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Feeling Festive

This September, events center on art, community, and culture.

Dally in the Alley
Cass Corridor’s largest annual one-day festival is back for another year of entertainment. The event will celebrate the city’s music, art, and food scenes with live performances and a variety of local vendors. Sept. 8. No cost. Detroit;

Brazilian Day Street Festival Michigan
Held at the Dabls MBAD African Bead Museum, the festival will feature live music, vendors, and activities for kids in honor of worldwide Brazilian Day. Sept. 15. No cost. Detroit;

Detroit Month of Design
The citywide celebration will hold more than 30 events this month, gathering artists and the greater community to recognize Detroit’s creative role as a global design capital. Sept. 1-30. No cost. Detroit;

“The best part of filming locally was how involved the communities were and to showcase all the [beauty] that is in Detroit.”
— Jesse Crawfis, actor and choreographer of Devil’s Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge

In Action

Devil’s Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge, a thriller featuring Eminem’s brother Nathan Mathers and music from multi-platinum rapper Swifty McVay, will be released on Sept. 21. The fight scenes in the film, which tells the story of a female soldier’s battles as she encounters the legendary Detroit creature, were choreographed by Jesse Crawfis, the owner of Total Martial Arts in Royal Oak who plays the Nain Rouge.

Radio Isn’t Dead

Award-winning novelist and short story writer Michael Byers is attempting to revive an old, potentially forgotten, form of entertainment: the radio drama. The Seattle native, who founded and directs the Ann Arbor-based company, Empire Podcasting System, says his interest in this type of storytelling was less about the structure of the radio drama, and more about how it can be used to engage audiences.

“Our listeners can get involved very quickly in a complicated story, and become aficionados of what they’re being told,” says Byers, 49, who lives in Ann Arbor and teaches creative writing at the University of Michigan.

Empire Podcasting’s first show, Mary from Michigan Saves the World, debuted in June. The radio soap, which Byers calls an “adventure serial,” touches on police brutality, LGBTQ+ issues, and mental illness through the journey of a young art history grad named Mary Marshall. “The story is purposely entertaining and fun, but we don’t have to be silly and stupid,” he says. “We depict life as it is while telling this highly adventurous story.”

While more episodes of the drama won’t be released until later this fall, Byers and the show’s voice actors will appear at a panel on Sept. 9 at the 16th annual Kerrytown BookFest. Next month, on Oct. 23, fans can also attend a live recording of three new Mary from Michigan Saves the World episodes at Zingerman’s Greyline. The live event is a first for Empire Podcasting.

Visit for more information on upcoming projects and events.

The estimated distance in miles between Mars and Earth during the Astronomy at the Beach event at Island Lake Recreation Area. Sept. 14 and 15. No cost. Brighton;