Holiday lights sparkle around Detroit

Holiday lights are beginning to twinkle all over metro Detroit and, I’ve got to say, it makes me happy. Downtown areas and city streets are a bit more magical when they get dressed up for the season.

Some of the holiday light displays are simple and dazzling while others are outrageous and over the top. Either way, they serve only one purpose, to put kids and kids at heart in the holiday spirit.

Grab your friends & family, suppress your inner Scrooge, and cruise the streets to find the bright and festive lights.

Here are a few of the biggest holiday light displays around Detroit: 

Wayne County Lightfest

The Big, Bright Light Show

The Shriners Festival of Lights

Livonia Lights Christmas Display

The photos below are from The Big, Bright Light Show in Rochester in 2009.

Does your neighborhood or city go all out for the holiday season? I’d love to hear about other light displays in metro Detroit.

Detroit Moxie's Weekend Roundup

The turkey has been consumed, the Detroit Lions lost, Kid Rock represented Detroit at the halftime show, and the brave were out shopping at stupid o’clock in the morning.

The holiday season is upon us and there are a gazillion great events going on in Detroit. Get out there and enjoy the city!

Weekend Roundup

1. A Day in Paradeland - Get a peek inside The Parade Company studios and see the floats up close. The Cat in the Hat, Bert & Ernie, and Santa will be making an appearance! November 27th.

2. Cars, Trees and Traditions - Decorated Christmas trees are paired with Chrysler vehicles in this annual exhibit. Advertisements, historic photos of Detroit, and vintage model trains too. Through December 30th.

3. The Nutcracker - This classic is sure to put you in the holiday spirit complete with toy soldiers and sugar plum fairies. The family matinees include live reindeer, a Sugar Plum Parade, and Santa! November 26-28.

4. Detroit Be Dammed: A Beaver's Tale! - Planet Ant Theatre presents this multi-media show about one of Detroit's lesser known families featuring music, video, and animation. Through December 18th. (Check out the video trailer, possibly NSFW.)

5. Alto Reed's AllStar Thanksgiving Celebration - Alto Reed, Bob Seger's SaxMan, heads the lineup with special guests Mitch Ryder, Martha Reeves, and Jeff Daniels. This "Rock for Jobs" concert will support Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit. November 26th.

Do you know of a great event going on in Metro Detroit this weekend? Add it to the comments and share it with us!

Oh Romeo, Kid Rock loves Detroit

Kid Rock, with his hat pulled down over his ears, sat on a simple stool at the American Music Awards and sang a love letter to Detroit with his song “Times Like These.” The song talks about our struggles and our dedication to this city.

Kid Rock talks about his new album, Born Free, on his website:

“The catalyst for this record was Detroit, and my thoughts on the world through the lens of Detroit. Watching everything go downhill over the past few years, the economy, the loss of jobs everywhere, I wanted to make a record that reflected the times but that still had soul."

The images projected on the screens behind him drilled the point home for us locals. Our Spirit of Detroit, the Joe Louis Fist, and the "Welcome to Michigan" sign were all featured prominently on the national stage.

I got goose bumps while watching, and from the look of my Twitter feed, I wasn’t the only one. Maybe, just maybe, people from around the country took notice of those images.

I also saw a few ‘Negative Nellies’ that wanted it made loud and clear that the Kid isn’t from Detroit. Yes, he grew up in Romeo and lives out in the suburbs. But, really? Does that matter?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name…

Kid Rock, and our other hometown boy Eminem, wear their love of Detroit on their shirtsleeves. That’s enough for me. They don’t deny where they are from but shout to the world that this city of ours has a lot to offer.

If Kid Rock sang about Romeo the ‘Negative Nellies’ would complain that he was turning his back on Detroit. And the rest of the world wouldn’t know what the heck he was talking about.

If you didn’t get a chance to see him on the AMA’s watch the video and let me know what you think.

Stay tuned to Detroit Moxie later in the week for more Kid Rock. I have an amazing opportunity on Wednesday to get a sneak peek of his halftime show for the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game. The United Way for Southeastern Michigan is thanking its Super volunteers & advocates with this special treat and they invited me along. I might just get to meet him too!

Detroit Moxie teams up with Groupon

I’m excited to announce that Detroit Moxie has joined the Groupon Affiliate Program. I talked about Groupon when it first launched in Detroit and I love to take advantage of their daily deals while supporting local businesses.

I have wanted to add some sort of advertising to this site for sometime but I wanted to make sure it was going to be a good fit. Groupon is a service that I personally use and I believe it will add value to the Detroit Moxie community. I know many of you already use the service.

I don’t take these decisions lightly so I reached out to Lisa Berry of Vintner’s Cellar of Royal Oak. Berry has used Groupon twice as a small business owner and has seen positive results.

“For a small company like myself, I don't have a large marketing budget so this is a great way for me to get exposure,” said Berry. She says that she has been a fan since day one and ran her first Groupon deal the first weekend that they went live in Detroit. Vintner’s Cellar will be running their third Groupon later this month.

Not only is Groupon good for local businesses, it’s also a great value for area consumers. Often, people are introduced to new places that they may not have tried if not for the daily deals.

In the spirit of full disclosure, if you click the link in the sidebar and purchase the daily Groupon, I will receive a commission. Hopefully, it will help cover the costs of running the site and possibly lead to other opportunities.

And, in case you missed it, the American Apparel Groupon is good until the end of the weekend! Click the side deal to view it. 

Mustaches & machines making a difference in Detroit

As we head into the holidays and the season of giving I want to tell you about two different groups of friends of mine who are representing Detroit in a remarkable way while doing good.

First up are the girls, Girls in Tech specifically. The Detroit chapter of Girls in Tech (GIT Detroit) launched earlier this month with Audrey Walker as Managing Director and Nikki Stephan, Jenni Murray, Trisha Verma, and Sarah Worsham rounding out the board. I’m extremely lucky to call all of these women friends.

“There are so many women in southeast Michigan who work in the technology field, and I felt there were a lack of organizations that catered to our demographic,” said Walker.

“Some of our goals as we get this chapter up and running include creating a mentorship program and scholarship, hosting networking events, serving as a support group for women in tech fields and helping to strengthen our local community. We’ll also use the national group as a platform to help get the word out about Detroit and our strong tech and digital community.”

 Although the chapter just launched they’re already making Detroit a better place with their Laptops for Ladies initiative.

Laptops for Ladies is a charity drive to re-home unused laptops to under-served women and girls in the metro Detroit area. GIT Detroit will distribute the donated laptops to mothers at Lighthouse of Oakland County and girls from the Detroit Public School District via Reality Check Detroit.

If you or your company have just updated to a new machine please consider donating your old laptop to GIT Detroit. Check the Laptops for Ladies website for more information.

And then there are my male friends. November, no more! This is now the month of Movember where men go retro and make a statement by growing a mustache (or mo) to raise awareness for prostate cancer.

Ryan Meray sporting his goatee & Dave Murray with a bit of fuzz.

Just as the pink ribbon raises awareness for breast cancer, men all over the world are growing and wearing their mustache as a facial ribbon. Team Backchannel Detroit includes many of my friends including David Lingholm, Ryan Meray, Henry Balanon, and Dave Murray.

The stache may look silly but the statistics aren’t.

According the the American Cancer Society, In 2010:

• About 217,730 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed

• About 32,050 men will die of prostate cancer

Take a look at their day-by-day photos and donate to the cause. It doesn’t matter whether they’re sporting a Fu Manchu, a Dali, or a handlebar mustache; these men deserve great praise for standing up and growing fuzz to raise awareness.