The deadline for submission of all entries is February 29.

The contest is open to artists and writers of all ages. If offers first, second and third place awards and honorable mention recognition.

Artwork and writings must be inspired by one or more of the 12 MSI sculptures located in the East and West Dearborn areas and on the grounds of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.  Additional information about the sculptures, locations and entry requirements can be found at www.dearborncommunityfund.org or by contacting the Dearborn Community Fund office at 313-943-5478.

Selected artwork and writings will be showcased at the March 28 “Multi-Arts Night” program which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Studio A at The Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave. The program is open to the public at no charge.

The Midwest Sculpture Initiative is a project of the Dearborn Community Fund with support from the East Dearborn and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities. The Dearborn Community Fund provides and promotes financial and volunteer resources in support of arts, recreational and cultural programs that directly impact the community.

If you are Dearborn resident and architecture graduate Paolo Mastrogiacomo you create a celestial field that helps call attention to all that downtown west Dearborn has to offer.

And that is just what the University of Michigan grad will do this evening at the corner of Michigan and Brady with his colleague Ariya Kelly (and a bunch of volunteers including designers, artists and people from the community) when they arrange the 2,000 sticks in a pavilion design to creative an interactive, but temporary, visual experience for visitors.

This first ever Dearborn “Glow” project will light up the entire corner from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Be sure to bring your cameras. It will be a fun photo to capture and share.

The “Glow” project is adjacent to the Dearborn Historical Museum, a co-host for the project along with the Dearborn Community Fund.

In addition to providing a unique visual experience, Mastrogiacomo sees his project, albeit temporary, as a way to provide our community with an opportunity to stop, play and become engaged while calling attention to downtown west Dearborn and all it has to offer.

Visitors will be encouraged to walk through the “field” and to move the glow sticks at will resulting in a constantly changing pattern. Three sculptures, part of Dearborn’s Midwest Sculpture Initiative which continues through April, are also featured on the site.

The Dearborn Historical Museum will be open to welcome visitors. A children’s activity area, light refreshments and museum tour will be available.

The project team hopes that this temporary interactive creative project will be the first of many and serve to encourage other area artists to develop future projects.

The event is free.

Additional information is available by contacting the Dearborn Community Fund at 313-943-5478.

Honorees for the 2011 Mayor’s Arts Awards are:

• Frank Padzieski, The Mayor’s Award

• Isabelle Renaud, Artist/Performer Award

• Kurt Doelle, Arts Educator Award

• Leslie Greeneisen, DCAC Bravo Award

• Cynthia Frabutt, Volunteer Award

• UM-Dearborn, Patron Award

• Artists Society of Dearborn, Organization Award

The Awards ceremony will take place Wednesday, February 8th in the Michael Guido Theatre at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.   The ceremony will begin at 7:30 pm and is free to the public.     A reception immediately following  the ceremony will be in Studio A, next to the theatre and will also be open to the public.

The  Mayor’s Arts Awards were created by Dearborn Community Arts Council (DCAC) and  late Mayor Michael Guido to honor those members of our community who create, perform, educate and the support the fine and performing arts in the greater Dearborn area.

 The Master of Ceremonies for this year’s  event will be Dearborn’s multi-talented  Brian Townsend.   Among the groups slated to perform during the evening are the Prysm School of the Arts, the Dearborn High Thespians and a film montage of the DHS Film and Video program.

No reservations are required.   Any inquires can be directed to the DCAC office; 313-943-3095.

In recognition of Doman’s contribution to the book, Oakwood Common will host a book signing event, open to the public, at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012.

Doman will be available to greet guests and sign copies of the newly published book, which will also be available for sale.

Proceeds from the sale of the book, priced at $20 each, benefit the Dearborn Historical Museum.

In addition to her featured story, Doman is recognized as a natural writer in rhyme and meter. A former elementary school teacher in Taylor, where her husband held public office, Doman had never composed a poem before joining the writers group at Oakwood Common where she has lived for nine years.

