Month: September 2014

What to do in Farmington/Farmington Hills this Week (9/29/14): Arsenic, Hogwarts, Wizards, and Art

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Check out some of the great arts & cultural Riley Park in Farmingtonevents to look forward to in the Farmington/Farmington Hills community this week:

Wednesday, October 1st, at 7:00 pm: Benny Edwards performs at Off the Beaten Path Books at 33314 Grand River Ave in downtown Farmington.

Thursday, October 2nd, at 8:30 pm: Swing Farmington takes over the Pavilion in downtown Farmington.

Saturday, October 4th, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm: Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market, at the Walter E. Sundquist Pavilion in George F. Riley Park.

Saturday, October 4th, at 8:00 pm and Sunday, October 5th, at 2:00 pm: The Farmington Players‘ presentation of the dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace continues at the Barn Theater, 32332 West Twelve Mile Road.

Sunday, October 5th, at 5:00 pm: Off the Beaten Path Books presents the 2nd Annual Hogwart’s Feast, featuring good food, wizard trivia, wizard dueling, butter beer, and more. At the American Legion Hall, 31775 Grand River Ave. More information and tickets available here.

Now through October 10th: Artpack Makes Art! Exhibition of work by Artpack Services Inc employees at the City Gallery in the Costick Center at 28600 W. Eleven Mile Rd.

Now through October 17th: From Our Perspective: A National Women’s Art Exhibition at the Wallace Smith Theatre Gallery, Oakland Community College, 27055 Orchard Lake Road.

Now through December 22nd: Light is my Voice: Images, Legends, and Abstractions, an exhibit of photography by Todd Weinstein. At the Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Rd.

 

What to do in Farmington/Farmington Hills this Week (9/15/14): Anne Frank, Women’s Art Exhibition, and Harvest Moon Celebration

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Check out some of the great arts & cultural Riley Park in Farmingtonevents to look forward to in the Farmington/Farmington Hills community this week:

Monday, September 15th, at 6:30 pm: Anne Frank Education Program in cooperation with the Holocaust Memorial Center. Hear an inspiring story from a Holocaust survivor and learn more about teenager Anne Frank, who kept a diary of her experiences in hiding during World War II. 6th- through 10th-graders will create a related art project; families of all ages are invited to hear the survivor presentation. Registration required. At the Farmington Community Library on 12 Mile Rd in Farmington Hills.

Monday, September 15th, and Tuesday, September 16th, from 5:30 to 9:30 pm: Open audition  for Oakland Community College Theatre Program‘s production of the musical Godspell. Auditions will be held in the Smith Theatre on the Orchard Ridge Campus.

Wednesday, September 17th, at 7:00 pm: Benny Edwards performs at Off the Beaten Path Books at 33314 Grand River Ave in downtown Farmington.

Thursday, September 18th, at 7:00 pm: Opening Reception for From Our Perspective: A National Women’s Art Exhibition at the Wallace Smith Theatre Gallery, Oakland Community College, 27055 Orchard Lake Road. The exhibit runs through October 17th.

Thursday, September 18th, at 8:30 pm: Swing Farmington at St. John Lutheran Church, 23225 Gill Rd. in Farmington Hills.

Harv Moon Fest Mich Beer Guide AdThursday, September 18th, and Friday, September 19th, at 6:00 pm: Annual Harvest Moon Celebration with food, wine & beer, and live music, in downtown Farmington.

Saturday, September 20th, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm: Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market, at the Walter E. Sundquist Pavilion in George F. Riley Park.

 

 

kickstART Your Weekend with Some Good Reads: Removing Traffic Signals, Building Community, and Love is All You Need

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Our Friday update here at kickstART farmington highlights some communitygreat articles we’ve read this week dealing with art, creative placemaking, and building great communities. You’re sure to find some inspiration to make your life and our community even better!

1. Remove Traffic Signals?: A critical element is to slow design speeds radically — comfortably below 20 miles per hour — so that pedestrians, bicyclists, cars, trucks, buses, and even handicapped people can mix in a continuously flowing dance.

2. An Illegal Lemonade Stand and Building Community: Our willingness to engage each other in community — to admit that we don’t exist in a vacuum and that our happiness and prosperity are inextricably linked to our relationships with others — is not optional.

3. The Instant Playground Game: Things happen when people are instigated to interact … If you’re walking down the street, or in a park, even when you want to talk to someone, sometimes you don’t do it. So the game itself was in a way an excuse for people to talk to other people.

4. Giving a Community a Soul: Neighborhoods that are widely considered charming or full of character are typically designed to make pedestrians feel cozy by having buildings that are attractive, human-scaled, and engaging to the street, and streets that are narrow and lined with appealing sidewalks.

5. Love is the Secret to a Happy Life: We are happiest when we have a place in the world, when we love and are loved, when we make the most of our gifts.

 

Resources for a Better F2H

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If you care about what makes a great city or townheadphones and are looking for some inspiration to make the Farmington/Farmington Hills community even better here are a few web sites, blogs, and podcasts you’ll want to check out.

