This week, we’ve got tons of ways to engage with art in metro Detroit, from interactive sculptures to intimate concerts. Plus, fall favorites, small business experiences and season premieres. Read on to learn more.

Upcoming events

Season Fair

  Michigan Central in Detroit

  Thursday, Sep. 25 through Sunday, Sep. 28

  $30–$100

Detroit’s first contemporary art fair dedicated to bringing local and international galleries together. Visitors can browse featured artwork, shop for new pieces and attend panel discussions. The fair is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Single day entry is $40 for general admission or $30 for seniors and students with valid ID. VIP tickets are available for $100 and include multi-day entry and access to exclusive events.

Rooftop Rendezvous feat. Kasan Belgrave

  Arab American National Museum in Dearborn

  Friday, Sep. 26

  Free with RSVP

A free outdoor concert featuring saxophonist Kasan Belgrave and his band. Belgrave is a woodwind specialist, recording artist and jazz composer, and he’s the son of legendary Detroit trumpet player Marcus Belgrave. The concert goes from 6–8 p.m.

Hay Ride Central

  Heritage Park in Farmington Hills

  Every Friday, Sep. 26–Oct. 31

  $5–$6

Family hayrides through the trails of Heritage Park in Farmington Hills. Admission is $5, and participants can get cider and a s’more at the end of the ride for an extra $1. Kids under 2 years old ride for free. Rides leave every half hour from 5:30–7 p.m.

Shop Downtown Detroit

  Various locations in Detroit

  Saturday, Sep. 27

  Free

A one-day event promoting downtown businesses, featuring exclusive deals, limited-edition products and interactive experiences. Promotions go from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at participating vendors.

13th Annual Ofrendas: Celebrating el Día de Muertos

  Detroit Institute of Arts

  Saturday, Sep. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 2

  Free with museum admission (free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties)

The 13th installment of the DIA’s Día de Muertos celebration, developed in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in Detroit, the Southwest Detroit Business Association and Mexicantown CDC. The exhibition features ofrendas by local artists and community members, and is designed to familiarize visitors with the Mexican traditions of the Day of the Dead.

Public Opening Celebration for Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation

  Detroit Institute of Arts

  Sunday, Sep. 28

  Free with museum admission (free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties)

A day of creative and cultural activities to mark the opening of the DIA’s newest exhibit highlighting contemporary Anishinaabe art. There will be a sculpture dedication ceremony, drop-in art making activities, live musical performances and storytelling. All ages are welcome.

10 Years Back, 10 Years Forward: Black Bottom Archives

  Detroit Historical Museum

  Ongoing through Sunday, Sep. 28

  $15

A 10th anniversary exhibit celebrating the Black Bottom Archives, featuring zines, podcasts, photos and interactive displays about the historic Detroit neighborhood.

Here There Are Blueberries

  Detroit Public Theatre

  Wednesday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Nov. 2

  $5–$100

A play based on true events that follows a mysterious album of never-before-seen World War II-era photographs and a shocking truth behind the images inside. This is the first production in DPT’s 11th season. General admission is $52–$100 and select dates feature pick-your-price tickets starting at $5.

Shape Your World Interactive Experience feat. Optik Installation

  Beacon Park in Detroit

  Ongoing through Friday, Oct. 3

  Free

An outdoor installation featuring interactive gyroscopic structures that create unique light displays and abstract sounds depending on the position of the sun. The venue also offers music and curated beverages by Lumen Detroit. The installation is open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

WDET’s CuriosiD series answers your questions about everything Detroit. Subscribe to CuriosiD on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode of CuriosiD, listener Martha Rotter asks the question:

“What happened to Chamberlain Bakery and their sour rye bread recipe?”

The short answer

A nostalgic walk through Chamberlain Street

On Detroit’s Chamberlain Street, people would wake up to the aroma of freshly baked sour rye bread from the Chamberlain Bakery.  

It was opened by Lithuanian baker Stanley Vasilauskis (who also went by Wasilauskis) in 1924. He brought the recipe with him when he moved from Chicago, where his family owned the Wasilauskis Home Bakery. 

Livonia resident Martha Rotter remembers eating the bread with her German husband’s family during gatherings.  

“Every time we got together, whether it was a potluck or just a regular family dinner, there was Chamberlain Bakery bread there… And they all agreed it was the best bread,” she says. 