Since then, her work has been published regularly in the residents’ newsletter and in several larger writing collections including Oakwood’s annual literary journal, Poetic Resonance Imaging. She is also a regular member of the Common Expressions writers group.

The book signing event will be held in the Rotunda Room of the Oakwood Common Retirement Community which is located at 16351 Rotunda Drive in Dearborn.

For more information, email donna.brandt@oakwood.org or call 800-642-4663.

The idea behind the HOT/COLD exhibit theme was to offer each hand picked artist the choice to create something hot and sassy, cool and wintry, or incorporate both themes. The results are amazing and Headspace Gallery is honored to showcase the wide range of styles resulting from this unique theme.

“As always, we like to promote our local home grown talent,” says Katie Merritt, co-owner and curator of the exhibit.

Most of the artists hail from the metro Detroit area, with one addition from Kalamazoo, and one former Detroiter currently residing in New York.

The artists vary as wildly as the styles including a published graphic novelist, Jane Irwin, two Center for Creative Studies students, Natalie James and Hanna Lee Stockdale, a musician/local business owner, Windy Weber, and even a 10-year-old aspiring artist, Audra Evans. The exhibit is featuring 14 of Michigan’s finest female artists in all.

HOT/COLD officially opens Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 with an opening reception/meet and greet with the artists at Headspace Gallery. The fun starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. with a live DJ, Terri “WhoDat?” McQueen.

Headspace Gallery is located inside Green Brain Comics, 13210 Michigan Ave.  in East Downtown Dearborn. For more information check the website HERE or call 313-582-9444.

The exhibit will be on display until March 31, 2012.

The Dearborn Community Fund will host a rocking evening on Saturday, Feb. 11, featuring the music of ABBA performed by the Swedish group Arrival.

The Dearborn Community Fund (DCF) will host a rocking evening on Saturday, Feb. 11, featuring the music of ABBA performed by the Swedish group Arrival in a dynamic concert at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center followed by the Ultimate Dance Party.

The event will benefit the DCF and other participating non-profit organizations that serve the Dearborn area.

Arrival’s performance in the Michael A. Guido Theater begins at 8 p.m. and includes some of the most upbeat, feel good sounds of the ’70s including classic ABBA hits featured in both the musical and movie “Mama Mia.” You know them all – “Dancing Queen,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You” and more! Arrival is the only group sanctioned by ABBA to perform their classic hits.

Immediately following the performance, the season’s Ultimate Dance Party, open to those 21 and over, kicks off at 10 p.m. at the center in the dome room. Under a spectacular light display, party goers will groove to more ABBA music and other tunes mixed by two of Detroit’s favorite DJs – Ray G of Detroit and MMK of South Beach. Included in the evening will be other entertainment, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar featuring specialty ABBA drinks.

Combination concert/Ultimate Dance Party tickets offer special benefits. VIP tickets are $100 and include premium front section concert seating, an opportunity to meet the performers, Ultimate Dance Party admission, and two drink tickets. A $60 combination concert and Ultimate Dance Party ticket includes main floor concert seating.

Tickets to only the Ultimate Dance Party are $25. Individual Arrival concert ticket prices vary. The Center, located at 15801 Michigan at Greenfield, is fully accessible and offers free parking.

The Arrival ABBA Concert and Ultimate Dance Party fundraiser is coordinated by the non-profit Dearborn Community Fund (DCF). The organization provides resources to support arts, cultural and recreational projects that impact the citizens of Dearborn. It is funded entirely through generous contributions from individuals, businesses, sponsors and fundraising activities.

For tickets or more information, call the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center box office at 313-943-2354.

