5th Annual Galentine's Day Downtown Business Crawl

 

 

Morning, Ann Arbor! It’s a slower news week, so I’m going to drop a little history trivia question in the mix. Formed in 1860, what was the first organized sport at U of M? Scroll down for the answer.

 

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💗 Galentine’s Day: Ann Arbor’s fifth annual Galentine’s Day crawl is this weekend. The event, which takes place on Saturday, February 8th, is a small business crawl for “Gals and Pals.” Attendees will be given a passport-style book and encouraged to collect stickers from local businesses. Scroll down this page to see the 25+ participating local businesses that will be offering deals, treats, and giveaways.

 

Facebook | 16 Hands

🎨 Kerrytown Business Closing: 16 Hands, a longtime Ann Arbor artisan shop, will close in mid-April. 16 Hands announced in a Facebook post on January 28th, “We will be closing our doors permanently in mid-April, 2025. We are doing well, but owner Jill Damon is ready to retire and get back to creating her own work.” The shop has been in Kerrytown since 2011, but in various other locations throughout Ann Arbor for 50 years. The shop asks people to stop by, share memories, enter drawings, and shop closing sales in the coming months.

 

Faster Horses Festival

🏇2025 Faster Horses: This summer’s Faster Horses Country Music Festival at Michigan International Speedway was unexpectedly canceled on Friday. The announcement stated the festival will pause this year for a “bigger and better” Faster Horses in coming years and encourages fans to support live music in Michigan in the meantime. Since debuting in 2013, Faster Horses has grown to one of the largest summer events in the state - typically drawing 40,000 attendees annually.

 

TODAY’S SPONSOR: UMS

UMS - University Musical Society

🕹️ UMS Presents Asses.Masses: The unemployed donkeys have one demand: the humans must surrender their machines and give all donkeys their jobs back! Played from beginning to end in a live theater, this experience puts the control(ler) in its audience’s hands. The 7-hour community gaming experience can be enjoyed as a spectator, a player, or both! Four snack/meal breaks take place every two episodes.

 

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🍼 Proposed Childcare Tax Bill: Last week three Michigan state representatives introduced a bill aimed at reducing taxes for parents. As part of the cost-saving proposals, certain childcare items, including diapers, bottles, child seats, and milk pumps would be exempt from state sales tax. Additionally, it would allow up to $500 of write-offs in state taxes for childcare expenses. Bill Schuette, a Michigan state representative, said, “Michigan should be the best and most affordable state in the country to raise a family. If we want our state to thrive, that starts with taking care of our families.”

 

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🖥️ Computer Science 101: Michigan passed a new law requiring all public high schools to offer at least one computer science class by 2027. The new law was signed by Gretchen Whitmer, who said that she wants Michigan to be “an attractive place for innovation and advanced manufacturing.” It was advocated for by big tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon. The bill defines computer science classes, “as the study of computational principles, hardware, software, and their societal impacts – with a focus on creating new technologies rather than just using them.”

 

Bentley Historical Library | Apple Maps

🏏 Historic Trivia Question: The first organized sport at U of M? Cricket!

In 1860, students formed the first team, the Pioneer Cricket Club. But by the mid-1870s participation was on the decline because baseball was introduced. Then, by 1880, the University had boxing, football (played like rugby), boating, and track. Currently, the University of Michigan offers 30 club sports and 27 varsity sports. But, at the moment, no cricket.

The above photo was taken on the corner of State Street and South U sometime in the late 19th century - roughly when Cricket experienced its brief popularity peak on campus.

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That's all for now! Have a great week in Tree Town!
- Andrew

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P. P. P. S. - Echelon opens on Thursday. Here’s a fun reel of the inside.

P. P. P. P. S. - Thanks to UMS for sponsoring this week’s Michigander.

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