John Micallef, the CEO of Oakland Macomb OBGYN, grew up in Southwest Detroit near the Chamberlain Bakery. He worked on a paper route in the 1980s, close to the bakery.  

“I remember stopping there on the way, doing the route, grabbing a snack. Sometimes in the morning, they would give you a cookie or something. We were really young back in the day,” he reminisces.

Micallef says the bakery was a gathering space where people knew you on a first-name basis.  

“It was just a great neighborhood type of bakery, the kind you don’t really see too much anymore, but the smell was always wonderful. People were friendly. They knew you by your name.” 

The bakery was sold again in 2002 to Alexander & Hornung, a sausage-processing company. Then-president Bernie Polen says the bakery was on its last leg and he purchased it to keep it alive.

At the time, they baked about 800 loaves of bread daily and distributed them to stores in metro Detroit. Polen says he closed the bakery around 2008 or 2009 because it wasn’t financially viable.

A second act for Chamberlain Bakery bread

David Alkevicius also grew up in Southwest Detroit on the sour rye bread from Chamberlain Bakery. He says many times he was the designated person in the family to grab loaves of bread for special occasions.  

When he learned the bakery had closed down, he decided he needed to learn how to make the bread.

“Honestly to begin with, it was more selfish because I wanted it and I didn’t know anywhere to get it,” he laughs. 

He began reaching out to people who formerly worked at the bakery to learn the recipe and make the sour rye bread.

It turns out the sour rye bread has a large fan following, in part due to how it was baked in a brick oven heated up to over 425 degrees. The coal burning oven stayed on practically all the time, until it was changed to a gas oven after Polen acquired the bakery. He says the oven would be turned off once a year to cool down and to allow a mason to patch the brick.

Alkevicius says the rye bread has a unique formula.

“Most rye breads that you buy from the store are 15% (rye). The sour rye from Chamberlain Bakery, they had a half and half, which was 50-50, and then their actual sour rye was 75%, and so it’s a heavy, dense bread, but still very soft,” he explained.

It took him about five years to perfect the recipe. He also made a few adjustments. 

“You’d mix the hot, boiling water with the rye flour, and once it cooled, you added it to the mother dough. And I think it just changed the whole, you know, the whole composition of the bread, because I tried making it the traditional way, where people just mix flour and water, and it never came out right,” he said.

Alkevicius says it’s hard to find a similar bread in stores.

He began selling his bread at the Wilson Barn farmer’s markets for two years. Then he opened Alkevicius Breads in 2016, a bakery in Livonia located on Five Mile and Farmington Road that operated through 2018. He hopes he can bake the breads again someday.

Although it’s been nearly two decades since the Chamberlain Bakery has shut down, many people still talk about it on Facebook and Reddit threads.

It holds a special place in people’s memories, with many hoping they can get another bite of the one-of-a-kind sour rye bread.

Lithuanians in Michigan

Algis Kaunelis is the cohost of the Lithuanian Melodies Radio Program on WMZK 690 AM. 

Kaunelis grew up in Southwest Detroit on 25th and Vernor Street. His parents moved to Detroit during World War II. He says sour rye bread is popular among Lithuanians in the area.

“My parents ended up at a displaced persons camp in Germany, like a lot of other Lithuanians, and then eventually had a godmother in Detroit. And so, they settled in the Detroit area, which a lot of other Lithuanians did, because there were good automotive jobs that they could get and start earning a living right away.”

He too grew up eating bread from Chamberlain Bakery, which his family purchased from a local Lithuanian store that carried the bread.

Years later, he and his wife Patt volunteered their time to deliver about 25 loaves to All Saints Church on Fort Street on Saturday afternoons. The bread was donated by the baker until it shut down.

Today, Kaunelis says there are about 30,000 Lithuanians living in metro Detroit.

About the listener

Livonia resident Martha Rotter remembers having Chamberlain Bakery bread with her German husband’s family during gatherings. She says it went well with different pairings. She hopes the bakery opens up again someday, or that someone sells the bread once again.

We want to hear from you!

Have a question about Southeast Michigan’s history or culture? Send it our way at wdet.org/curious or fill out the form below. You ask, we answer.

This weekend is ripe with opportunities to welcome fall and celebrate diverse cultures, plus musical performances and art fests galore! Next Thursday is the annual Spelling Bee fundraiser for the Dominican Literacy Center.

Don’t miss your chance to be present and support local organizations and businesses. 

