| Comments:
#2: Arts and Crafts Fair - 2007-09-19 11:40:27
"Ypsilanti is lacking an opportunity for local artists and arts and crafts lovers to come together. Riverside Park / Frog Island would create a perfect venue for such an event. This event would also be a great opportunity for visitors to use the canoe and kayak rentals. The Fair will be more marketable if held at the same time as an auto attraction such as Camaro Fest or the Beer Fest."
Sounds like they're copying the Shadow Art Fair. I don't see anything about the Arts and Crafts Fair being a juried event. And I don't think you could use canoe and kayak rentals. As someone who has boated in Riverside Park, in the summer the water is not deep enough and the weeds are too thick to permit anoes and kayaks (my own raftlike boat has about a 1" draft). Canoe and kayak rentals will not work in the section of river in Riverside Park and behind Frog Island.
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#3: The Annual Frog Island Music Fest - 2007-09-19 11:47:35
"There was a time when Frog Island Park was known for its annual music festival featuring jazz, blues, and rockabilly musicians. But, it is time to bring it back and in full swing. This festival would be in late August or early September and would be used to launch the Blue Mondays Series. This concert will utilize the improved Frog Island amphitheater and will be an all day event."
I do have to ask: why did the initial fair dwindle down and disappear? Does the Frog Island amphitheater need changes? And it is fair to ask: do we have enough opportunities at this time to hear live music in Ypsi? And, just in my case, I'd personally rather see a bluegrass festival--Milan makes a mint off of theirs and has *really* good musicians come in.
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Blue Mondays - 2007-09-19 11:54:14
"Blue Mondays will allow people to come together and enjoy local jazz and blues musicians during a weekly event. This concert series will also get to the heart of what Frog Island once was and will offer a continuation of the Frog Island Music. This concert series will take place on Monday nights starting in
September and continue through October. The amphitheater at Frog Island will host the concerts and musicians from the surrounding area and from EMU. U of M will be encouraged to participate."
This sounds like the downtown Crossroads Concerts. I never attended them (I'm tired after work, especially on Fridays!) so I don't know how popular they were. They were organized by several downtown businesses, just on their own--I don't think you need a whole big agency to get a weekly concert series going.
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Fall Into Fun - Fallapalooza - 2007-09-19 12:06:55
"Warm apple cider, hayrides, carving pumpkins, and enjoying the red, orange and yellow leaves on the trees mark some of the most enjoyable aspects of the fall months and the new Fall into Fun Festival. This event will be held in September or October and will lead up to the popular Downtown Halloween Fall Festival. Riverside Park will serve as the center of the event, which will include activities for the whole family. A potential partnership could be established with a local apple orchard (Wiards)" It's true we could use more fall festivals. I have to say I was underwhelmed by Fallapalooza in the past (not through the fault of any Depot Town merchants--just sort of lackluster in conception), though this year Old Man Gorden is making an extra effort to bring a giant Chutes and Ladders game. There's kind of no focus to this new fall festival idea, though, not at this point, anyways.
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#6: Winter Fest - 2007-09-19 12:17:42
"Winter activities are lacking in Ypsilanti and to that end-- the last week in January would be ideal to coordinate a weekend long festival in Riverside and Frog Island Parks. The events would be centered on the new addition of the sledding hill and outdoor ice skating rink. This festival would also encompass concerts in the remodeled amphitheater in Frog Island Park." A winter festival is an excellent idea. A skating rink--depending on where you put it-- is a good idea, and could lead to all sorts of fun, like skating to themed prerecorded music every Thursday night, for example. Elvis night, ska night, hip hop night, 80s night skating events. A sledding hill already exists and is popular. Another excerpt:
"There will be various events that will offer an opportunity for students attending the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University and their fans to engage in some friendly competition. Students will be encouraged to participate in a toboggan building and racing activity. Another exciting activity will be a hockey tournament to increase sportsmanship between U of M and EMU students, alumni and fans!"
I really don't see current U-M students having the time and inclination to come to Ypsi to do either of these things when there's so much to do in Ann Arbor, but I could be wrong.
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#7: Festival of Lights - 2007-09-19 12:21:35
"The streets of Depot Town and Riverside and Frog Island will be sparkling with holiday lights. Both parks will have events from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. A holiday concert and the new ice rink and sledding hill will be showcased during this festival. This event would also be an opportune time to showcase the lighting of a holiday tree."
This is mostly the aforementioned Winter Fest with lights, correct? The tree lighting in Depot Town already takes place and is not new. And it's not an event. It's throwing a switch. Whoopee. It's pretty, despite last year's unusual "okra" vertical-stripes pattern, but it's not a big deal.
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