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An open door or window, a startling sound, or sometimes a traumatic event like a car accident, can separate a pet from its human and leave it wandering the streets.

“It is estimated that one in three companion animals will become displaced in a lifetime,” Leah Doslea says. “Mobility is the top cause for displacement, if your animal can move or if your animal travels with you, it faces potential displacement risk.”

Doslea, who grew up in Ferndale, is the founder of “For the Love of Louie,” a Michigan-based community Facebook group aimed at using social media to reunite pets with their owners and offer a platform for posting found animals. Currently, the group boasts over 1000 reunions per month and has found K9 dogs, senior animals and even a partially-paralyzed tortoise.

Doslea started the group in 2011, after sharing a coworker’s missing family pet on social media and receiving an overwhelming response.

“I was in complete awe of the compassion that quickly surrounded me; strangers shared information with their networks, performed searches, distributed flyers, contacted local veterinary clinics, generated ads and offered encouragement,” Doslea says.

Soon after her coworker’s pet was found, another dog named Louie went missing. This Louie had been recently adopted out of a hoarding situation, and was only visiting the area from Baltimore. His great escape, which included climbing a dresser, lifting a window and pushing out the screen, had him on the run for three weeks. Doslea thought she would try using social media again and, after the sharing and support of thousands, Louie re-found his family.

“His reunion, once again, demonstrated the importance of awareness, the power of social networking, and the compassion embedded in our community. Recognizing the need for broad displaced animal advocacy, ‘For the Love of Louie’ was launched.” she says.

The Facebook page is run by a small group of administrators, and is online 18-plus hours a day. They welcome volunteers and offer training. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact loveoflouie13@yahoo.com — all you need is a computer, Internet access and knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
What are some ways to ensure your pet returns home safely? Identification such as tags and microchips are the best start, says Doslea.

“A collar with an identification tag is important, as it’s visible to a potential finder and contact can be quickly established,” she says. “Microchips are wonderful invisible identification tools; Collars and tags can fall off and microchips provide alternative identification.”

And if you come across a lost animal, Doslea says the worst thing you can do is make assumptions. Even though an animal might look disheveled, underfed or skittish, these are all potential side effects of being displaced.

“We have networked and reunited animals witnessed being thrown from vehicles, tied to posts, and placed in random fenced areas — these actions were not done by their families,” Doslea says. “While it’s important to use our voices to speak for animals, we must be mindful of our words and actions. We best serve displaced animals by avoiding assumptions, following laws, and embracing advocacy.”

While For the Love of Louie is not an official organization with a logo yet, Doslea says that the community is what makes it successful and her favorite part of running this group is seeing strangers’ eagerness to help reunite animals with their loved ones.

“For the Love of Louie would not be successful without the community; every share, suggestion, tip, or positive comment has value and may lead directly to a reunion or provide knowledge or encouragement to families and finders. Those seemingly simple ‘shares’ have the ability to cover distance far more rapidly than a displaced animal and can yield great joy,” Doslea says. “We are truly grateful to each and every person who engages in displaced animal advocacy.”

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Story by David Stone

Darlene Hellenberg, Interim Director of the Ferndale Area District Library, wants all Ferndale residents to have access to the wonderful materials the FADL has to offer. That’s why, in 2015, they began a delivery service to apartment complexes. And that’s why, on Wednesday, December 7, Ferndale’s Traveling Library, and Ms. Hellenberg, paid their monthly visit to Withington West and Autumn House apartments.

They “provide specially selected titles for residents to check out and borrow for one month. With the Traveling Library,” she said, “we’re able to service an area of our community that can’t always make it into our building to access materials or services.” She hopes more people at Withington West and Autumn House will sign up. She would also like to hear from other apartments or residences that could benefit from this service. She likes to speak of the impact this program has had. “One of our outreach patrons lost a ton of weight because of the cookbooks we brought.”

Then she told me how she determines what books to bring. She told me that “when we sign people up for cards, we gave them a little form with a series of questions.” From these answers she determines what kinds of books people will want. She then uses that information to select popular authors and their more recent books. Later, the book selection is based on what they started checking out.

