Blog Post
31st Ann Arbor Folk Festival
by manz
The 31st Ann Arbor Folk Festival takes place at Hill Auditorium on Friday, January 25, and Saturday, January 26. Each night features a different line-up of artists starting at 6:30pm. Ben Folds Five, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin are among the long list of artists performing. All proceeds raised through the festival will benefit Ann Arbor’s The Ark. See The Ark’s website for more details on tickets and performers.
Blog Post
Credit cents
by MarilynG
Do you find credit ratings and debt management baffling? Start the new year out right by taking a three part class on Making Sense of Credit and Debt taught by the Michigan State University Extension. Classes begin on January 14 at the Washtenaw County Library Learning Resource Center. Pre-registration is required. Call 734-222-3943 before January 10 to register.
If going to a class doesn’t fit into your schedule, check out a book from the library's collection on credit and debt management like Starting Out by Sheryl Garrett. Start out 2008 with financial knowledge.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
Sometimes, bluegrass music just soothes the soul: that thumping bass rhythm, those old familiar songs. This week you can do yourself and nature some good at the same time. The RFD Boys, who have appeared locally since 1969, will be at The Ark and the proceeds from the concert will benefit the Leslie Science & Nature Center. This city parks' facility is situated on 50 acres of fields, woods, and prairie and provides natural science and environmental education opportunities for kids and their families. Saturday, January 5, The Ark, 316 S. Main. 761-1451. 8 p.m.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
What better way to greet the New Year then to listen to our hometown favs, The Chenille Sisters? We always go out of our way to hear them. This nationally renowned trio of singer-songwriters Cheryl Dawdy, Connie Huber, and Grace Morand is known for its "unbeatable combination of breathtakingly precise and resonant vocal harmonies, a comic wit that's both corny and subversive, and a delightfully eclectic repertoire of original songs mixed with jazz, swing, folk, and blues standards." And oh, those harmonies. The Ark, 316 S. Main. Tickets $35 (includes champagne & party favors) in advance at Herb David Guitar Studio, the Michigan Union Ticket Office and at the door. 10 p.m.
Blog Post
Fun for the kids over winter break!
by manz
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is featuring a family day themed "The Big Freeze" running December 26-31 from 10am-5pm. You'll be able to check out liquid nitrogen demonstrations, hands-on ice cream making, arctic facts and live reindeer. Check the museum's full schedule for those days to see what activities are happening when!
Hands-on Museum, $8 (members and infants free), 220 E. Ann St. 995-5439.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
The nice thing about dinosaurs is that they are new and old at the same time. It seems each year another fascinating creature is discovered. In October, "the skeleton of what is believed to be a new dinosaur species -- a 105-foot plant-eater that is among the largest dinosaurs ever found -- has been uncovered in Argentina". You can't get more bang for your buck than that. Every Saturday & Sunday here in Ann Arbor you can take a 30-minute docent-led tour of the U-M Exhibit Museum's dinosaur exhibits. 1109 Geddes at North University. Free, but limited to the first 15 people to sign up for each tour. 764-0478. 2 p.m.
Blog Post
Unique Gift of Story with a Local Flavor
by StoryLaura
I think the best part about the CD Time Warp Tales is that it will spark memories and get the family telling stories together. These growing up tales from members of the Ann Arbor Storyteller's Guild are clever, warm and funny. How can you go wrong with stories entitled The Worm with a Face Like a Cat, Grandpa's Claim to Fame or The Search for Laughing Sal? I was especially moved by the last tale written by Sunnie Tait, beloved Ann Arbor school librarian and teller, who lives on through her stories. You will find the CD for sale at Nicola's Books, Sixteen Hands or Peaceable Kingdom.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
The Play Ground is still thinking about our trip to Hill Auditorium last year to see Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Every finger and toe was tapping along. Pure, sweet melody. Marsalis and UMS is bringing the group back this January featuring the Love Songs of Duke Ellington. Get out of our way, we need tickets. Wednesday, January 16, Hill Auditorium, 8pm.
Blog Post
Sancho's Picks for Weekend Fun!
by Sancho Panza
It’s sure to be an entertaining weekend! Catch Iolanthe at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater in the Michigan League starting Thursday. This comic operetta, performed by the UM Gilbert and Sullivan society features great music, a talented cast, and, best of all, fairies. Just in case you’re too cozy to leave the house this weekend, even for fairies, the Library also owns versions of the operetta on DVD and CD.
Drumroll, please: Friday, December 7 brings one of my absolute favorite things about living in Ann Arbor— Midnight Madness! Shops Downtown and in Kerrytown stay open late (most really, truly until midnight) and the air is thick with festivity and the scent of hot dogs (the elusive Le Dog on Main Street stays open late!) Not to be missed!
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
Youssou N'Dour and The Super Etoile is arguably the most famous band in Africa. We first became familiar with him in 1988 when he was a co-headliner on the Amnesty International "Human Rights Now!" tour alongside Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Tracy Chapman. N'Dour combines African musical traditions with Afro-Cuban and Western influences to create a world-pop fusion. Good to get your mind off holiday shopping. Hill Auditorium, Saturday, December 8, 8 pm.