NIGHTLIFE

Jazz on the River, Dearborn Homecoming fest: Things to do this weekend in metro Detroit

Detroit Free Press

The first weekend in August offers a variety of fun outdoor activities throughout metro Detroit. Head to Belle Isle Park in Detroit for an art fair and also learn about birding and beekeeping. In Westland and Dearborn, you can enjoy live music, fireworks, carnival rides and family fun. Jazz enthusiasts will appreciate performances by jazz, funk and R&B artists in Trenton. Additionally, downtown Northville will host it’s annual festival promoting Michigan-based businesses.

Here are some things to do this weekend.

Belle Isle Art Fair

More than 100 local and national juried artists will showcase their work in a broad spectrum of mediums, including paintings, woodwork, metalwork, ceramics, jewelry, textiles and more next to the Scott Fountain at Belle Isle State Park. There also will be food, live music by Vladimir Gorodkin and Mark Reitenga, hands-on activities, and more.

New this year is The Secret Art Garden, featuring programs on birding, beekeeping, and more.

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The fair will run from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at Belle Isle State Park in Detroit. Art Fair admission and parking are free. A Michigan State Park pass is required to enter Belle Isle.

Blues, Brews & Barbecue

Enjoy a Westland weekend of fun and entertainment from more than 30 live performances. There will be a drone light show Friday at 10:45 p.m., a fireworks show Saturday at 10:30 p.m., barbecue vendors, food trucks, a kids fun zone, and a beer tent.

Music headliners will include Grammy-nominated contemporary blues guitarist Eric Gales, Selwyn Birchwood, Laith Al Saadi, and Herb the Artist, among others.

The festival runs from 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday at Thomas H. Brown Central Park at 36601 Ford Road in Westland. Free admission and parking.

Attendees showing their grilled corn at Blues, Brews & Barbecue. Vendors and food trucks will be at the event this weekend.

Buy Michigan Now Festival

This 14th annual festival, which promotes Michigan-based businesses and raises funds for the statewide “buy local” campaign, will take place in downtown Northville. The event will feature a variety of local businesses, food, entertainment, a kids’ zone, STEAM activities, and shopping opportunities.

On Sunday, the festival will host a Back to School Bash with hands-on activities, student giveaways, and family-focused entertainment. Performances will include magician and TikTok sensation Anthony Grupido, and members from The Detroit Creativity Project will demonstrate their improv skills.

Magician Anthony Grupido will appear this weekend on Sunday, August 4 for two shows.

Festival hours are from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

Wayne County Parks’ Jazz on the River

The 27th annual two-day music festival will feature an all-star lineup of nationally renowned jazz, funk, and R&B artists performing on a stage along the river.

Headlining the event will be Grammy winner Norman Brown and Grammy-nominated Maysa. Other performers will include Jessy J, Alexander Zonjic, Lindsey Webster, Urban Jazz Coalition, Keith Ferguson Show, and Laura Rain and The Caesars.

Grammy winner Norman Brown will perform at Jazz on the River.

Performances start at 2 p.m. and end after the final performance, which begins at 7 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at Wayne County’s Elizabeth Park, 4461 Elizabeth Drive in Trenton. Admission is free; parking is available for $5. (cash only).

Dearborn Homecoming Festival

For the 43rd year, this festival will bring fireworks, live music, carnival rides, food and drinks, and activities for all ages. There will also be vendors and a community resource market; an arts district; a classic car show, and more.

Enjoy three stages of live music with headlining performances by The Verve Pipe, The All-American Rejects, and Kylie Morgan, among many others.

Fireworks will take place on Saturday and Sunday around 10 p.m.

Dearborn mayor Abdullah Hammoud stands next to long-time Dearborn Homecoming attendee Rusty Jackson, 45, in 2022. The annual Dearborn Homecoming Festival will take place Friday-Sunday at Ford Field Park in Dearborn.

The festival will be open from noon-10:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday at Ford Field Park at 22051 Cherry Hill St. in Dearborn. Admission is free.

Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.