Ambassador Charles A. Ray and Sen. Carl Levin will serve as grand marshals for the parade; a solemn ceremony will follow

Continuing one of the City’s oldest traditions, Dearborn’s 89^th annual Memorial Day Parade will take place at 10 a.m. on May 27. Presented each year by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council (DAWVC) and the City of Dearborn, the parade is one of the largest in the United States.

Presented each year by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council (DAWVC) and the City of Dearborn, the parade is one of the largest in the United States.

Thousands of community members attend each year to watch veterans, bands, community and service organizations march in the parade, which runs east on Michigan Avenue from Greenfield Road to Schaefer.

A solemn ceremony will follow at noon at Dearborn’s War Memorial on the grounds of City Hall.

Parade will focus on sacrifices of POW/MIA soldiers

This year’s parade will pay special tribute to prisoners of war, former prisoners of war and those whose fate is still undetermined, as well as their families.

“The issue of POWs has always been important to me,” said DAWVC Commander Philip Smith, whose father was taken as a POW during World War II. “I want to make sure all our POWs are honored.”

Major Christopher Stone, a Michigan resident and former POW, will serve as a special marshal in the parade.

While serving during the Kosovo War in March 1999, Stone and his comrades were captured by Serbian forces near the Yugoslavia-Macedonia border. They were held as POWs for 32 days before their release and return to America.

Additionally, several members of a support group for former POWs from the Ann Arbor Veterans’ Hospital will take part in the parade and ceremony.

Grand marshals are U.S. senator, ambassador

The parade will feature two grand marshals: Ambassador Charles A. Ray and Sen. Carl Levin. Both men have connections to POW/MIA issues.

Ambassador Ray served 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, including as deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs and director at the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (2006-2009).

He also served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, deputy chief of mission for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and most recently as Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2009-2012).

Sen. Levin has served Michigan in the U.S. Senate since 1978. He has been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for his entire career in Congress, and has been chairman since 2007.

During his time in office, Levin has spearheaded several POW/MIA initiatives, including authorizing the display of the POW/MIA flag at federal facilities and national cemeteries, as well as supporting the annual National POW/MIA Day of Recognition.

Parade to include 70 groups

The parade will feature more than 70 groups looking to pay tribute to America’s veterans and those who died in service to our country.

The lineup will include bands from Dearborn’s four high schools and several middle schools, veterans groups from Dearborn and surrounding areas, local elected officials, multiple scout and community groups, and a tribute to veterans from Ford Motor Company.

A flyover with historic aircraft will be part of the commemoration.

Solemn remembrance ceremony

A remembrance service led by the DAWVC will follow the parade at noon in front of City Hall at the Dearborn War Memorial.

The ceremony will include music performed by the Divine Child High School Band, as well as a laying of the memorial wreath. Former POWs, as well as some of Dearborn’s oldest living veterans, will be honored.

The grand marshals will deliver keynote speeches, and Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. will offer remarks.

The public is invited to attend. Seating is provided.

Learn more, watch the parade live from home

The Memorial Day Parade will be televised live on City of Dearborn Television, which is Comcast Channel 12 and WOW channel 10. It can also been seen on AT&T U-verse and at www.cityofdearborn.org.

To learn more about Dearborn’s Memorial Day parade, visit www.cityofdearborn.org/memorialdayparade. Those interested can also follow City of Dearborn Government on Facebook for historic photos and detailed event information leading up to Memorial Day.

East Downtown Dearborn will again host a signature event this July and August as the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (EDDDA) presents our 2013 Jazz on the Ave concert series in beautiful Dearborn City Hall Park, 13615 Michigan Avenue at Schaefer.

The concerts are Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, free of charge and open to the public. Bring lawn chairs or blankets and stake out a good spot for great music in the Park.

We’ll be showcasing several neighborhood restaurants at each concert who will be selling their food at booths in the park. A face painter and balloon twister will be onsite too!

Of course plenty of nearby restaurants will also be open nearby too, so grab yourself some tasty carry-out and make it a picnic dinner before the show! Check out the restaurants in East Downtown here.

Here’s the schedule to mark your calendars, and please note that the concerts will be held RAIN OR SHINE!!!

JULY 10: Alexander Zonjic & Friends

JULY 17: Joe McBride – pianist

JULY 24: Randy Scott – saxophonist

JULY 31: Two great bands: New York’s Matt Marshak, with Detroit’s own Deon Yates opening

AUGUST 7: Walter White & Small Medium @LARGE Band – 11 piece jazz ensemble

AUGUST 14: Alexander Zonjic’s All-Star Jam (guests to be announced…)

The EDDDA gives special thanks to series co-sponsors Oakwood Healthcare, the Dearborn Community Fund, the Times-Herald, Press & Guide and Metro Times newspapers.

Stay tuned on our website, be sure to Like the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @EastDbnDDA. All provide for updates and events.

Always feel free to contact us at 313-943-3141!

