So I survived another action packed week/weekend in Downtown Detroit. As a fairly new resident, I was simply amazed at being in "Hockeytown" when the cup came home. Last Wednesday night was definitely one for the books. As the last game of the Stanley Cup finals drew to a close the city streets starting filling up and coincidently the concert at The Fillmore let out at just the right moment to add to the frenzy. Apparently it's an unwritten rule that you just head down to Woodward Ave near Hockeytown because that's where the partying goes down! I was surprised at how orderly the fans were. Maybe it was the tons of cops lining the streets, but all I know is there didn't seem to be any problems and I was glad for it! All I could think was how happy I was the series didn't end with a win on a Friday night since it's already crowded and loud downtown with all of the restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Add to the already packed streets of partygoers on your average Friday and thousands more revelers could have really been a mess!!! Instead, it was a really fun and wild Wednesday night. Thank you Red Wings!!!!
Last Thursday night, MetroMix.Com had a fabulous launch party at The Fillmore. They really know how to throw an affair. I met some girlfriends there and we had a blast. The blue margaritas were flowing and local restaurants gave some samplings of their food. Matter of fact, two of my favorite Detroit dishes were there being handed out for free!! The plantains from Vicente Cuban Cuisine are the food of my dreams and I literally crave the mac and cheese from Slow's. I knew it was going to be a good night!!! I think the coolest thing though was this photo op that was set up where my friends and I got to each walk away with 3-D Flip Photos with the MetroMix background. The photographer had us take two pictures with two different poses. They merged the pictures together so that when you move the photo around our poses change. The line was so long for this free novelty experience, but it was well worth the wait and a great souvenir from the party!! All in all it was a great night – lots of goodies and great music. Props to MetroMix for having us!!!
Friday in Downtown Detroit…what can I say, but Stanley Cup!!! Although I work in the burbs, I had business in the city Friday morning and so I told my boss I would like to stick around downtown for an early lunch to take in the Red Wings Parade. My loft windows face the other side of Woodward, but my building manager was gracious enough to open up the empty unit across the hall with great views of the whole parade on Woodward!!! It was so exciting and the energy from the crowd was unbelievable. I will say though that I did get annoyed with one of the people in the crowd. I had to run across the street for something and as I was jotting by, he said "watch out for the snipers." OK, people let's get real. I've been living in Downtown Detroit for over a year now and amazingly (being sarcastic) still haven't seen a sniper. Instead of thriving on negative energy, some people need to open their eyes and just allow themselves to see some of the great things in the city. Closed minds and eyes should also translate into closed mouths. Unfortunately, the most closed-minded people have the widest open mouths and say the most ignorant things. ANYWAY – it was a beautiful day to be a Detroiter!!
On Saturday I was going to have my first Smart Bus experience as I made my way to the Detroit Festival of the Arts in the Wayne State University Area. But, it was just too darn hot. Ugh! I know gas prices are terrible, but it was only a couple miles away so I had to opt for comfort. I will try the bus one of these days though when I finally get to make my way over to the DIA. In spite of the heat, the festival was really nice and it was amazing to me in the days that followed how many people I spoke with didn't even know there was this great art fest right here in Detroit. My favorite part was the sand art sculptures and watching all of the kids playing in the piles of sand without a care in the world – for the day anyway. Being a people watcher, I really enjoyed the rest of the fest too.
Sunday I woke up to another oppressively hot day, but the air conditioning in my place couldn't save me because I had more downtown activities planned. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to check out the annual Detroit Black Expo. It was just a People Mover ride away, so I hopped on and made my way over to Cobo. There were a lot of vendors and I made some nice conversation with a few of them. It was good to hear that some of them are in the process of opening up boutique shops downtown. Yeah for retail!!! Since I also managed to plan a Tigers game on Sunday as well, the Expo didn't get the best of me or my pocketbook. In hindsight I wish did spend a little longer in the cool air of Cobo, because I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon sweating like a pig in the sun watching baseball at Comerica Park. I like baseball, but not sure anything other than swimming should be happening outside when it's in the 90s. Ugh!!!! It was all I could do to walk home after the game so I could nap through the terrible storms and be refreshed for the John Salley charity party that night at Amnesia. Amazingly enough, the weekend wasn't going to be over until I could check out the party inside the Motor City Casino Hotel. Just as I was going to call it a somewhat early night I ran into a neighbor and another friend and they sucked me in!!! The views from the 16th floor nightclub are incredible and the DJ was doing his thing, so why not – right?!
I don't know how I made it through the week, but I did and I'm still standing!!!
Next up for this Downtown Lady: SLEEP!!!!! (Yeah right!)
-Heather
