By Sara E. Teller
FERNDALE’S PRIDE FESTIVAL WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY, JUNE 2ND, beginning with an open ceremony at 1:00 PM The much-anticipated annual event, which debuted in 2011, typically draws around 15,000 to 20,000 attendees each year, according to estimates from public officials, explains Event Chair, Julia Music. This year the event is expected to grow, with more events, activities, and performances than ever before. 2018 will also mark the first year Pride will have a named sponsor to present it – The Candle Wick Shoppe.
“There will be a wedding at 12:30 PM, then the opening ceremony will officially kick off the event,” Music said, adding, “There will be around 158 street vendors in total this year. So, we’ve grown substantially.” This is a significant increase from last year’s total of 100 vendors. “There will be seven food vendors in addition to the area bars and restaurants that support Pride,” Music said. “I encourage all attendees to visit Pride-sponsored spots.”
Sober Space, which debuted at Pride last year, is expected to return and be available specifically to those in sobriety. It will be set up immediately following the opening festivities. This is a space designed for the sober community to come together in celebration and get to know one another, as well as an area for the newly sober to come and meet others practicing this lifestyle. The Children’s Area, sponsored by Blue Care Network and Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Southeast Michigan, will also be back with crafting activities for participating kids.
“This year, there will be really beautiful masks the kids can make with ribbons and beads. They have some pre-fab parts, but they’ll get to decorate them.
There will also be a 40-foot rock wall and other activities that we’re still finalizing,” Music explained. She 
added, “We will have games and activities in Sober Space from 1 PM to 8 PM the day of Pride, and Affirmations is always available as a so-ber space. They will have activities available five days leading up to Pride, including the Pride Prom,” at which attendees will be able to dance and enjoy refreshments.
There will be two drag queen shows outside of Rosie O’Grady’s, and for the first time, an event will take place outside of Axle’s Livernois Tap celebrating its one-year birthday. Also new this year will be an asexual balloon launch, followed by the traditional rainbow-colored launch. “We will be moving the dance stage to Planavon,” Music said. “And, there will be entertainment there from 1:15 PM on-ward.”
Numerous fundraising opportunities will take place leading up to Pride, including those at Zeke’s BBQ, Dino’s Brunch, Rosie O’Grady’s and other local area restaurants and businesses. Participants will be able to support Pride by purchasing meals, raffle tickets, and attending other activities. There will be meetings for volunteers 7-8:00 PM at the Kulick Center, 1201 Livernois, Ferndale MI 48220, on April 25, May 9 and May 23. Music said contracts for Pride vendors are set to go out this week, so a final list is still forthcoming. More information regarding The Candle Wick Shoppe Presents Ferndale Pride 2018 event can be found at www.ferndalepride.com.
on classic drinks, plus all new creations – complete with a look into each recipe’s inception and unique ingredients. Innovative new recipes with homemade ingredients and complex layers of flavors mixed up by industry leaders and hometown mixologists. Ultimate Fun Productions, The Social Connection and Real Detroit Events have partnered together to produce an event featuring dozens of spirits featured in classic and innovative craft libations prepared by some of Detroit’s best mixologists. Guests of The Cocktail Confidential will receive a commemorative glass for tasting, drink sample tickets, keepsake photo, and live entertainment.
“American” than a party centered around burgers and beer, but given the time of year, nothing could be more appropriate. The event begins at 7:30 PM and runs until 10:30 PM. Both VIP and GA tickets include live entertainment and unlimited samples of burgers, sides & sweets. Additionally, each guest will have the opportunity to cast their vote for Best All-Around Burger, Most Unique Burger, Most Flavorful Burger and Best Dessert. A panel of favorite local chefs and food critics will award two very special vendors the titles of Best All-Around Burger and Best Sweet. Winners will gain automatic entry into the auspicious World Food Championships in Orange Beach, Alabama.
because it was originally started in the early 1970s in the era of “clothes line” art fairs. Before the days of the pop up tents, artists would string lines between trees and hang their work.
creative genius of Hazel Park resident, Sue Burrows who has planned a fundraising pub crawl benefiting local nonprofits. The proceeds will assist the Hazel Park Promise Zone, the Hazel Park Arts Council and Hazel Park Library Friends. The ticket price includes a free koozie, a lanyard map, shuttle, as well as free appetizers and discounts on adult beverages at each location. The Walk in the Park Pub Crawl takes place Saturday June 9th from 1 PM till 7 PM, and check-in is available at either House of Shamrocks or Kozy Lounge. Ticket price is only $25 in advance, $30 day of. Come out, bring your friends, enjoy some beverages, a nice walking tour of the city of Hazel Park, all for a good cause (or three).