With that being said, The East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority, along with 5 other honorees, was officially recognized by the Dearborn Community Arts Council, Mayor O’Reilly and the public at the annual 25^th Mayor’s Art Awards Ceremony.

Honorees for the Art Awards included Linda Lukens,  Artist / Performer Award; Catherine Prowse, Arts Educator Award;  Mary Beth Oravec, Volunteer Award; Bob Varty, DCAC Bravo Award; Vanguard, Arts Organization Award; Dearborn Education Foundation, Arts Patron Award; and the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (EDDDA),  Mayor’s Award Honoree.

We were all honored at the prestigious 2013 Mayor’s Arts Awards, recognizing the outstanding achievements of Artists and the Arts Community for 2012, on February 13, 2013 at 7:30 pm at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in the Michael Guido Theatre.

The evening was highlighted by performances from the Edsel Ford High School Choir, the Maples Music Ensemble and Drum Line and operatic soprano Brittania Tallori.  Guests also had an opportunity to meet and congratulate the artists and honorees at the reception held immediately following the ceremony.

The Dearborn Community Arts Council is dedicated to support, promote, and develop arts and culture in our diverse community. Te Dearborn Community Arts Council, founded in 1969, is celebrating 39 years of service to the arts and cultural community of Dearborn and surrounding area. The DCAC is a non-profit, 501(c)3 umbrella organization that is dedicated to the mission statement to facilitate, encourage and support the arts in our diverse community. The DCAC provides service and support for the growth and development of 40 individual arts and cultural organizations in the Dearborn/Dearborn Heights Community.

Artspace has built 32 communities around the country, all of them in cities that have seen economic potential in the creative culture and provided artists places to live, work and sell their works as well as perform.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly made the announcement that Artspace is likely to pay $1.65 million for the 1922 Georgian revival style city hall that has become too costly and wasteful for the city to keep.

City hall employees will move into a smaller, more energy-efficient city building that’s more centrally located while ArtspaceDearborn, in cooperation with the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority, renovates the old city hall into the City Hall Artists Lofts at 13615 Michigan Ave. Plans call for 40-plus affordable, live/work spaces for artists, art studios and spaces for arts organizations and creative businesses to operate on the east side of the city. East Dearborn, unlike West Dearborn with its influence of Ford Motor Company and the Henry Ford museum, is a more eclectic mix of businesses and has a deep rooted Middle Eastern community. The Arab American National Museum, believed to be the first and only museum devoted to Middle Eastern art and culture, is in East Dearborn.

The renovation could cost about $13.5 million, according to Artspace, and it acts as an arts and culture magnet that could attract new residents and visitors to the city.

Artspace’s Mission is to create, foster, and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations. Its motto: Bulding Better Communities Through the Arts.

The next step in the process is to apply for low-income housing credits from the state of Michigan, Artspace’s Wendy Holmes says. Without those credits a nonprofit Artspace project can’t happen. Tax credits typically cover 60-65 percent of the construction cost, the credits being based on the project’s ability to provide affordable housing and to act as an economic stimulant. An architect is engaged and drawing up renderings of how an Artspace Dearborn would be laid out and function, she says.

A decision on whether to grant the tax credits is due in August. If approved, construction would start in 2014, Holmes says. If denied, Artspace applies again, and if approved then, construction would begin in 2015, she says.

One thing for certain is that the development would fill a whole city block on Michigan Avenue, where there are two matching City Hall buildings and another building in between. Housing will go into the City Hall building facing Michigan Avenue and in the one just like it around the corner. A third building between them will most likely have studio space,

“It would be a whole campus of arts activity, says Holmes, who has seen the economic spark that comes from providing a gathering spot for the creative community. In Seattle, for example, ArtSpace is about to start construction on its fourth space, this one connected to transit-oriented development, she says.

Along with lofts for living, places for creating or promoting all genres of arts, there would be space for art-related businesses.

“The concept is that space is used by to gather organizations with art interests. It could be a theater company,” Holmes says. “There could be a fabrication area for, say, a company that fabricates different forms of art. This is
where creative people can come together in one place.”

Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Teri Deaver and Wendy Holmes, Artspace

Amongst the many attendees were district merchants and residents, business partners, stakeholders and City of Dearborn officials. It was a great opportunity for district merchants and residents to connect with the EDDDA and learn what we do, and what we can do to help support and promote our businesses and the downtown area.

Our guests enjoyed tasting ‘the world in a mile’ from the long buffet that was filled with food from several of the diverse restaurants in our neighborhood:

Alcamo’s

Bamboozles                 

Country                                   

Dearborn Fresh           

Habib’s                                   

Jim’s Place                  

Joe’s Top Dog            

Lile’s               

M&M                         

Red Star

And last but not least Park Place Catering, who provided beer, wine and pop services by a fantastic bartender!

Here at the East Dearborn DDA we are deeply committed to East Downtown Dearborn and unequivocally stand by our mission to advocate, direct and manage revitalization and economic growth through redevelopment projects, collaborate with stakeholders and support and promote our businesses.