Life-sized skeletons, Civil War reenactors and a trail of food trucks: 5 things to do
As temperatures start to dip and autumn takes center stage in metro Detroit, the region is coming alive with harvest festivals and spine-tingling events.
Life-sized skeletons offer a playful attraction in Northville; pumpkins and a variety of food trucks will line the Dequindre Cut in Detroit; and spooky-themed activities and shopping will take place in Monroe.
Here are a few things to do for the weekend of Oct. 6-8.
'The Skeletons Are Alive'
Dress up in your Halloween costumes at this launch party sponsored by Sugaring NYC for an outdoor public art display that will feature more than 120 life-sized skeletons. There will be music by Social Bones; food trucks and vendors at this family-friendly event.
Free activities will include balloon twisters and face painters by Face Flair; a skeleton stilt walker and roller blading juggler from Detroit Circus; and live pumpkin carving by John Angevine.
Skeletons will inhabit downtown Northville and visitors can visit them while shopping, dining or attending other “October in the Ville” events through Halloween.
The launch party will be from 6-9 p.m. Friday in downtown Northville.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s Detroit Harvest Fest & Food Truck Rally
More than 60 food trucks will be stretch more than a mile along this scenic, non-motorized trail in Detroit; and six stages featuring local musicians and entertainers will be at this third annual event presented by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
The event will include trick or treating from 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.; a free pumpkin patch; inflatable bounce houses and hands-on activities for kids; a petting zoo; a kids stage that will feature music, magic, dance and more.
“Cirque de Freight Yard” for adults will include circus busker performers; a live music stage; psychics and tarot card readers; old-style carnival games; specialty cocktails; a mechanical bull; and a costume contest for pets at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
A few artists scheduled to perform will include Larry Lee & Back in the Day Band, Bat Hearse, Fangs & Twang, Black Swan Dive, Aaron Benjamin, and Z Cats.
11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday along the Dequindre Cut Greenway in Detroit. Admission is $5 per person. Children younger than 3, seniors 65 and older and active-duty military and veterans admitted free.
Wicked Pickin’ at Monroe County Fairgrounds
The Vintage Market will host this event with a spooky night market on Saturday and a fun family market on Sunday with more than 200 vendors and 25 food trucks expected.
Attendees are encouraged to come in costume. In addition to shopping, there will be live music, performances by D3 Circus, psychic readings, dancing witches with Lake Eerie Hexenbrut, free photo booths, free bounce houses, face painting and henna, Jurassic Park Motor Pool with dinosaurs, free tick-or-treating in vendor booths, free rides in antique cars, free apple cider station, adoptable rescue animals with Save Monroe Strays and Rebel Dogs Detroit, special spooky guests and more.
4-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Monroe County Fairgrounds, 3775 S. Custer in Monroe. Admission is $6, kids 12 and younger are free.
Historic Fort Wayne celebrates its 175th Anniversary
The Historic Fort Wayne Coalition will celebrate with a blend of of outdoor and indoor activities at the barracks building, a structure that was built 175 years ago.
There will be Civil War-era reenactors acting as living historians portraying 1860s life at the Fort; an authentic 1860s cannon on display; a collection of military equipment from the Civil War through World War II; activities for children and more.
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at 6325 W. Jefferson Ave. in Detroit. Free.
Michigan Taco Fiesta
This celebration of Mexican American cuisine and Hispanic culture will feature taco trucks, live music, Lucha Libre wrestling matches, yard games, Mexican dancing, contests and more.
Music performances will include Voxana, Caravan Gypsy Trio, Al Carmichael and others.
4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday at Lakeside Mall, 14000 Lakeside Circle in Sterling Heights. Admission is $5 online; $10 at the door; free admission for veterans and active-duty members with military ID and children younger than 3-year-old (must reserve tickets online).
Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Skeletons, Civil War reenactors, food trucks: Things to do in Detroit
