Along the Cass Corridor, on a graveled vacant lot shadowed by the
Masonic Temple, between the Temple Bar and an old renovated fire station, the first ever Detroit Chicken Races were held. The event saw a flux of about 150 people over the course of an early Sunday evening, rolling into dusk. The majority of the attendees were city dwellers, venturing from the surrounding neighborhoods of Midtown, Woodbridge, Corktown and Lafayette Park. Some were students, others anarchists, urban farmers, artists and musicians; all were there to take part in what I hope will become an annual tradition.
The 17 chickens -- city chickens only -- entered in the race were there to battle it out for charity. The hat was passed around the crowd for donations and the owner of the winning chicken donated the kitty to a charity.
My goal for this piece was to capture the synergistic spirit Detroiters seem to share. The quirky nature of this event really brought to light how uniquely entertaining a summer in Detroit can be.
Marvin Shaouni is Model D's managing photographer. The photo and audio presentation also appears on his blog. Send feedback here.
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