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TOP ready to go at temporary location

TOP ready to go at temporary location image TOP ready to go at temporary location image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
June
Year
2006
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
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TOP ready to go at temporary location

Part of Summer Festival will be at Ingalls Mall, section of Washington Street

BY ROGER LELIEVRE

News Arts Writer

The debut of this year’s Top of the Park is less than a week away, but Robb Woulfe, director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, said the popular event, running Friday through July 9, is primed and ready to go.

“It’s been in the planning for over a year -- we’re excited to get this thing up and see what works and what doesn’t work, and adjust accordingly,” he said.

This year TOP, the free, outdoor part of the Summer Festival, will unfold in a new location. Due to the renovation of the Fletcher Street parking structure, TOP’S traditional home, the slate of concerts and movies moves this year and next to the University of Michigan’s Ingalls Mall and to Washington Street (between Fletcher and Thayer streets), which will be closed for the duration, starting Monday.

TOP will kick off in style with the Jeremy Kittel Acoustic Trio and the trombone-driven Bugs Beddow Band, and end July 9 with -- as usual -- George Bedard & the Kingpins headlining.

In between is a slate of mostly local acts that generally start around 7 p.m. and are followed at dusk on many nights with movies shown on a large, outdoor screen.

SEE TOP OF THE PARK, C2

Full schedule for Top of the Park, C2

TOP essentials

What: Outdoor component of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.

Where: Ingalls Mall (across from Rackham Auditorium on the U-M campus and on Washington Street between Thayer and Fletcher). This is a new location -- TOP'S traditional home, the parking structure on Fletcher Street next to Power Center, is undergoing renovations.

When: June 16-July 9, generally starting around 7 p.m. Movies screen at dusk.

Admission: Free.

Highlights: Special themed nights, a teen night, and a performance by national recording artist Shawn Mullins. See accompanying schedule for details.

Details: www.annarborsummerfestival.org

TOP OF THE PARK FROM C1

Mardi Gras carnival, Latin dance party, Parisian street fair part of the fun

Family day is June 18, with a performance by Ann Arbor duo Gemini starting early, at 6:30 p.m.

The popular teen night, in conjunction with the Neutral Zone teen center, will return June 19, with a mix of poetry, rock, hip-hop and Afro-funk, headlined by Ann Arbor band Nomo.

New this year are two nights offered in conjunction with Ann Arbor radio station WQKL (107.1 FM). On June 29, national singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins will perform, with Ari Hest, an acoustic troubadour from New York City, opening. On July 6, popular Ann Arbor pop-rock band Tally Hall will play.

Woulfe said TOP fans can expect a similar layout and feel as in years past, even though the location is new. He said he's particularly excited about a trio of global parties designed to complement acts performing on the Power Center main stage.

Three global parties have been scheduled:  A Mardi Gras carnival prior to New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band June 21; a Latin dance party prior to the Miami-based Cuban music band Tiempo Libre June 22; and a Parisian street fair prior to the Paris-based sextet Les Yeux Noirs June 27.

The global parties will help bridge the programming inside Power Center with that of TOP, he said, "and it's also a great opportunity to give some local artists a chance to perform at that venue in a way that complements what's going on inside."

The global parties also offered the Summer Festival a chance to team up with some local organizations with which it might not normally have had a chance to work.

"For the Latin dance party we're partnering with an organization called Latinos Unidos. ... They have been wonderful in helping engage the Latino and Hispanic community. They've opened some doors for us we may not have been able to do," said Woulfe. "For the gypsy klezmer event we're partnering with (U-M student organization) Hillel as well as the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County. ... Several groups are helping us with the big Bohemian street fair in terms of helping us connect with local artists in the community who will be performing and mingling through the festival grounds."

For those who bring their appetites to TOP, food vendors -- seven in all, and mostly the same ones as in years past -- will all be lined up in a culinary row, right next to each other, Woulfe added.

As usual, one of TOP's challenges is money. Moving the event has been expensive. This year's TOP budget is $256,000.

"Ive said all along our biggest challenge will be seeing if we can financially support this," Woulfe explained. "The community has stepped forward and helped us with some extra funds to get this mounted this year. I think for us it will be sustaining that though next year when its (new location) is not so much of a novelty."

TOP is funded through a combination of corporate support, individual gifts, and foundation and government funding. A special relocation campaign with a realized goal of $55,000 "put us in a position to get through this year's festival," Woulfe added.

"We'll need to see what works, what didn't work. We are certainly curious to see how the city (of Ann Arbor) and the university respond to our being in this location." This is the first year that TOP unfolds on city property as well as that of U-M. "There's this dual jurisdiction we need to be aware of," he observed.

"I am not nervous, but I think there's a lot we can learn in the next month as this plays out."

Roger LeLievre can be reached at 734-994-6848 or by e-mail at rlelievre@annarbornews.com.