39th Annual Noel Night Saturday, December 3rd - Mark Your Calendar!!

[DetroitPlanner]

omg I went last night it totally sucked. I woke up some homeless guy that was sleeping Pieta style in the arms of Rodin's 'the Thinker'. No activity at all. Wait its tonight?? Maybe that explains the lack of activity!

[Kathleen]

Last evening's moderate temperatures made for the most pleasant Noel Night weather that I can remember!!! It was perfect...and that's why the Cultural Center was hopping!!! It was a terrific event...lots of people from beginning to end!! Ran into a few DYes folks. Hope everyone had a great time!! We sure did!

[Zacha341]

'Pieta' style... LOL! Well he was at the right place to strike such a pose. A photo would have been priceless.

omg I went last night it totally sucked. I woke up some homeless guy that was sleeping Pieta style in the arms of Rodin's 'the Thinker'. No activity at all. Wait its tonight?? Maybe that explains the lack of activity!

[Zacha341]

It was great! And most of it was very walkable. We started on CCS campus for the Alumni event, sales and exhibits and then outward. Nice weather really brought out the crowds. Good business for the restaurants and vendors too. We ate at Traffic Jams earlier and it was crowded, before the crush really started. Good times in the D.

Last evening's moderate temperatures made for the most pleasant Noel Night weather that I can remember!!! It was perfect...and that's why the Cultural Center was hopping!!! It was a terrific event...lots of people from beginning to end!! Ran into a few DYes folks. Hope everyone had a great time!! We sure did!

[Lowell]

What a great night. How nice to see the side walks packed.

Our goal event was to see The Blind Boys of Alabama gospel singers and they did not disappoint.

They brought down the house in the standing room only 1st Congregational Church.

Prior to that we heard a concert by the St. Paul cathedral choir and strolled through the Detroit Artists Market.

[Eastside]

It was a beautiful night in MidTown Detroit. Thousands of people packed the streets and most venues had long lines. My biggest disappointment was not be able to see the Blind Boys of Alabama. The waiting line to get in was at least a half block long and wasn't moving.

Bravo to the organizers of the annual event.

[Zacha341]

Yeah, I gave up that event, for sure it was a big attraction. It was great to see the venues open and active and people out and about on foot.

It was a beautiful night in MidTown Detroit. Thousands of people packed the streets and most venues had long lines. My biggest disappointment was not be able to see the Blind Boys of Alabama. The waiting line to get in was at least a half block long and wasn't moving.

Bravo to the organizers of the annual event.

[texorama]

It was a beautiful night in MidTown Detroit. Thousands of people packed the streets and most venues had long lines. My biggest disappointment was not be able to see the Blind Boys of Alabama. The waiting line to get in was at least a half block long and wasn't moving.

I wondered what that huge ilne was! They are indeed extraordinary. But I saw several other good acts [[Hana Malhas at Biggby's, Lac La Belle at Scarab Club), all streets and buildings were packed, and my friend at CCS reported good sales for her artworks. Very pleasant weather [[by Michigan standards, although in much of the world it would be considered disastrously bad).

[EastsideAl]

It was indeed a great night, as it always has been. This has been one of my favorite events of the year for a long time now. The Blind Boys of Alabama were magnificent [[as is the 1st Congregational church). Congratulations and thanks once again to all the folks who work to put this night together for the people of our area every year. The increasing crowds that have been showing up for this event through the years shows that this old city still has some serious potential, and it just takes the imagination and effort of some of our people to bring it out.

[Kathleen]

Every venue we hit had good crowds. The DPL Friends Auditorium had SRO crowds for all three shows: Mosaic Youth Singers, Tartan Terrors, and Thornetta Davis. Amazing performances by all.

The new shops--Nest on Canfield, The Peacock Room in the Park Shelton--had very nice traffic from what I saw.

If you didn't get around to all the venues, plan to come back to the Cultural Center before Christmas to do some shopping!!! The Museum Gift Shops are great places to shop as are the Detroit Artist Market, Nest and City Bird, The Peacock Room, Leopold's Books, Goods, among others. Enjoy a meal while you are in the area....Girl Girls Go To Paris, Cass Cafe, Traffic Jam, Honest John's, Majestic Cafe, Avalon Bakery, Motor City Brewing Company, and more....

[65memories]

It was indeed a great night...weather was perfect. Great to see so many people. I enjoyed Paul King and the Rhythm Society Orchestra at the Diego Court in the DIA. People spontaneously got up and danced. Enjoyed Dean Hunter's tour of the historic Cathedral of St. Paul. Lots of other good stuff, too numerous to mention. My only regret is that there is so much to enjoy and so little time [[wish it had gone on all day). Capped off the evening with friends at the Traffic Jam. Can't wait for the 40th.

[BasementBeat]

It was GREAT seeing so many people walking up and down Woodward and Cass. Just an incredibly festive vibe. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get there till 5...which required me to spend another chunk of time parking. I'm 'seconding' 65memories- Really wish it lasted until maybe 10-11pm. Next year I'll be sure to be out there by at least 3pm.

[Kathleen]

My only regret is that there is so much to enjoy and so little time [[wish it had gone on all day).

That's why I continue to attend year after year....whatever venue I don't get to this year, I put on the list for next year!!! Of course, the musical attractions sometimes dictate the evening's itinerary!!!

Wouldn't it be nice if the event could start a couple hours earlier so that we could enjoy the Cultural Center for more than 5 hours!!!

[Hamtragedy]

For future reference on parking, we park in the Majestic Theater lot. No traffic, no crowds. $4.

[stromberg2]

Yeah, they do need to start this a bit earlier. How did the Peacock Room look?

Stromberg2

[Kathleen]

How did the Peacock Room look?

Tres chic!! Actually it was lovely, very nicely set up for the store. And the original 1926 decor is terrific!!!

[eastsidechris]

My hope is that in the future, Noel Night will be expanded to Noel Weekend. A four+ hour block of time to see so many great places and events is not even close to enough time for this type of event.

My wife and I made plans to see the Blind Boys of Alabama as soon as we saw them on the list of events. I checked the Noel Night web site several times over the past few weeks that they were actually free. After all, they do tour the country and are 5-time Grammy winners [[the previous night, they played a concert in Texas; the cheapest tickets were $30).

We arrived to the church by 6:30, and there were still plenty of seats available then, but by the time the flamenco group La Chispa took the stage at 7, it was standing room only.

The Blind Boys put on a entertaining, soul-lifting show, showcasing songs like "People Get Ready," "Down in the Hole" [[the theme from "The Wire), "Spirit in the Sky" and "Amazing Grace," along with material from their 2003 Christmas CD. They performed for nearly 75 minutes, causing us all to miss the carol sing-along in front of the DIA, but I doubt anyone complained since we were having a boisterous time in the sanctuary of the church. The people who came too late to get in really missed an amazing concert.

[Detroit_uke]

The Peacock Room looked totally awesome. It also had a cheerful feel to it...everybody in there was smiling or laughing......the crowds there were shoulder to shoulder.

[ThePeacockRoom]

Wow, we just saw this thread. Thank you for the compliments! We love our space. We'll hopefully be posting a story from the Detroit News that will run tomorrow...