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    “Sharon Mills Quilting Bee”: Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission

    “Sharon Mills Quilting Bee”: Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission
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    Nov. 1, 10, & 22. WCPARC docents lead both seasoned quilters and novices in stitching a traditional 1860s quilt top around a frame. Materials provided. The final product will be displayed in the historic cabin at Parker Mill. All ages welcome. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. (Sun.) & 10 a.m.–1 p.m. (Tues.), Sharon Mills Park, 5701 Sharon Hollow, Manchester. Free. (734) 971–6337, washtenaw.org/registerparks.

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    Observer Editor

    U-M Center for Chinese Studies Noon Lecture Series

    U-M Center for Chinese Studies Noon Lecture Series
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    Every Tues., except Nov. 24. Talks by U-M and visiting scholars.

    Nov. 3: Columbia University Chinese studies professor Gavin Healy on “Foreign and Diaspora Tourism to Mao-Era China.”

    Nov. 10: U-M Chinese studies professor Pär Cassel discusses a series of anti-missionary riots in the 1890s in “The Sacred Edict as Hate Speech: Griffith John, the Hunan Riots, and Qing Imperial Ideology.”

    Nov. 17: U-M history professor Gyatso Marnyi on “Chinese and Muslim Refugees on the Tibetan Frontier, 1860–1965.”

    Noon–1 p.m., 1010 Weiser Hall, 500 Church. Free. (734) 764–6308, [email protected].

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    Observer Editor

    “Lunchtime Concert”: U-M Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments

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    Monthly concert featuring a wide range of music performed by music students & faculty on instruments from across the centuries and around the globe. Noon, North Campus Research Complex, bldg. 18, 2800 Plymouth Rd. Free. (734) 417–3899.

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    Observer Editor

    Ann Arbor Area Scrabble Club

    Ann Arbor Area Scrabble Club
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    Every Tues., except Nov. 24. All invited to play the classic word game, using the 5th-edition Scrabble dictionary. Bring your own set, if you like. 3:30–8 p.m., Arbor Brewing Company Corner Brewery, 720 Norris, Ypsi. Free. [email protected], meetup.com/ann-arbor-scrabble-meetup. 

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    Observer Editor

    Michigan Marching Band Practice

    Michigan Marching Band Practice
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    Every Mon.–Thurs., except Nov. 24–26. U-M’s highly disciplined 200+ member marching band or sections thereof can be seen and heard practicing on the new Elbel Field (across the street from the old Elbel Field). All welcome to find a spot in the bleachers and get a sneak preview of upcoming halftime shows. Rehearsals usually last 1–2 hours. 4:45 p.m., Hill at Fifth Ave. Free. (734) 764–0582.

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    Observer Editor

    Game Night: Sylvan Factory

    Game Night: Sylvan Factory
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    Every Tues. All invited to play board games, assemble a puzzle, paint miniatures, or try a tabletop role-playing game, all in a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. 5–9 p.m., 2459 W. Stadium. Free. (734) 929–5877, sylvanfactory.com.

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    Observer Editor

    “Reading Through the Double Archival Grain: Yugoslav Socialist Humanitarianism and Its Whiteness”: U-M Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Borka Tomljenović Lecture

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    University of Mainz (Germany) cultural studies professor Čarna Brković discusses alternatingly ironic and nostalgic attitudes toward humanitarian activities in socialist Yugoslavia. 5:30–7 p.m., Michigan League, Vandenberg Rm. Free. (734) 764–0351, [email protected].

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    “Yugoslav Socialist Humanitarianism and its Whiteness”: U-M CREES Annual Borka Tomljenović Lecture: Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

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    911 North University Avenue, Vandenberg Room (2nd floor), Ann Arbor, MI

    For the 2026 Annual Borka Tomljenović Lecture, Professor Čarna Brković will consider different forms of affective engagement with humanitarian activities in socialist Yugoslavia, including irony and nostalgia. Ironic engagement assumes that Yugoslav solidarity with formerly colonized populations during the Cold War was empty rhetoric, driven by a pragmatic desire to establish the country as a significant player on the geopolitical stage. Nostalgic engagement, by contrast, is shaped by the belief that Yugoslavs were motivated by an honest ideological commitment to solidarity and anti-racism that ultimately placed them on the “right side” of history. Both ironic and nostalgic engagements with socialist humanitarianism evaluate the past through contemporary ideas about solidarity, socialism, capitalism, and their interrelations.

    To understand socialist humanitarianism on its own terms, Brković proposes reading it through the double grain of state socialism and the end of history. Such an analytical approach illuminates the role of racial socialism—socialist ideologies of “race” and local racial projects—and its interactions with global racial hierarchies, showing how these ideologies were shaped by particular value constellations.

    By discussing a 1961 humanitarian initiative of the Yugoslav Red Cross that brought sixty children and young people from the Congo to Tivat, Montenegro, this talk sheds light on the workings of socialist whiteness. This was not a colourist project but rather a normative regime of political value with two key characteristics: it ascribed superiority to Yugoslavs on the basis of their greater socialist experience, and it overlooked present problems in favour of a future in which “race” would no longer matter.

    Čarna Brković is professor of cultural studies and European ethnology at the University of Mainz. Dr. Brković has a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Manchester and a BA in Ethnology and Anthropology from the University of Belgrade. In her European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant “Racial Socialism” (2026-2031) as well as in her book Realigning Humanitarianism in the Balkans: From Cold War Politics to Neoliberal Ethics (Indiana University Press, 2026), she studies historical projects of integrating the world differently, such as socialist humanitarianism and Europeanization.

    https://ii.umich.edu/crees/news-events/events.detail.html/151290-21911323.html

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    Observer Editor

    “Tour de Dirt”: Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society

    “Tour de Dirt”: Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society
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    Every Tues. Moderate-paced ride, 25 to 35 miles, along the less-traveled unpaved roads around Chelsea. Bring a chair and a beverage or snack for a post-ride tailgate. See aabts.org for weather cancellations or delays. 6 p.m. sharp, meet at Aberdeen Bike and Outdoors, 1101 Main, Chelsea. Email [email protected] for each week’s route. Free. (313) 980–5277.  

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    “UMS 101: Explore the World of Contemporary Percussion”: University Musical Society

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    New York composer-percussionist Andy Akiho and Brooklyn-based quartet Sandbox Percussion offer an interactive hands-on session exploring the incredible variety of instruments and sounds they’ll use in their upcoming performance (see 15 Sun. listing). 6–7:30 p.m., Cahoots, 206 E. Huron St. $15 at ums.org/performance. Preregistration required. (734) 764–2538.

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    Observer Editor

    Drop-in Knitting: Spun

    Drop-in Knitting: Spun
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    Every Sun.–Thurs. (different times). All invited to work on their knitting, crochet, weaving, and embroidery projects. 1–3 p.m. (Sun.) & 6–8 p.m. (Mon.–Thurs.), 401 N. Fourth Ave. Free. (734) 780–7867.

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    Observer Editor

    Songwriting Meet-up: Bløm Mead + Cider

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    All local songwriters invited to share songs in progress, give constructive feedback, and grow their writing practice. At 7:30 p.m., a featured singer-songwriter performs. 6–8:30 p.m., 100 S. Fourth Ave. Free, but purchase of food & drink encouraged. (734) 548–9729, drinkblom.com/events.