Blog Post
Support Needed for Ann Arbor Film Festival
by amy
The Ann Arbor Film Festival has launched its Endangered Campaign to raise $75,000 in three months to support the AAFF. They're also on the lookout for talented individuals who are interested in joining in the actual production of the festival, as well as other events throughout the year. On Wednesday, September 26th, at 7:30 they will be in the basement of Great Wraps, located at 310 S. State Street, to meet with people who are interested in becoming a Festival Volunteer for the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival. If you can't make it, or have any questions, please send an e-mail to Dave Hashim, our Volunteer Coordinator at dhashim@aafilmfest.org
Film Screening and Pre-Screening
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is also still looking for qualified volunteers to participate in the screening and programming process for the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival (March 25-30th, 2008). The AAFF seeks dedicated viewers to fill the volunteer positions of prescreeners and screening committee members in the genres of experimental, animation, documentary and narrative cinema.
Screening begins in September for prescreeners, and October for screening committee members. Depending on participation level, time commitment is between 4-25 hours per week. Education and experience in respective genres is a must, and qualifications will be requested. For more information, please email executive director Christen McArdle at christen@aafilmfest.org.
Blog Post
Feeling Foolish?
by Sancho Panza
Street Theater Art (START) Project co-creators Shoshana Hurand and Mark Tucker are throwing a big, silly party this Thursday to kick off preparations for Festifools 2008! This year they have a spacious new studio in the UM Campus Security Services Building (room 1309). Festifools 2007 was a huge success—the project combined the efforts of UM students and volunteers from throughout the community to create enormous Mardi Gras-style puppets that were marched through the streets of Ann Arbor on April Fools’ Day. Photos of the event will be on display at the open house, which runs from 5-7pm.
Photo by Myra Klarman, used with permission.
Blog Post
Great Lakes Myth Society playing in town this Friday
by manz
Southeastern Michigan’s Great Lakes Myth Society bring their blend of folk, pop and rock music back to Ann Arbor this Friday for a performance at the Blind Pig. A common theme throughout many of GLMS’s songs is Michigan and its natural surroundings. Singer/Songwriter Timothy Monger explains, “to reference our home in song has always been a natural reaction. It was only when we noticed how strong the themes were that the desire to center our project within the Lakes took hold."
Check it out for yourself on their latest album. Side note: In the song “Marquette County, 1959” the singer croons “Jimmy Stewart came to Marquette County in 1959.” This is true and references the film Anatomy of a Murder which Jimmy Stewart did indeed film in Marquette in 1959. (It’s a gem of a film costarring Lee Remick in a sassy roll.)
Blog Post
Football Saturday Activities For the Non-Enthusiast
by MarilynG
What do you do on a football Saturday in Ann Arbor when you’re not interested in the game? Find a book, a new CD or a hot DVD in our catalog a day or two before the game, put a hold on it, and have it sent to a library branch near your home. Then you don’t have to travel far from home through traffic to find something you too can enjoy.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
It started in the spring. My dill disappeared. Then the parsley. Then he began hanging around, driving the canine crazy: garden variety rabbit. This weekend however, anything but will be featured at the 24th Annual Rabbit Show sponsored by Ann Arbor Rabbit Breeders. Breeders from throughout the Midwest and Canada will appear at this American Rabbit Association-sanctioned event. Sale of bunny-related merchandise. Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. Free admission. 9:30 a.m.-afternoon.
Blog Post
Creative Connections Tonight!
by Sancho Panza
Do you make art, perform plays, write poetry, or otherwise behave creatively? Tonight’s your night to mingle! The Ann Arbor Arts Alliance is sponsoring its first Creative Connections of the season at the Ann Arbor Art Center’s Art Factory on Felch St. from 6:30-8:00pm. Creative Connections takes place on the third Monday of the month, and provides an opportunity for individuals involved in Arts and Culture in Washtenaw County to network in a relaxed, informal way. The focus of tonight’s event is the launch of ArtsCount, a county-wide artist census. Grab a glass of wine and start connecting!
Blog Post
Her name is Vega
by manz
American contemporary folk artist and popular musician Suzanne Vega is performing live at The Ark in Ann Arbor on Saturday, September 29. Vega began releasing albums in the mid- 1980s and her first big success came with the singles “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” (you know, that song that always got stuck your head.) Her latest release, Beauty & Crime, brings further proof that she’s got something to say that’s worth listening to. You can see more of Vega at her website.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
The Play Ground loves all/most things Parisian. Hence, we are ooh-la-la-ing over the "12th Annual Parisian Soiree" at the Kerrytown Concert House. September 14 & 15. This concert features a program of music with "various sorts of Parisian connections, from works by French-speaking composers like Poulenc and Jacques Brel to works by enthusiastic visitors to Paris like Cole Porter, Sondheim, and even some Italians." This year also includes the Hot Club of Detroit, a popular jazz quartet that plays in the style of the great Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Champagne and wine reception at intermission. 415 N. Fourth Ave. $20 & $30 assigned seating, $15 general admission. Reservations suggested. 769-2999. 8 p.m.
Blog Post
Survivor of Rwandan Holocaust to Appear
by annevm
Immaculee Ilibagiza, author of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, will be in Ann Arbor next month to speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 4 in St. Francis Catholic Church, 2250 E. Stadium. Ilibagiza and seven other women survived 91 days in their bathroom hideout in Rwanda in 1994, during a slaughter of nearly one million ethnic Tutsis in the country. The author's family members were murdered. Her book is being read and discussed by book groups at St. Francis and other churches in One Diocese, One Book. No tickets or reservations are needed for the appearance.
Blog Post
Offerings at Osher
by iralax
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Michigan had its fall kickoff event on Sept. 6, and was it impressive! A large room at the Best Western was packed with hundreds of 55+ adults, signing up for lectures, study groups, and day trips to fascinating regional destinations. Dr. W. Scott Westerman, Jr. gave a spirited talk about the learning process over a lifetime and the many cultural opportunities provided in the Ann Arbor area. Two books on his reading list in the AADL collection are: The Three Pound Enigma by Shannon Moffett, and A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink.