Shawn Malone shared this photo yesterday saying: Incredible. There are now 4 CME’s earthward directed headed our way in the next few days. Levels of up to G4 storming are now forecast for auroras (see below for chart). Two of the CME’s merging late the 10th into the 11th are responsible for the G4 forecast for that time. I can’t ever remember this many earthward CME’s in such a short period of time from one region (3664 in this case).
…This is pretty amazing. Region 3664 is HUGE. Looks like that region alone has released 5 CMEs now, the last one tbd if it is earthward, but the rest appear to be with G4 storming in the forecast for Fri into Sat and very possibly beyond. This is the weekend to make a trip if you can, however we have cloud cover tomorrow night (aka tonight), MN looks better in that respect
The storms rolled through around 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., causing thousands to lose power. Some of the heaviest damage was concentrated around Westnedge Avenue, Centre Avenue and Oakland Drive, according to Portage city officials.
The FedEx building at 6701 Portage Road sustained a direct hit from one of the reported tornadoes. The roof of the building caved in, leaving the interior exposed. After the storm passed, 50 employees were trapped inside as crews worked to remove dangerous wires so rescue efforts could commence. First responders eventually helped them all out of the building, Tuesday night.
Another spot with major damage was Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park, 6830 East N Ave. in Pavilion Township, just east of Portage. About 17 of the homes were totally demolished and 173 had some degree of damage, according to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office.
The Bardenhagen Berries Farm shares: The sweet cherries 🍒 are in full bloom & it’s a beautiful 🤩 sight all around! What a beautiful day! Strawberries 🍓 usually start blooming around a week or so after cherries. All things considered, this past winter was reported as the warmest on record- and there is a very good chance many fruit crops (assuming they don’t get frosted out) will be a week or more earlier than usual. Follow along right here for updates on the 2024 growing season!
During a presentation to the Detroit City Council to secure permits, Michigan Central CEO Josh Sirefman detailed the “Open Live” concert slated for June 6, which will be streamed globally from the Roosevelt Park location just north of the iconic train station. The free event will welcome 15,000 attendees with pre-registration required, offering a 90-minute concert headlined by yet-to-be-announced entertainment.
…From June 7-16, Michigan Central will host an open house to welcome up to 60,000 visitors, offering a glimpse into the meticulously restored 1913 structure. Additional tours will be available every Friday and Saturday through August 31 with pre-registration. These events aim to celebrate the building’s restoration and showcase its transformation. Michigan Central is coordinating with city officials, including the mayor’s office, police and fire departments, and a private security consulting firm to ensure a safe experience, drawing on insights from Detroit’s recent hosting of the NFL Draft.
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” -Albert Einstein
Julie shared this photo back in April of 2021, but I wanted to make sure everybody saw these sweet little fox babies. She has more great photos of these foxes & others having fun on Flickr.
Have a great weekend everyone, and if you have an extra dollar or three & enjoy Michigan in Pictures, consider clicking the Patreon button below to help me reach my current goal, an asiago bacon croissant at Cannelle Detroit! 😋
Hiawatha & Minnehaha Sculptures by Edmonia Lewis from the Detroit Institute of Arts
WARNING: Novella incoming ;)
The Northern Express shares that the Interlochen Center for the Arts is getting ready for the May 3-4 world premier of Edmonia, the story of 19th-century Black and Ojibwe sculptor Edmonia Lewis who carved out an artistic identity against all odds (click for tickets!). Here are a few highlights but read the whole because WOW this is a huge deal for Interlochen and the whole state of Michigan:
The two-act opera was originally commissioned in 2000 by prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison and composed by acclaimed musician and education Dr. Bill Banfield. The tale follows Lewis’ life, travel, and career at Oberlin College, Boston, Florence, Italy, Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia at a time when travel, a career, and life itself was difficult for many women.
The driving force behind the Edmonia opera is Dr. Bill Banfield, a native Detroiter, whose wide-ranging resume includes musician, composer, guitarist, professor, educator, author, and record company owner.
…Banfield has twice served as a Pulitzer Prize judge in American Music (2010 and 2016). He’s an award-winning composer whose symphonies, operas, and chamber works have been performed and recorded by major symphonies across the nation. Dr. Cornel West has called him “one of the last grand Renaissance men in our time, a towering artist, exemplary educator, rigorous scholar, courageous freedom fighter.”
With all those impressive credentials, what was it like working with the young people at the academy? “Young people jump into the music and they make the music jump,” he says with a smile. “They bring the soul, the imagination, and energy.”
…Patrice Rushen, Broadway actor Sydney James Harcourt of Hamilton fame, and emerging opera performer Amber Merritt star alongside Arts Academy students in the production.
Auditions began in December under co-directors Laura Osgood Brown and Justin Lee Miller. In a nutshell, Brown deems the cast “an explosion of talent. There are 65 in the cast, the largest cast ever on campus,” says Brown. “The first few days were overwhelming. And we were practicing from 4:00 to 6:30 [pm], four or five days a week, in three different locations.”
