Ann Arbor Activities: Events

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The Tempest at Shakespeare in the Arb

Part of the South University Art Fair

• Ann Arbor Film Festival, 203 E Ann St, ☎ +1 734 995-5356, www.aafilmfest.org. Held during six days in late March at the Michigan Theater (603 E Liberty Street). The oldest festival of its kind in North America, showcasing over 100 independent and experimental films and videos annually, since 1963. Over 20 prizes are awarded to the best films. Passes are available for single screenings, single days, weekends or the entire week.

• Hash Bash, University of Michigan Diag near State St and N University St, www.hashbash.com. Held the first Saturday in April. The Hash Bash began when poet John Sinclair was jailed for marijuana possession, leading John Lennon and Yoko Ono to headline a protest rally in Ann Arbor in 1971. Beginning in 1972, it became an annual event to commemorate the occasion and support the reform of marijuana laws. The Hash Bash is a gathering point for thousands of cannabis aficionados from all around, with guest speakers in the Diag attracting large crowds. Given the nature of the event, you probably will see people smoking marijuana; those who do light up tend to take advantage of the difference in fines between the town ($25) and the university ($100 and possible jail time), which basically means that your punishment depends on which side of State Street you stand on. Vendors sell everything from hemp bracelets to "glass art" (actually pipes and bongs, but who's quibbling?), bongo drums are played, and people-watching can be an event in itself.

• Naked Mile, University of Michigan campus. Once held in mid-April at midnight on the last day of classes. A tradition at the University of Michigan which began in 1986, in which hundreds of students - traditionally graduating seniors, although in practice there's a broader spread - ran across campus naked, while spectators cheered them on, to celebrate the end of the school year. Although technically illegal, it was tolerated by local police until 1998, when they began attempting to strongly discourage continuation of the Naked Mile, fueled in part by concerns over outsiders videotaping the event and selling the recordings online. In recent years, to avoid being arrested, students have run the Mile in body paint, underwear, or a day earlier than usual.

• Ann Arbor Book Festival, 311-315 S State St, ☎ +1 734 369-3366, www.aabookfestival.org. Held in mid-May. First organized in 2004 to promote reading, heighten awareness of literacy challenges, and showcase the rich culture of the written word in Michigan and beyond. The festival features a bookstore crawl, antiquarian book fair, author readings, symposiums and panels on literacy and writing, tours of the U-M library conservation and preservation lab, and a street festival.

• African American Downtown Festival, E Ann St and N Fourth Ave, ☎ +1 734 769–0288 (cplfestival@att.net). 10AM-8:30PM. Held the first Saturday in June since 1995. Crafts, merchandise, food, live music.

• Taste of Ann Arbor, Main Street. Held the first Sunday in June 11AM-5PM. Kiosks along Main Street offer people the chance to sample menu items from over 35 local restaurants. Also includes three stages of live music, dancing and more. Admission free, although tickets to trade goodies ($0.50 per ticket, or $10 for a sheet of 20, with most items ranging between 3-11 tickets apiece).

• Shakespeare in the Arb, 1610 Washington Heights, ☎ +1 734 647-7600, sitemaker.umich.edu/mbgna/shakespeare_in_the_arb. Shows begin at 6:30PM. Annual outdoor Shakespearean production since 2001, held on weekends in June. Roving performance requires the actors and audience to shift locations throughout the Arb from scene to scene. Previous productions have included A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It and Love's Labour's Lost. $15.

• Ann Arbor Summer Festival, 522 S Fourth Ave, Ste B, ☎ +1 734 994-5999, www.annarborsummerfestival.org. Held from mid-June to mid-July. An annual event since 1983 with different nightly indoor cultural performances: singers, musical bands, dancers, comedians, plays, and other acts including acrobats and animal handlers.

• Top of the Park, Ingalls Mall, www.annarborsummerfestival.org. Held from mid-June to early July. Nightly local and regional live bands, outdoor film screenings at 10PM, and concession booths from eight local eateries. Traditionally this event was held on the upper level of the Fletcher parking structure, next to the Power Center - hence the name - but it has been temporarily moved outside the Rackham School of Graduate Studies. In inclement weather, performances and films may be cancelled. Free.

• Ann Arbor Art Fairs, ☎ +1 734 994-5260 (toll free: +1 800 888-9487), annarbor.org/events/artfairs.asp. One Wednesday through Saturday in late July. W-F 10AM-9PM, Sa 10AM-6PM. Held throughout downtown, four juried art fairs that display and sell art: the original Ann Arbor Street Art Fair www.artfair.org along N University; the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair www.michiganguild.org/art_fair_summer.html along Main, Liberty, William and State; the State Street Area Art Fair www.a2state.com/artfair; and the South University Art Fair www.a2southu.com. In practical terms, it's all one great big fair that takes about a full day to explore if you move quickly and don't look at every booth. Prices are generally rather high, as befitting an art show of this calibre, but there are definitely bargains to be found, as well as some less expensive non-juried booths that tag along for the ride. Loads of concessions, live entertainment, and booths with great sales from local businesses are scattered throughout. During the Art Fair, hotels are generally booked up and parking can be difficult to find, so book a room early (by February or March) and find a spot at one of the park-and-ride stops to catch a bus into downtown.