DETROIT – Detroit’s Quicken Loans Summer in the Parks kicks off this week and runs daily for 14 straight weeks through September 2! More than 500 events and activities are planned in downtown’s four historic parks – Campus Martius/Cadillac Square, Capitol Park, Grand Circus and Paradise Valley. Featuring international and Detroit musical artists, the 11th annual season energizes the heart of the city with a wide variety of activities all summer long. Activities range from basketball, aerobics, expanded beach parties and new BBQ nights to opera, movies, salsa dance, and everything in between; returning activities are bigger and better than ever while many exciting new programs add fresh features and flare.
The Detroit 300 Conservancy, an affiliate of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, with the support of the City of Detroit Parks and Recreation Department, is producing the most extensive program of free summer events in downtown Detroit’s history, while continuing to add new amenities and park upgrades. This blockbuster schedule, featuring more than 250 diverse musical, cultural and entertainment acts on seven stages, will further fuel and accelerate the positive energy and momentum throughout the entire city.
Notable highlights this summer season include:
- In Detroit’s most active signature space, Campus Martius Park – Underway now, and continuing every weekday, is Downtown Street Eats, with rotating food trucks and food hut expeditions from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Also at Campus Martius, the Cadillac Square Acoustic Stage and the Meridian Mid-day Music series every weekday from noon-2 p.m., the expanded Marketing Associates Friday Beach Party series from 5:30-8:30 p.m. and a brand new Thursday after work series, WDET’s Essential Music featuring Ann Delisi.
On June 24, the monthly music celebration – 4th Fridays – kicks off, featuring acclaimed national and local artists. In July, Classical Tuesdays presented by Honigman and WRCJ features a Detroit Symphony Orchestra ensemble performance, while the Faygo Movie Night in the D series runs every Saturday night in August.
- In downtown’s growing residential neighborhood, Capitol Park – Two new series debut in July and August: Summer Saturday Nights – eight fun, themed nights of music, food and drink, featuring Detroit Institute of Music Education’s (DIME) Live, Loud and Local showcases, and the weekly Sunday Brunch Specials with great food and music combinations.
- In Detroit’s entertainment district’s Grand Circus Park – A new evening live stage series, Rhythm & Stage presented by The Detroit News, takes place Thursdays in July and August featuring opera and Broadway hits from the Michigan Opera Theatre, among others.
- In historic Paradise Valley in cooperation with The Carr Center – Tuesday and Thursday Evenings in Paradise musical performances will run June through August. Joining the fun in the park is Dancing Under the Stars – featuring a unique mix of classic dance music events on the third Saturdays, June through August.
- Detroit SummerFest – Presented by the Detroit Free Press, this downtown street party closes out the Quicken Loans Summer in the Parks 2015 season, August 27-29, with three days of excitement featuring local, national and world beat performances, special activities, and lots of food, drink and fun in all four downtown parks.
“In a region inundated with summertime music, cultural and fun offerings, downtown Detroit’s Quicken Loans Summer in the Parks three-month season stands alone for its dizzying array of free options, beautiful and unique venues and its celebration of Detroit’s finest performers and entertainers,” said Robert Gregory, President of the Detroit 300 Conservancy, the non-profit organization that manages and programs Campus Martius Park. “Whether it’s a pick-up basketball game in Cadillac Square, indie rock in Capitol Park, a classy night outdoors with the Michigan Opera Theatre in Grand Circus Park, swing dancing in Paradise Valley or a diverse musical line-up at the Beach or Main Stage in Campus Martius Park, Downtown Detroit’s free Quicken Loans Summer in the Parks 2015 season is sure to please all tastes.”
“The excitement and activity in downtown Detroit and its surrounding neighborhoods is at an all-time high,” said Bill Emerson, Quicken Loans CEO. “The 2015 Quicken Loans Summer in the Parks series is sure to build on that momentum by bringing more free activities and events for the entire family than ever before – providing a way to celebrate the city and take in the culture that makes this region so great.”
The Detroit 300 Conservancy and Campus Martius Park are grateful to Quicken Loans for its presentation of Summer in the Parks 2015, and the wonderful support from all of our official sponsors including Compuware Corporation, McDonald’s, WXYZ Channel 7, Detroit Free Press, iHeart Radio, Meridian Health Plan, Ernst & Young, FirstMerit, GalaxE Solutions, Honigman, Marketing Associates, Detroit Entertainment District Association, Absopure Water Faygo, Atwater Brewery, The Detroit People Mover, Anytime Fitness, Autoliv, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Strategic Staffing Solutions, ZipCar, Clark Hill, Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, People’s Transit, good people popcorn, The Detroit News, Michigan.com, WRCJ 90.9FM, Greko Printing, Blumz, Michpromos.com, Taste Love Cupcakes, The Carr Center, First Responders, and Hard Rock Café, among others.
About Campus Martius Park and the Downtown Parks
This 11th Annual Summer in the Parks season for all four downtown parks and spaces is produced by the Detroit 300 Conservancy, an affiliate of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, with the support of the City of Detroit Parks and Recreation Department.
Established in 2004, Campus Martius Park, Detroit’s Gathering Place and Downtown centerpiece, is a legacy gift to the city of Detroit from the Detroit 300 Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that designed, built, operates and programs the Park through businesses, foundations, and individual donations. The internationally recognized Campus Martius Park has helped catalyze Downtown Detroit’s transformation with over $1 Billion of new investment. The Park is the recipient of the first ever Urban Land Institute’s Amanda Burden Open Space Award, one of the APA’s Top Ten Great Public Spaces in America, the USA Today’s “Top Ten US Parks That Has Helped Revive Their Cities” and the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s Perception Survey Number One Voted Downtown Destination. For more information, contact the Detroit 300 Conservancy at 313-962-0101, visit www.campusmartiuspark.org, or follow on Twitter at @CampusMartius and on Facebook at Facebook.com/CampusMartiusPark.
About Quicken Loans
Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation’s second largest retail home mortgage lender. The company closed $140 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2013-2014. Quicken Loans generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination” in the United States by J.D. Power for the past five consecutive years, 2010 – 2014, and highest in customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers in 2014.
Quicken Loans was named among the top-30 companies on FORTUNE magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the last 12 consecutive years, ranking No. 12 in 2015. It has been recognized as one of Computerworld magazine’s ’100 Best Places to Work in IT’ the past ten years, ranking No. 1 in 2014, 2013, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The company moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010, and now more than 10,000 of its nearly 12,000 team members work in the city’s urban core. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit QuickenLoans.com, on Twitter at @QLnews, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/QuickenLoans.