This week, we’ve got a global spread of celebrations, from Afrobeats to K-Pop. Plus, bringing it back home to the Motor City with the Woodward Dream Cruise and more. Read on for details.

Upcoming events

Techno In The Parks

  Riverside Park in Detroit

  Friday, Aug. 15

  Free

An outdoor concert celebrating techno music, featuring DJ Deep Sequence with special guests Hazmat Live and Room 131. There will also be food trucks, face painting, games and inflatables. The concert goes from 5–8 p.m.

K-Pop Culture Experience — Dance, Games and Flavors

  The Detroit Institute of Arts

  Saturday, Aug. 16

  Free with museum admission

An immersive celebration of Korean culture, featuring a dance performance by PRISM Cru, games with prizes, food samples, and a tour of the DIA’s Korean Gallery. Registration starts at 10:30 a.m. and activities go through 2:30 p.m. Museum admission is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

AfroFuture Detroit

  Bedrock’s Douglass Site in Detroit

  Saturday, Aug. 16 through Sunday, Aug. 17

  $95–$327

The U.S. debut of a globally-successful two-day music festival showcasing African and diasporic talent. Headliners include Afrobeats superstars Asake and Davido, genre-defying Kaytranada, Brazil’s Ludmilla and Detroit’s own Tee Grizzley. Doors open at 2 p.m. each day.

R&Beach

  The Beach at Campus Martius Park in Detroit

  Saturday, Aug. 16

  Free with RSVP

An downtown beach party featuring R&B music, tequila samples, vinyl record decorating and concert ticket giveaways. The party goes from 6–10 p.m.

Fraser Lions Club Carnival

  Steffens Park in Fraser

  Thursday, Aug. 21 through Sunday, Aug. 24

  Free

An annual fundraiser for the Fraser Lions Club, a local nonprofit that supports blind community members by providing resources like leader dogs. The four-day event features family-friendly activities like carnival rides, games, live music, a petting zoo, fireworks and more. Festivities start at 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and at noon on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free, parking is $10 and ride wristbands are $30.

In this episode of The Detroit Evening Report, we cover an upcoming exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts centered around Indigenous artists. Plus, where to hear jazz in the Avenue of Fashion this weekend.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

DIA announces Native American exhibit

The Detroit Institute of Arts has just announced that it’s hosting a Native American exhibit in September. According to the museum’s website, “The Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation” exhibit will feature 60 U.S.-based Anishinaabe artists in the first major exhibition on Native Americans at the museum in 30 years.

The artwork will feature jewelry, basketry and painting. Additionally, there will be pottery and woodworking displays.

The exhibition has been curated with an advisory council of Ojibwe, Ottawa and Potawatomi artists. Gallery text will include Anishnaabemowin, a language of the Indigenous communities in the Great Lakes.

People can see the exhibition Sep. 28, 2025 through April 5, 2026.

Jazz on the Ave returns

Mike’s Fresh Market and the University Commonwealth are hosting a block party this weekend. The 17th Annual Jazz on the Ave festival is a customer appreciation block party on Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion, located on Livernois Avenue.

The event takes place Saturday, Aug. 2 from noon to 8 p.m., featuring live music, free food, bounce houses and a parade at 4 p.m. It will also include a car show by Community Services LLC. Jamal Abro, owner of  Mike’s Fresh Market, says this is a way to thank the community.

Learn how to build a rain garden

The City of Dearborn is partnering with nonprofit Friends of the Rouge to host a rain garden workshop next weekend.

Regina Sistrunk is the Community Development Compliance Officer for the City of Dearborn.  She says in a news release that rain gardens are a holistic way to prevent rainwater from entering the sewer system each year. Participants will learn how rain gardens reduce flooding and support wildlife.

The workshop is funded through Dearborn’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds. The “Rain Gardens 101” class takes place on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10–11 a.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. To register, visit therouge.org.

COVID vaccines still recommended

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recommends getting the latest COVID-19 shot every year.

Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, says she wants to dispel misconceptions and confusion about the shot, after the CDC stopped recommending it for healthy children and pregnant women.

“Our recommendations at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, after reviewing all of the data and guidance, have not changed. We continue to recommend the COVID vaccine for everyone aged six months and older, including those who are pregnant.”

Dr. Bagdasarian says the state’s recommendations align with national medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org. 

Two groundbreaking leaders of Detroit’s arts and culture scene will be honored at the GhostLight Arts Initiative’s inaugural GhostLight Gala, taking place this Sunday at the Garden Theater.

Honoree Njia Kai is a celebrated cultural curator, producer and community visionary. Through her company NKSK Events + Production, the lifelong Detroiter has curated some of Detroit’s most iconic cultural celebrations— from the Charles H. Wright Museum’s African World Festival to the Downtown Detroit Tree Lighting.

Dr. George Shirley, who will also be honored on Sunday, is a man of many firsts.

He was the first Black man to teach music at a Detroit High School; the first Black tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City; and the first Black member of the U.S. Army chorus in Washington D.C. He also received the National Medal of Arts from former President Barack Obama in 2015 for his work mentoring countless Black musicians.

Kai and Shirley both joined The Metro ahead of the gala to discuss their commitment and contributions to Detroit’s art scene.

Proceeds from the event will help support GhostLight programming, including its Obsidian Theatre Festival — which provides a platform for emerging Black voices in theater and film.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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