We started our Summer Guide this year with a simple premise: Get out of town.
We all needed to get a break, to get some space, to get some perspective. Of course, we don't have a lot of time or a lot of money, so the trips had to be neither too long nor too expensive (although with the price of gas, just driving around the block seems expensive). The trips would be an overnight at most, within a couple hours' drive from our offices in downtown Detroit. Those were the ground rules.
We headed off in different directions. West to the Irish Hills and Lansing. North past Port Huron to Lexington. More or less due south to Toledo, and south and east into Canada. We soaked up sun and water and history. We met some characters, at least one of whom we might just as well have gone without knowing (believe us, you'll recognize him), some of whom we'll be fondly talking about for a long, long time. We picked up some merchandise and mementos. And after regaling one another around the office with stories from the road, we finally sat down to write and share them with the rest of you.
But there's more in this Summer Guide. After our traveling tales, you'll find listings of what's in store on stages, screens and other performance spaces across metropolitan Detroit.
And we all know that summer is the season of festivals here. We may or may not be the festival capital of the universe, but it seems like you can't leave the house on a summer weekend without running into a fair or fest — or stay home without feeling guilty about missing a couple. So we've pulled together our most extensive roundup of festivities yet to share with you in this issue as well.
Now, let's get this summer started. —W. Kim Heron, editor
Love for sail
by Sandra Svoboda
The Detroit waters are a boater’s paradise.
Maumee dearest
by Brian Smith
An old Toledo shop owner upholds the honor of an entire city.
Migratory paths
by Michael Jackman
Nature and NAFTA in Canadian tomato country.
Rule, Petrolia!
by Sean Bieri
Where the beer store is closed and the bowling alley burned down.
Head for the …
by Rebecca Mazzei
Irish Hills, trapping tourists since the early 1900s.
Underground Rail Road by car
by W. Kim Heron
Museums and markers at the end of the line.
A capital time
by Sandra Svoboda
An adult field trip to the state Capitol.
Passing through
by Meghana Keshavan
How a chick adventure can turn hilariously vile.
Summer Guide Listings
PDF, Adobe Reader required.
