Detroit · December 4, 2016 0

Detroit’s Noel Night, in photos

MOCADIt hasn’t been the easiest year to get into the Christmas spirit, what with the not-very-wintry weather we’ve had so far and the pervasive anxiety and dread that’s settled in ever since the election. So Detroit’s annual Noel Night celebration was just the ticket.

The WhitneyLast night was the 44th annual Noel Night, a huge holiday open house produced by Midtown Detroit that draw thousands of revelers to the Cultural Center and Midtown. Stores, galleries, libraries, museums and bars and restaurants open their doors and host performers, arts-and-crafts activities, brass bands, farm animals and more to celebrate the holiday season.

img_3540Noel Night is a beautiful distillation of Detroit at its best, with the streets filled with people from all different walks of life, music playing from every corner and creativity on display everywhere. It’s a night when Detroit begins to feel like New York, with the streets crawling with people, and retailers demonstrating that Detroit is a burgeoning and viable commercial district.

It’s a refreshing and all-too-rare chance to see huge throngs of people out walking the streets on a night when you just might stumble onto a performer like Thornetta Davis singing Christmas songs in a church.