I asked our dedicated library director to tell us a little about herself. “I grew up in Ferndale,” she replied. “I am a Ferndale High School graduate. I have worked at the Ferndale Library on and off since high school.” Hellenberg began her library career as a library page, and has since “worked in most of the departments of the library. She went on to say that her “favorite area of library life is getting to buy the adult fiction. Putting a book in the hands of somebody who is excited and wants to read, that’s my favorite part.”

She explained to me how the nature of our community influences the types of books she orders. She pointed out that if a book has a “sort of off-beat title” she will almost always give it a try. She likes to order books that may be “getting a little buzz but are not super mainstream.” She also pointed out that “new book authors, first book authors do well.”

Hellenberg wants to make the library available to even more Ferndale residents. If anyone has difficulty getting to the FADL, “They can call me and we can figure out something. It may be something as simple as signing people up for library cards, and if they are mobile, they can come here and use the library. She also mentioned that if they are not mobile, they can be added to the Traveling Library’s list of stops.

So, if you would like to get to the library but are unable to do so, call Darlene Hellenberg. Perhaps the library can come to you!

Ferndale Area District Library,  222 E. 9 Mile, Ferndale, MI. 48220
(248)546-2504
info@ferndalepubliclibrary.org

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Story by Ingrid Sjostrand

Bus shelters aren’t the most visually appealing structures in a city and Ferndale was no exception – until recently, thanks to the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority (DDA), in collaboration with the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART).

In August, they completed the first installment of the “Put the Art in SMART” project by renovating the bus shelter on West 9 Mile, right off Woodward Ave. Not only does it have a fresh coat of vibrant red paint, it features a rotating collection of art in place of old advertisements and — most notably — a green, living roof.

The project began as collaboration from DDA design committee volunteer Dustin Hagfors and Chris Best, co-owner of Rustbelt Market, with the help of Cindy Willcock, operations manager of the DDA. “The idea to replace the ‘Get Tested STI’advertisements, which were no longer under contract, and make the screen into a revolving art gallery was what jump-started the plan,” Hagfors says. “Through collaboration with Cindy and Chris, we were able to develop an idea that brought some vibrancy to the community.”

Through connections at SMART, Hagfors, who has a master’s degree in urban planning, arranged a meeting where he and Willcock pitched the idea to Madonna Van Fossen, SMART’s Oakland County Ombudsperson.

“SMART gave their blessing to our idea for the first shelter and has been very open to all we’ve pitched,”  Willcock says. “[We] ran our idea by Van Fossen and she was very interested and enthused — she even came out and helped us clean and paint the shelter!”

When Best heard about the project, he knew exactly how he wanted to contribute. “I have been dreaming about putting a living roof on these bus stops for three years.  The way these structures are built, they are just begging for it!” he says.

And Best had the expertise too, having built a living roof on his own home seven years ago, which has the same slanted roof structure as the shelters.

These updates do more than just make Ferndale more aesthetically pleasing, Hagfors says.
“It draws positive attention to the great transportation options we have available,” he says. “Ferndale is one of the only communities in Metro Detroit that has multiple lines of bus service available seven days a week, and my hope was that an artistic shelter would not only bring attention to mass transit but also make mass transit cool.”

Willcock notes the importance of a clean, safe place for those waiting for the bus, and has research to back it up. “It’s been shown that these types of enhancements actually help mitigate vandalism to the shelters and surrounding area; in fact, a federal study concluded that more people used public transit systems that incorporated art.” Willcock says.

The project needed to be completed quickly; after approval from SMART on August 10th it already had a prime-time TV spot for the following week.

“The bus stop – or at least its location – kind of picked us! The ultimate deciding factor was that Detroit Public Television was going to be filming ‘Dream Cruise Road Show’ on Nine Mile, right in front of the bus shelter on August 18,” Willcock says. “We wanted to make sure Downtown Ferndale looked great, everything just lined up for us!”

A total of 12 volunteers helped complete the project, including Best, Hagfors and Ryan Williams — who created the “Art in SMART” posters. Ferndale businesses jumped at the chance to participate too, by providing plants and donating money.

“Modern Tree and Landscape LLC saw our post asking for plants, and donated nearly $400 worth!
Without that generous donation, I don’t know how long it would have taken to get all the plants needed,” Best says. “Renaissance Vineyard Church even chipped in with a donation -churches usually accept donations, not give –love that Pastor Jim!”

There are three other shelters in Ferndale, and the DDA hopes to start executing renovation of those in the spring of 2017. In the meantime they will work on developing funding, and Hagfors says he’s already creating some eye-catching ideas for the other shelters.

