Cold & Lovely Detroit

Last night was the 36th Annual Noel Night in Detroit. Spanning most of the Midtown, University and Cultural areas of Detroit, the festival packed in a lot of people even after a downpouring of snow all morning and afternoon, before the festivities had begun. The streets were pretty much cleared by that time and still many people braved the cold to enjoy all that the D had to offer.

There were many many sets of musicians, carolers, vocal groups, etc. as well as stations for arts & crafts for the kids and refreshments set out for the taking. We first stopped in at the DIA to see what was going on in there. Anywhere along the promenades and in and around the various atriums and hallways, there was something going on and the art on display was free to view. The specific exhibits were not open, but there was much to see just walking the halls. We had entered through the back of the DIA and made our way to the Woodward entrance/exit when we were leaving and came upon this glorious sight as we entered the atrium there:


It's hard to get a real feel for what this looked like in person just from this photo, but it was spectacular. There were strings across a certain point of the ceiling and hanging down from the strings were these silver dangling things that just sparkled and glistened as they moved. I took a short video and that really does a better job at giving you the idea:

Next, we stepped outside to see artists carving their sculptures on the spot as part of a WSU challenge ... pretty cool:

On our way to the Artisan's Market on Woodward & Forest, we stopped by The Cathedral of St. Paul to get a little warmer (the wind was blistering cold!) and we got to see several of the "nativity animals" that were out in pens on the sidewalk ... a miniature horse, a donkey, lots of chickens and plenty of fat rabbits. CUTE! Though, I failed to take any pictures (I think my hands were too cold and my brain too numb to consider it). Once we stepped into the Cathedral, though, I pulled out the camera - there was a tour going on:

Of course along the way we stopped to take a photo of ourselves:

After stopping in a few local galleries (Artisan's Market, Spiral Collective) to see some beautiful art and goods from local Detroit folks, we also stopped in to hear a few tunes by Daisy May and Seth Bernard at Avalon Bakery while eating a yummy cinnamon sticky bun. :) Once we had our fill of a packed little bakery literally spilling out of the doors, we moved on to Traffic Jam & Snug for dinner and some dessert.

The walk back to the car (from Second & Canfield to John R & Kirby -- about 10 large blocks/avenues) was a bit brutal. With our bellies warm and full of food, we were not ready for the whipping wind & cold ... but we figure it helped us burn off some of the food and apple crisp we'd just eaten. Instead of heading right home, we drove around the downtown area a bit and I took a quick little video of Campus Martius ice skating while caught at the red light:

I encourage everyone to visit Detroit and you may find out that there is much more going on, even in these hard times, than you realized. And you might find that you like it more than you thought you would.