The 47th annual Noel Night is scheduled for Saturday, December 7th, 2019, from 1:00-10:00 p.m. True to its roots, Noel Night continues to be a Cultural Center-wide “Open House,” celebrating the city’s diverse holiday traditions amid the state’s premier arts and cultural institutions, historic churches, galleries, and growing circle of small businesses and restaurants, providing the perfect backdrop for a festive evening packed full of performances to enjoy with family and friends—all free of charge. Carolers, live music, dance, theatre, children’s make & take activities, holiday delectables, shopping at unique businesses and pop-up holiday markets, and visits with Santa are all part of the evening’s festivities.
The hours for Noel Night are:
1:00-7:00 p.m. | North of Warren Avenue. Institutions following this time format include: Carhartt, The Carr Center Contemporary Gallery, C. H. Wright Museum of African American History, College for Creative Studies, Common Pub, Detroit Association of Women’s Clubs, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public Library, Hellenic Museum of Michigan, The Inn on Ferry Street, The International Institute of Metro Detroit, Michigan Science Center, The Park Shelton Lobby, Peacock Room, The Scarab Club, Wayne State University Art Department Gallery, Wayne State University Bookstore, Wayne State University Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University Reuther Library, Wayne State University Welcome Center, and the Wayne State University Warren Park Woodward and Warren Park: Holiday Marketplace. Please note that Cathedral Church of St. Paul, just south of Warren Avenue along Woodward, will also follow this time format.
5:00-10:00 p.m. | South of Warren Avenue. Over 80 venues are following this time format, including Detroit Shipping Co., First Unitarian Universalist Church/EMEAC, The Garden Theater, Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, Motor City Brewing Works Warehouse, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), and the Noel Night Bandstand, to name a few. Bethel A.M.E. Church will also be following these hours.
It should also be noted that due to recent policy changes regarding Woodward Avenue, Midtown Detroit, Inc. (MDI), the producer of Noel Night, is no longer able to mount any activities on Woodward. With these changes, MDI is activating three new hubs with local partners to incorporate many (though not all) of Noel Night’s longstanding holiday traditions. These hubs are located in the following Midtown locations:
- The southwest corner of Woodward and Warren which will feature Wayne State University and TechTown’s Winter Art Retail Market, 8 Degrees Plato Beer Tent and food trucks;
- The northwest corner of Canfield and Cass (410 W. Canfield) which will host the annual Salvation Army Brass Band Sing-A-Long, arts & crafts and a bake sale;
- and the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center/DSO Sosnick Courtyard with the Ice Scraper Challenge, caroling, and more!
Visitors should expect parking to be easier since the hours are spread over a longer period of time with many parking options available close to the venues. For more information about the footprint, please check out the Noel Night map.
Headlining performances include:
- The Detroit Actor’s Theatre Company (The DATC) | Detroit-based community theatre
Performing excerpts from “A Christmas Carol” | 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, & 5:30 p.m.
Michigan Science Center – Toyota 4D Theater, 5020 John R Street, Detroit, MI 48202 - Mosaic Youth Theatre: “A Christmas Carol” | Detroit-based professional performing arts training program for youth | 3:00 & 5:15 p.m.
Detroit Institute of Arts – Detroit Film Theatre, 5200 Woodward, Detroit, MI 48202 - Carrie Morris Arts Production (CMAP) | Detroit-based experimental puppetry and theater troupe
Presents “The Twelve Days of Slothmas”| 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 & 9:00 p.m.
Treat Dreams Patio, 4160 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201 - Audrey Northington & Friends | Best known for her “SCAT DIVA” performances at the historic Baker’s Keyboard Lounge and Bert’s Place in Eastern Market
5:30 p.m.
Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202 - Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings performs “Messiah and More”| Metro Detroit chamber music group
6:00 p.m.
Detroit Institute of Arts – Rivera Court, 5200 Woodward, Detroit, MI 48202 - Etienne Charles | Michigan State University jazz professor by day; trumpeter/bandleader by night
Performs “Creole Christmas 2.0” | 6:00 p.m.
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren, Detroit, MI 48202 - Erin Zindle and the Ragbirds | High-energy band performing world-inspired folk-rock and roots music
7:30 & 9:00 p.m.
Mosaic Midtown Church, 80 W. Alexandrine Street, Detroit, MI 48201 - Ranky Tanky | 2019 Grammy nominated quintet from Charleston, SC that plays music inspired by Gullah culture
8:00 & 9:15 p.m.