Upcoming events

Ascension Exhibit by TYP

Big Pink (6440 Wight St, Detroit, MI 48207)

  Friday, Sep. 19 through Saturday, Sep. 20

  Free

This art exhibit blends the designed environment with audio to immerse its audience in an intimate exploration of the relationship between life’s struggles and spiritual growth. The exhibit is open from 6-10 p.m. on Friday and from 12-10 p.m. on Saturday.

DIY Street Fair

Downtown Ferndale

  Friday, Sep. 19 through Sunday, Sep. 21

  Free

Over 150 local artists with quality crafted goods, along with food trucks and live music. The event runs from 6-11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Funky Ferndale Art Fair

Downtown Ferndale

  Friday, Sep. 19 through Sunday, Sep. 21

  Free

Browse a unique selection of fine 2D and 3D art pieces, make your own masterpieces, and enjoy spirited music, dance, and circus acts. Attend at no cost Friday from 5p.m. – 9p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to  5 p.m.

WDET is a partner of the Funky Ferndale Art Fair.

1st Annual Community Treehouse Fall Concert

Passage to Wellbeing Alley 

  Saturday, Sep. 20

  Free

The inaugural Fall Concert at the Community Treehouse Center opens with a debut of “I Am Light” by Tammy Black, performed by the Urban Art Orchestra . Other performances include Detroit’s Queen of Blues Thornetta Davis, Detroit Reggae Rock and Soul Band and more! Bring your own seating. This event runs from 3-7 p.m.

Palmer Park Harvest Fest

Palmer Park Community Center

  Saturday, Sep. 20

  Free

Take part in a Palmer Park tradition, celebrating the first official days of fall with apple tasting, cider and donuts available to the first 500 guests free of charge. You and your family can take part in the petting zoo, arts and crafts, and watch live entertainment from 1-4 p.m among an old growth forest.

DTE Community Concert

The Hawk

  Saturday, Sep. 20

  Free

Enjoy a classical music program performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra that includes premiere selections from “313: Six Vignettes for Orchestra” by Detroit’s Composer Laureate Patrick Prouty. The music starts at 7 p.m. Reserve your tickets in advance.

Chicano Fest

Batch Brewing Company

  Saturday, Sep. 20

  Free

Celebrate Chicano culture with live music, lowriders, lucha libre and more. Activities for all ages, from noon-10 p.m.

Brazilian Day Street Festival

Vamonos!

  Saturday, Sep. 20

  Free

The 4th annual Brazilian Day Street Festival opens with a lively parade and offers dance workshops and competitions throughout the day. Canja de Boa will be performing live. Join anytime from noon-7 p.m.

Dominican Literacy Center Spelling Bee

Jam Brandy 

  Thursday, Sep. 25

  $40 or $35 for participants

The annual Dominican Literacy Center Spelling Bee raises funds for the organization to continue their mission of helping adults improving their reading and writing skills. This benefit is hosted by Stephen Henderson with guest Dame Wilburn from Moth Story Hour and goes from 6-9 p.m.

Chinatown in Detroit was the destination for many Chinese immigrants who traveled to the city. Urban renewal and the construction of the Lodge freeway was then built through the neighborhood and Chinatown residents moved from Jefferson Avenue to the Cass Corridor. That’s where it existed up until Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine – a staple eatery in Chinatown for decades  — shuttered in 2000.

Now, new investments are being made into the area to revitalize what was once a cultural staple in the city. And to celebrate and continue those efforts, Michigan Humanities is hosting a fundraising event on Friday, July 18. And later this month, the Detroit Chinatown Vision Committee is hosting its first annual Block party.

Detroiter Curtis Chin is the co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City and the author of “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese restaurant” — an appropriate title given his family owned the historic Chung’s restaurant in Detroit’s Chinatown neighborhood. He joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the history of the neighborhood and it’s revitalization.

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.

More stories from The Metro

The world can learn a lot from Detroit. Last week, the nonprofit Global Citizen came to the Hudson’s building to do just that.

The convening featured panels and discussions with Detroit artists and changemakers — but also some names that people recognize around the world — people like Wyclef Jean and Mark Cuban. 

The Metro’s Tia Graham attended the Global Citizen NOW Detroit summit and spoke with featured panelist, celebrity chef, restaurateur and author, Marcus Samuelsson about Detroit’s global food scene and its ability to bring cultures together.

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.

More stories from The Metro