Buy Michigan Now Festival Returns to Northville This Weekend

Hundreds of vendors will set up shop in downtown Northville Friday to Sunday for the annual Buy Michigan Now Festival.

“The Buy Michigan Now Festival is unique because it’s a fest on a mission. In addition to providing great food, entertainment, and fun, we are dedicated to helping Michigan businesses grow. It’s going to be companies like these, each adding one or two more jobs that brings our economy back on track, and we want to help them do it,” said Lisa Diggs, the festival's founder.

The free festival highlights Michigan-based businesses and locally-produced merchandise. More than 100 vendors and merchants are scheduled to participate.

1. Family fun
The festival has always been a family-friendly weekend. This year, it will kick off on Friday with a “Family Fun Day,” which is jam-packed with fun and prizes. The “Family Fun Day” features events like:

    12 p.m. – Magician Chris Clark in Town Square
    1 p.m. – Meet Roary, the Detroit Lions Mascot
    2 p.m. – Dancing with the DJ presented by Joe Cornell Entertainment
    2:30 p.m. – Magician Chris Clark in Town Square
    3 p.m. – Meet Paws, the Detroit Tigers Mascot
    3 p.m. – Dancing with the DJ presented by Joe Cornell Entertainment


2. Kids Zone
The Kids Zone, presented by Tubby's Sub Shops, will be on North Center Street. The Kids Zone is home to games, arts, crafts, contests, mascots, magic and more. Parents and children are invited to enter to win prizes ranging from free ice cream to Tubby's subs to Fatheads of Detroit sports teams. The Kids Zone is open throughout the weekend:

    12-5 p.m. Friday
    10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday
    11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday


3. Live music
Town Square will fill with music from local artists throughout the weekend, including Friday night concert series headliner Social Bones and Saturday’s festival headliner Mainstreet Soul.

4. Special drinks
The Michigan Wine & Beer Garden, at Town Square, gives adults 21 and over the chance to enjoy Michigan craft beers and wines offered by the Northville Chamber of Commerce during select hours. Admission to the Beer Garden is free and proceeds from beverage sales benefit the Chamber and the Buy Michigan Now campaign. The Beer Garden is open from 5-10 p.m. Friday, 2-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-3 p.m. Sunday.

Also during the festival, Buy Michigan Now volunteers will sell bottled water donated by Absopure. Proceeds will benefit Operation Kid Equip (OKE), a local nonprofit that provides school supplies for underprivileged youth in Metro Detroit. On July 10, a flood struck the OKE offices, destroying tens of thousands of dollars in donated school supplies. Water sales will help restore the losses from the water damage.

5. Street closures
Main and Center streets in downtown Northville will be closed to allow for pedestrian traffic throughout the weekend. The Buy Michigan Now Festival will run from:

    12 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday
    10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday
    11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday


For the most up-to-date information, visit www.BuyMichiganNowFest.com.

As read on: http://northville.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/buy-michigan-now-festival-returns-to-northville-this-weekend?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001&evar4=picks-1-post&newsRef=true