Telling Michigan’s Best Stories
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When we chose the stories for this edition, all the events and dates were accurate. As always, find the most-up-to-date information on the business/event/activity website, Facebook page or other direct information source.
[LOOK INSIDE] Events, Wisdom from a local centenarian, Local Eats and more
New Jackson festival plans to continue where Bright Walls left off
CHLOE MILLER | cmiller@mlive.com
JACKSON, MI
t’s been more than a year since the Bright Walls Mural Festival finale took place in downtown Jackson. It left behind 75 murals painted by international artists, as well as some local talent. However, as some were disappointed to see the festival make its end, many residents have been asking organizers “What’s next?” A new festival featuring lights, projections and other forms of technology aims to be the answer. The event called Emerging Technology in Art Festival is planned for 3 p.m. to sunset Saturday, Oct. 14, in the parking lot behind Veritas, 151 W. Michigan Ave., which was also where the first Bright Walls festival took place. The event is free and open to the public. “We felt that Bright Walls helped start a lot of conversations around public art in Jackson, and really opened the community up to all sorts of new ideas to what’s possible for large scale arts and cultural events in Jackson,” Festival Technical Coordinator Matt Rozenski said. The new event is being organized by volunteer members of the Jackson Young Professionals; the same organization that also helped run Bright Walls. Plans for this festival began back in February with the hope to keep the art scene alive in downtown Jackson, Rozenski said. While there won’t be permanent murals like Bright Walls left in downtown, unique art displays focused around media and
technology will take up parts of downtown. Around nine outdoor installations are planned from artists throughout Michigan and other parts of the U.S. Light installations, projection mappings and an interactive augmented reality display will be part of the new event. People can also expect to find a 3D printing demonstration inside Jackson School of Arts, 135 W. Cortland St. There will also be a collaborative community floral installation, where residents can either bring their own flowers, or use the ones provided to help build an art piece from Detroit-based artist Lisa Waud, Rozenski said. An additional Detroit-based artist, Yazmin Dababneh, will also arrive Monday, Oct. 9 to install her work early. Dababneh will be coating the lights used for the murals and the alley by Jackson City Hall, 161 W. Michigan Ave., in dichroic film, that will turn them from white to a rainbow glow. “It’s going to be interesting to look at and create this mystery of what’s to come,” Rozenski said. Aside from the art installations, Rozenski is also excited to offer live music at the festival. The lineup features One More Time, a Daft Punk tribute band; Command Prompt, a Jackson-based electronic band, and Ann Arbor’s Ki5. While Clay McAndrews, Jackson’s Bright Walls founder and co-director, is not involved with the project, he is excited to see the art scene continuing in downtown Jackson. He hopes Jackson residents welcome
this event with open arms, just like they did Bright Walls. “It’s something new, something different and something unique to allow community members to experience what might otherwise be featured maybe in a larger city in Jackson,” McAndrews said. More information can be found on Emerging Technology in Art Festival’s website, etajackson.com, and Facebook page.
INFO This article is curated from mlive.com and ran prior to this edition’s printing, as such the event date may have passed. As always, find the most-up-to-date information on the event/ activity website, Facebook page or other direct information source.
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‘Just be kind’:
MADDY WARREN | mwarren@mlive.com
w
Davison-area woman turns 100, shares memories and wisdom
RICHFIELD TWP, MI
ith turning 100-years-old comes a century of memories, experience and wisdom. Ruth Bratton, of Richfield Township, near Davison, recently reached the milestone, celebrating her centennial birthday on Sept. 28. Bratton was born and raised in Flint, staying there until she and her husband moved their family to Richfield Township in 1971. Bratton is one of nine children. She said all but one of her siblings have passed away, except for a younger sister who recently turned 90-yearsold. She and her husband, Cletis, married in 1955 and were together for 66 years until he passed away in early 2022. A pillow with a picture of the couple sits on Bratton’s couch in the home they shared, where she still resides today. “I’ve had a good life, I had a good husband,” Bratton said. “He was a good man.” Bratton said the secret to a great marriage is: “Be quick to say, ‘I’m sorry.’” “It heals a lot if you say, ‘I’m sorry’ and if you mean it,” she said. Together, the couple had four children, 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. When Bratton and her husband moved to their Richfield Township home with their sons, she said there was a family with 14 children who lived nearby. “My kids always had somebody to play with,” Bratton said. “They were a nice family.” Living in Michigan her entire life, Bratton said it is a “great state.” “We got a little bit of everything; we’ve got water,” Bratton said. “We’ve just got everything, I think.” Over the years, Bratton said she kept many hobbies, including roller skating, ice skating, bowling and one of her favorites – the card game Cribbage. Gardening was one of the activities Bratton