“As the DDA volunteer manager, there’s nothing more gratifying than having a volunteer take such interest and ownership in a project and being able to help them turn their idea into reality!”  Willcock says. “Anyone interested in getting involved or finding out more about ‘Putting the Art in SMART’ can contact the Ferndale DDA at 248-546-1632 or info@downtownferndale.com.”

Best is excited for the potential of the project and notes that it couldn’t have happened without the DDA.
“The DDA does a lot for the downtown and this is just another example of that; they acted like the glue to bind everyone together to make it happen,” he says. “Projects such as this continue to set Ferndale apart as an example of what is possible in a downtown. Ambition plus creativity plus execution equals amazing every time.

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By David Stone

I knew Michael Ashmore when he was an instructor, under the late Steve Britt in the 1990s. Since then, the Detroit location has moved many times. That’s why it was with great joy that I saw their ad in Ferndale Friends and I realized first, that they were within bicycling distance and second, that Michael Ashmore was chief instructor.

So, let’s meet Sifu Ashmore.

Mike was born in Hazel Park. He went to Webb Junior High on Woodward Heights. Then he went to Hazel Park High School. Afterwards, “I went to Oakland University for a couple of years, and also Wayne State ff16628_wu_staffUniversity for a couple of years.” From 1975 to 1995, he work-ed at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. Since 1995, Sifu Ashmore has been teaching Tai Chi full-time. He has taught Tai Chi in many area hospitals: Beaumont, U of M Hospital, Henry Ford Hospital, and others. Now he teaches full-time at the Ferndale school.

Mike originally studied Tai Chi to help curb the degenerative effects of Legg-Perthes disease, a condition in which the upper leg and hip bones loose Calcium and become very brittle, which can lead to the need for a total hip replacement. He originally studied Yang-style, but moved to Wu-Style when Britt opened the first Wu-Style school in the U.S.

Mike was cured, and continued his study of Tai Chi as a martial art. In our interview, he explained how Tai ff16628_wuthaichiChi, a soft-style martial art, differs from the hard-style martial arts, “You don’t use muscular tension to generate force…you use looseness and coordination of the muscles…stretching the muscles out and then coordinating all the joints in a unified way to whatever leverage goal you are looking for.”

Many people practice Tai Chi purely for its health benefits, so Sifu went on to discuss why it is “so good for your health.” The first thing Tai Chi does is relax the muscular-skeletal system. This improves the circulatory system because “your heart doesn’t have to fight to pump blood through a bunch of tense muscles.” Then they work to improve the respiratory system by teaching “an entire system of breathing exercises that in Chinese are called chi gong. These breathing techniques are designed to saturate the circulatory system with as much oxygen as possible…which again feeds back to the original goal of relaxing and loosening up the muscular-skeletal system.” After that, Sifu Ashmore pointed out, ”we can work on various parts of the body as needed.”

Mike is proud to announce that, due to great demand, they have recently increased the number of beginner classes.

So, whether you want to learn an ancient martial art, regain or maintain your health, check out Wu’s Tai Chi Academy. And remember the Sifu’s words: Tai Chi – it’s not just for old people.

Wu’s Tai Chi Chuan Academy, 3140 Hilton, Ferndale, MI
(248)854-3953,  info@wustyledetroit.com

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New Years Eve has been a humongous celebration across the entirety of the globe, and in the United States, it has been specifically known to be a wondrous party in major metropolises like New York City or Miami.
Add Detroit to the list of party-crazed New Years towns, now! The Drop and the Kids’ Drop are two new traditions that have taken the Motor City by storm. Founded in 2009 by Detroit business owner Tony Piraino and Detroit resident Jerrid Mooney, Motor City New Year’s Eve was conceived to become a major community event, showcasing the center of Detroit with the metropolitan area and beyond. The free family-friendly event by day, and festive gathering for adults at night, grew annually with support from Detroit-based businesses, such as Opportunity Detroit and Meridian Health.

Looking to take the event to new heights, Piraino and Mooney partnered with Michigan-based event producers Ultimate Fun Productions and The Social Connection in 2013. Motor City New Year’s Eve has since grown to become Detroit’s largest and most publicized New Year’s Eve event, drawing up to 25,000 revelers in 2015. Mooney, Ultimate Fun Productions and The Social Connection have continued to host and grow Motor City New Year’s Eve, THE DROP.

