Stop downtown for first-ever Blocktoberfest

If you’re looking for a good excuse to get downtown for a few hours, a new block party happening Tuesday, Oct. 13 might be the perfect ticket. What has long been an annual fundraiser bake sale in the executive garage at The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press is growing this year into an open-to-the-public party on the streets.

It’s called Blocktoberfest, a United Way fundraiser that will block off Lafayette Boulevard between First and Third streets from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. The idea started when someone here at work wanted to turn that bake sale into something bigger. They hooked up with someone at WDIV (across the street) and someone else at the Fort Shelby DoubleTree Hotel (next door) and came up with this block party idea.

Businesses from all over Detroit will be setting up booths, selling stuff and giving away prizes. I’ve also heard that from 5-8, there will be a beer garden behind the DoubleTree, with live music playing, and a dunk tank featuring a few of the newspapers’ big name writers like Terry Foster and Neil Ruben.

Best of all, at least to us at the Kage, is that they’re encouraging businesses in the area to let employees extend their lunch by an hour or two. 

Downtown Detroit provides backdrop for 'Red Dawn' remake

If not for the girl in the red security jacket, I might not have realized the burned-out, broken-down building front was actually being used as a movie set. That’s the sad part, that there are still that many areas of Detroit in disrepair.

Turns out, though, that the little storefront pictured here – only a 100 feet off Woodward on Clifford – was dressed up this way by filmmakers who are recreating “Red Dawn”. On Monday, they filmed an explosion scene just around the corner from this building at Clifford and Griswold that, according to reports, rattled downtown. I wish I had heard about it ahead of time, I would’ve tried to get over there to see it. To see the picture on detnews.com, it’s amazing that they could set off that kind of explosion right in the middle of the city. (Since I don’t like pilfering other people’s work, I’ll instead give you a link to the story.)

Apparantly, “Red Dawn” and a movie called “Highland Park” starring Danny Glover are both currently being shot at various places around town. What I’m curious to see is what happens to this little building when the movie crews leave town.

The Detroit Burberry Game - Round 3

PURSE!

Kage 3 - UMJenn 0

Street music in Detroit is alive and well

Who said all the good music winds up at the Palace or Pine Knob? This guy was out recently with his six-string in front of the Central United Methodist Church in downtown Detroit, just down the street from Comerica Park.  He's no dummy. He picked a day to set up shop when 40,000 Tigers fans were filing into the stadium for the series-finale with the Twins. His guitar case looked pretty ripe with change and bills, I noticed as I tossed in a few coins.

And in case you're wondering, as I hurried past (only to see Bobby Seay give up a bases-loaded double that gave the Twins a 7-1 lead) he was playing a pretty cool version of "Imagine" by John Lennon.