shared with her husband. She would plant flowers, while he liked growing vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers and beans. “I got a couple of Mum plants at my party,” Bratton said of her favorite flowers. “I like roses, but they’re so hard to grow. I got a couple of (Irises) reblooming out there now.” Until a few years ago, Bratton regularly attended racquet club and water aerobics classes. She said the secret to staying healthy and reaching 100 is to “keep active.” Bratton’s daughter-in-law, Grace, helps her with day-to-day tasks as she is hard of hearing and no longer drives. “She takes care of me, takes me every place I need to go,” Bratton said. “I couldn’t live here if it weren’t for her.” One of the things Bratton loves most in the world is being a grandma, and she says her little grandchildren make her smile. Bratton’s oldest grandson, Jimmy, has lived with her since her husband passed away. She said he looks out for her. “He says, ‘don’t go out in the yard when I’m not home,’ he says, ‘and don’t go
down into the basement when I’m not home,’” Bratton said. “So, I’m pretty well set.” When Jimmy was a child, Bratton said she often watched him and shared her love for watching sunsets with him. “I love sunsets,” Bratton said. “When (Jimmy) was just a toddler – I kept him lots of times – and I would give him a bath, and I’d stand him up on my bed and I’d say, ‘look at the sunset’, and to me, that was beauty. Now, my grandson, he says, every time he sees a sunset he thinks of grandma.” To celebrate her centennial birthday, Bratton’s loved ones came together to throw three separate parties for her. “That means a lot to me,” Bratton said. Among the celebrations was a surprise party, held about six weeks before her birthday, which old friends from her water aerobics class attended. “Some of the ladies from my water aerobics class came over unannounced, and they came one at a time,” Bratton said. “One lady … she brought ice cream and cones. And she says, ‘let’s go out on the deck,’ and I said ‘OK.’ Pretty soon, here comes another one. Pretty soon, here comes another one. There were eight ladies (who) came and it was just so nice.” As for any advice she has on how to live a long and happy life, Bratton said to “just be kind.”
Booking window to shrink to 6 months for DNR cabins, yurts, lodges and more
JUSTINE LOFTON | jlofton@mlive.com
t
he booking window for cabins, yurts, lodges and other overnight accommodations at Michigan’s state parks will soon shrink to six months, officials announced. This change will bring overnight lodging in line with camping, which is already booked on a revolving six-month window. “We’ve been keeping an eye on lodging reservations for the past few years, and we’ve noticed that most people book within six months, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said in a news release. “By making this shift, we also acknowledge the challenges for our customers who can’t plan 365 days out.” A shrinking booking
MICHIGAN’S BEST | 10.29.23 | 2
window will begin Nov. 1. From November to April, booking will be available through Oct. 31, 2024. As of May 1, bookings will open for Nov. 1, 2024; this will fully implement the six-month booking window.
INFO Find the shrinking schedule at https://www. michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/Camping-andLodging, along with the DNR’s overnight lodging options.
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JW’s Food & Spirits
serves ‘ultimate comfort food’ in Grand Haven
p GRAND HAVEN, MI
SKYLA JEWELL-HAMMIE | SJewell-Hammie@mlive.com
’:
Michigan’s Best Local Eats:
eople looking for a cozy atmosphere and homey food as the fall weather starts rolling in need look no further than this Grand Haven business. JW’s Food & Spirits was first opened in 1994 by the Weavers family with the goal of offering a home away from home for local and seasonal guests. The mainstay spot at 6 N. Seventh St. in Grand Haven prides itself as “the place to be for a cozy, friendly atmosphere and the best white chili around,” as stated on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Chris Weavers said her dad, Jerry Weavers, bought it for her to learn the ropes and she eventually bought it from him. She said he died in 2007 before he could see the restaurant flourish. “I had moved to Traverse City to run a retail store,” Weavers told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. “It was not in my wheelhouse at all, but I wasn’t in love with that job and
wanted to come back to Grand Haven anyway, so I thought, ‘Why not?’” The decision to move back paid off, as regular and new customers kept flocking to the local joint for a cozy space to eat homemade meals and have good conversations. “Our claim to fame would be our white chicken chili,” Weavers said. “Everybody just loves it. It’s pretty much the ultimate comfort food.” Top sellers on the menu consist of starters like crab rangoon, handhelds like the honey pecan chicken salad sandwich ($11), as well as entrees like the seared sesame tuna ($16) and the savory wet burrito ($14). Weavers said another highlight of the business is J-Dub’s Market & Wine Shop next door, where customers can order freshly packed items from the restaurant to take home, gourmet cheese, gift baskets, and much more. Weavers touts both the restaurant and wine shop as the “cheers of Grand Haven.” She said that’s what a lot of the locals call them, as the building itself is 100 years old. “Everybody feels comfortable there,” Weavers said. “I’ve got staff that’s literally been there longer than I have. It’s just a comfy place to be.”
