Detroit, MI
Detroit St. Patrick’s Day Parade draws crowd to Irish culture
Thousands come out for annual St. Patrick’s Day parade
The 68th Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade brought families and friends to Michigan Avenue for a huge celebration of Irish culture
Detroit — The 68th Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade brought families and friends to Michigan Avenue for a celebration of Irish culture.
Participants were bedecked green accessories: beaded necklaces, clover-decorated clothing, bandanas, head bows and glittering face paint.
The parade rolled down Michigan Avenue in Corktown and offered a taste of Irish culture.
Jason McKay of Clinton Township was with longtime friend Kevin Sining, 52, who both had generations of family with them, wore leprechaun top hats on Sunday afternoon.
“We’re here to celebrate the Irish pride, Irish community and just family values. We got generations of our heritage … we’ve been coming here for the last 10 years to celebrate the parade,” said McKay, 51.
People from Motor City Irish Dance, the Whiskey Wagon, Fraternal Order of United Irishmen, Most Holy Trinity Parish, local officials like former Mayor Mike Duggan, school marching bands and more walked along Michigan as a group and waved at parade-goers who cheered and blew horns.
Green parade floats, clowns and bagpipes, bubble-blowing ghostbusters and dance and song performances entertained the crowd.
Corktown got its name as result of Irish immigrants that moved to Detroit from from County Cork. The Corktown neighborhood is Detroit’s oldest surviving neighborhood, and the Irish were the largest ethnic group of newcomers to Detroit at the time, according to the parade’s website.
The parade typically attracts 80,000 to 100,000 people, making it one of the largest St. Patrick’s parades in the country, the website said.
Jessica Corner of Royal Oak was invited to the parade by her neighbor, Patrick Brainer, who recommended she attend. The crowd of a dozen Royal Oak residents have been coming to the parade ever since.
“It’s the marching bands for me. It’s so exciting to see the marching bands, all the kids. And we’re going to keep coming every year,” said Corner, 36.
Anna Stileski and Justin Scott of Detroit found seats right at the parade kickoff near the Lodge Service Drive and Michigan Avenue.
They said the event is an amenity of living in Detroit. The couple rode their mopeds to the celebration.
“We love the firefighter clowns. The ghostbusters are great,” Stileski said.
The United Irish Societies, the parade organizer, is made up of over 35 Irish organizations across Metro Detroit that donate money, time and resources to support the parade.
In 1958, the UIS hosted the first St. Patrick’s Parade in Dearborn.
mjohnson@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Opening of Canada-US bridge in Detroit that Trump threatened to block is delayed
WASHINGTON (AP) — The opening of a Canadian-U.S. bridge across the Detroit River that President Donald Trump previously threatened to block has been delayed due to “outstanding issues.”
In a statement released Thursday ahead of a Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says “Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.”
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan and was expected to open to traffic later this month.
The bridge’s opening had remained in question for months after Trump, a Republican, in February demanded that Canada turn over at least half the ownership of the bridge to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos over cross-border trade issues.
Invitations for the bridge’s opening went out this week following a conversation between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
“This project is a powerful example of bipartisan and international cooperation, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it happens,” a statement from Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy said.
Detroit, MI
Boats capsize on Detroit River near Belle Isle after heavy rain
Boats capsize on Belle Isle
Bystanders looked on as multiple boats appeared to have capsized in the Detroit River after heavy rains swept across the island around 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, June 10.
Detroit police, firefighters, and Michigan conservation officers rushed to the beach on Belle Isle on Wednesday, June 10, around 7:45 p.m., where bystanders watched helplessly as multiple boats appeared to have capsized after heavy rains swept across the island.
A representative for the Detroit Police Department said the department responded to four sailboats that capsized in the Detroit River, recovering nine people from the water. “At this time, we believe weather was the contributing factor to these boats capsizing. We are grateful for the quick actions of our officers in being able to rescue and save the nine individuals recovered,” read a statement provided by the department. Emergency workers stood onshore until around 8:45 p.m, awaiting an opportunity to help, while what appeared to be emergency boats cruised past each overturned vessel.
Coast Guard officers arrived around 8 p.m. and consulted with emergency workers on the scene.
(This is a developing story and will update.)
Detroit, MI
‘Diarra From Detroit’ sets date for second season on Paramount+
The Detroit-set detective series from creator and star Diarra Kilpatrick debuted in 2024.
Diarra is coming back to Detroit.
“Diarra From Detroit” will return for its second season on July 29 on Paramount+, the streaming network announced Wednesday.
The eight-episode season will debut with two episodes and will follow with new episodes every Wednesday through Sept. 9.
Diarra Kilpatrick, half-sister of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, is the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the series, which follows her adventures as Detroit detective Diarra Brickland.
From the official show description:
“Season two finds Diarra Brickland trying — unsuccessfully — to have a hot girl summer without getting wrapped up in yet another deeply unserious and extremely dangerous Detroit mystery. This time around, what starts as a seemingly harmless furniture recovery mission quickly spirals into a triple homicide investigation, a citywide treasure hunt and another trip deep into Detroit’s criminal underbelly. As Diarra attempts to sort out her messy relationship status, she instead finds herself going undercover with a secret society, starring in a Tubi movie, chasing urban legends, dodging gang warfare, and uncovering secrets buried beneath the city itself. Because of course she does.”
Alongside returning stars Kilpatrick, DomiNque Perry, Bryan Terrell Clark, Jon Chaffin, Shannon Wallace, Phylicia Rashad and Harry Lennix, the new season will feature guest stars Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Morris Chestnut, Glynn Turman, Bokeem Woodbine, Amber Riley, Lil Rel Howery, Skilla Baby, Icewear Vezzo, Chris “CP” Powell and more.
The show originally debuted on BET+ in March 2024. The show was filmed in New Jersey, which stood in for the Motor City.
At the time, Kilpatrick told The Detroit News she was inspired by the detective shows she watched growing up with her grandmother.
“I watched ‘Perry Mason’ and ‘Columbo’ with my granny, and I think that structure is in my bones,” she said. “Even though they’re White shows, because of my grandmother’s commentary on them, she made them Black shows.”
She said the show follows in the lineage of those shows she grew up loving.
“I have nostalgia for these highly entertaining procedural shows,” she said. “This one is edgier, it’s sexier, it’s raunchier — it’s definitely an adult show — but I want people to talk to their friends at brunch or call their friends and say, ‘I think she should go back with the husband!’ I love when people get involved in storytelling that way, and if I can reveal the humanity of Detroiters in the process? I feel like I’ve won.”
“Diarra From Detroit’s” first season is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
agraham@detroitnews.com
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