Congratulations to everyone who had a hand in pulling off this evening’s big YpsiGlow event downtown, from the Ypsi High kids with their drums, to the guys from the local funeral home who showed up with their skeleton-filled hearse, and, of course, all of the folks who took the time to either make awesome costumes or create incredibly inspiring works of luminary art. You were awesome.
I can’t recall another event in recent Ypsilanti history that so successfully brought together folks from across our entire community, and it was absolutely beautiful to see.
I know it’s not an easy thing to pull off, but we need more dance parties in the street where folks, regardless of their age, race, or anything else, can just shake their asses together to You Drop the Bomb on Me and smile as they watch little kids dance to Thriller for the first time. Hopefully this is just the first of many such big, public events that get everyone in the community, from our local schools, to our downtown library, working together to harness our collective creative power. As all of us who live here know, it’s Ypsilanti’s greatest strength.
Following are a few photos taken tonight on Washington Street. The first three come courtesy of Lisa Voelker. The rest are from me.
For more about YpsiGlow, check out my recent Saturday Six Pack interview with Adriana Zardus and Jeri Rosenberg of WonderFool Productions, the entity responsible for setting this whole beautiful thing in motion… Thanks also to the folks at First Fridays for laying the ground work by showing that it was actually possible to get everyone in our business and non-profit communities working together toward a common, awesome goal.
update: Video footage from Creative Voice has just been posted:
14 Comments
It is good that people have happy times in their lives.
It was truly great!
Next year I will make something. I promise.
Yeah!!
Someone had a terrible time.
MLive has photos:
http://photos.mlive.com/8002564/gallery/ypsi_glow_dance_party_illumina_1
This started as an idea almost two years ago between Shari Brown from Festifools in Ann Arbor and I as the past Director of the past Ypsi CVB . I committed the funds to do it before I retired from the CVB and Shari found the matching funds from the Community Foundation. I’m just thrilled it finally came to fruition. THANK YOU Shari Brown!
Yeah, my wife and I plan on movin to Ypsi in a year or two. Such a great place. I guess you have been warned? Awesome looking event!
I thought it was great. It would be awesome to see more live art installations (like the lady with the typewriter and the shadow puppets) as part of ypsi glo or a stand alone event. Having every store window downtown with something would be very cool and unique.
This event should evolve and grow each year just like Festifools did in Ann Arbor. Submit your feedback to Marissa at the CVB.
My favorite thing about the whole event was seeing Ypsi’s high schoolers happy, active, and embraced by the community. Not having a high schooler myself, I didn’t know I missed them at the community events I frequent until I saw their happy faces at ypsi glow last night.
The Music & Arts Guild was so pleased to be invited to participate in this event and showcase the talents of three fabulous artists (Mekell Washington, Arian Monceaux and Brian Little) We sincerely hope that this party happens again next year as we would certainly plan on more exciting art activities! We had hoped to set up a larger scale participatory painting project so perhaps we can do that next year!
Correction. Please submit all suggestions and feedback on the Ypsi Glow event to their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ypsiglow/
This is happening again tomorrow evening, folks.