Hamtramck

Staycation: Take a Break in Detroit

Stop. Don't go anywhere. Staycations are the big travel, or un-travel, trend. We love this idea. Spend a quality weekend with someone you love in Detroit, and actually go to all those places you were meaning to check out but didn't have time. We offer some ideas on how to make it happen.

The Economist touches on Muslim life in Detroit, Hamtramck

The Economist comes to Detroit and Hamtramck and takes a brief look at Muslim life in the area.Excerpt: Meanwhile Hamtramck (population 26,000) is changing from a Polish enclave into a growing Muslim one. Schools now compete for Muslim students, says Sally Howell of the University of Michigan. Mohamad Issa, who founded Bridge Academy and seven other charter schools, says his establishments are not religious; they can’t be, as they get public money. But Muslims like the Arabic classes, days off for Muslim holidays and space for voluntary prayers. Detroit’s public schools struggle to catch up; some offer Arabic classes and halal food. Muslims in Detroit, thanks to strong institutions and numbers, feel better than elsewhere in America, though they still face prejudice, say Ms Howell and Amaney Jamal of Princeton University in a joint study. And no less than in Europe, local politics fosters odd alliances. Last month, Catholics induced Muslims in Hamtramck to vote down a gay-rights ordinance. Both there and in Detroit, Muslims and Latinos have co-operated to restrict racial profiling. Read the entire article here.

Hamtramck hires new eco devo chief

Hamtramck awarded $947,000 to improve pedestrian, bike connections to schools

Maize, Blue and Detroit, Too: U-M Grads Find Promise in City’s Future

Grads from Ann Arbor's big U (aka the University of Michigan) are taking a fresh look at Detroit as a destination to start careers or launch various professional and artistic projects. See why the creative revolution might begin right in our backyard. 

Rock ‘n’ Rummage Sale set for Oct. 11 at Hamtramck’s Painted Lady

Rock 'n' Rummage will be hosting their Treats and Treasures Show on Oct. 11 at Hamtramck's Painted Lady. Ten vendors will be on hand serving up CDs, vinyl, vintage, and just about everything else you can find at a rummage sale.Excerpt:Rock 'N' Rummage isn't your moms typical yard sale!!!So you're sitting in Metro Detroit bar, and people start setting up tables with stacks of vinyl records, t-shirts, and nostalgic items with words attached to them like "The Goonies", "Garbage Pail Kids", and "The Dark Crystal". No, this isn't a retrospective decade show on VH1. This is Rock 'N' Rummage you have just witnessed.Rock 'N' Rummage brings the yard, garage, market, and fair into a bar/coffee house setting. The event is centered around music, drinking, and merchandise.For more information go here.

People’s Arts Festival brings out the people, art

The People's Art Festival, despite a week's postponement, brought out droves of people, art, and artists. It was a large Sunday gathering inside a Detroit post-industrial landscape.Excerpt:After being rained out last weekend, the People’s Arts Festival at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit had some tough competition today with the Funky Ferndale Art Fair going on less than 10 miles away.But that didn’t stop the crowds from coming out en masse on the last day of summer to what has become the largest arts festival in Detroit, according to its Web site. 2008 marked just the second year of the festival, which opened at 11 a.m. today and runs through midnight.“It’s going pretty good, better than it was last year,” said John Robinson, 67, of Flat Rock, a security guard at the Russell Industrial Center. “They’re coming out like flies and there are no places to park.”Read the entire article here.

DDOT launches trial run of Bikes on Buses, new stop signage to be introduced

Model D Radio: Hamtramck Zen Buddhist Center

A Buddhist temple in the city of Hamtramck is becoming a model for community development. They start from the roots. They’ve got a total package for strengthening minds and bodies, furthering religious tolerance and even curbside clean up. Michigan Now’s Chris McCarus has their story.