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A collection of events sent out over e-mail by Cliff Lampe. Document originally created by Erik Johnston, 2004-08-26
Running through June, this festival is a great way to kick back and relax. Top of the Park is an open air festival at the top of a parking structure near the Rackham building, and features all sorts of music acts, movies, dancing and whatever else you could want. You and the junior high students of Ann Arbor can relax and enjoy the ambience!
Hundreds of booths, thousands of people, and lots of overpriced art. What could be better? Takes place in late July.
Sixty films are shown in this really neat and quirky film festival. June 6-10 is when it runs this year. But even if you don’t go to this, make sure to visit Saugatuck http://www.saugatuck.com/. This town is really amazing, with lots of state parks for hiking, beds and breakfastses and a great downtown with shopping, restaurants, art galleries and other types of good things.
This festival takes place on the shore of Lake Michigan, about 3 hours away. This is a good excuse to visit a really nice coastal town.
Traverse City is about 3.5 hours north and west of here. It’s located along the southern edge of the Grand Traverse Bays, and is a tourist destination. The festival itself is pretty big, but the real gem is the town itself. Take a ride up Old Mission Peninsula ( http://www.oldmission.com/ ) and stop at a couple of wineries. I recommend Chateau Chantal, which is located high on a hill and offers views in both directions of the two bays. While you’re up there, take a run up Leelanau Peninsula ( http://leelanau.com/season/ ), which I’ll describe more in the camping section below.
Outdoorsy Places
The best part about Michigan is the outdoor activities you can pursue, though Southeast Michigan does not make that immediately apparent. Here are some local and slightly more distant places where you can get your activity on!
Just a hop, skip and a jump from North Campus is the Gallup Canoe Livery, where you can rent multiple watercraft type things and paddle around the Huron. There are a few other places around Ann Arbor when you can do the same. The Metroparks, on the way to Dexter, usually have some canoe launch sites as well.
Located just half an hour from Ann Arbor, this “park” has 11,000 acres of lakes, hiking trails, camp sites and all around good times. Want a quick dip on a hot day? Want to spend a weekend camping without driving for hours to get there? Want to take a nice hike in the hills? This is a ridiculously nice thing to have near us.
A national park located in the Leelanau Peninsula, overlooking the best of the Great Lakes. This dune is incredibly beautiful, with mind-boggling views in every direction. You can camp on site, or head up to nearby Glen Arbor and stay in one of their lovely hotels. Take a drive up the coast, check out little resort towns along the way and head to the very tip of the peninsula at the Leelanau State Park, where you can tour their historic lighthouse. Incidentally, this park is my favorite camping location in all of Michigan.
Ludington State Park
http://www.llbean.com/parksearch/parks/html/259lln.htm
This is my second favorite camping spot in Michigan, though I go there most often. Located between Lake Michigan and Lake Hamilton, it has miles of hiking, three separate camping locations and yet another historic lighthouse.
Located in downtown Ann Arbor, this is a great place to see live music, and we get some great shows come through. Check out Ticketmaster when you get the chance, since there are some really good shows coming through the area this summer.
Buy me some peanuts and CrackerJacks! The new stadium, while nauseatingly commercial, is pretty cool and you can eat turkey legs!
This is a huge institution in Ann Arbor, and is some of the best darned ice cream ever. Sit out on the wooden benches and enjoy the dessert with your fellow annarborites.
Anyone who is anyone gets lunch from Jefferson Market. Incredible soup, inventive sandwiches, good coffee. They have a couple of tables on the sidewalk, and that’s a lovely way to spend a lunch.
Events
Ann Arbor Summer Festival
http://www.annarborsummerfestival.org/Running through June, this festival is a great way to kick back and relax. Top of the Park is an open air festival at the top of a parking structure near the Rackham building, and features all sorts of music acts, movies, dancing and whatever else you could want. You and the junior high students of Ann Arbor can relax and enjoy the ambience!
Ann Arbor Art Fair
http://www.artfair.org/Hundreds of booths, thousands of people, and lots of overpriced art. What could be better? Takes place in late July.
