Sounds Of Belle Isle, Part Two-Come Hear Belle Isle

Part One of this post was about the story of music past on Belle Isle. Part Two, today's post, is an unabashed plug for music's future on Belle Isle. "Come Hear Belle Isle" takes place this Saturday from 1-7pm, with nine bands performing. There will also be community organizations set up, "to recruit volunteers, share ideas, and get people involved in Detroit". It is free, with suggested donations to benefit The Friends of Belle Isle. The event is geared towards twenty and thirty-somethings, but music lovers and Belle Isle lovers of all ages are welcome. The music line-up...

I'm excited about this event because there are some great bands playing and it's in a great setting - it'll be sweet! Also, I think it's a great example of the more-and-more-frequent signs that Detroit is on its way back. Amanda Brewington, the champion of the event, hopes to attract some first-time visitors to the island. I was curious about how the event came about, so I asked Amanda some questions and she was gracious enough to take time from event preparations to respond. 

A little bit about Amanda...

 I grew-up in Romulus (where the airport is) in Metro Detroit. My childhood was full of visits to Belle Isle, Greektown, the DIA, the Fox and tons of other great Detroit attractions. Of course freezing at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and sweating at the Fireworks were a must. When I was a teenager I used to get lost going to St. Andrews Hall. I really got to see the city at night and I liked it. I never felt scared, it never seemed dangerous. I thought I want to grow-up and hangout here. I want to make people aware of this great place. 

I have always been into music. From making mix tapes at age 6 to today. I attended MSU and worked as a DJ and later a Director at Impact 89FM the MSU student radio station. I currently work at Harvest Creative in Lansing as a Music Supervisor/Project Manager (harvestmusicsupervision.com). I license music for commercials, TV and film. So when you hear a familiar pop song in an ad we might have licensed it. 

The moment she got the idea for Come Hear Belle Isle...

In February of this year I went out to Belle Isle with my family and we went over to the conservatory. We took some great pictures of the island and I shared them with friends. ALL of the friends I shared them with, even those from Metro Detroit had NEVER been to Belle Isle. That was when I decided to have an event that would get people out to Belle Isle and excited about this gem. 

The ups and downs of planning the event....

The biggest and most pleasant surprise is all the support we have behind the event. Tons of organizations and just random people who have stumbled upon the event want to get involved. The biggest challenge has been securing funds for the event. Many corporations in Detroit get asked for money all the time, and this wasn't a surprise by any means. We had to become creative, thinking of simple small ways to fund raise and pooling our resources. It's the first year, that too worked against us, but if we live through year one, who knows what we could do in the future? 

Why it's important to her to bring more people to the island, younger people in particular...

Detroit is not magically going to be restored to what it was in the height of the automotive industry. The only way Detroit and Michigan as a whole are going to grow and flourish is if people locate to the city, get involved in the community and take a stand for this great city with all its history and character. There is so much to be preserved and so much opportunity for ideas to become real in this city. 

Blanket and beach chair? Check. Picnic basket? Check. BYOB? Check. Sunscreen? Check. I'm ready, are you?
Come hear Belle Isle.

Poster for Come Hear Belle Isle designed by Peter Richards, Stargrazer LLC. Find more of his work at http://www.stargrazerllc.com/.

Images courtesy of Amanda Brewington, Come Hear Belle Isle.