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center – The Cube, 3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201 - On The Sun | Modern groove band influenced by classic and contemporary soul, funk, Americana, jazz, and psychedelia
9:00 p.m. – Midnight
Detroit Shipping Company, 474 Peterboro Street, Detroit, MI 48201 - St. Paul and the Broken Bones | Birmingham, Alabama–based rock and roll soul band
9:00 p.m.
The Garden Theater, 3929 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201 - Ural Thomas and the Pain | At nearly eighty years old, Ural Thomas is a hot soul shouter and velvety-smooth crooner from Portland, OR
9:00 p.m.
Motor City Brewing Works Warehouse, 441 W. Canfield Street, Detroit, MI 48201 - Thornetta Davis | “Detroit’s Queen of the Blues”
9:00 p.m.
EMEAC + Cass Commons + 1st UU Church, 4605 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201 - Salvation Army Sing-Along | Annual Holiday Sing-Along with the Salvation Army Brass Band
9:00 p.m.
Noel Night Bandstand, Located in Wayne State University’s Parking Lot 71, 410 W. Canfield, Detroit, MI 48201 (NW corner of Cass and Canfield)
Noel Night perennial favorites include the Ice Scraper Challenge featuring students from Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies transforming blocks of ice into unique sculptural creations, now located at the DSO’s Sosnick Courtyard (51 Parsons Street). The Cathedral Church of St. Paul will continue to host their annual Live Animals of the Nativity on their Woodward Lawn with new hours from 1:00-7:00 p.m. Wayne State’s “Winter Art and Retail Market” will continue to be hosted at Warren and Woodward between the hours of 1:00-7:00 p.m. The College for Creative Studies‘ Student and Alumni Art Sale will also take place, but during the hours of 1:00-7:00 p.m.
Families can visit with Santa at the following venues during Noel Night hours: Avalon International Breads, Bethel A.M.E. Church, Cass Community United Methodist Church, C. H. Wright Museum of African American History, Common Pub, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public Library, Filson, Mosaic Midtown Church, Nest, The Park Shelton, The Scarab Club, University of Michigan Detroit Center, and on the front lawn of Wayne State University’s Old Main Building. Check the Noel Night website for exact hours for Santa at each venue.
Other special installations you will not want to miss include:
- Wayne State University’s Woodward/Warren Park Winter Art and Retail Market (WARM) is a fun and festive pop-up holiday marketplace featuring more nearly 70 vendors. Stop in and shop to support TechTown entrepreneurs and Wayne State students (1:00-7:00 p.m.)
- The Detroit Historical Museum will present a Holiday Sock Hop with WSU Swing Dancers featuring Kayla Chenault—includes lessons, part demonstration & dancing in the Streets of Old Detroit (3:30-4:30 p.m.)
- Robolights Detroit by artist Kenny Irwin, Jr. is a spectacular new site-specific installation created for the lawn of Mike Kelley’s Mobile Homestead at MOCAD (5:00-10:00 p.m.). Kenny Irwin Jr. is the artist behind the masterpiece known as Robolights, the wildly popular sci-fi themed art installation of epic proportions located in Palm Springs, California.
- Detroit-based Apetechnology presents 3 Roving Reindeer, three remote controlled robots as an homage to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer outside of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center (5:00-10:00 p.m.)
- Cranbrook Art Museum’s Art Lab will present a fiber experience for visitors at the Detroit Public Library in their Children’s Library. Test your hand out weaving on a loom or make a holiday pom-pom! (2:00-6:00 p.m.)
- The Noel Night Beer Tent presented by 8 Degrees Plato at the Wayne State’s Woodward/Warren Park will showcase an Appalachian Square Dance with the Detroit Square Dance Society led by Aaron Jonah Lewis from 7:30-9:00 p.m.
A number of new businesses and venues will be participating this year, reflecting the growth of Noel Night and the Midtown Detroit district: Awake Café, Bleu Bowtique, Bon Bon Bon, The Carr Center, El Moore Gardens, Lexus Velodrome, Monger’s Provisions, Savant, Smith & Co., and Starters Bar and Grill.
Transportation options will continue with limited free Noel Night shuttles, the QLine, MOGO bikes, DDOT buses, and electric scooters (weather permitting). LYFT will also serve as Noel Night’s official ride share partner and offer discounted rides to and from the district—use code: NOELNIGHT19. For more information about parking in the district, please visit: https://www.noelnight.org/plan-your-visit.