New weekend entertainment option begins Friday, Dec. 7

You won’t have to go far for a few laughs when Dearborn opens the Studio A Comedy Club at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center on Friday, Dec. 7.

The Studio A Comedy Club will feature locally and nationally known comedians on most Friday and Saturday nights through February. Shows will be at 8 and 10 p.m. and are value-priced.

Beer, wine, soft drinks and a variety of mixed drinks will be available for purchase, as will light appetizers, such as buffalo-style chicken wings, pizza squares, Swedish meatballs and a fruit and cheese plate.

Headliner Steven McGrew, along with Frank G., will be the featured performers on Dec. 7-8.

The remaining December schedule for the Studio A Comedy Club features Ruben Paul with David Beck on Dec. 14-15, Mike Green with Stu McCallister on Dec. 21-22, and Tommy Savitt with Cory Hall on Dec. 28.

Tickets for the Studio A Comedy Club are $15 a person. Patrons must be aged 21 and over.

The Studio A Comedy Club will also host a pair of special New Year’s Eve shows, headlined by Mike Bonner and featuring Ron Sweet.

Tickets for the New Year’s Eve shows are $25 for the 8 p.m. performance and $40 for the 10:30 p.m. presentation. The latter ticket includes party favors and a champagne toast.

Tickets for all Studio A Comedy Club performances are available at the door, as well as in advance at the Michael A. Guido Theater ticket box office, which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Purchase online at www.dearborntheater.com.

For further information, call 313-943-2354.

“The Dance of Bliss” sculpture by Mike Sohikian is installed in the West Village Plaza Court Yard next to Starbucks. Constructed from steel and concrete, “The Dance of Bliss” stands about six feet high and is priced for sale at $7,500.

Twelve sculptures have been placed throughout Dearborn as part of the community’s 2012-2013 Art in Public Places – Midwest Sculpture Initiative (MSI).

Funding for the project is provided by the Dearborn Community Fund and the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities. Each month a different sculpture and sculptor are highlighted.

“The Dance of Bliss” by Mike Sohikian is the featured sculpture for December. The sculpture is installed in the West Village Plaza Court Yard next to Starbucks. Constructed from steel and concrete, “The Dance of Bliss” stands about six feet high and is priced for sale at $7,500.

A retired ironworker, Sohikian always loved art but didn’t start his own career as an artist until 1995. He frequently draws inspiration for his work from literature and the work of other famous artists and is best known for creating innovative pieces from salvaged steel incorporating other industrial type materials, like concrete, in to the designs. The end results reveal fascinating forms that frequently embody an air of whimsy coupled with strength conveyed through the very materials used to create the piece.

Dearborn has hosted Sohikian’s work in the past. His “Guerrero” was installed at the theater entrance to the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center for the 2010-2011 sculpture initiative, and in 2011-2012, his “Eight Horse Power” sculpture could be seen on the Dearborn Historical Museum grounds located at Michigan Avenue and Brady. Besides Dearborn, Sohikian’s work has been exhibited throughout Michigan and Ohio. He has won numerous prestigious awards and recognition, and his work can be found in over 400 art collections nationwide.

A video about “The Dance of Bliss” sculpture will air on Dearborn cable television during December and can be viewed online at www.cdtv.pegcentral.com/.

“I Spy Dearborn’s Art in Public Places” cards, which include photos and locations for the 12 MSI sculptures and two Pockets of Perception pieces, are available upon request or on the Dearborn Community Fund web page at www.dearborncommunityfund.org.

For more information on Dearborn’s 2012-2013 Art in Public Places Midwest Sculpture Initiative, including information about purchasing the sculptures, contact the Dearborn Community Fund office at 313-943-5478