The Motor City New Year’s Eve celebration has become the culmination of the ideas and passion of its four team members – who all either live or own a business in the area – and saw an unmet need and opportunity for a positive celebration in the midst of Detroit’s continuing renaissance and revival. This Motor City New Year’s Eve team is proud to bring Detroit and its metropolitan area a proper venue for celebrating the coming New Year with style, substance and a healthy dose of that famous spirit of Detroit, and with it, world-class live entertainment as only Detroit could pull together – plus festive cocktails befitting such an occasion!

This team dedicates the Motor City New Years Eve celebration to that spirit of Detroit and its proud citizens. Symbolically, during The Drop and the Kids’ Drop, the D-Burst sculpture is lowered from the top of the Chase Tower, with the historic Guardian and Penobscot buildings providing a breathtaking background. These historic buildings provide a link to Detroit’s proud past, while the D-Burst evokes a bright New Year and even brighter future.

Additionally, the Motor City New Year’s Eve team believes that there is no better place to celebrate the spirit of Detroit than in the spiritual heart of the city, its award-winning Campus Martius Park, where people of all ages, colors and backgrounds gather from the Detroit metropolitan area and beyond. For tickets and further info, please visit www.MotorCityNYE.com.

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Story by Adam O’Conner

A new holiday tradition is coming into focus in metro Detroit – aptly titled Holiday Spirits. An inclusive celebration, it comes at just the right time for everyone from all corners and walks of life to come together and hoist a holiday cocktail (or two) in celebration. The Royal Oak Farmers Market acts as the festive backdrop for the joyous occasion, which will be decked out in glimmer and sparkle for everyone to enjoy (everyone 21+, that is, of course).

The event takes place Friday, December 16, from 7:30pm through 11pm, with a special VIP entry available at 6:30pm. Ultimate Fun Productions and Real Detroit Events have combined again to showcase another of their successful soirees – they also produce the highly-successful Royal Oak Beer Fest series alongside favorites such as Sip Savor Stomp, Whiskey Business, Tequila Mundo and many others.

The first-time event, happening just over a week before Christmas, promises plenty of holiday-themed cocktails, entertainment, munchies and more in a fun and social setting. Live entertainment, spirits and liqueurs from everyone’s favorite brands, limited edition and seasonal beers and more will all be expected at the event.

Aside from amazing booze options, the event will also be featuring a handful of local food trucks and food purveyors, plus non-alcohol options from local companies like McClary Bros Drinking Vinegars, Faygo and Mary Ann’s Handcrafted Soda. Small Business Saturday is a movement afterall, isn’t it, not just a shopping day in November?

Besides the surely amazed attendees, another group that will benefit from the event is the Royal Oak Farmers Market itself, as they will be the charity recipient for the event. The Market is a member of the ROOTS (Royal Oak Opportunity To Serve) Foundation, a group that was established by the city to accept donations and endowment for the improvement of city institutions.

If you’re looking for a break from the monotony of shopping malls, crowded bars and fast food stops, this will be just the occasion for you. General admission is priced at $50 and comes with 10 cocktail sample drink tickets, a keepsake photo booth photo, a commemorative glass with event branding, and live entertainment. VIP tickets, as previously mentioned, allows for entry a whole hour before general admission, providing first access to limited offerings and special products from vendors, plus the aforementioned and 15 cocktail samples. Tickets and further info are available at www.holidayspirits.com or via any of their social media outlets.

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By Jill Lorie Hurst | Photos by Bernie Laframboise

“Stand for Love”, “Make Hate Extinct”, “Remember, We’re In This Together”

ff16613_parade_wide

These were among the signs carried by folks who gathered on a cold Sunday in November to walk together in the Ferndale Love March. A day about camaraderie and conviction, respect for each others safety. Speaking up. Listening.

There was a definite police presence. Helicopters hovered overhead. It was good to see residents waving to the police, who waved back. A lot might go wrong when a group this diverse gathers. But things went well. ff16613_parade_wide“Wow,” I thought. The Chamber, or the City or whatever organization planned this thing did an amazing job.
And then I learned something that made me even happier I was there. The idea for the march started when three friends – Mindy Domke, Allison Alexander and Laura Hameson Rice – were having a conversation about their post-election fears and concerns. They wanted to speak out in a meaningful way, and thus, the Love March was born.