Websites and Blogs:

1. Strong Towns For those passionate about the future of America’s towns and neighborhoods.

2. City Lab Informs and inspires the people who are creating the cities of the future—and those who want to live there.

3. Better Cities & Towns Better places, stronger communities.

4. Congress for the New Urbanism Promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.

5. Planetizen A public-interest information exchange for the urban planning, design, and development community.

6. Sustainable Cities Collective The worlds best thinkers on the urban future.

7. Streetsblog USA A daily news source connecting people to information about sustainable transportation and livable communities.

8. Project for Public Spaces The central hub of the global placemaking movement, connecting people to ideas, expertise, and partners who share a passion for creating vital places.

9. Michigan Municipal League Better Communities. Better Michigan.

10. PlaceShakers Planting the seeds of community.

11. 8-80 Cities Contributing to the transformation of cities into places where people can walk, bike, access public transit and visit vibrant parks and public places.

12. Center for Active Design Promoting physical activity and healthy food access through the design of buildings, streets, and neighborhoods.

Podcasts:

1. The Urbanist from Monocle

2. Strong Towns podcast

3. Urbanism Speakeasy  A show about making places better for people

4. CNU podcast from the Congress for the New Urbanism

5. Community Matters 

6. Talking Headways podcast from Streetsblog

7. The Prosperity Agenda from the Michigan Municipal League

Do you have any websites, blogs, or podcasts to recommend? Let us know what you think!

What to do in Farmington/Farmington Hills this Week (9/8/14): Ehnes Quartet, Jazz, New Christy Minstrels, and Auditions!

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Check out some of the great arts & cultural Riley Park in Farmingtonevents to look forward to in the Farmington/Farmington Hills community this week:

Monday, September 8th, at 7:30 pm: Internationally recognized Ehnes Quartet open Chamber Soloists of Detroit‘s 2014-2015 season at First Presbyterian Church of Farmington, 26165 Farmington Road at 11 Mile.

Ehnes Quartet

Ehnes Quartet

Tuesday, September 9th, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm: Open audition for singers & dancers in grades 6-12 to participate in Vocalmotion, a fun show choir designed to highlight the talented performers in the Farmington/Farmington Hills area (open to both residents and non-residents). At Costick Center, 28600 W. 11 Mile Rd.

Tuesday, September 9th, at 7:30 pm: Auditions for the Farmington Community Chorus, at Costick Center, 28600 W. 11 Mile Rd.

Thursday, September 11th, at 6:00 pm: The STM Jazz Quartet, led by Farmington musician Stan Bawol, performs at the Governor Warner Mansion Porch Party, on Grand River in Farmington.

Thursday, September 11th, at 7:30 pm: Swing Farmington takes over the Pavilion in downtown Farmington.

Friday, September 12th, at 7:30 pm: The New Christy Minstrels, Under the Direction of Randy Sparks, perform at the Farmington Players Barn Theatre, located at 32332 W. Twelve Mile Road.

Saturday, September 13th, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm: Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market, at the Walter E. Sundquist Pavilion in George F. Riley Park.

Saturday, September 13th, at 10:00 am: Audition for the Farmington Players production of the comedy Leading Ladies: “despite our best (or worst) intentions, love derails our well-constructed plans and makes us behave like fools for those we love and can’t live without.” At the Farmington Players Barn Theater, 32332 West 12 Mile Rd.

 

kickstART Your Weekend with Some Good Reads: Bloated American Dreams, How Walking Helps Us Think, and the New Wave of Public Art

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Our Friday update here at kickstART farmington highlights some communitygreat articles we’ve read this week dealing with art, creative placemaking, and building great communities. You’re sure to find some inspiration to make your life and our community even better!

1. The Bloated American Dream: The size of the average American house has grown consistently (from 983 square feet in 1950 to a monstrous 2,679 square feet), even as the average U.S. household size has decreased.

2. French Revolution Against the Automobile: By inserting high-quality transit systems into old urban and new suburban fabrics, largely at the expense of space previously dedicated to automobiles, the new revolutionaries have reversed declining transit use, and have stimulated pedestrian, and bicycle use in French cities.

3. Walking Helps Us Think: Because we don’t have to devote much conscious effort to the act of walking, our attention is free to wander … This is precisely the kind of mental state that studies have linked to innovative ideas and strokes of insight.

4. The New Wave of Public Art: Public art … can move away from often staid, intimidating, bureaucratic public buildings and into busy, non-traditional public spaces. Public art can ask questions about stories of place, histories, or communities, rather than simply offer answers.

5. Front Porch Placemaking: In many cases the front porch is the most prominently spatial element of the home because it is located on the front façade and usually in the center of it. As such front porches have a strong social connection between private and public space.

 

Talking about Cities and Strong Towns

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If you’re interested (like we are) in what makes for a healthy, sustainable, vibrant city or town you’ll want to know about the work of the guys in this video (recorded at CNU 22 in Buffalo): Jason Roberts of The Better Block, Mike Lydon from Street Plans Collaborative, Chuck Marohn from Strong Towns, and Joe Minicozzi of Urban-3.

This video provides a good introduction to some of the issues they address in their work.