Hey Detroiters, welcome back to Culture Canvas!
As we continue to enjoy this (mostly) wonderful summer weather and embark on outdoor adventures with family and friends, Detroit parks are often part of that annual tradition. Barbecuing and taking a swim on Belle Isle are a must, as well as taking an afternoon hike on the many trails available at Rouge Park and Eliza Howell Park.
For those who want to learn about the city parks, the Detroit Parks Coalition recently released a pocket guide full of tidbits and photos of parks across Detroit. In addition, there’s an appendix of all 300+ parks listed by city district. It’s available in print and online on the Parks Coalition’s website.
I talked to Detroit Parks Coalition’s Communications and Engagement Manager Ian Solomon, who helped create the guide, along with partners such as the Belle Isle Conservancy, Clark Park Coalition and Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
Solomon discussed the process of putting the guide together, how he got into park advocacy work and his favorite Detroit parks.
BridgeDetroit: How did the Park Coalition get the idea to create this pocket guide?
Solomon: I’ve been with the Detroit Parks Coalition with communications contractually since around 2022, so when we had the opportunity to start up a full-time communications budget, it (the guide) was top of my mind. I do a lot of outdoor recreation personally and professionally, so I’m always seeing all sorts of different outdoor guides. I thought that Detroit, with having over 300 parks, deserved some type of literature, something for people to have that provides information on how to get out in their local parks.
BridgeDetroit: What did the process look like of putting the parks guide together?
Solomon: We kind of started from scratch design-wise, but it was really collaborative with the park stewardship organizations as far as content goes. There are these park spotlights, and so, I worked with the various stewardship organizations within DPC to craft the messaging around their park. ‘What about your park stands out? What are some of the things people can do?’ I was also getting pictures from everyone. I take a lot of pictures, but there are a lot of pictures in there as well that are from the stewardship organizations themselves. That was great, getting maps and things like that. A lot of the information was already out there, it was just about compiling it. Besides that, there is the park appendix in the back and so, that was using some city data that’s publicly available online. The available data was from 2022 and the great thing about parks in Detroit is they’ve been improving rapidly even in just a couple short years. There were so many things that still needed to be updated from them. But yeah, it was great. It was a really collaborative process.
BridgeDetroit: Were there some things you didn’t know about some of the parks that you learned while putting this guide together?
Solomon: Plenty. I mean, even just going through the trail maps that I was getting, I was seeing trails that I didn’t know were there. Going through and creating the appendix was…you hear about 300 parks, but that process was literally going and actually learning about 300 parks, which I still could definitely not name. There were a lot of times that I was pulling the information and it’d be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know this park was here, or I didn’t know this park had these amenities,’ and things of that nature. Just being inundated with all that park information definitely gave me a broader scope of what’s available in the city.
BridgeDetroit: Where has the Parks Coalition distributed the pocket guides?
Solomon: All sorts of places. So, third spaces, like libraries. I think they’re even in some coffee shops. They’re going to a lot of different rec centers, too. We’ve had about 8,000 copies go out and right now we’re actually working to get more because they’ve thankfully been really popular. We’re giving some to the DNR (Michigan Department of Natural Resources) so they can put some in state park offices even outside of Detroit. People are excited about it. It was a resource that maybe folks didn’t know they needed, but now that it’s out, everyone’s like, ‘Wow, so glad we have this.’ And then, of course, having the opportunity to have them out outside of Detroit and showcase Detroit as a green space is always a plus.
BridgeDetroit: How did you get into the park advocacy space and join the Detroit Park Coalition?
Solomon: I’d say probably around 2021, I really started to be somewhat of an outdoor advocate. I was doing a lot of things on social media, and still do, where I was showcasing different spaces. I was mostly exploring the broader Michigan wilderness, so like the Upper Peninsula, Sleeping Bear Dunes, things of that nature. I was doing it to demystify those spaces, specifically for Detroiters, just giving information on how you can connect with Michigan’s natural landscape. That eventually led to me being connected with DPC, and DPC at that time, they weren’t even a 501(c)(3) yet. We were really just starting out. I was contractual with them for a few years and DPC has been growing really fast. I had the opportunity to come on full-time after I graduated with my master’s (from Cranbrook Academy of Art). I still do a lot of outdoor advocacy work outside of DPC, and so, it keeps me in the same rooms, and it’s another extension of that work.
BridgeDetroit: What are some of your favorite parks to visit in Detroit?