ineup attracted a record-high number of music-loving attendees to the library’s long-running Summer Concert Series, and we think this year’s artists will definitely top that. This series of monthly performances is an ideal way for local music fans and families to spend a summer evening. Funds raised by our bi-annual bake sales, bolstered by the support of the Friends of the Ferndale Library, consistently help us produce a fun and exciting three-part series of monthly weeknight concerts featuring top tier talents from around the region.
initiative is “Libraries Rock,” proven by a six-week span of activities, programs and fun events for kids and families. Summer Reading programming at your public library can assure that young minds are raring to go when September comes around. This year’s kickoff party will be an Ice Cream Social at the library, on Saturday, June 23, from 2-4pm, with magician Cameron Zvara. Kids who sign up can collect prizes throughout the summer. Meanwhile, there will be storytimes throughout the summer, new Sensory Saturdays for the youngest readers and special summer programs like ‘Live Animals’ with Science Alive, ‘Rock & Roll Fashion & Album Artwork’ with the College of Creative Studies, a puppet show with Alex Thomas & Friends, and more! 
our Fathers Concert, held on Father’s Day. This concert is one of our most popular concerts to attend. Immediately following the concert our Annual Ice Cream Social will be held to show our appreciation to all those who attend our concerts. The Band will perform as guest musicians on Sunday, June 24 at 3:00 PM on Belle Isle as part of the newly established Music on Belle Isle Group (MOBIG). Please join us. The 2018-2019 concert season runs from September through June. The FCCB performs five concerts per season in October, December, February, April, and June. The mission of the Ferndale Community Concert Band is to be a high-caliber, adult band made up of volunteer musicians dedicated to providing high-quality musical performances. 
this event plays well for the acoustic folk /Americana / roots / country performer, it is our goal to offer a diverse mix of music,” Benghiat explains. “With the addition of more porches we hope to achieve that even more than last year. We look to have an even wider array of music offerings including gospel, psychedelic rock, R&B, hip hop, classical and more. That’s important to us, to expose as much great music as possible for those who choose to come out.”
weekend of BBQ, bands, and family fun in downtown Royal Oak. Rib Fest will showcase an unparalleled selection of unique cuisine, food trucks, and BBQ – along with a selection of adult beverages. More than a dozen food vendors will be offering up mouthwatering fare that’s sure to please even the most discerning palate. With a list of bands as long as the food vendors, Michigan Rib Fest presents a carefully crafted entertainment lineup that’s fit for all ages. The event will feature some of the state and region’s most impressive local talent with a range of musical genres and styles performing all day that will please any crowd! Admission is free all weekend, with festivities running Friday, July 6 – Sunday, July 8.
anticipated summer celebration with the Pig & Whiskey! BBQ, booze, and live music set the tone for the 8th annual Pig & Whiskey. Feast on a steady diet of the areas most mouthwatering barbecue offerings. Sample a towering whiskey selection, and enjoy over 30 varieties of craft beer! Gorge your-self on a foot-stompin’ musical backdrop the likes of which comes along only once a year. Bring your appetite and leave your inhibitions at home! 80+ whiskeys, bourbons, & scotches. 18 BBQ joints & restaurants. Barrels of beer. Bands Galore. All ages, free admission. 
opportunity to sample their way through the event. Offering beer from dozens of breweries from around the world, across the state and down the street, each brewery has the opportunity to showcase their unique libations. The focus of Royal Oak Beer Fest is the promotion of craft beers and the brewers that create them – and furthermore, how much everyone loves drinking them! This event is the perfect opportunity for beer aficionados, beer lovers and even the casual beer drinker to speak to company representatives and brewers responsible for some of their favorite brews. And it’s an opportunity to discover and taste new brews, special “limited re- lease” beers and ales, and special seasonals – all within a fun, themed social event just right for the season!
Birmingham, both starting from the Ferndale City Hall at 300 E. Nine Mile Road. Help us promote the Sierra Club principles of exploration, enjoyment and protection of the Planet through joining this non-fossil fuel event! For more information contact event chairmen, Jerry Hasspacher, (586) 604 5781, or Dave Cottrill, (248) 635-88152 or 
own signature family-fun events: Ferndale Emergency Vehicle Show, Lights & Sirens Cruise, Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Mustang Alley and the return of the Kids Play Zone. Plus— the Rockn’ Live Entertainment stage with performances by American Band, City Beat, Crewsade, The Favorites, Full Tilt, Lookin’ Back (a Bob Seger Tribute Band) and Shout! (a Beatles Tribute Band).
