I heard Voices

I attended the Creative Alliance event Voices today and it wasn't bad. My original fears of the event being too long were unfounded. I arrived around 6p.m. which was about 4 hours into the event, with another 3 to go, but it was still going strong with a full house.

There was art and short stories and poems along the walls at Red Ink in downtown Flint. In one of the larger back rooms of the venues, writers were able to share their portion of the event at an open mic where they performed music, spoken word, read poetry and short stories.

Given that this was a 7 hour event, the crowd "was pretty consistent" said Glen Birdsall, a poet from Flint.

I was impressed that the event had such a large turnout, but in the half hour I was there the MC kept the show rolling in such a way that I wasn't sure who was starting and who was finishing.

Over all any free events in the city are great, but it's even better when it's a free event and a fun event that is well put together.

A preview: Voices brought to you by the Creative Alliance

The Flint Creative Alliance will be holding it's annual event Voices tomorrow (Nov. 15)from 2-9p.m. at Red Ink - Flint located in Downtown Flint. This free event pairs up a writer and an artist and the duo make an art piece that incorporates the written word along with a visual art piece that compliment each other.

The first part of Voices passed on Friday when artists put their work up for the Nov. Art Walk, which is the second Friday of each month. With an opening reception on Art Walk Friday and the actual event on Sunday, I am excited to see how the Voices event has evolved. Voices is about bringing different artists together, but also tomorrow writers of short stories, spoken word, and poetry will get up in front of patrons and read their works. I like the way that this has been set up in the past, people can look at the art while the writer reads the companion piece, it's a very fun event.

My only concern with the event tomorrow is that it is roughly 7 hours long. The stretched out time span makes it more open for people to attend, but also may be longer than some people want to hang out. Some patrons may not want to stay around for the entire event. Hopefully the Creative Alliance has a schedule of events and schedule of who is reading so people attending have a better idea of when to be there so they don't miss the author they intended to hear.

Some punk rock kids with the idea to rummage

Churchill's Bar and Grill is the home of the Punk Rock Rummage Sale, a free event in downtown Flint.
Photo taken by Sarah Razak, acquired through Creative Commons License through Flickr.com.

The Punk Rock Rummage Sale popped up once again at Churchill's Bar and Grill in downtown Flint on Nov. 7. Founders Chris Ringler, Justin Zeglevski, Beth Nixon and Glen Birdsall once again have brought awesome music and hard to find items, best of all, it was free to come to.

The Punk Rock Rummage Sale was modeled after a similar event that Nixon has been a huge part of called the Baar Bazaar. Ringler, Zeglevski and Birdsall had previously been the sole group that put together the Guerilla Art Shows just down the street at 625, and decided that the shows weren't what they used to be and wanted something different. They came together in May of this year and did the first Punk Rock Rummage Sale, which brought in over 100 people. The show was free to the public and offered live music, hard to find collectibles and handmade crafts.

The show this past weekend offered all the same fine wears, but this time had the infamous DJ Michael A (Absher). Many people made their way through the event finding vintage clothing, DVD's, toys, and handcrafted jewelry just to name some of the radness of the night.

The group has decided to not make the shows a regular event in downtown Flint so that when they do come together it is something new and fresh. "We don't want people to get tired of us," said Ringler. "It's important to have a fresh and fun event."