Manchester Chicken Broil
Manchester is a little town to the west of Ann Arbor, pretty anytime of the year, but ROCKIN’ during its annual chicken broil. The third Thursday of July always means a half a chicken, grilled with a delightful smoky flavor, fresh slaw, corn on the cob and radishes straight from the garden. I promise you this will be some of the best chicken you’ve ever tasted, and this is a small-town America event at its best.Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, MI
http://www.waterfrontfilm.org/home.htmlSixty films are shown in this really neat and quirky film festival. June 6-10 is when it runs this year. But even if you don’t go to this, make sure to visit Saugatuck http://www.saugatuck.com/. This town is really amazing, with lots of state parks for hiking, beds and breakfastses and a great downtown with shopping, restaurants, art galleries and other types of good things.
Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival
http://www.ghcgfest.org/This festival takes place on the shore of Lake Michigan, about 3 hours away. This is a good excuse to visit a really nice coastal town.
Traverse City Cherry Festival
http://www.cherryfestival.org/Traverse City is about 3.5 hours north and west of here. It’s located along the southern edge of the Grand Traverse Bays, and is a tourist destination. The festival itself is pretty big, but the real gem is the town itself. Take a ride up Old Mission Peninsula ( http://www.oldmission.com/ ) and stop at a couple of wineries. I recommend Chateau Chantal, which is located high on a hill and offers views in both directions of the two bays. While you’re up there, take a run up Leelanau Peninsula ( http://leelanau.com/season/ ), which I’ll describe more in the camping section below.
Outdoorsy Places
The best part about Michigan is the outdoor activities you can pursue, though Southeast Michigan does not make that immediately apparent. Here are some local and slightly more distant places where you can get your activity on!Gallup Canoe Livery
http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/parks/Canoe%20Liveries/gplivery.htmlJust a hop, skip and a jump from North Campus is the Gallup Canoe Livery, where you can rent multiple watercraft type things and paddle around the Huron. There are a few other places around Ann Arbor when you can do the same. The Metroparks, on the way to Dexter, usually have some canoe launch sites as well.
Pinckney Recreation Area
http://www.ring.com/travel/dnr/sp_pinck.htmLocated just half an hour from Ann Arbor, this “park” has 11,000 acres of lakes, hiking trails, camp sites and all around good times. Want a quick dip on a hot day? Want to spend a weekend camping without driving for hours to get there? Want to take a nice hike in the hills? This is a ridiculously nice thing to have near us.
Sleeping Bear Dunes
http://www.nps.gov/slbe/A national park located in the Leelanau Peninsula, overlooking the best of the Great Lakes. This dune is incredibly beautiful, with mind-boggling views in every direction. You can camp on site, or head up to nearby Glen Arbor and stay in one of their lovely hotels. Take a drive up the coast, check out little resort towns along the way and head to the very tip of the peninsula at the Leelanau State Park, where you can tour their historic lighthouse. Incidentally, this park is my favorite camping location in all of Michigan.
Ludington State Park
http://www.llbean.com/parksearch/parks/html/259lln.htmThis is my second favorite camping spot in Michigan, though I go there most often. Located between Lake Michigan and Lake Hamilton, it has miles of hiking, three separate camping locations and yet another historic lighthouse.
Venues in the Area
The Ark
http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/65561Located in downtown Ann Arbor, this is a great place to see live music, and we get some great shows come through. Check out Ticketmaster when you get the chance, since there are some really good shows coming through the area this summer.
Dominick's
Open only in the summer, closed at 10pm, located right behind the law school, this is an insanely neat place to drink bad sangria, grab a mason jar full of beer.Blimpy Burgers
OK, there’s nothing really summery about this, but dang you need to have one of these burgers. I like to get the trip with swiss, grilled mushrooms, grilled onions a friend egg and stone ground mustard. A side of fried zucchini and a Grape Crush, and man oh man is that heaven.Tiger Stadium
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=detBuy me some peanuts and CrackerJacks! The new stadium, while nauseatingly commercial, is pretty cool and you can eat turkey legs!
Washtenaw Dairy
http://www.arborfood.com/reviews/washtenaw-dairy.shtmlThis is a huge institution in Ann Arbor, and is some of the best darned ice cream ever. Sit out on the wooden benches and enjoy the dessert with your fellow annarborites.
Jefferson Market
609 W. JeffersonAnyone who is anyone gets lunch from Jefferson Market. Incredible soup, inventive sandwiches, good coffee. They have a couple of tables on the sidewalk, and that’s a lovely way to spend a lunch.