INFO This article has been edited for space, find the full article and links on mlive.com/michigansbest
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Michigan’s Best Local Eats:
Taste authentic, vegan dishes from
Egyptian Koshery
b
in Midland
MIDLAND, MI
efore you book a ticket to Egypt, consider stopping by Egyptian Koshery to learn more about the country from the owners and taste authentic, vegan and vegetarian Egyptian cuisine. Egyptian Koshery is located at 981 S. Saginaw Road and owned by wife and husband team Riham and Dale Erdman. Riham Erdman is from Egypt and came to the United States in 2012 to teach Arabic at Saginaw Valley State University. She has a doctorate in education and taught Arabic language and culture. Egyptian Koshery began in 2016 at the Midland Area Farmers Market and then expanded to the Saginaw and Davison farmers’ markets. The business has been at its current location since 2020. Riham Erdman said their goal is to offer the
KAYTIE BOOMER | kboomer@mlive.com
community everything people could find if they visited an Egyptian market. “I’m very proud of my country and its products, and I want to make it shareable with everybody,” Riham Erdman said. “I want to save them a ticket to Egypt if they can’t afford it or if they can’t go for any reason; I want it to be here available for them.” The signature dish at Egyptian Koshery is koshery, also known as koshary or koshari. In Egypt, Riham Erdman said she always had to stop at every koshery stand once she tried the dish. It includes noodles, rice, lentils, chickpeas and homemade tomato sauce topped with fried onions and a side of garlic sauce, according to their menu. The Erdmans even named their restaurant based off her love for the dish. The Egyptian Koshery menu offers vegan and vegetarian dishes, and everything is under $10 per
item. Each dish is served in disposable containers. It is designed this way to make the restaurant as similar as possible to the street food experience in Riham Erdman’s home country. Aside from the Koshery, Riham Erdman said the samosas, grapes leaves, baklava, puddings and Turkish coffee are especially popular. She described Turkish coffee as unfiltered coffee that is strong in the flavor but not overly strong in caffeine. She added that the flavor is very rich and is popular in Egypt. Inside the restaurant, the décor is all Egyptian inspired to round out the customers’ experience. “I want it to be a simulation for the Egyptian culture. I want people, if they have Arabic origin, to feel at home,” Riham Erdman said. “I wanted a part of Egypt on American land.”
INFO
This article has been edited for space, find the full article and links on mlive.com/michigansbest
MICHIGAN’S BEST | 10.29.23 | 3
great 5
bars
MAKAYLA COFFEE | mcoffee@mlive.com
WASHTENAW COUNTY, M
that serve craft cocktails around Ann Arbor
The Ann Arbor-area has you covered when it comes to cocktails. There are a variety of bars with all kinds of cocktail selections, whether you’re looking to unwind, ease your nerves or keep the party going all night long. Here are five great places to sip on a cocktail around Ann Arbor.
The Raven’s Club
The Last Word 301 W. Huron St. The Last Word’s menu has plenty of cocktail options, whether you want something light or a drink that’s a bit stronger. The business strives to make its cocktails with “only the best ingredients,” according to its menu, and has something for everyone, whether you’re into tequila, gin, vodka, rum or bourbon.
Nightcap 220 S. Main St. Get your night cap at this downtown Ann Arbor cocktail bar. Nightcap’s menu features classic cocktail options like Manhattans and Espresso Martinis while also offering
seasonal options and zeroproof cocktails. The business focuses on offering a “modern cocktail experience” while using “only the finest and freshest ingredients along with innovative techniques,” according to its website. Black Pearl 302 S. Main St. Black Pearl is a place where you can enjoy a plate of seafood while sipping on one of its signature cocktails. The restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor is known for its martinis which include current menu items like The Last Strawberry made with Deep Eddy Lemon vodka, strawberry purée and lemon.
207 S. Main St. The Raven’s Club is all about bringing spirit-forward cocktails to downtown Ann Arbor. The business serves American dishes while incorporating seasonal food and cocktail menus. The Raven’s Club offers some classic cocktails as well as canned to-go options for drinks like Moscow mules and its house Manhattan. It also has more than 150 American whiskeys to choose from.
INFO This article has been edited for space, find the full article and links on mlive.com/ michigansbest
Ypsi Cocktail Club 102 W. Michigan Ave. If you find yourself in Ypsilanti craving a drink, then the Ypsi Cocktail Club may be a spot to check out. The Ypsi Cocktail Club is focused on bringing locally crafted spirits to its list of cocktails that follow an ever-changing seasonal menu.
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