This week, we have interactive cultural experiences, artisanal holiday markets and festive celebrations for our beloved Lions.

Plus, opportunities to spend time with your favorite WDET personalities. Read on to learn more.

Cultural experiences

On Friday, Nov. 15, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will perform “Moving Justice” at the Detroit Film Theatre inside the DIA. Rooted in the African American experience, DCDC is a company of innovative dance artists steeped in the spirit of Sankofa – retrieving from a rich past while venturing forward. The program will include “American Mo’,” a celebration of the exquisite pride and love that accompanied the marches of the Civil Rights era, and “Nourishing Routes,” a love letter to the ancestors who left breadcrumbs of wisdom for future generations to find, ingest and employ in the long march to justice. This performance is 90 minutes long and begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information, visit dia.org.

Also on Friday, Nov. 15, residents are invited to connect with the rich traditions of Michigan’s indigenous communities for a Celebration of Native American Culture from 7-8 p.m. at The Hawk Theater in Farmington Hills. This dynamic celebration will feature renowned Michigan performers and educators Reg and Marca Pettibone, along with special guests. Enjoy traditional drumming, songs, storytelling and various styles of powwow dance performed by champion dancers. This performance is open to all ages and tickets are $15. For more information, visit TheHawkTheatre.com.

Then on Saturday, Nov. 16, the DIA’s Friends of Asian Arts and Cultures auxiliary invites residents to an enchanting afternoon of culture and flavor with “Spiced Stories: A Celebration of Islamic Coffee, Tea and Cooking.” In connection with the special exhibition “The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World,” this program will feature musicians playing instruments related to the exhibition, presentations about coffee, tea, and cooking cultures from the Islamic world, and delicious samples of food and drink to enjoy. Guests will experience the rich heritage and artistry of the Islamic world through a sensory journey that promises to be both educational and unforgettable. This program is free with museum admission and is open to all ages. For more information, visit dia.org.

Holiday shopping

The Jingle & Mingle Underground Holiday Market returns to Ferndale for its second year this weekend. In the basement of the doT parking garage on Troy Street and Allen, visitors will find a secret society of artists, makers, authors and bakers. This limited-edition market will be open for two days only — Saturday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 17 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit undergroundferndale.com.

Related: Jingle & Mingle Underground Holiday Market organizer Mark Loeb joins The Metro

The 9th Annual Royal Oak Market: Art Fair Edition will take place indoors at the Royal Oak Farmers Market on Thursday, Nov. 21 and Friday, Nov. 22. This festive event will feature 60 jury-selected artists, live entertainment, food vendors and alcoholic beverages for those over 21. The market will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. both days. For more information, visit theguild.org.  

This is also your last weekend to take advantage of the DIA’s Museum Shop Double Discount Days. Now through Sunday, Nov. 17, DIA Members are invited to enjoy an exclusive 20% discount on all purchases, as well as free holiday gift bagging for all gift purchases. For more information, visit dia.org.

Lions celebrations

Statler French American Bistro, located just feet from Ford Field, will be hosting a Tailgate Patio Party on Sunday, Nov. 17 as the Lions take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at home. Guests can enjoy BBQ ribs and brisket along with mac n’ cheese, coleslaw and drink specials as a live DJ brings the energy up. The patio will be open starting at 10 a.m. and kickoff is at 1 p.m. There’s no cover charge but reservations are encouraged. For more information, visit statlerdetroit.com.

Then, keep the Lions pride going at the Detroit Historical Museum with their new exhibit, “Detroit Lions: Gridiron Heroes.” In partnership with the Detroit Lions and showcasing artifacts from both the team’s collection and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, this exhibition explores the franchise’s fascinating roots as well as the NFL of the 1930s, the team’s period of dominance in the 1950s, Hall of Fame-level star power players, and the Dan Campbell-led gritty Lions of today. The exhibition is on display now through August 2025 on the second level in the City of Champions Gallery. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, students, active military and first responders, and $6 for children. For more information, visit detroithistorical.org.

Station happenings

Join us on Monday, Nov. 18 for a no-obligation informational session about our upcoming Travel with WDET: Canadian Rockies trip! We’ll discuss travel itinerary and take questions about this once-in-a-lifetime train journey, featuring snow-capped mountains, glacial lakes, rushing rivers and the sheer unspoiled wilderness of Canada. The informational session will take place on Zoom at 6 p.m., and attendance does not commit you to participating in the trip. For more information, visit wdet.org/events.

Related: Travel with WDET: Canadian Rockies

Then on Tuesday, Nov. 19, join WDET News Director Jerome Vaughn and a panel of experts for the third installment of Smart Politics, hosted at Shield’s of Midtown. We will reflect on Michigan’s effects on the 2024 presidential election, explore what worked and what didn’t, and take audience questions with our panelists. Food and drinks will be available for purchase, and a $5 reservation fee is required to secure your spot. For more information, visit wdet.org/events.

Anyone else in desperate need of an emotional reset? This week, we’ve got some soothing and fantasy-forward events to take your mind off of election results, even if it’s just for an evening.

