliving.com

Contributor Michelle Simon is a Wayne State Student and takes great care of her two rambunctious parrots.

Plenty going on in the arts including openings around town at CPOP featuring Topher Crowder, Chicago comes to Detroit at MONA and many more this weekend. Check out openings in our comprehensive and always up-to-date arts calendar here.

BEFORE AND LAUGHTER @ Planet Ant
Directed by Marke Sobolewski
Runs from April 13 - May 5
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm
Tickets are $15.00 general admission, $10.00 for students/ seniors, and $5.00 off for Hamtramck residents.
Group rates are available. No discounts on Saturdays.
For reservations: Call 313-365-4948 or Email mikeybrown@planetant.com

Before and Laughter takes place during the early days of television at one of America's most highly successful variety shows, 'The Happy Family Fun Show'. Each week, host Lenny Sweet along with the angelic Glass Sisters and a special guest star would be welcomed into living rooms across America to sing, dance, and answer comedic questions like, 'Who stole the soap?' While many believed 'The Happy Family Fun Show' to be the perfect, American television family, what happened OFF camera wasn't always 'Happy' though it was always 'Fun'. Discover the truth about Lorna, Dottie, and Ginny Glass. See a side of teenage heart throb Dickie Donaldson you never thought you'd see. Learn secrets about Producer Calvin Kirby and personal assistant Olivia Butler the public was never meant to know. And meet the REAL Lenny Sweet.

Fringe Festival at Music Hall
30 Hours of wild art and entertainment start Friday, April 13!
For lots of details, check it out here: http://www.detroitfringefestival.com:80/

Detroit Synergy: Detroit Bikes! 3rd Annual Riverfront Ride, April 14th!

Beginning its third season of cycling in the City of Detroit, Detroit Bikes! will continue its much anticipated schedule of neighborhood tours by bike.

Tour will start @ 10am PROMPTLY At EAST GRAND CIRCUS PARK/the Millennium Bell (across from Comerica Park), with a scheduled tour of the Ren Cen (1 hour) followed by beginners level cycling speeds along the Detroit Riverfront.

Feel free to take in the sites as we ride through historic Rivertown, take in the fabulous views of Belle Isle, and weave our way through Lafayette Park (the largest collection of Mies Van Der Rohe buildings in the world). The end of our tour will lead us to Eastern Market, a wonderful place to have lunch, or simply pick farm fresh goods and picnic with friends at various sites around town.

Bike, Bike Helmet, and lights and/or reflectors required!

HAZEL PARK TALENT SHOW:

A NIGHT OF 18,963* STARS
---------------------------------
WITH SPECIAL GUEST CHRISTOPHER FACHINI
AND THE “ROCK BOX SOUND SYSTEM”
---------------------------------
SEE WHAT HAZEL PARK IS ALL ABOUT!!!
---------------------------------
SATURDAY, APRIL 14
7:00 PM
---------------------------------
AT DAYS INN - THE PARK HOTEL
(FORMERLY LA CASA INN)
ONE WEST NINE MILE, HAZEL PARK MI
---------------------------------
TICKETS AT DOOR $8
---------------------------------
A BENEFIT FOR MOCAD
(MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROIT)
WITH THE HAZEL PARK MARKETING
ACTION TEAM & THE DETROIT
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETY
---------------------------------
*CURRENT POPULATION OF HAZEL PARK
---------------------------------

Bohemian National Home

Fri. April 13th and Sat. April 14th: Gerald Cleaver with Andrew Bishop, Tim Flood and Ryan Macstaller
This has been expanded to a 2 night run! Detroit raised drummer Gerald
Cleaver played with some of the cities most adventurous musicians, like A. Spencer Barefield, Marcus Belgrave, Donald Walden and Wendell Harrison, before leaving to make good in NYC. His career there has included playing with Peter Kowald, Assif Tsahar, Roscoe Mitchell, Toots Thielman, Andrea Parkins, Bob James, Joe Morris and many others. He'll be joined by some great Detroit/NYC talent. Doors at 8:30pm; $10 suggested.

Bohemian National Home
3009 Tillman (22nd)
Detroit 48216
313 737 6606

Belle Isle Spring Into Nature 5K

April 28th - Sign Up Now!
Sign up today for the 2nd Annual Belle Isle Spring Into Nature 5K - all net proceeds support the Belle Isle Nature Zoo
Come out, join the fun and get some exercise for a great cause!

All runners and walkers welcome to participate in this great event and the opportunity to check out the Nature Zoo!

The run walk is on Saturday, April 28th, beginning at 10:00AM at the Belle Isle Nature Zoo.

For more details, go to www.detroitsynergy.org or email runbelleisle@detroitsynergy.org

Pre-Registration is available on-line at www.dsgstore.com or by mail - just go to the link on www.detroitsynergy.org - open and print the flier with race form.

Participant fees are $15 before April 15th and $20 after April 15th up to event day.