Each session is a sampling of an aspect of the arts. The remaining schedule is:

• January 8 – Pottery W/ Village Potters Guild Artisans

• February 12 – Photography – How to use your own camera

If you are interested in registering call 313-943-4095 or email sgreene@ci.dearborn.mi.us

The book, the first of its kind ever compiled by the museum, is titled Best Dearborn Stories: Voices From Henry Ford’s Hometown. The book will be sold at the museum’s gift shop at the McFadden-Ross House, 915 Brady.

Profits from sales of the book will go to the museum, which has begun a membership drive to help keep its doors open after city funds run out during the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.

We have been featuring excerpts from the new book over the past few weeks. This third installment is written by Joseph F. Bugeia.

Thank you, Dearborn Public Schools

By Joseph F. Bugeia

The first 10 years of my life our family lived in southwest Detroit. When I became school age I attended a parochial school. In addition to strong discipline and the teachers forcing me to write right-handed, (I was naturally left-handed) I started to stutter, and it got progressively worse each year.

Desiring to move to a nicer neighborhood in the suburbs, my parents and I moved to Dearborn the summer before I entered the sixth grade. It was my parents’ intention that I continue at a parochial school. They found out, however, that the parish line ran down the alley behind our home, and as a result I had to attend Maples Junior High School.

On my first day at Maples, the teacher asked all new students to stand up and introduce themselves to their classmates. Because of my stuttering, it was a most traumatic experience. The teacher asked me to see her after class, at which time she indicated she was going to put me in a speech therapy class.

The speech therapy teacher determined that I had difficulty with the “th” sound, and she worked with me for several months during which time my stuttering problem improved a great deal.

In the ninth grade I ran for Student Council President. The campaigning for the position involved speaking to several classes. I won the election and even gave a speech on behalf of our class when we graduated from junior high. My stuttering problem was corrected.

During my three years at Fordson High School I had no stuttering problems. After graduation I started going to night classes at Dearborn Junior College (now HFCC). While there two great things happened: one, I determined I could do college level work, and two, I met my future wife, Mary.

After completing my Associates Degree in Commerce, I transferred to the University of Michigan receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree two years later.

In 1956 I was hired by Ford Motor Company. During my Ford career I held many positions requiring speaking to a variety of employee groups up to and including senior management. While working I completed an MBA from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. I had a very rewarding 38 year career with Ford in Human Resources. A major highlight of my career was meeting with Mr. Henry Ford II to handle his retirement.

When I look back at our family move to Dearborn, I wonder, “What if the parish limits had included our home,” and “What if my first teacher at Maples had not enrolled me in the speech therapy class?” AGAIN, THANK YOU-DEARBORN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

The event is the official introduction of the museum’s new book, Best Dearborn Stories: Voices From Henry Ford’s Hometown. The book is a collection of anecdotes and reminiscences from 154 writers, most of them residents and former residents. We have been posting excerpts from the book here at Deepsaidwhat.com

The signing, expected to draw more than 100 of the writers who contributed stories to the anthology, will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at HFCC’s Andrew A. Mazzara Administrative Services and Conference Center. The book is the latest fund-raising effort aimed at keeping the museum’s doors open.

“The largest book signing I could find online had 87 authors,” said L. Glenn O’Kray, vice chair of the Dearborn Historical Commission and coordinator on the project. “We’ve already got enough commitments from our writers to satisfy me that we’ll have well over 100 on hand. And we’re all going to be wearing T-shirts identifying each of us as a Best Dearborn Stories ‘famous author.’ ”

The book is the product of an unusually fast turn-around for a multi-author compilation – less than 10 weeks from inception to publication. O’Kray conceived the project after reading an Oct. 2 article in the Times about a “Rapid Response” strategy for setting and reaching goals in 100 days or less. He secured funds from the nonprofit Museum Guild of Dearborn for the book, located a printer and a designer, and collaborated with two other commissioners in collecting and editing the stories. Final proofs of the book went to the printer Nov. 18.

Priced at $19.95 in soft cover, the 382-page book includes stories about digging up bones in the back yard, breaking into labs to rescue animals, hiding in church after lock-up time, substituting for Ford during a portrait sitting, getting cussed out by Hubbard, and discovering that a hockey opponent who kept falling down in practice had a hat trick up his sleeve.