Originally, they thought they’d walk together from the Planned Parenthood office on Woodward to ff16613_parade_l8Affirmations on 9 Mile Road. They started a private Facebook page to let friends know in case they wanted to get involved. Then they decided (in the true spirit of Ferndale and this country) to make their Facebook page public. In less than 24 hours, over a thousand people expressed an interest in walking. And on November 20th, the head count tally was 1213 walkers with more joining in at Geary Park.

The march route had to be adjusted as it wasn’t possible to close down Woodward on such short notice, so people gathered at Affirmations and walked to Geary Park. The women had nine days to make this event happen. Not easy. Domke, Alexander and Rice were hit by the huge responsibility of keeping the city safe, ff16613_parade_2and also bearing responsibility in that the march itself would be a reflection of Ferndale. A lot of work, a lot of putting out fires and listening to the “many strong opinions of what the event should be,” said Mindy. “That’s why we love Ferndale. It’s a passionate community.”

She says the City itself was nothing but helpful as they planned. In regard to the many voices? “Luckily, we were able to come to a respectful understanding.”

At the end of the walk, people huddled together in the cold to listen to poised and eloquent Sidnie Jackson, a Ferndale High School student. Then Mayor Coulter spoke. Uplifting and encouraging. Coulter: While the election “exposed divisions”… “it’s our job to heal them. The power of the people is greater than the people in power.” Inspiring and comforting words.

Were our organizers happy with the outcome that day? Yes, said Mindy. They were awed by the diversity of the crowd and the level of cooperation. One woman, a new citizen approached the three friends. She was ff16613_parade_1crying. Explained that she is a new citizen. A citizen who was feeling alone and afraid. She told them that the gathering made her hopeful. I’m sure she wasn’t the only one who walked away feeling better, more connected than she did when she approached the group on 9 Mile Road.

I hope we do it again, come out of our houses, away from our computer screens and look at each other. Walk together. Have a conversation like the one that led to the Ferndale Love March.

In the words of Dr. Seuss, who would’ve been a great Ferndalian, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

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By Jeff Milo
Photos by Jeff Milo and David McNair

Ferndale could still have our own Community Radio Station by the end of the year, but not without help.

“We’re noticing that once people learn about the project, they’re geeked about it” said Dave Phillips, head of communications for Ferndale Community Radio. “But we’ve had difficulty spreading the word on a wide scale.” At the end of September, a two-month campaign to raise $15,000 from individual donors via indiegogo (online) came up short.

The team behind Ferndale Community Radio includes volunteers with a passion for bringing an independent low-power FM station to Ferndale. The primary members are Michelle Mirowski (president and general manager), Dave Phillips (head of communications), Jeremy Olstyn (head of programming and training), and Dave Kim (promotions), and they were able to raise just under $4,000.

They may be down, but they’re not out. There is still a chance, but it is a much smaller chance and the clock ff1561011_radiois ticking even faster, it seems. The team behind FCR has a lot to do, yet. However, with each bringing a substantial amount of experience in broadcasting, journalism and communications, they had known all along, when the idea first sprung among them six years ago, that it would take a lot of things falling in to place for their own “On-Air” sign to light-up.

If they can raise around $15,000 (or more) then they will start erecting a tower for transmitting atop the Rustbelt Market. Those funds will also allow them to start ordering all of the equipment they’ll need (which will likely take months to arrive), and start testing the frequency before broadcast.

Chris Best, co-owner/manager of the Rust Belt Market, expressed considerable enthusiasm last year for partnering with FCR. In fact, it was initially in the Rust Belt’s business plan to eventually help set up and host a community radio station. They just hadn’t anticipated the harder parts of jumping through the various hoops required to get that FCC approval.

Mirowski said that the future plan centers on approaching all of the local businesses and organizations who originally expressed enthusiasm and encouragement toward the campaign to hopefully become underwriters. Ferndale Community Radio is a Michigan nonprofit, so it’s certainly feasible for Ferndale’s business community to help raise them toward the cause of broadcasting.

