Detroit, MI

Unique ticketing model at Detroit hospitality festival allows people to pay it forward

Published

10 months ago

August 24, 2025

Press Room

Unique ticketing model at Detroit hospitality festival allows people to pay it forward

Veronica Ortega

Updated on: August 24, 2025 / 8:58 PM EDT
/ CBS Detroit

After a nearly two-year hiatus, a popular event is back in Detroit.

Hospitality Included Fest 25 on Sunday celebrated the people, food, music and art that make the city special.

Set against the backdrop of the Detroit design district on the city’s north end is the marquee event for Hospitality Included.

“We promote the hospitality industry, but we also promote it as hospitality as a way of life, of just being hospitable to your neighbor, a good person, essentially,” Thor Jones, founder of Hospitality Included, said.

This is the fourth festival in five years.

“We missed out on last year. Just change the venue, funding, too many hurdles, not enough time,” Jones said.

But all that is back on track this year.

“Hospitality people are the salt of the earth, and we know that,” Stephanie Leon, project manager, said. “But there’s something really, really special about the people from this place, and there’s something very, very special about the land and the history, and just really understanding that this is the home of so many different innovations.”

The festival’s unique community ticketing model is a pay-it-forward approach.

Instead of buying a ticket for themselves, businesses and individuals purchased tickets that covered the cost for others.

“This is to close the funding gap, and they’re $5 tickets. So drop $20 and, you know, it helps you get somebody else in,” Jones said.

The goal was to sell 7,000 tickets before the festival.

“We sold over 4,000, which was enough to put the festival on. So, we just made it free,” Jones said.

What started with just seven food vendors and 250 visitors has grown to more than 30 food vendors and thousands of community members.

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Detroit, MI

Man armed with gun shot by police in downtown Detroit ahead of fireworks show, police say

Published

1 hour ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

Man armed with gun shot by police in downtown Detroit ahead of fireworks show, police say

June 22, 2026 / 8:30 PM EDT
/ CBS Detroit

A man, who authorities say was armed with a weapon, was shot by Detroit police on Monday ahead of the annual Ford Fireworks show.

Police say another person, a 19-year-old, was arrested before the shooting.

Detroit police say that at about 6:24 p.m., officers arrested the 19-year-old, who was armed, near the area of Farmer and Bates streets. At that time, a man was seen walking away from a group. Police say that the person ran away, prompting a chase.

During the chase, an officer fired shots, hitting the man several times. The individual was taken to the hospital, and a weapon was recovered from the scene. The individual’s identity is currently unknown.

Police say there is no ongoing threat to the public, and the incident remains under investigation.

The annual fireworks show is set to begin at approximately 10 p.m. over the Detroit River.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Detroit, MI

Grace Hanke crowned Miss Michigan 2026

Published

11 hours ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

A Metro Detroit resident has claimed the title of Miss Michigan, being crowned on Saturday night.

University of Detroit Mercy student Grace Hanke, who competed as Miss Oakland County, won the crown at Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon. Hanke said winning the title was a dream, though it was not her main goal.

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Detroit, MI

Plymouth’s Channell-Watkins joins local hockey players on PWHL Detroit

Published

21 hours ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

Plymouth’s Channell-Watkins joins local hockey players on PWHL Detroit

PWHL Detroit added another local player to the roster for the inaugural season in 2026-2027.

Plymouth’s Mellissa Channell-Watkins (Vancouver Goldeneyes) was one of three defensemen signed to the team on Sunday along with Stephanie Markowski (Ottawa Charge) and Mia Biotti (Boston Fleet).

Channell-Watkins joins Macomb’s Taylor Girard, Brighton’s Shiann Darkangelo and Port Huron’s Casey Borgiel as Michigan-area players in the lineup.

Channell-Watkins played with the expansion Goldeneyes last year after two previous seasons with the Minnesota Frost where she won back-to-back Walter Cup titles.

In 30 games in 2025-26, the 31-year-old recorded two assists and tied for fifth among defenders with 44 hits.

In 83 career regular-season games, she has 11 points (1G, 10A), while her nine career playoff points (1G, 8A) in 18 games is tied for third all-time among defenders.

Prior to turning pro, the Little Caesars graduate played at the University of Wisconsin, scoring the game-winning goal in the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal.

Markowski entered the PWHL as the 20th overall selection by Ottawa in the fourth round of the 2024 Draft.

The 24-year-old finished third on the team with a plus-6 rating in 2025-26 and has recorded 10 points (2G, 8A) in 58 career regular-season games.

Collegiately, the Edmonton native played four seasons at Clarkson University (2019-23), serving as an alternate captain in 2022-23.

She transferred to Ohio State where she won a national championship with the Buckeyes in 2024.

Biotti spent her rookie season with Boston Fleet, making her PWHL debut at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 3 and went on to record two assists in 13 regular-season games and saw action in two playoff contests.

The 23-year-old from Cambridge, Massachusetts, played four seasons at Harvard University, serving as captain in her senior year, and earned Second-Team All-Ivy League honors.