Edition No. 116
In our 116th edition of Inspired Thoughts, we highlight a concert celebrating the music of Stevie Wonder; and look at the upcoming Detroit St. Patrick's Parade, an event to celebrate Irish pride!
Arts and Culture
Celebrate the music of Stevie Wonder with the Detroit City Jazz Orchestra Plus.
Community and Family
Detroit’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns on March 12. Gather the family for an afternoon of entertainment and fun as Irish pride is on full display.
A celebration of the music of Stevie Wonder
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra once again welcomes the Detroit City Jazz Orchestra Plus to the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube for a program celebrating the music of Stevie Wonder. The Detroit City Jazz Orchestra Plus is an all-star Detroiter band celebrating the diversity of music pioneered in Detroit—from blues, rock, and soul to R&B, jazz, and beyond.
The program will take place on March 11 at 8 p.m. and will feature original arrangements of Wonder’s hit songs with musicians like pianist Pamela Wise, Dwight Adams playing the trumpet and Kasan Belgrave playing the alto saxophone.
Tickets for this performance start at $20 for general admission, with cabaret seating options available for $40.
For more information on the concert, check out the button below.
Celebrate Irish pride at Detroit’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade
You don’t have to be Irish to channel your inner leprechaun.
The Detroit St. Patrick's Parade, a tradition in Corktown, is set for 1 p.m. on March 12. The 65th annual parade starts at Sixth Street near Bagley, goes north toward Michigan Avenue, and left on Michigan. It ends at Fourteenth Street.
The Corktown parade will be filled with marching and pipe and drum bands, color guard units, floats, clowns, novelty groups, and marching units. The parade will last roughly two hours.
This parade is one of the largest St. Patrick’s parades in the country attracting 80,000-100,000 people annually.
There is also a Family Fun Zone that will have live entertainment, a heated grandstand to view the parade, face painting, and more. It will be open from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for a single one or $60 for six.
To learn more about the parade, click on the button below.
Inspired Thoughts is a collection of highly curated content that embraces the spirit and purpose of The War Memorial: arts and culture, community enrichment, leadership, and patriotism.
Derived from the notion that learning from others is the key to success, Inspired Thoughts is meant to shine a light on those making a difference in the world around them. This collection features artists, poets, writers, architects, and every thought leader in-between. Inspired Thoughts is the strongest reflection of what The War Memorial stands for, and what we aim to be. The content featured on Inspired Thoughts is curated by War Memorial leadership.
Edition No. 115
In our 115th edition of Inspired Thoughts, we look at the latest updates made to the Motown Museum in Detroit; and highlight a partnership event happening at The War Memorial in March with Grosse Pointe Memorial Church and Kids Coalition Against Hunger.
Arts and Culture
After being closed for a few months, the Motown Museum in Detroit is ready to resume immersive and interactive tours.
Community and Family
Gather the family for an event that goes toward a good cause- packaging food with Kids Coalition Against Hunger at The War Memorial.
Renovated and expanded Motown Museum reopens
Motown Museum reopened last week, once again offering immersive and interactive tours.
Guests will be transported through time while viewing curated exhibits, the actual apartment Berry Gordy lived in with his family during the label’s earliest days, along with original recording equipment and the legendary Studio A, the recording studio where Motown artists recorded some of the greatest songs of all time from 1959 to 1972. Each tour is led by a knowledgeable guide, who will share the interesting history, fascinating anecdotes and captivating stories that all took place at Hitsville U.S.A., now home to Motown Museum.
Museum guests will also see ongoing construction on the museum’s campus as the highly anticipated $65 million expansion project continues toward completion of Phase 3.
For more information on the museum and to book a tour, check out the button below.
The War Memorial partners with local church for packaging effort
The need to feed is constant for one organization.
Grosse Pointe Memorial Church is hosting a packaging event with Kids Coalition Against Hunger on Saturday, March 18.
Three shifts of packaging will take place in The Alger Center at The War Memorial- 10 a.m. to noon, noon to 2 p.m., and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The goal is to package over 75,000 meals.
Sue Acton, coordinator of outreach ministries at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, said the church is hoping to have 150 volunteers per shift. To register to volunteer, click here.
Kids Coalition Against Hunger is a 501©3 humanitarian food aid organization. Its mission is to significantly reduce the number of undernourished children locally and around the world. The meals are packaged by volunteers and delivered to starving people with the help of the coalition’s worldwide partners.
“The first year we partnered with the coalition was 2014,” Acton said. “We started very small with 10,000 meals. Then it got to over 150,000 meals. We love to support local and worldwide efforts. The coalition really believes in feeding people around the world and around the corner.”
This year’s packaging marks the first year the church has done it since 2020. It also will be the first time The War Memorial has teamed up with the church for this endeavor.
To learn more and to sign up to volunteer, click on the button below.
Inspired Thoughts is a collection of highly curated content that embraces the spirit and purpose of The War Memorial: arts and culture, community enrichment, leadership, and patriotism.
Derived from the notion that learning from others is the key to success, Inspired Thoughts is meant to shine a light on those making a difference in the world around them. This collection features artists, poets, writers, architects, and every thought leader in-between. Inspired Thoughts is the strongest reflection of what The War Memorial stands for, and what we aim to be. The content featured on Inspired Thoughts is curated by War Memorial leadership.