Make your contribution and join the fun by signing up today!

ARTS RALLY
Invest in Michigan - Invest in the Arts
Rally for the Arts: 9 - 10:30 am on April 18
in the first floor Rotunda Capitol Building, Lansing

Poetry @the Zeitgeist, Wednesday April 18, 8:00 PM

Terry Blackhawk founded InsideOut while teaching high school creative writing in Detroit. Her awards include a Michigan Council for the Arts artist-in-residence grant, the Governor's Award for Art Education, and a Progressive Hero Award. Blackhawk is author of numerous essays and four poetry collections: ”Voices from the Myths (1998); Body & Field, (MSU Press, 1999); Escape Artist (BkMk Press, 2003), which received the John Ciardi Poetry Prize; and a Greatest Hits chapbook from Pudding House Press. Her poems have appeared in journals such as Marlboro Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Southern Poetry Review, Florida Review and Artful Dodge.

Lynn Crawford is the author of four works of fiction, including Simply Separate People and Fortifiction Resort. Her work appears in various anthologies including, most recently: marks, Fence Fiction, The Brooklyn Rail, The New York Tyrant, lacanian ink, Lilies, Cannonball Review and McSweeneys. She writes a regular fiction column for marks, titled The Mind's Eye, responding to different Detroit based artists, and is the editor of DETROIT: the journal published by Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD).

Kawita Kandpal received her M.F.A. in Poetry from Bowling Green State University. Her poetry has appeared in TriQuarterly, Puerto del Sol and Current. She is an English Instructor with Jackson Community College and Poet-in-Residence at Southwestern High School through the InsideOut Literary Arts Project. Her first collection, Folding a River, will be published by Marick Press in April 2007.

a monthly series
Admission Free, Smoke Free
2661 Michigan Ave
West of Tiger Stadium, East of the I-96 Overpass
(313) 965-9192

Plenty going on in the arts including openings around town at CAID, 555, GPAA, Neal Davis, and many more this weekend. Check out openings in our comprehensive and always up-to-date arts calendar here.

The Music Hall
350 Madison Detroit, MI
Thursday April 5 at 7:30 pm inside the new Jazz Café.
M.L. Liebler hosts:

Cheri L. R. Taylor & Randall Thomas Tag Team Poetry (Acclaimed Metro Detroit Poets Go Head to Head and Verse to Verse)
Cassie Poe (Detroit Slam Poet & MC, 2006 Detroit Slam Team coach)
Maggie McCabe & Friends (Award Winning Detroit singer/songwriter)
K.T. Lowe (Ann Arbor Poet) with special guest David Patton (St. Louis)

COME OUT, BRING A FRIEND--CELEBRATE SPRINGTIME IN DETROIT!!!
Springfed Arts & MDW Collaborate
With Music Hall for 2007
Thursday Night Live @ The Music Hall Jazz Café Series

A new collaboration for 2007 with Detroit’s legendary Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts

Your State Senator Hansen Clarke
Presents a Town Meeting on Auto and Home Insurance

Featuring Linda A. Watters, Commissioner
Michigan Office of Financial & Insurance Services

Thursday • April 5, 2007
6 pm - 7 pm
Samaritan Center
5555 Conner
(Just North of Warren)
Everyone is welcome. Please bring a guest.
For more information, please call toll-free 877-252-7537.

Bike To Work Planning Meeting : April 5th

Meeting : Let plan to talk about Bike To Work Day only! For those of you who may not know, we will be planning 2 bike to work days this year. (Michigan Avenue: Monday, May 14th + Woodward Avenue: Friday, May 18th).
Thank you to all the volunteers last year we had a very successful first ever Bike to Work Day in the Motor City. We need your help to make this year's event even better. Please join us for a planning meeting on April 5th at Atwater Brewing Company.

When: 04/05/07 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Where: Atwater Block Brewery, Rivertown : 237 Jos. Campau, Detroit
Contact Email: detroitbikes@detroitsynergy.org

BOHEMIAN NATIONAL HOME

4/6: Butterfly Explosion with Freer and Zoos of Berlin
This show is brought to you courtesy of Bohouse family member Kim Paris' Sinister/Foxy Productions. Butterfly Explosion is from Dublin and was a big hit last year at SXSW. They get compared to an absurd mixture of bands on the internet; more info on them to come. Freer is rock band that's notable for dramatic, slightly tortured pop gems. Formerly based in Detroit, it's now more Chicago-centric. Still totally Detroit based, Zoos of Berlin plays music that is full of changes without being convoluted.

4/9: Gunda Gottchalk
Gunda is an improvising violinist/violist from Germany. Her early background was in classical violin, but for last 20 years or so, she has collaborated with noted New Music musicians, including Peter Kowald, William Parker, Assif Tsahar, Fred Frith, Oliver Lake and many others. Doors at 8 pm; sliding scale $5-10.

Bohemian National Home
3009 Tillman (22nd)
Detroit 48216
313 737 6606