The historical museum consists of three public buildings, two of them associated with the former U.S. Arsenal at Dearbornville, which was built in the 1830s. It has operated with city funds since opening as a museum in 1950. However, despite voter approval of two millage increases in November, the city is proceeding with plans to continue trimming services.

After the museum’s current city subsidy runs out during the fiscal year ending in June, it will have to rely on cash reserves that previously had been earmarked for renovation of a facility to be used for exhibits and storage. Those reserves, if used for museum operation, are expected to be depleted by 2014.

The museum has raised $35,000 since it began a new membership drive in July, and it is planning to begin a major fund-raising campaign next year, including the sale of naming rights to its buildings. Book orders and donations may be sent to the museum at 915 S. Brady, Dearborn, MI 48124. Call 313-565-3000 or email lglennokray@cavtel.net for information.

The book, the first of its kind ever compiled by the museum, is titled Best Dearborn Stories: Voices From Henry Ford’s Hometown. The book will be sold at the museum’s gift shop at the McFadden-Ross House, 915 Brady.

Profits from sales of the book will go to the museum, which has begun a membership drive to help keep its doors open after city funds run out during the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.

We will feature excerpts from the new book over the next couple of weeks. This second excerpt is from a piece written by Freda Berce who has lived in Dearborn for 65 years. The 87-year-old resident compiled a list of her favorite place of yore. Unfortunately, many of her favorite places have long since been replaced or no longer exist. Longtime residents will instantly recognize the names and locations. It’s a great list.

Berce’s story below is one of more than 100 that appears in the Best Dearborn Stories: Voices From Henry Ford’s Hometown.

Favorite Places in Dearborn

By Freda M. Berce

East Dearborn

• Woodworth House – great dining and dancing.
• Circle Theater – Warren Avenue.
• Checker Inn – Schaefer Avenue. Great large elevated dance floor.
• Carmen Theater – Schaefer Road. Soda fountain on second floor.
• Wyoming Drive In Theater – Wyoming. Still there.
• Harry Miller Flowers — Michigan Avenue. The place for buying flowers.
• Korte’s Bar – Michigan Avenue. Dancing and dining outdoors.
• Dearborn Youth Center — Michigan Avenue. Roller skating.
• U.S. Naval Barracks — had sailors galore.
• Michigan Avenue & Schaefer — traffic officers directing traffic.
• The Rotunda — exhibition hall on Schaefer Road. Sadly burned down.
• McMahon’s Cocktail Lounge – Schaefer Road. Beautiful. The place to go on dates.
• Ford Foundation — the place to live in East Dearborn.

West Dearborn

•  Eurich Furniture — Michigan Avenue. Had old fashioned soda fountain and sold penny candy.
• Meyer Seafood Restaurant — Michigan Avenue. Great food.
• Holiday Inn — Michigan Avenue at Outer Drive.
• Chambertin’s — located in the Holiday Inn. Great food.
• Calvin Theater — Michigan Avenue.
• Twin Ponds — Oakwood Boulevard by Ford engineering buildings. Great skating.
• Muirheads — Michigan at Military. Best toy store and Santa with Sleigh for children’s memory pictures.
• The Maples Bowling Alley — Michigan Avenue.
• Michigan Avenue — beautiful Christmas decorations and crowds of shoppers.
• Ford Field — Brady Street. Ice skating and Class “A” baseball games which brought hundreds of spectators every weekend, sitting in the stands and hillside.
• Greenfield Village — Oakwood Boulevard. Most memorable when Henry Ford I passed away. My sister and I waited for hours to view his body. The line was miles long (and we wore high heel shoes then—whew!).
• Dearborn Hills — the place to live in West Dearborn years ago.
• Michigan Avenue & Monroe — traffic officers directing traffic!