There’s always loads of interesting things to do in and around the Ann Arbor area, especially in the summertime! Whether it’s just you, you and a friend, or the whole family looking for something fun to do, I know you’ll find something out of the ordinary here to enjoy.
Here are 10 great things to do this month. All of them are free unless otherwise noted:
1. Mini-Moog Fest: Ann Arbor District Library
July 9 | 11am-4pm
AADL Garden Space – 343 S. Fifth Ave
Adults and teens in grade 6 & up invited to listen to electronic music and try out the AADL collection of tools for making music, including MacPipes, Monotrons, Concertinas, and more.
2. Summer Splash Day: Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation
July 9 | 2pm-4pm
Buhr Park Pool – 2751 Packard Rd | $5
A family-oriented afternoon of special activities. including a jello pool, piñata, watermelon eating contest, and more.
3. Bicycle Workshop: Common Cycle
July 10, 17, 24, and 31 | 11am-3pm
Kerrytown Artisan Market – 315 Detroit Street
Common Cycle operates a bicycle repair workshop on Sundays during warm weather. The outdoor workshop is run by trained volunteers who set up with bicycle workstands, tools, and supplies. The workshop is open to members of the community at no cost to come and work on their bikes with as much or as little assistance as they want.
This happens every Sunday from April-October, volunteer-permitting.
Common Cycle is an Ann Arbor non-profit organization whose mission is to provide access to bicycle education and resources. Common Cycle also operates the repair stand at other times such as at neighborhood events and teaches a bike maintenance class twice per year. Find them at commoncycle.org.
4. Drawing for Adults, Still Life: Ann Arbor District Library
July 10, 17, 24, and 31 | 1pm-3pm
AADL meeting room (4th floor) – 343 S. Fifth Ave.
Art instructors Payton Cook and Ted Woods offer weekly hands-on introduction to various drawing skills, with a different drawing subject each week.
5. Open Archery: Ringstar Studio
July 10 | 2pm-4pm
Ringstar Studio, 3907 Varsity Dr. | $8
Suitable for people as young as 4, enjoy firing arrows using recurve bows into a variety of foam targets. Door fee includes loaner bow and arrows.
6. Rhyta Musik and Brasslands: Ann Arbor District Library
July 16 | 1-4pm
AADL multipurpose room (lower level), 343 S. Fifth Ave.
Performance by Rhyta Musik, a local 7-piece Balkan brass band whose music is sprinkled with New Orleans funk flavors, followed at 2 p.m. by a screening of Brasslands, a documentary that explores the explosive recent popularity of Balkan brass music through the stories of 2 musicians– a Serbian trumpet master, a virtuosic Roma street musician, and a dedicated American who has been playing this music in New York for the last 30 years.
7. The Detroit Circus: Ann Arbor District Library
July 17 | 1-2pm and 3-4pm
AADL multipurpose room (lower level), 343 S. Fifth Ave.
Performance by this troupe of circus sideshow performers, including stilt walking, acrobatics, aerialists, hand balancing, fire artists, contortionists, jugglers, and more.
8. Read to the Library Dogs: Chelsea District Library
July 17 | 1-2:30pm
CDL KidSpot, 221 S. Main, Chelsea
All beginning readers ages 6-11 invited to read one-on-one for 10 minutes to a dog trained to act as if it’s listening. Preregistration required: Call 734-475-8732.
9. Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Mexico’s Poet of Light: University of Michigan Museum of Art
July 17 | 2-3pm
UMMA, 525 S. State St.
Docent-led tour of the current exhibit of photographs by Bravo, a 20th-century Mexican photographer whose Modernist and Surrealist influences imbue everyday scenes with otherworldly power.
10. PiperPartners & Friends BBQ at Gallup Park
July 31 |11am-3pm
Gallup Park – Fast Pavilion – 3000 Fuller Rd.
All friends and clients of The PiperPartners Team are invited to join for a community appreciation BBQ at Gallup Park.
We’re excited to have catered barbecue from Satchel’s, one of our favorite local spots.
And, we’ll have all sorts of other fun things for the whole family going on throughout the day, like music, games, a photo area, snow cones, and more!
We’re also going to announce an exciting new partnership between PiperPartners and Ozone House. It’s our goal to understand and serve the needs of our community, and we’re excited to take this next step in making that happen.
