Illustration: Tabi Walters
In 2022, neighbors Chris Wolff, Shannon Zager, and Dorothy Gotlib decided to throw a party across their three front yards. It seemed like a fun way to reconnect with their neighborhood after the pandemic. They hired a band and, because they lived on Pomona Rd., called their little event Pomonapalooza. The goal was simple: bring people together and have a good time.
Year one was such a success that it’s since expanded to take over a nearby cul-de-sac. Most of the families on this tight-knit, multigenerational street now consider it a high point of their summer calendar. They all pitch in, eager to nurture something that feels connective and special. There’s even a tradition of designing annual T-shirts which, as seven-year-old Pomonapalooza regular Violet Kurlander says, “keeps the party rolling.”
Their outreach is refreshingly old-school: flyers are distributed to mailboxes, signs appear in yards, and the grapevine does its thing. Everybody knows about it and no one wants to miss it.
For a cozy neighborhood party, Pomonapalooza’s entertainment roster is impressive. They’ve hosted rock, R&B, and folk bands, beat bucket drummers, U-M baton twirlers, and members of the Detroit Circus. Last year, the fire department showed off one of their ladder trucks. The food scene is equally robust, with its mix of potluck contributions and local food trucks.
For the first few years, it was a self-sponsored event with about eight families covering the basic costs and accepting donations to hopefully make a little bit of it back. Last year, says Zager, their attitude changed. “With all of the transition and budget cuts going on in Washington, we thought, should we turn this into a fundraiser?” Realizing they had a platform to do some good beyond their own neighborhood, they chose Community Action Network, a local nonprofit serving families in under-resourced neighborhoods, as their beneficiary.
Like before, the families cover the costs of throwing the party, but now, any money that comes in goes straight to CAN. Through QR codes, donation jars, and their kids lemonade stand, they were able to raise almost $2,500 in 2025. Separate from Pomonapalooza, they mounted a similarly successful fundraiser for Food Gatherers. Says Gotlib, “We’re just trying to plant the seed that people can make substantial contributions by pooling together resources like this.”