Ann Arbor Summer Festival kicks off new season
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Ann Arbor Summer Festival returns to the University of Michigan's campus on Friday.
The free event features live performances, classes, kids' programming, food trucks, a beer garden and more. A ticketed music series features nationally-known artists who perform at Hill Auditorium.
"It's just a really great launch to the summer for us," A2SF Associate Director James Carter said. "We have three stages. Our Rackham stage, which is our biggest stage, and then our Grove Stage has become a really lovely place for jazz and sort of happy hour events. And then our Annex has some really great stuff on it this year."
The nonprofit organization was founded as a partnership between the University of Michigan and the City of Ann Arbor. Summer Fest is known for its family-friendly programming, which runs six days a week.
"I might be biased but I love Summer Fest because my boyfriend is playing two shows," said Isabella Guo, who works at University Flower Shop in Nickels Arcade. "I love seeing all the families come to the park to enjoy time with their family. It's just a really fun reason to love living in Ann Arbor."
Self-professed "townie" Kyla Boyse said she's been coming to the event for years.
"I love the way it brings the community together and people are outdoors together, they're dancing, listening to music, enjoying a movie, hear the audience reactions at the movie, the little kids running around, food, it's just such a nice, wonderful summer activity to bring people together outdoors," she said.
This year, the festival will run through June 25.
For more information, including a full lineup of events, visit here.