One of the most anticipated events of the summer is right around the corner. The Best of Detroit 2018 party is set for Friday, June 29th and I am excited to attend my first one! Have you bought your tickets yet?
If you’re new to Detroit like me, then you’re in for a real treat. The event will be held at the historic Eastern Market in Shed 3 – one of my favorite Detroit hot spots to hang out with the fam. Last week, I chatted with Mary Sutton, the Events and Marketing Manager of Hour Detroit, and she filled me in on what to expect at this year’s event. We also talked about last year’s Best of Detroit and how special it was being held in the Joe Louis Arena.
If you remember, Detroit’s beloved arena closed its doors on July 30, 2017. Best of Detroit 2017 was one of the last events held at the Joe. Mary said the timing of the event worked out perfectly since the arena was going to be closing soon. She went on to say Olympian Entertainment and all of the arena staff members were amazing to work with. “It was larger than life,” Mary said. “We really enjoyed hosting our event there.”
Mary said it was “incredibly cool to go into Joe Louis Arena, especially at that time.” For the party guests, being at the arena “added a special type of spirit and pride for our city.” The Best of Detroit 2017 party was set up near the main ice of the arena. Guests had the same vantage point that the Detroit Red Wings and other hockey players had.
“You’re kind of getting the view of what the players see when they’re on the ice,” Mary told me. “You’re looking up at all of the historic memorabilia. It felt very cool. It was kind of electric to be there for that night.”
Last year’s Best of Detroit theme was magic, but this year there isn’t a set theme for the Best of Detroit party. Instead, the focus will be more on the individual winners and what makes them truly the Best of Detroit. “The focus is on having fun,” Mary told me. The winners of Best of Detroit take great care to show guests the reasons why they’ve won. You get to try the best of everything all in one setting. “It’s a good way to taste and sample everything from the list,” Mary said.
Take a look at the recap of last year’s Best of Detroit party!
What to Expect at the 2018 Best of Detroit Party
Two new categories were added to this year’s Best of Detroit: Best Travel Agency and Best Car Wash. Mary said the staff was surprised to discover that the more people have been consulting with travel agencies to help them plan their vacations. “It’s a growing industry,” Mary told me, “where people want more catered, put together travel plans.”
If you plan on attending the event, make sure you dress in your best cocktail attire. Mary told me the Best of Detroit party is a cocktail affair where people like to “dress to impress”. Normally, when people visit Eastern Market it’s during the daytime to shop at the farmers market and grab lunch at a food truck or one of the featured restaurants. Attending a nighttime event at the market, though, has a different vibe to it that you will really enjoy. Mary describes it as very raw and urban.
“It’s incredibly beautiful,” she told me. “It brings its own kind of vibe to it that we kind of can’t get anywhere else. In terms of dress code, to do this event there and bring that dressy cocktail vibe to something that tends to be more rustic, I think it will be a nice juxtaposition for people.”
As I was reading the list of winners for 2018 Best of Detroit, I realized the list can also serve as a guide for discovering Detroit and the metro area. In fact, I plan on using the list myself to check out more new places for Travis, the kids, and I to visit. Mary agreed with me and told me the there are new businesses and organizations featured on the list every year.
“As a native Detroiter, it opens my eyes to things that I didn’t always know were there. It really acts as a guide. It’s kind of like a testimonial from our readers and people who know [Detroit] best saying, ‘Hey this is really is the best place to grab breakfast so why not try it. Why not test it out?! It’s a good way to know the city and discover new things about it.”
Hour Detroit’s Best of Detroit 2018 party will be held on Friday, June 29th at 7 p.m. at the Historic Eastern Market in Detroit. Get your tickets to the party here! I’ll be attending this year’s event so make sure you follow me on Instagram and Twitter as I’ll be posting my photos and thoughts while I’m at the event. I guess now the big question is: what should I wear?! 🙂
Also, check out our visit to the Tuesday Market and a weekend visit to the African Bead Museum!
Feature image courtesy of Best of Detroit/Martin Vecchio