Solomon: I love Rouge Park and Belle Isle. I’m a big outdoorsy person, so I love the opportunity to really go on a hike and feel kind of disconnected. I think that Rouge and Belle Isle do a great job of having that available with Belle Isle out on the river and the woods in the center of the island. And then, of course, Rouge Park is just huge with so much green space. Even Palmer Park, they have an old-growth forest. It’s great for me to be able to be within the city and still feel like I’m getting away somehow.
As always, have a great week!
Cheers,
Micah
The 313 Scene
- Planet Detroit intern Maya Moore wrote about Southwest Detroit artist Blight Hernandez and his sustainable business called Be The Light. All of his projects reuse materials such as burlap sack bags, tapestries, woven blankets, swatches of fabric, curtains, rugs, and a lot of denim.
- The Detroit Institute of Arts announced what it says is the first major Native American art exhibition it’s hosted in more than 30 years, and one of the largest presentations of contemporary Native American art in the Midwest. “Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation” is set to open Sept. 28, featuring some 90 works of art from more than 60 Anishinaabe artists from the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada. (Detroit Metro Times)
- Detroit City Distillery has long collaborated with urban beekeepers Bees in the D for its limited-edition Honey Bourbon. Now, the two have collaborated for a new small-batch Hot Honey Bourbon, adding a spicy kick to the fan favorite. The Hot Honey Bourbon will be released starting at 8 a.m. on Friday. (Detroit Metro Times)
- To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Detroit’s Murals in the Market, organizers are bringing the internationally acclaimed street art festival home. 1XRUN announced that the festival will be once again held in the Eastern Market district this year, the neighborhood where it all started back when the arts organization had its headquarters there. Murals in the Market is set for Sept. 16-21 and will feature more than 30 new murals, organizers say. (Detroit Metro Times)
- Stevie Nicks fans will have to wait a bit longer to catch her in Detroit. The Fleetwood Mac star has postponed her Little Caesars Arena concert to Oct. 28 after suffering a broken shoulder. Nicks was scheduled to play LCA on Sept. 7. That show date followed a pair of scrapped concerts with Billy Joel scheduled at Ford Field, following his diagnosis of a brain disorder. (Detroit Free Press)
- The Statler, known as a French American-style bistro in downtown Detroit, has temporarily closed. According to messages on the Statler’s social media outlets, the restaurant is “temporarily closed as we undergo a full redesign and prepare to introduce something new.” Joe Vicari, president of the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group, which owns The Statler, cited nearby competition and a typical summertime slowdown as the reasons for closing. (Detroit Free Press)
What’s Going on in the D?
- In 2023, The Henry Ford acquired the home of Dr. Sullivan Jackson and Mrs. Ritchie Jean Sherrod Jackson in Selma, Alabama, with the house serving as a pivotal location for the Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights in 1965. On 6 p.m. Wednesday, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, The Henry Ford will host a presentation on the Jackson house at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. The museum’s Curator of Black History Amber Mitchell will discuss the significance of the historic home as a landmark of the Civil Rights Movement. The event is free, but people are encouraged to register on Eventbrite. The house is on site and will open next year in Greenfield Village.
- R&B star Chris Brown is bringing his Breezy Bowl XX tour to Ford Field beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Fellow R&B singers Summer Walker and Bryson Tiller are the openers. Tickets are still available on Ticketmaster, starting at $99.
- The Ribs and R&B Festival returns to Hart Plaza from Friday through Sunday, with a lineup of R&B stars from the 1980s to the 2000s, including Karyn White, Glenn Jones, Michel’le, Case and J. Holiday. The festival will run from 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. all three days. Festivalgoers can get in for free Friday until 1 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday after 1 p.m. Admission is $15.
- Another festival happening this weekend is the Sweetest Heart of Mary Church’s annual Pierogi Festival, taking place Friday through Sunday at its headquarters, 4440 Russell Street. The free event will begin with a Friday night preview from 5-10 p.m. with food from Hamtramck eateries Polish Village Cafe and Srodek’s Campau Quality Sausage, Co. as well as live entertainment from polka-rock band The Polish Muslims. Other activities throughout the weekend include a polka mass and music from the Kielbasa Kings and New Brass Express.
- Source Booksellers is hosting an event at 6 p.m. Friday for family physician, writer and activist Dr. Wendy Johnson, who recently released her new book, “Kinship Medicine.” Johnson will discuss the book with journalist Martina Guzmán, sharing her expertise on the power of connection in medicine. General admission is $24, or people can buy two tickets for $25 as part of the bookstore’s “two for one” deal.