• Observer Editor

    a2Tech360: Ann Arbor Spark

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    Sept. 22–Oct. 2. Almost 2-week-long tech festival, with pitch competitions, a hackathon (two days of intensive coding), talks, panel discussions, a career fair, start-up demos, workshops, networking events, and more. Various times & locations. A mix of free and ticketed events. See full schedule at a2tech360.com.

  • Community Listing

    Candle-Making Workshop: Pittsfield Township Parks & Recreation

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    701 W Ellsworth Rd, , Ann Arbor

    An experience designed for trying something new, getting creative, and having a really good time.

    Join us for a relaxed candle-making workshop where beautiful scents, hands-on creation, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere come together. Laugh, connect, and enjoy the process — no experience needed.

    Whether you’re coming with friends or treating yourself, this workshop is all about slowing down, creating something with your hands, and leaving with a candle you’ll love (and a great memory).

    ✨ What’s Included
    • A guided candle-making workshop using 100% pure soy wax
    • All candle-making materials provided
    • One handcrafted candle
    • A cozy, welcoming atmosphere to relax and connect

    ✨ What to Expect
    • 6:00–6:15 – Arrival & Welcome: Settle in and get comfortable.
    • 6:15–7:15 – Candle-Making Workshop: Learn the candle-making process and create your own custom soy candle, infused with intention and your favorite scent.
    • 7:15–7:30 – Connect & Play: While your candle begins to set, we’ll play a fun round of Candle-Maker Bingo with small prizes for a few lucky guests.
    • 7:30–8:00 – Candle Decoration: Decorate your candle to make it uniquely yours!

    ✨ Why Join?
    • Try something new and creative — no experience needed
    • Play with scents and create a candle that feels uniquely yours
    • Enjoy a relaxed, feel-good atmosphere with great company
    • Slow down, laugh, and be present for a couple of hours
    • Leave with a handmade candle you’ll actually love — and a really good memory

    ✨ Meet the Host
    Renata – Candle Maker & Wellness Facilitator – @the.universe.stuff

    Renata is the heart and hands behind The Universe Stuff, a holistic wellness brand rooted in mindfulness, creativity, and intention. She handcrafts soy candles and other wellness products designed to support balance and self-care, and she hosts workshops that invite people to slow down, connect, and create. Based in the Ann Arbor area, Renata loves bringing people together through meaningful, hands-on experiences.

    ✨ About the Space
    Pittsfield Township Parks & Recreation – https://pittsfield-mi.gov/

    This workshop will take place at Pittsfield Township Parks & Recreation, a welcoming community destination in Pittsfield Township, Michigan. Pittsfield Township Parks & Recreation offers a variety of recreational programs, community events, classes, activities, and opportunities for residents and visitors to connect, learn, and enjoy time together.

    Pittsfield Township Parks & Recreation is more than just a place for recreation — it’s a welcoming community space created to bring people together. Through its diverse programs, facilities, and community activities, the organization provides opportunities for people of all ages to stay active, explore new interests, and participate in meaningful experiences.

    With its welcoming atmosphere and strong focus on community connection, Pittsfield Township Parks & Recreation provides a wonderful backdrop for slowing down, getting creative, and connecting with others. We’re excited to gather in a space that celebrates community, creativity, connection, and enjoying new experiences together.

    https://apps.daysmartrecreation.com/dash/x/pittsfield/activity-finder/programs/67/levels/448

    $60
  • Observer Editor

    D&D Adventurers League: Sylvan Factory

    D&D Adventurers League: Sylvan Factory
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    Every Fri. All invited to play the current official campaign of the popular Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, using 5th-edition rules. Kids under 13 must have adult accompaniment. 6–10 p.m., 2459 W. Stadium. $10. Space limited, preregistration strongly recommended. (734) 929–5877, sylvanfactory.com.

  • Observer Editor

    Magic: The Gathering (MTG): Sylvan Factory

    Magic: The Gathering (MTG): Sylvan Factory
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    Every Wed., Fri., & Sat. All invited to play both casual and tournament forms of the collectible card game MTG.

    Wed. & Sat. (5 p.m.): “Commander.” A drop-in session of the most popular form of the game. Free.

    Wed. (6 p.m.): “Pauper.” A fun and fast format for all skill levels, three rounds. $5.

    Wed. (6:30 p.m.): “Standard.” Three rounds, with competitive tournament rules, prizes of store credit. $10.

    Fri. (6:30 p.m.): “Friday Night Draft.” Cost and format vary. Various times, 2459 W. Stadium. (734) 929–5877, sylvanfactory.com.

  • Observer Editor

    Singles Night Screening of “Challengers”: Michigan Theater

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    Film screenings every day. Tickets $11.75 unless otherwise noted (children under 12, students, seniors age 65 & older, and U.S. veterans, $9.75; Marquee Arts members, $8) in advance online (recommended) & at the door. For updated schedule, see marquee-arts.org/calendar. 

    Sept. 25: Singles Night Screening of “Challengers” (Luca Guadagnino, 2024). Romantic sports drama about a grand slam tennis champion who signs up to compete against his wife’s former lover. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor. Just see the movie for the regular price or join a social happy hour (5:30 p.m., $40), with cocktails and party games. 7 p.m.

  • Observer Editor

    CANCELLED: The Cleveland Orchestra: University Musical Society

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    Cancelled due to a musicians’ strike.

