Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Weekend Fests and Celebrations

29. September 2007 • Juliew
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Oktoberfest in the Streets
Friday and Saturday from 5:00pm–11pm in front of Arbor Brewing
Traditional Munich-style Oktoberfest with German bands, bratwurst, polkas, drinking songs. Family-friendly. This is an outdoor street party complete with beer tents and festival seating.

Ann Arbor Kiwanis Fun Fest
Saturday 9:00am-2:00pm at the Kiwanis Building (200 First Street)
Pancake breakfast, door prizes, balloon animals, hot dog lunch.

Centennial Celebration at the Arb
Saturday 8:00am-3:00pm at the Arb
Celebrate the Arb’s 100th anniversary with a day of events including hikes, bubble blowing, worm feeding, and leaf rubbing.

Big House, Big Heart 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run
Early Sunday (registration is Saturday) at Michigan Stadium.
Run through campus and finish by running through the Michigan Stadium tunnel to the 50-yard line. Hear the crowd roar as you appear on the Jumbotron.

Dragon Boat Festival at Gallup
Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm at Gallup park
Dragon boat races, percussionists, kite-making, yo-yo spinning, lion dancing, and food.



  1. Dragon Boats: Wow. A few thousand people, I’d guess. Informative chat with a woman whose husband was competing for the Matthei Gardens “Plant Power” team. She kept saying “row” instead of “paddle”, but otherwise seemed to have her ducks in a row. Teams of 20 lay people with a professional rudder-person were racing pairwise in a double-elimination format (you had to lose twice to be eliminated, and there was some element of average time thrown in). Teams signed up in advance. I watched two heats from the bridge … the red and blue boats each won a race.

    For consideration next year: ArborUpdate readers/commenters/contributors field a team.


       —HD    Sep. 30 '07 - 10:07PM    #
  2. I was on the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum team. We shaved 5 seconds off our time on the third race! This event was a blast, and the whole day was a wonderful celebration. Thanks to all those who had a hand in organizing it!


       —OWSider    Oct. 1 '07 - 01:38AM    #
  3. We were there for the last few heats. It was fun to watch and I bet it was even more fun to participate! Couldn’t have ordered a more perfect day and perfect setting for it.


       —Juliew    Oct. 1 '07 - 03:12AM    #