There could be a number of culprits as to why they fell short of their crowdfunding goal. “I think people are a bit burned out with crowdfunding, unfortunately,” Best said. “It has been watered-down, in many ways. (The Rustbelt) feels fortunate that we were able to make it work for us four years ago, before much of that burn-out occurred. However, we do feel Ferndale Community Radio is the perfect type of project to pursue crowd-funding. So, they are a victim of circumstance.”
Best continued, saying that as soon as everyone becomes better acquainted with the good people behind FCR and realizes the benevolence behind FCR’s mission (locally-curated music programs and Ferndale-centric news reporting), then more donations will doubtless come in.

“(Ferndale Community Radio) would be such a welcomed addition to Ferndale,” Best said. “Think of how wildly popular ‘Ferndale Forum’ is on Facebook… Whether you like Facebook or not, that does show there’s a yearning for a ‘community’ and a way to stay connected with the business, political, and social aspects of this city and surrounding areas.”

There are still a lot of things that have to fall into place like testing the frequency, ordering extra parts, and a handful of other, possibly unforeseeable variables, but what would expedite all of it is the financial support from the public.

“We’ll likely need a structural engineer to look at the tower before it goes up. We need to get the $15,000 needed for equipment by this December, or the whole project is dead…”

The FCR team received a permit for the 100.7 FM spot on the dial from the Federal Communications ff1561011_supportfrCommission, and it shouldn’t be overlooked how rare of an opportunity that is in this day and age. “This might actually be the only chance for Ferndale to have a community FM station,” Mirowski said. “The 100.7 FM frequency might not be open anymore if we miss this. And if we don’t get the funding, it’s not like the FCC is going to say: ‘Oh, take your time, we’ll just hold onto this for you…’ We’d have to wait until this window of opportunity opens again…”

And that could be several years. This is it, Ferndale.

“We’re all over the moon about the support we’ve received from the Rust Belt,” Phillips said. “(Best) and his crew have been very involved, helping spread the word. Regardless of the outcome, we will be forever grateful. We’re also encouraged by the support of the city, our friends and families and other local businesses who have expressed interest in helping out. It’s such a cool thing to see people throw their weight behind a cause you’ve watched grow from nothing into something.”

The desire remains for this team to bring you a terrestrial radio station just for you; something you can tune in to while you’re driving down 9 Mile or chilling at home. No corporate sponsors, no moneyed interests. Just passionate people doing quality radio for the love of it and directing their efforts towards promoting local events, local businesses, local artists, local organizations…ALL FERNDALE.

As we went to print, the FCR team was meeting to hammer out their next moves. But local businesses should start “tuning in” to their mission via Facebook (or online at FerndaleRadio.com), because this non-profit is hoping to find some helpful underwriters. In November, you can anticipate a benefit concert, Mirowski said, hosted at one of Ferndale’s local venues.

Our fingers are crossed…

More information at : Ferndaleradio.com

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By Adam O’Connor

Craft beer pioneer Samuel Adams is partnering with local event producers Ultimate Fun Productions and The Social Connection to present the first annual OktoBEER & BBQ Festival in downtown Ferndale. Friday, October 14 through Sunday, October 16 will transform Vesper Street into a 50,000-square foot beer gardenff15614_people1 featuring tons of beer, traditional German food and mouthwatering BBQ. Live music, themed games and a Sam Adams’ “Raise the Stein”-sanctioned qualifying event round out the entertainment for the weekend.

OktoBEER & BBQ Festival will showcase an unparalleled selection of German cuisine, BBQ and food trucks – along with an extensive selection of beer, including brews from Samuel Adams, Coney Island Brewing Company, Traveler Beer Company and many more. Angry Orchard, Truly Spiked & Sparkling, Wild Turkey Bourbon and SKYY Vodka will also be providing cocktails.

More than a dozen food vendors will be present throughout the weekend, offering up a spread of culinary ff15614_foodgoodness that’ll please any crowd. Stonewood Smokehouse, Smoke Ring BBQ, Detroit BBQ, Smoke Shack and more will be selling their well-known and popular brands of barbecue.

With an impressive list of bands, OktoBEER & BBQ Festival presents a carefully cultivated entertainment lineup fit for all ages. The Wild Turkey Bourbon Stage will feature local favorites Killer Flamingos, Reefermen, Dan Tillery, Ryan Dillaha and more – plus traditional German music provided by Immigrant Sons.

“In Ferndale, we take our fun seriously,” says Mayor David Coulter. “We enjoy rolling out the welcome mat for residents and visitors alike, and showing off our special community.”

