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Ten Fun Things We Did This Summer in Detroit

By Jennifer Hamra / September 22, 2021

As we say so long to summer, today on the blog, I’m sharing ten fun things we did this summer in Detroit. We enjoyed the BLKOUT Walls Mural Festival, the Sidewalk Detroit Summer Festival, the African World Festival, hanging out in Downtown Detroit, and more!

Happy first day of fall!

Today, Zhen got a little weepy when I told her it’s the first day of fall and summer is now over.

“I’m not ready for summer to end,” she whispered wiping a fallen tear from her cheek.

I gave her a hug and I told her it was okay to be sad that the summer is ending. We had so much fun this summer so I completely understood why it was so hard for her to say goodbye to the summertime.

Despite some limitations because of taking safety precautions for COVID, we still found creative ways to enjoy our summer in Detroit.

We enjoyed visiting the BLKOUT Walls Mural Festival in the North End community of Detroit. The kids loved seeing all of the beautiful murals and dancing at the BLKOUT Walls Block Party.

The kids standing in front of Cashiesh’s mural, which is part of the first annual BLKOUTWalls Mural Festival.
Photo of the kids admiring Wyland’s “Whale Tower” mural on the side of the David Broderick Tower in Downtown Detroit.

We also loved our time at two of the Sidewalk Detroit summer festivals. Zhen even made a few new friends that she ended up seeing a few more times throughout the summer.

The African World Festival was another big favorite for the kids, and hanging out in Downtown Detroit to enjoy the city views, Buddy’s Pizza, and cold treats at the Detroit Ice Factory was a great way to enjoy our summer in the city.

To help cheer Zhen up, I reminded her of all the fun things she loves about the fall: apple picking, decorating pumpkins, Halloween, and her birthday! So she’s happy for the fall now, and I am, too!

What about you? Are you ready for the fall?

Here are a few cute photos I took of the kids this summer in Detroit.

The kids visiting artist Sentrock’s mural for BLKOUT Walls Mural Festival in North End, Detroit.
The boys were excited to show off their new screenprint signs by Talking Dolls and One Custom City at the third Sidewalk Detroit Festival.
Zhen loved her sign so much that she hung it up over her bed.

SUMMER IN DETROIT: 10 THINGS WE DID FOR SUMMER 2021

We kicked off the summer with the first Arts & Scraps summer festival event.
The kids were so excited to visit Arts & Scraps again. The first summer event also marked the reopening of Arts & Scraps. It had been previously closed for limited public business times because of COVID.
The first Sidewalk Detroit summer festival- Zhen was excited to make a new friend. We ended up seeing Egypt a few more times during the summer at other Detroit family events.
The kids enjoyed helping Detroit artist Phil Simpson paint a mural at one of the Sidewalk Detroit summer festivals.
Zhen and Zechariah got to help Detroit artist Phillip Simpson paint his beautiful mural at the Joy-Southfield CDC. This was during the third Sidewalk Detroit Festival. They helped paint the lemon yellow (seen here in the photo).
After a year of missing the beloved Belle Isle Conservatory, we were excited to visit Detroit’s historic city greenhouse. It was also Zaya’s first time visiting the conservatory!
Thanks for capturing our photo together, Kayce!
What’s summer without a cold ice cream treat from your favorite Detroit ice cream restaurant?!
The kids love getting ice cream in Detroit. Zhen had even nicknamed the city “Ice Cream City” because we get ice cream so much in the summertime. Haha!
A superhero-themed birthday party in Highland Park (Detroit) for a dear family friend…
Zephaniah and Zaya enjoying a summer swing at the party.
One hot summer day we visited Buddy’s Pizza in Downtown Detroit on a weekday. We had the patio area to ourselves! It was perfect!
Hanging out at Detroit Water Ice Factory is another one of our favorite things to do in Detroit in the summer.
We had a GREAT summer this year!
So long, Summer!

Thank you for following along this summer! I hope you’ll stick around to see what we’re up to this fall. xoxo

All photographs are courtesy of Jennifer Hamra for Good Life Detroit. This post was updated on February 14, 2022.

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Jennifer Hamra

Good Life Detroit is a Detroit lifestyle blog created by Jennifer Hamra. The blog covers topics about art, community, culture, family, food, and lifestyle.

Connect with GLD on social media at goodlifedetroit, and you can email Jennifer at jennifer@goodlifedetroit.com.

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