So no one has won any of our gear by finding Jimmy Hoffa in our events photos yet. Sheesh, I knew it would be tough, but didn’t expect it to be impossible. The Feds can’t find him either, so maybe everything about him is elusive, even his photo. So read on and I’ll drop a clue a bit later to help you in your quest for a t-shirt or drinking device. 

This past weekend we went to the Detroit River Days festival along the River Walk in Detroit. We go to this every year because it is not only a cool event, but a great opportunity to walk along the river, feel the breezes, watch the boats, and observe people representing every possible type of human concoction. The event is awesome, but it’s the people who really make it, from the folks who put it on and run it through the wide-eyed kids who splash in the fountains to cool off after the carnival rides. There was a lot of really good artwork this year, photos, paintings, and sculptures, with some of the painting bordering on being sculpture due to their spatial arrangement and a three-dimensional impression that they individually had; a nearly mysterious appearance of depth. We captured a lot of the art, most if not all of it, in our photos from the festival (see the kitty, above) (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-detroit-river-days/) along with a lot of other interesting things and people.

In addition to River Days we’ve covered the Berkley Art Bash (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-Berkley-Art-Bash/), the Royal Oak Clay, Glass, and Metal Show (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-Royal-Oak-Clay-Glass-Metal-Show/), 50 Shades, The Musical! (http://www.detroitmm.com/reviews/2013/50-shades-the-musical/), and Cruisin’ Gratiot (http://www.detroitmm.com/events/2013/06-cruisin-gratiot/), all in the past 2.5 weeks and there’s more to come! This weekend we will be at the Downriver Cruise and the Waterford Log Cabin Days, hopefully we’ll see you there.

Oh, right, the Find Jimmy Hoffa contest; I recently promised a hint, didn’t I? Well, Hoffa was the head of the Teamster’s Union and they deal with transportation, their logo has a wheel in it. That’s at least two hints, now go find him and win some swag! Our previous blog post has the rules, so scroll down to it. 

Detroit’s Metro Mashup contests have no monetary value and prizes awarded cannot be substituted for any other or for any cash value. The cash value of the prize is $0.01 U. S. One winner per contest only, winner to be determined by Detroit Metro Mashup to be the earliest email received meeting all the requisite criteria, including the correct photo, the sender’s email address, the subject “I found Jimmy Hoffa,” and the prize selected. If you are under 18 please have your parent or guardian submit your entry for you. Detroit Metro Mashup is not responsible for any errors or omissions either in the contest or your entry. Detroit Metro Mashup has no association with Jimmy Hoffa’s family, estate, or any businesses.

Hard to believe this is already the 23^rd week of the 52-week year, but here it is. Even though the weather feels like chilly April, summer is nearly upon us, the year is flying by, and there are dozens, if not hundreds, of interesting things for people to do. Since my last blog Detroit Metro Mashup has posted coverage of the Lafayette Market & Café’s Friday Summer Concerts on the Patio, Baconfest Michigan in Royal Oak, the Waterford Peacefest at L. A. Café, and the opening day of Whole Foods Market in Detroit.

Weather permitting, we’ll be photographing the 19^th Annual Clay, Glass, and Metal Show in Royal Oak today. This show will have over 125 artists who were selected via a jury process to display their art on Washington Avenue. The show hours are Saturday, June 8, 2013 - 10:00 AM through Sunday, June 9, 2013 - 5:00 PM. There is always some really cool stuff for sale and you are nearly certain to find something that you would like to display in your home. We at DMM have a particular weakness for Doug Spalding’s ceramic factories and robots; several decorate this place. We hope to see you there!

Wow, it’s been an intense two weeks since my last blog post here at Detroit Metro Mashup. First, let me thank everyone who has come to detroitmm.com and checked out our coverage and all of you who have “liked” us on Facebook and told your friends. It’s been two weeks since my last post because we have covered so many events, and this is going to be a short one because we’re off to cover the Detroit Music Awards at the Fillmore Theater (formerly the State) in Detroit this evening.

During the past two weeks, in addition to refining the website, updating our techniques, getting some new equipment, and trying to find time to eat and sleep, we’ve photographed and reported on the Pontiac DIA Inside | Out, the Detroit Art Deco Society’s Peacock Room Bubble Bar, the Goldner Walsh William Cowger gallery exhibit, the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition Spring Flea Market, the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism, and Culture Lab Detroit! Everything is up on the website except the Culture Lab Conversation and we’ll get both this and the Music Awards coverage up during this weekend. So check back.

We haven’t been to the Detroit Music Awards in a few years and we are really stoked about getting to cover it for Detroit Metro Mashup. It is always a hugely intense event, frequented by the cream of metro Detroit’s crop of fabulous musicians. Motown made Detroit famous for music and the quality of the musicians since that time has not diminished. Rather the range of high quality music has expanded, with everything from R&B, rock, and pop at our roots to techno, hip-hop and rap, exploding in the Detroit culture and putting the D back on the musical map. The arts are vibrant and alive in Detroit and the music is no exception.

I’ve got to wrap this up and get to the Awards, but I’ll try to write more, sooner, as much as I can!

For more information about the Detroit Music Awards go to http://www.detroitmusicawards.com.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster via Live Nation. Prices for remaining tickets range from $29 to $35.

The Doors open at 6:00 PM and the show begins at 7:00 PM.