February 21, 2019
March On! Blues Collar Poetry & Music Fest on March 2 Benefits the Fort Street Bridge Interpretive Park Project
For more than five years, a group of community, nonprofit and industry stakeholders calling themselves the Fort-Rouge Gateway (or FRoG) Partnershiphave been planning a new park at the junction of Fort Street Bridge and Oakwood in Southwest Detroit. In addition to expanding access to quality public green space in a heavily industrialized section of the city, the park's primary goals are to commemorate the legacy of the 1932 Ford Hunger March, educate visitors on the history of the Rouge River, and connect the Iron Belle Trail, Detroit Greenway, the Downriver Linked Greenways.
With construction set to begin in the spring of 2019, park organizers are hosting March On! Blues Collar Poetry and Music Fest event on Saturday, March 2nd at UAW Local 600, located at 10550 Dix Ave. in Dearborn, from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m., or "whenever it ends."
An impressive roster of musical and literary artists from across Detroit will perform, including River Rouge troubadour Don Duprie (pictured above), Corktown favorites the Codgers, Award-winning poet M.L. Liebler and the Coyote Monk Poetry Band, singer-songwriter Audra Kubat, and Tony Paris & Sugarburn, serving up a distinctive mix of retooled labor songs and original rock anthems such as "Meteor/Dinosaur." The event will also feature a Silent Auction, a full slate of readers, speakers and performers, and a sneak preview of composer Andy Kirshner's film-in-progress, entitled "Ten Questions for Henry Ford."
The cover charge is $15, payable in cash at the door or in advance by clicking here.. Those willing to brave the weather may also participate in a leisurely bike ride or walk from the site of the park to the Union Hall at 3 p.m., following the route of the original Hunger March.
The event is being organized by the FRoG Partnership, Downriver Delta CDC, Friends of the Rouge, MotorCities National Heritage Area, Sugar Law Center and UAW Local 600. To donate directly to the park, go to the MotorCities website.