Plus, a chance to laugh with Peter Sagal, because laughter is the best medicine, right? Read on to learn more.

Soothing art exhibits

“How We Make the Planet Move” is the inaugural exhibition in Cranbrook Art Museum’s Detroit Collection series. Designed to acknowledge the long-standing history of artists who have called Detroit home and the area’s rich and diverse community of practitioners, the Detroit Collection is particularly focused on art from the 1960s to the present in a variety of media. This new, permanent collection is devoted to celebrating and preserving the work of artists and designers in the metro Detroit area, especially works by women, artists of color and LGBTQ+ identified individuals. The Detroit Collection Part I is on display in Cranbrook’s Upper Galleries now through March 2, 2025. For more information, visit cranbrookartmuseum.org.

“The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World” is on display at the DIA now through Jan. 5, 2025. The exhibition brings together 230 works from the Middle East, Egypt, Central and South Asia, and beyond to explore connections between art and cuisine from ancient times to the present day. Paintings of elaborate feasts, luxurious vessels for food and drink, and historical cookbooks show how culinary cultures have thrived in the Islamic world for centuries. Highlighting the relationship of these works to preparing, serving and enjoying food, the exhibition engages multiple senses and invites us to appreciate the pleasures of sharing a meal. This exhibition is free with general admission to the museum, which is also free for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. For more information, visit dia.org.

“The Journey Collection” is a new art exhibition on display at Farmington Hills City Hall. Featuring works by Novi artist Sukanya Ramakrishna, the Journey Collection includes landscape oil paintings inspired by travels to national and state parks. An opening reception will be held at City Hall on Friday, Nov. 8 from 6-8 p.m., and the collection is on display during City Hall’s regular hours now through Jan. 10, 2025. For more information, visit their Facebook event.

Serene orchestral performances

Bringing their signature chemistry and incisive playing to chamber music, four principal strings from the DSO have joined forces to form the Woodward String Quartet. Concertmaster Robyn Bollinger, Associate Concertmaster Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy, Principal Viola Eric Nowlin and Principal Cello Wei Yu make their Detroit debut as a quartet on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in The Cube. Inspired by the East, the program will include selections by Haydn, Debussy and Grammy-nominated Michigan artist Zhou Tian. Tickets start at $25. For more information, visit dso.org.

Sci-fi escapism

Motor City Comic Con returns to Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi from Friday, Nov. 8 through Sunday, Nov. 10. Pop culture fans can enjoy celebrity meet and greets, cosplay contests, a tabletop game room and more. This year’s celebrity guests include George Takei, John Cusack, Dave Coulier, Joel McHale, Manny Jacinto and more. Tickets range from $30-$250 for adults, and kids’ day passes are $10. For more information, visit motorcitycomiccon.com.

The Color of Sci-Fi is a series celebrating and uplifting the genre of science-fiction and the people of color who create and enjoy it. Located in Detroit, this series includes art exhibitions, author talks, and panel discussions on the power and importance of representation in science fiction and STEM fields, as well as its impact on our city and society. Award-winning authors Steven Barnes (“Far Beyond the Stars”) and Derek Tyler Attico (“The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko”) will headline this year’s event at the Detroit Public Library Main Branch on Saturday, Nov. 9. Festivities go from 2-4 p.m. and admission is free. For more information, visit their Eventbrite page.

Comic relief

WDET and Michigan Public are thrilled to welcome “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” back to Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 14! Host Peter Sagal will lead a panel of comedians, writers, listener contestants and a secret celebrity guest through a rollicking review of the week’s news. Don’t miss your chance to see this Peabody Award-winning comedy news quiz show live at the Fox Theatre. Plus, when you make a sustaining gift of at least $100/month at wdet.org/give, you could even enjoy drinks and dessert with Peter Sagal after the show! For more information, visit our events page.

Oftentimes, when we think of the immigrant story, we think about people coming to a new country for better opportunities and a safer place to grow a family. 

It’s often a scary and intimidating process, but that’s why the Patchwork Culinary Project exists. Created by a soviet immigrant, the nonprofit restaurant and education program aims to train new Michigan residents in the culinary arts. 

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

It’s not just kitchen training and certification that goes on at the Patchwork Culinary Project. The space doubles as a restaurant and it’s also a kitchen many people in the program will work at.   

Nick Sanchez, founder and lead chef at Patchwork joined The Metro on Tuesday to share more about the project. He says the idea was born from his own personal experiences and wanting to help others find success in the U.S. 

“It came from being an immigrant myself, and starting a restaurant at a young age, and you know — learning how to deal with all the impediments and hassles of opening up a restaurant,” Sanchez said. “So I just figured we have an influx of folks coming into this country, so why not try to set them up for success?”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Sanchez.