100 pieces of donated art from mostly local artists available for live and silent auction, musical entertainment, appetizers, a fashion show and a cash bar. Contact Monica Mills, 
everyone realizes it, but there are actually two separate, but equally fun and funky events. For more than 15 years, the Funky Ferndale Art Fair has celebrated the funky side of fine art; a serious, juried art show, with a focus on edgier art. “It’s every bit as competitive for artists to participate as many of the traditional art fairs, but what we are looking for is a little bit different,” explains the event’s founder and coordinator, Mark Loeb. “We want work that will invite conversation, not just sit on the wall blending in.”
performers and other surprises. Loeb states that “We try to throw in a few twists each year to keep it interesting. We’ve done everything from having a painter work while hanging from a crane to working with the City to create the world’s longest comic strip.”
and national artists with distinct, one-of-a-kind works and wares on display and for sale. The artists are selected through a carefully juried process, where the DIY Artistic Committee chooses a wide array of original, handcrafted, quality art and products from the area’s most talented makers.
Avenue Brewers! Ferndale Oktoberfest is the only Metro Detroit celebration where you will enjoy a focus on authentic German food options, live music, dancing, games, biergarten, kids crafts, souvenirs and some of the highest rated biers from around the world! Ferndale Oktoberfest incorporates the beer-loving culture of Woodward Avenue Brewers, the festive outdoor beer garden of PORT, and The Loving Touch will be trans-formed into a German-style beer hall. Prost! 
5-8pm! Downtown will be on when Fido Does Ferndale! This DDA event – to help raise funds for a doggy drinking fountain – will have downtown hopping with canine activities, vendors, and tons of doggone good fun and adventure for everyone and their pooches! With event headquarters set up at W. 9 Mile & Planavon, the event will feature the popular K-9 Treasure Hunt, featuring free doggy treats, at more than a dozen participating businesses, the Pooch Parade, dog contests, and lots of other cool stuff.
will be available! Don’t have a Fido (or Fluffy) of your own? Don’t worry – there will be many opportunities to meet and make a new best friend via several local pet rescues and adoption agencies at the event.
7:00 PM for the annual Fall Fling celebration. This year, it’s a costume party theme! Guests are encouraged to wear their most creative costumes to ring in the Fall season with Metro Detroit’s LGBTQ+ community. Enjoy an evening with a raffle, auction, appetizers, dessert, drinks and live entertainment. Tickets can be purchased by calling (248) 398-7105 or by visiting 
observance is still in the planning stages as of press time. A bell will be rung eleven times, and there will be a guest speaker (to be determined.) Following the observance, there will be an open house, with refreshments, at the Ferndale Fire Station on Livernois, next to the Memorial Mall. All are welcome to attend.
for each year’s celebration of traditional and new blues music.
James and the Flame Throwers, Al Hill and the Love Butlers, Johnnie Bassett and the Blues Insurgents featuring Alberta Adams, Madcat Ruth, Harmonica Shah, Gary Rasmussen, Larry Mc-Cray and many many more! In 2000 the event featured the beloved Pinetop Perkins, may he rest in peace.
Blues & Music Festival. This great, nine-day event has been held every year since 2001. Founded by Craig Covey along with Monica and Larry Mills, the event was created to bring music to the community in the dead of winter, to promote the downtown and its businesses, and to raise money for important local youth programs.
Ferndale’s nightclubs, restaurants, comedy clubs, coffee-houses, churches, schools and community centers are all invited to be part of the event. More than 25,000 people attend each year and more than 500,000 people see the promotions and news coverage. The festival runs the last week of January to the first weekend in February. Watch for details about 2018.
with the South Oakland Warming Center. Located in the RenVC building at 1841 Pinecrest (at 9 Mile, behind the Payless), the Warming Center is truly a community-wide effort, providing loving help to any homeless who come – typically ranging from 75-100 women and men. Our goal is to serve our guests with hospitality and dignity, providing a friendly smile, hot meal, and a safe place to sleep with warm blankets. We also offer access to a free clothing closet, and other kinds of limited services when available. We usually open our online volunteer sign-up as Thanksgiving approaches. To learn more about the program and how you can get involved, please call the church office at 248.545.4664 or visit 
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