…One of the highlights of Edmonia is a high-tech rotating stage that carries a $70,000 price tag.
“We received a generous donation which allowed us to purchase a motor-controlled scenery system,” explains Wrobel. “This system moves scenery ‘magically’ on the stage. For the production of Edmonia, we are using the system in two ways. We will have a 20-foot diameter turntable that is in the middle of the stage. This allows us to move other pieces of scenery or performers magically during the show.”
…So why should a northern Michigan audience come to see Edmonia? Wrobel is quick to offer three reasons.
“First, the story is important,” he says. “Edmonia Lewis was an African American and Native American marble sculptor in the late 1800s. The story spans Lewis’ courageous life from her birth in upstate New York through her turbulent days at Oberlin College and formative studio days in Boston, to her astonishing move to Rome, Italy. In 1876, at the age of 32, Lewis captivated the world with her larger-than-life marble statue The Death of Cleopatra that now stands in the Smithsonian.
The photographer of this pair of marble busts is me (Andy McFarlane). I went looking at the Detroit Institute of Arts that is an actual city block from my apartment & F-R-E-E for all Wayne, Oakland & Macomb county residents. It wasn’t in the African American section as it says on the DIA website, but in the much more appropriate American Art before 1950 section. There I found a bonus – Hiawatha! Both sculptures are about a foot tall and STUNNING.
The credit for Minnehaha is: Mary Edmonia Lewis, Minnehaha, 1868, marble. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of the Centennial Planning Committee for Sharing Traditions and Romare Bearden Exhibitions with a major contribution from Founders Junior Council, 1986.33.
I have emailed the DIA asking them for information about Hiawatha. They may think it’s still at the MET because the MET does!! And while the website is out of date, the card indicates Hiawatha is on loan from the Detroit-based Manoogian Collection which must have loaned it the the MET.
Here’s a bonus pic of Hiawatha & Minnehaha by Edmonia Lewis on display at the DIA by yours truly.
It’s almost Tulip Time, (May 4-12, 2024) and Discover Holland is once again inviting anyone with a passion for petals to take part in their 2025 Holland Area Visitor’s Guide Cover Contest. They say that the cover shot must be taken in 2024 and stand out when surrounded by other brochures. Photos must be vertical (portrait) in orientation or be able to be cropped as such. The winning photographer gets a $500 cash prize and photo credit when it’s used editorially. The top ten photos each get $50 and the winner of the “People’s Choice” vote online will receive $150.
This photo by Measie Elizabeth was the winner last year. Learn more about the photographer at Measie Elizabeth Photography.
I saw a couple other photos of this cloud as it rolled across the Straits of Mackinac & northeast Michigan the other day but wowzas – the Mighty Mac takes it!! Our friends at the Earth Science Picture of the Day have an excellent post on the difference between roll clouds & shelf clouds:
Roll clouds and shelf clouds are found near the leading edge of thunderstorms and form when relatively cool air, from the storm’s downdraft, forges ahead into the warm, moist air that’s feeding the storm. The main difference between roll clouds and shelf clouds (both are called arcus clouds) is that a roll cloud is detached from the parent thunderstorm, whereas a shelf cloud (right) is affixed to the base of a cumulonimbus cloud.
NOTE: Just learned that this picture is from 2018 – still love it! (buy it here)
I’m still recovering from the MASSIVE event that was the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit which hosted over 3/4 of a million people. There will be more posts, but I thought this post that Jamon Jordan of Black Scroll Network History & Tours shared on Facebook gives some great perspective on some of the massive events the Motor City has hosted over the years:
I’m sure everyone is aware that the crowds at the NFL Draft in Detroit are so large that no one else is being allowed into the 3 entry points. About 275,000 people are right here at, in or near Campus Martius, and Cadillac Square plus another 100,000 people in other venues downtown – Greektown, Hart Plaza, Grand Circus Park.
But Detroit has hosted large crowds before. Take a look at some of the large crowds – 100,000 or above – in Detroit’s history:
June 23, 1963 – Detroit Walk to Freedom – 125,000-250,000 people marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & Rev. CL Franklin and heard Dr. King’s “Dream” 2 months before Washington DC.
August 19 – September 5, 1966 – Michigan State Fair – 1.2 Million people (our record attendance) The Temptations was one of the acts performing that year on Woodward between 7 & 8 Mile.
June 6, 1997 – Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Victory Parade – 1.4 Million people came down to celebrate with the Wings. And they threw an octopus on the streets too.
July 21, 2001 – 300th Birthday of Detroit/Free Stevie Wonder concert – 500,000-1 Million people listened to Stevie Wonder at Hart Plaza and watched the fireworks.
May 24-27, 2002 – Detroit Electronic Music Festival – 1.7 Million people. The Techno Festival surpassed a million people each of it’s 1st 3 years – 2000, 2001 & 2002 (2002 DEMF is pictured).
Michigan in Pictures 