More headlines from The Metro on Oct. 22, 2024: 

• The new Editor-in-Chief of Outlier Media, Erin Perry, joined the show to talk about her goals for the publication. Perry has worked at Outlier since 2021. She’s also a practitioner-scholar and uses her knowledge to make journalism more accessible. 
• It’s a pivotal time for Detroit Public Schools Community District. The results of the November election could change the makeup of the school board as over 20 candidates are vying for three open seats. If they’re elected, new board members could disrupt the current harmony on the board and make it more difficult for Superintendent Nikolai Vitti to achieve his goals. Proposal S would make a huge financial difference for the DPSCD if voters approve it. The proposal would pay off the school district’s debt and help make new investments. Robyn Vincent, co-host of The Metro, spoke with DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti about Proposal S and the school board election.
• The U.S. presidential election is just a few weeks away and while our focus is usually on how the election will impact us here in the United States, our neighbors in Canada are also watching the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris closely. So closely, in fact, that Canada’s national broadcaster, CBC Radio, teamed up with NPR’s The Middle and WDET to host a live call-in special from WDET on Sunday, featuring Jeremy Hobson — host of The Middle — and Ian Hanomansing, host of CBC’s nightly news program The National and Cross Country Checkup. Stephen Henderson spoke with Hanomansing ahead of the broadcast to discuss the relationship between Canadian and U.S. politics. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Womxnhouse Detroit offers a residency for women creatives who aim to spread their knowledge and crafts while also bringing new lovers to the arts. The home acts as a rotating exhibit with 10 women showing their art in the space. 

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

These interactive exhibitions are personal reflections of what the artists create in the home, with this season at Womenxhouse bringing a new set of local artists, workshops and events. 

To discuss Womxnhouse Detroit, Co-founder Asia Hamilton, ceramics artist Michaela Ayers and fiber artist Cat Washington joined The Metro.

“The first two iterations of Womxnhouse was at my childhood home, so we are still in the neighborhood that I grew up in. We’re on Grandmont, right off Grand River, and the neighborhood has really received us so well,” Hamilton said. “Two people came down to the house last week, and they were like, ‘We’ll be right back’ and then they came with like eight people to come and see the space. So it’s just been an honor to be in the neighborhood that I grew up in, and it’s just an opportunity to provide art and culture in a space where, you know, art can be desolate in a neighborhood.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Asia Hamilton, Michaela Ayers and Cat Washington about Womxnhouse Detroit.

More headlines from The Metro on Oct. 9, 2024: 

• A new Detroit ordinance is being discussed to lower rents in the city. The Fast Track PILOT would offer property tax cuts to developers that would then get passed on as cheaper rental units. The cheaper the rent, the deeper the tax cut. Council Member Fred Durhall III joined the show to discuss the ordinance and how it would create more affordable rent.
• Planet Ant in Hamtramck is a neighborhood theater, specializing in improv, plays and musicals. It gives people the opportunity to get on stage and stretch themselves artistically. Planet Ant begins its theater season this weekend and we were joined by Program Director Mike McGettigan to hear more about what’s in store. 
• It is Hispanic Heritage Month and as we get closer to its end on Oct. 15, we want to discuss the community that has been extremely important to the growth of Detroit — especially in the last 200 years. Wayne State University history professor and Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies Dr. Reyna Esquivel King joined the show to discuss the history of the Detroit Latino community.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

The Charles H. Wright Museum is hosting a series of carefully curated lectures by both nationally-recognized and local performers.

The series, titled The Wright Performances, kicked off on Thursday with a set of performances from internationally acclaimed actor, playwright and director Roger Guenveur Smith — best known for roles in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” “Malcolm X,” and Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster.”

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Smith began the series with the first of three solo performances, titled “Frederick Douglass NOW.” Smith joined The Metro on Thursday before the show to talk about Douglass and this weekend’s performances.

“We’re in a very extraordinary political moment in this country. And I think that Douglass certainly [would have] a lot to say about this particular moment,” Smith said. “He spoke in 1861 when Fort Sumter was fired upon by Confederate troops. And he saw it as an immediate opportunity for the country to liberate the one-seventh of the inhabitants of the country who were enslaved at that point,.

“He saw the Civil War as an abolition war, and I think that he would see this particular moment as a continuation of that war in which people are fighting for freedom and people are fighting for a certain kind of slavery.”

Smith will perform the second one-man play of the series, “Otto Frank,” on Friday, followed by “In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat” on Saturday.

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Smith.

More headlines from The Metro on Sept. 26: 

• The Federal Reserve recently lowered interest rates to hopefully tame prices, but a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau just showed that Michiganders household incomes are falling behind rising prices. To discuss why this is happening, and what can be done about it, economist Don Grimes joined The Metro.
• A collection of musicians are coming together at the Fox Theater for Smooth Jazz Fall Fest. Founder of Detroit Musix Sam Donald and Co-owner of Anderson and Denham Entertainment Derek Denham joined the show to share more about the event.
• Detroit is full of artists, but many of them are not well known. Art Clvb is a new app that works to connect artists and collectors. And as part of their work, the app is throwing an in-person event called Art Fair at five locations around Detroit starting Friday. The event will include about 200 artists selling their work. Detroit artists Dorota and Steve Coy joined the show to talk about the Art Clvb app and Art Fair event.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.