This upcoming week is ripe with opportunities to unwind in the metro Detroit region, from swapping plants and gardening tips in the Arab American Museum’s heritage garden to letting loose with DanceAbility. There’s also yoga, a tour of the historic Elmwood Cemetery at dusk and more.

Upcoming events (July 30-Aug. 5)

What’s So Funny About Detroit

The Old Miami
July 30
$35 at the door

Join WDET for a night of laughter in the gorgeous backyard of The Old Miami. In The Groove’s Ryan Patrick Hooper hosts headliner Melanie Hearn, along with fellow comedians Zech, Heather Jowett, and Brett Mercer. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Al-Hadiqa Plant Swap

Arab American National Museum
July 31
Free

Swap plants and gardening tips with a group of green-thumbed community members at the Arab American National Museum’s Mymonie Elhage Jabara Heritage Garden. This plant swap, co-hosted with MetroSwaps, is open to all gardeners—no matter how green or experienced—and offers the chance to trade cuttings, seedlings, and stories. Join between 5-7 p.m.

Belle Isle Art Fair

Belle Isle
Aug. 1-2
Free with state parks pass

Returning for the eleventh year, it’s the Belle Isle Art Fair! This art fair set up by the famous Scott Fountain features dozens of artists and several craft stations for all to enjoy. Plus, a beer tent, an instrument garden, and an art dome made entirely of bottlecaps.

Elmwood Cemetery Twilight Tour

Elmwood Cemetery 
Aug. 1
Free

Detroit’s historic Elmwood Cemetery is open for a tour this Saturday, designed to show guests the sights at golden hour. The two hour walk will be mostly on pavement, but there are hills and uneven terrain. Guests may also want to take a closer peak at monuments by venturing into the grass as the fireflies emerge. The walk ends just after sunset, promising a breathtaking journey through the grounds. It’s free to attend, but register in advance to claim your spot.

DanceAbility

Robert C. Valade Park
Aug. 4
Free

DanceAbility creates supportive space to celebrate bodies and explore one’s relationship to disability. This workshop in the Shed at Valade Park starts at 11 a.m. with musician AnJelic, led by facilitator Cara Graninger. Dance freely in a creative space promoting connection and accessibility. DanceAbility offers online options over Zoom on Fridays, too.

Community Yoga with Citizen Yoga

Capitol Park
Aug. 5
Free

Take a deep breath and stretch with a certified instructor from Citizen Yoga in Downtown Detroit’s Capitol Park. All skill levels are welcome for this hour of community yoga starting at 6 p.m.

Four years in, the war in Sudan has produced the largest displacement crisis in the world. Nearly 14 million people have been forced from their homes. Both the United States government and a United Nations fact-finding mission have called the violence a genocide, citing a coordinated campaign by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against the Zaghawa and Fur communities of Darfur.

In the United States, the response has been quiet.

Khadega Mohammed has spent much of her life trying to say something about that silence — through poetry, community organizing, and her work at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, where she is the only Sudanese person and the only Black person on staff.

Born in Sudan, raised in Saudi Arabia, and resettled in the United States with her family in 2007, Mohammed is a spoken word artist whose signature poem, “Between,” opens the PBS AfroPoP documentary “Revolution from Afar.”

She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to talk about the Sudan she remembers, the America she lives in, and the in-between where her poetry was born.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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