    This world-renowned symphony orchestra returns to Ann Arbor for the first time in 15 years. The legendary Franz Welser-Möst, in his final year as music director of the orchestra, conducts the ensemble in Liszt’s Orpheus, one of four symphonic poems Liszt composed as character sketches of heroes and legends. Also, Bohuslav Martinů’s pastoral Symphony No. 2, composed in 1943 for the Cleveland Orchestra and commissioned by the city’s Czech community, and Brahms’ masterful Second Symphony, with its contrasts between repose and turmoil, despair and exultation. 7 p.m., Hill Auditorium. Tickets $30–$133 in advance at ums.org/season, by phone, & (if available) at the door. (734) 764–2538.

  • Nightspots

    Rick Burgess Trio.: Earle

    Rick Burgess Trio.
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    Earle 121 W. Washington, Ann Arbor

    Jazz ensemble, named after the late jazz pianist and Earle cofounder Burgess, featuring drummer Robert Warren and a rotating roster of bassists and pianists.

     

  • Observer Editor

    “Night Terrors”: Wiard’s Orchards

    “Night Terrors”: Wiard’s Orchards
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    Sept. 19, 25, & 26. A haunted hayride, an asylum, and three more scary attractions, all bristling with scores of costumed monsters. Refreshments available from the Wiard’s Country Store. Recommended for ages 12 & up. 7:15–11:30 p.m., 5565 Merritt, Ypsi. Tickets $36–$65 in advance only at hauntedhousemichigan.com. (734) 390–9212.

  • Observer Editor

    “Bastard”: Purple Rose Theatre Company

    “Bastard”: Purple Rose Theatre Company
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    Every Wed.–Sun., Sept. 24–Dec. 20. Rhiannon Ragland directs retired Detroit newscaster and playwright Devin Scillian’s family comedy-drama about a conflict between brothers—an aging country rocker and a buttoned-down finance guy—after their mother’s death. Adult language and subject matter. 7:30 p.m. (Thurs.), 8 p.m. (Fri. & Sat.), 2 p.m. (Sun.), & 3 p.m. (Sat. & Wed.). 137 Park St., Chelsea. Tickets $31.50–$52.50 in advance at purplerosetheatre.org, (734) 433–7673, & (if available) at the door. Discounts available.

  • Observer Editor

    Billy King: Rancho Tranquilico

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    Danceable original pop-folk with roots-rock and country-swing flavors, along with some tasty covers by an ensemble led by this talented veteran local singer-songwriter and guitarist. BYOB and a chair. No tobacco products or pets. 8 p.m. (doors, 7:30 p.m.), 11300 Island Lake Rd., Dexter. Parking is in neighboring Ruhlig’s Country Market driveway. $25 payable via Venmo: @william-king-673 & PayPal: @[email protected]. Preregistration required; space limited. (734) 223–2321, [email protected].

  • Nightspots

    Joe Pug & Willie Watson.: Ark

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    Ark 316 S. Main, Ann Arbor

    Double bill of 2 of the top acts in contemporary American roots music. Pug is a highly regarded Chicago-based folk-rock singer-songwriter whose music draws on a variety of influences from John Prine to the late alt-country songwriter Walter Hyatt. Watson is an Americana folk singer best known for singing the tenor lead and playing rhythm guitar with Old Crow Medicine Show. His repertoire ranges from Utah Phillips and Leadbelly tunes to traditional songs collected by the 1930s folk-country crossover pioneer Bascom Lamar Lunsford and Rabbit Brown’s iconic “James Alley Blues.” He made his acting debut in the Coen Brothers’ 2018 Netflix film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. $35.

  • Nightspots

    NuAudio.: Mash (Ypsilanti)

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    Mash (Ypsilanti) 400 W. River, Ypsilanti

    Toledo classic rock & pop cover trio.

  • Nightspots

    Medicine Men.: Zal Gaz Grotto

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    Zal Gaz Grotto 2070 W. Stadium, Ann Arbor

    This local dance quintet plays classic R&B and Motown. With vocalist Terry Samuels, guitarist Pete Bullard, keyboardist Andy Adamson, bassist Doug Katchorek, and drummer Mike Moneart. They are backed by the Westside Girls, the vocal duo of Cheryl McIntire and Carol Shaw.

  • Free
    Observer Editor

    Full Moon Festival: U-M Detroit Observatory

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    All invited to this celebration of various East Asian mid-autumn lunar festivals featuring kids activities, musical performances, tours of the observatory, and viewing the moon through the observatory’s telescopes (weather permitting). 8–11 p.m. 1398 E. Ann at Observatory. detroitobservatory.umich.edu.

  • Community Listing
    Free

    Ghettotech, Electro and Drum ‘N Bass: G.E.D.

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    Ashley Street Social; 336 Ashley, Ann Arbor

    ITS BACK! The GED/Ghettotech, Electro, Drum N Bass is a multi-genre sampler music showcase of these 3 amazing subgenres of electronic music. Electro early, Ghettotech in the middle, and Drum N Bass late. All local DJs on the decks. Come for all or just the genres you are into! Since we don’t have regular shows with expressly these types of music shows/sets in Washtenaw County….we were hoping to make this a spot heads could meet up the organize more shows.

    Free
  • Observer Editor

    Riverside Swings: Riverside Arts Center

    Riverside Swings: Riverside Arts Center
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    Every Fri. Swing dancing to recorded music. No partner or experience required. Wear comfortable low-grip/tread shoes. Preceded at 7 & 8 p.m. by hour-long lessons. Followed by a “late-night blues-&-fusion” dance. The 1st Friday of each month is free, and the 3rd Friday includes a Charleston lesson. 9–11 p.m., 76 N. Huron St., Ypsi. $5 (students, $4). riversidearts.org/riverside-swings.