OktoBEER & BBQ Festival will be jam-packed with fun activities and entertainment that are sure to please and delight. Guests have the opportunity to participate in a variety of themed contests and games including ff15614_people2Sam Adams’ “Raise the Stein”-sanctioned qualifying event for the National Championship. The Sam Adams Stein Hoisting competition is searching coast-to-coast for two national champions to send to the 2017 Oktoberfest celebration in Munich, Germany. Those interested in participating in this qualifying event are encouraged to sign up via the website (oktobeerfestival.com).

Additional games and activities at OktoBEER & BBQ Festival include the Barrel Roll, Stein Race, Brat Toss, Schwartze Loch (us Michiganders know it as “Corn Hole”) and Brat Eating Contest. These games are open to all OktoBEERfest guests and will be free to play!

The event also benefits CARE House of Oakland County, the first organization in Oakland County proactively addressing the issues of child abuse and neglect. Care House implements that mission-critical goal through programs and services which mirror its core belief of “It shouldn’t hurt to be a child!” Visit www.carehouse.org for more information on how to get involved.

OktoBEER & BBQ Festival takes place in downtown Ferndale on Vester Street from:
5:00–11:00 P.M. on Friday; Noon–11:00 P.M. on Saturday; Noon–8:00 P.M. on Sunday

Entry is free all weekend and open to all ages. More information about the festival is available at: www.oktobeerfestival.com

 

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Story By Sara Teller

The Detroit Together Men’s Chorus (DTMC for short) is a Detroit-based, all male chorus founded in 1982. The chorus, now in its 33rd season, serves the communities of southeastern Michigan, northern Ohio and Windsor, Ontario. Over the years, its members have come from all over the world–from local communities in metro Detroit, those in the extended area, such as Ann Arbor and Toledo, and as far away as Australia! The premiere gay and gay-supportive men’s chorus currently contains 35 active members from all backgrounds and orientations, and includes a strong volunteer membership and steady support from area donors. It was formed with the primary purpose of advocating for and promoting a positive image of the metro Detroit LGBT community.

DTMC’s volunteers are a much-needed component of the group, and donations are always appreciated. “Our ff15674_dtmc_1volunteer membership gives tirelessly of themselves. Without our donors and volunteers, DTMC wouldn’t be able to sing as proudly as we do and we are forever grateful,” says Vince Houle, board member and chorus singer. “We are currently looking for volunteers in so many areas that are needed,” he adds, including aid with various new advertising, printing, fundraising and photography initiatives. “We are looking for a graphic artist to help with playbills and advertising media, a printing company, help in planning and executing fundraising and concert events, people to record us and help us make a CD, and a photographer to capture moments at concerts and events and help with community outreach. We are in the process of trying to organize a volunteer guild,” he explains, which is still in the works. Donations can be made on the group’s web page, and donors receive recognition and free concert tickets.

The chorus is currently restructuring, and some of the group’s immediate goals include expanding the group, increasing its presence and creating partnerships with non-profits and other local area organizations. It continues to look for new male singers interested in utilizing their vocal skills to contribute to its overall mission of providing support for the LGBT community. “We are always looking for men with singing abilities to join our chorus from all background and orientations,” Vince says, and he is excited for the many changes to come. “We are always mindful of our beginning and accept the challenges that lie ahead. It is an exciting time for the Metro Detroit area and its LGBT community. As DTMC breaks new ground and achieves new heights, we do so in the fellowship and joy of making music together!”

DTMC’s upcoming Christmas holiday concert will be held at the Ferndale High School on Saturday, December 17, 2016, at 7:30 PM. As always, proceeds from concert ticket sales will help with the annual budget, and ff15674_dtmc_3local residents are encouraged to check out what the group is all about. Those who donate $50 or more in advance will receive free admission to the event. Those interested in advertising can choose to have their ads placed at the concert and can reserve ad space ahead of time on the chorus’s website.

More information about the Detroit Together Men’s Chorus, including how to donate and volunteer, can be found on its webpage at DTMC.org. The group can also be found on Facebook.
Those interested in volunteering can contact Vince at 313-690-3559 or schauhoule@gmail.com, or Artistic Director, Brian Londrow, at 313-320-9792 or blmusicmcc@yahoo.com.

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