Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 114,024, which includes about 30,000 students. A person from Ann Arbor is called an "Ann Arborite." The city itself is often called A2 ("A two") or A² ("A-squared"), and less commonly Tree Town (or, usually tongue-in-cheek, The People's Republic of Ann Arbor). Recently, some youth have taken to calling Ann Arbor Ace Deuce or simply The Deuce.

Culture

Main article: Culture in Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Ann Arbor has a number of cultural attractions and events, many sponsored by the University of Michigan. Numerous performing arts groups and facilities are located on the university's campus, as are museums dedicated to art, archaeology, and natural history and sciences (see Museums at the University of Michigan).

Related Topics:
Art - Archaeology - Museums at the University of Michigan

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The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, located in a historic downtown fire station, contains more than 250 interactive exhibits featuring science and technology. Artrain, located on North Main Street, bills itself as the nation's only traveling art museum on a train. A number of other art galleries exist in the city, notably in the downtown area and around the University of Michigan campus.

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Near the State Street area are three major theaters: the Michigan Theater, a renovated 1920s movie palace now hosting live performances, independent films, and classic movies, and serving as home base for the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra; the State Theater; and the University's Hill Auditorium. In the Main Street area, the Ark hosts folk and acoustic music, while a number of smaller venues and nightclubs serve up jazz and other live music. The Main Street area, as well as South State Street and South University Avenue, is also the center of a large restaurant scene in the city.

Related Topics:
Theater - Michigan Theater - Hill Auditorium - Ark - Nightclub

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Performing arts groups not associated with the university include the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre; the Arbor Opera Theater; the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra; the Ann Arbor Ballet Theater; the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet (est. 1954), which was Michigan's first chartered ballet company {{ref|dance}}; and Performance Network, which operates a downtown theater offering frequent new or nontraditional plays.

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Among U.S. cities, Ann Arbor ranks first in the number of booksellers and books sold per capita.{{ref|books}} The Ann Arbor District Library, named Library Journal's national "Library of the Year" in 1997, has three branch outlets in addition to its main downtown building. The city is also home to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.

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Ann Arbor is known for college sports, notably at the University of Michigan, a member of the Big Ten Conference. Several well-known college sports facilities exist in the city, including Michigan Stadium (whose seating capacity rivals the entire population of Ann Arbor), Crisler Arena, and Yost Ice Arena. Concordia University, a member of the NAIA, also fields sports teams.

Related Topics:
Big Ten Conference - Michigan Stadium - Crisler Arena - Yost Ice Arena - Concordia University - NAIA

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Events

A number of annual events – many of them centered on performing and visual arts – draw visitors to Ann Arbor from around the state and the region. The Ann Arbor Folk Festival, an annual benefit concert held in late January for the Ark, features many of the world's best-known folk musicians. The Ann Arbor Film Festival is held for six days in March at the Michigan Theater. EdgeFest is a multi-venue festival of avant-garde and progressive jazz, held each autumn since 1997.

Related Topics:
Ark - Ann Arbor Film Festival - Michigan Theater - 1997

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More unorthodox annual events include the Hash Bash and the Naked Mile. Held on the first Saturday of April since 1971, the Hash Bash is an event in support of the reform of marijuana laws, and includes speeches, live music, street vending, and occasional civil disobedience. Since 1986, the notorious Naked Mile has featured students running naked through the streets in late April to celebrate the end of the winter semester. Originally police blocked off the streets to allow the run, but beginning in 2000, a crackdown by University and city police citing safety concerns has forced participants to adapt, with the event appearing in various reduced forms since.{{ref|nakedmile}}

Related Topics:
Hash Bash - 1971 - Marijuana - Civil disobedience - 1986 - Running naked - 2000

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Many large-scale events occur during the summer months. These include the Taste of Ann Arbor, a one-day event held during the first week of June in the heart of downtown; and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, a three-and-a-half-week series of concerts, plays, and films typically held from mid-June through early July at the Power Center and atop the adjacent parking structure, which is host to the free "Top of the Park" events.

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The Ann Arbor Art Fairs, a set of four concurrent juried fairs held on downtown streets, began in 1960. Scheduled on Wednesday through Saturday in the third week of July, the fairs draw upward of half a million visitors from across the nation. The oldest and most competitive of the four fairs, the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, was dubbed the country's top art fair by American Style Magazine in October 2004.

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Other summertime events include the Blues and Jazz Festival (est. 1969), which is usually held in mid-September at Gallup Park. The Dexter-Ann Arbor Run is a running race from Dexter, Michigan to downtown Ann Arbor along the Huron River. In late August is the Shopping Cart Race, an unofficial and somewhat underground competition held since 1998 as part of the annual Seize the Week series of events (known through 2004 as "Punk Week").

Related Topics:
1969 - Dexter, Michigan - Huron River - August - 1998 - Seize the Week - 2004

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Media

The Ann Arbor News, owned by the Michigan-based Booth Newspapers chain, is the major daily newspaper serving Ann Arbor. Other established publications in the city include the Ann Arbor Observer – a monthly magazine with features covering local culture, politics, family life, business and history – along with the Current, an entertainment guide, and the Ann Arbor Paper, a free monthly with columns, fiction, humor, reviews and profiles. The campus area is served by a variety of student publications, including the independent Michigan Daily.

Related Topics:
Booth Newspapers - Michigan Daily

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The three major Ann Arbor–based AM radio stations are WAAM 1600, a news and talk station; WLBY 1290, an Air America Radio affiliate; and WTKA 1050, which is primarily a sports station. The city's FM stations include NPR affiliate WUOM 91.7; country station WWWW 102.9; adult-alternative station WQKL 107.1; and WCBN 88.3, a noncommercial, student-run station with eclectic music and public-affairs programming. The city has more public radio broadcasters available on its airwaves than any other U.S. listening area, including NPR affiliates from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, East Lansing, Detroit and Toledo, and a CBC affiliate from Windsor, Ontario.

Related Topics:
AM - Radio station - WAAM - WLBY - Air America Radio - WTKA - FM - NPR - WUOM - WWWW - WQKL - WCBN - Public radio broadcasters - CBC - Windsor, Ontario

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WPXD channel 31, an affiliate of the i television network, is licensed to the city. Community Television Network (CTN) is a city-provided cable television channel with production facilities open to city residents and nonprofit organizations. Detroit-area radio and television stations also serve Ann Arbor.

Related Topics:
WPXD - I television network - Detroit - Television station

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