What do the cities of Rochester Hills, Novi, Canton, Woodhaven, Birch Run and now Royal Oak have in common? An Emagine megaplex movie theater in each of their downtowns.

Dearborn was supposed to get one as part of a major development project on Michigan Avenue but years after it first was pitched to City Hall still nothing has materialized.

Instead, Dearborn is left watching on the sidelines as Royal Oak becomes the sixth city to open its doors to an Emagine megaplex, which will celebrate its grand opening on Monday, May 16.

We wrote about plans for the Emagine many times HERE on these pages, as did the Dearborn Press & Guide.

Economic & Community Development Director Barry Murray said in 2010 that an Emagine Theatre was being discussed as having potential to be located on the former Vic Tanny/Bally’s site, adjacent to the Oakwood Muirhead building.

Then the proposed plan for Dearborn called for a bowling alley (the new facility in Royal Oak has 16 lanes) on the lower level and a multiplex movie theater above (Royal Oak has 10 screens). The private investment for this facility was then estimated to be $12 million to $15 million, roughly the same investment in Royal Oak.

Hakim Fakhoury, a developer in Dearborn, earlier said the theater was to be part of a larger building plan he proposed along Michigan Avenue. The theater was one reason, he said, the Fatburger chain was supposedly considering opening a location in the building at Michigan and Military.

A vinyl sign that hung outside the building saying Fatburger was “coming soon” has long since been removed.

A Emagine megaplex would be a terrific addition to downtown West Dearborn. We’re hopeful it still could happen . . .

Here is an event worth attending on May 21 and it all goes to a good cause.

The Friends of the Dearborn Symphony (formerly WADOS) will sponsor their 30th annual home tour this year on May 21. The tour this year is unique because it focuses not only on the homes in the neighborhood, but also on who owned them.

“I was excited about it because this year’s home tour focuses on the Riverbend neighborhood,” Carla O’Neill, co-chair of the tour told the Dearborn Press & Guide, “and three homes have ties to the Henry Ford Family.”

Several of the homes in the historic Riverbend neighborhood were owned by the automotive tycoon’s family and company executives, and Ford lent himself to much of their design and architecture.

Because the classic Henry Ford Estate on Evergreen Road is closed for renovations, FODS took the opportunity to show people other examples of Ford homes in the area. One such home was built for Henry Ford’s chief chemist, Russell Hudson Carroll. According to another co-chair of the tour, Gretchen Ackermann, the Carroll home has several key features, including a front door commissioned by Ford himself, made exclusively of Poplar found along the Rouge River, and a chandelier recovered from the Dodge Main Plant.

Henry Ford’s Chief Engineer Lawrence Sheldrick, who helped develop the 1927 Model-A owned a 4000 square-foot home in this neighborhood, which has been restored using original materials.

One other home, owned by Ford’s sister, was recently renovated by award-winning interior designer Dan Davis, who will be speaking to guests before the tour about his work.

The Home Tour is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and tickets can be purchased at several local outlets, including Cherry Hill Pharmacy, 23100 Cherry Hill, or online at www.dearbornsymphony.org/HomeTourTickets. Prices are $13 for pre-sale, or $15 at the door. Davis’ seminar will start at 9:30, and though guests can attend for $10, seating is limited.

Motor City Brass Band (MCBB), a metro Detroit British-style brass band, will take audiences on a musical journey from Hudson Bay to Tierra del Fuego with Music of the Americas on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. The concert will be presented at the Michael Guido Theater in Dearborn’s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

The concert begins in the United States with “America” from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and arranged by Craig Strain. Vocalists Michele Marszalkowski (soprano), Kim Lange (mezzo-soprano), John Martin (tenor) and Steve Martin (tenor) will bring Stephen Sondheim’s words to life.

The band will head north to Canada with Morley Calvert’s Canadian Folk Song Suite. Leroy Anderson’s Blue Tango travels to the dance halls of Buenos Aires. Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras blends folk and popular Brazilian music to create a haunting melody. Soprano Michele Marszalkowski will perform the vocals.

The rhythm of Puerto Rico gets an energetic interpretation in Rafael Hernández Marin’s El Cumbanchero. Craig Strain’s arrangement of Tito Puente’s classic Oye Como Va demonstrates how Afro-Cuban rhythms can take on a Mexican interpretation thanks to guitarist Carlos Santana. William R. Reddick’s ode to Spanish Harlem, Espanharlem, paints a musical portrait of that iconic neighborhood.

The Yellow Rose of Texas, a traditional folk song, will feature Dr. Kenneth Kroesche on euphonium. The concert will close with America, the Beautiful. The audience will join with the four vocal soloists in celebration of the conclusion of this North & South American journey.

Ticket Information

Tickets can be purchased from the FCPAC Box Office – $15 for adults and $12 for students & seniors.

The FCPAC Box Office can be reached at 313-943-2354. For group rates call 248-788-6618.

Modeled after the traditional British brass band, Motor City Brass Band represents an American take on a beloved British custom. The group’s unique blend of innovation and authenticity has earned it a reputation for musical excellence and high-quality entertainment, ensuring a constant demand for performances. More information is available at www.mcbb.org.

Dearborn-based nonprofit groups can boost their fundraising efforts by participating in the 2011 Dearborn Homecoming festival, which attracts about 150,000 people each year.

City officials say a limited number of food booths still remain in the festival’s Food Court.

It is a rare fundraising opportunity for groups new to Homecoming, and it is being offered by the City of Dearborn and the Dearborn Community Fund.

The 2011 festival is Aug. 5-7 at Dearborn’s Ford Field Park.

Dearborn’s Homecoming is known for its spectacular fireworks, main stage entertainment and regional performers, arts and craft show, carnival and festival food, which is sold by Dearborn charities and service clubs.

Booths in the popular Food Court are only rented to Dearborn nonprofit groups. They start at $350 for the weekend. Menus are subject to approval.

For more information, call the Department of Public Information at 313-943-2285 by June 1 to reserve your booth.

Adrian Cronauer will be the grand marshal of Dearborn’s 2011 Memorial Day Parade.

Dearborn officials Monday announced that the grand marshal of the city’s 2011 Memorial Day Parade will be Adrian Cronauer, the man best known as the high-energy DJ portrayed in the 1987 movie Good Morning Vietnam!

Cronauer is an appropriate choice for this invitation from the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council (DAWVC) because the theme of Dearborn’s 2011 parade is the Vietnam War.

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the conflict, and the parade will also include a special tribute to the 69 men from Dearborn who died in the war.

Dearborn’s Memorial Day Parade, presented by the DAWVC with support from the City of Dearborn, begins at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 30 on Michigan Avenue at Greenfield with a funeral procession to honor veterans who passed away without resources for burial.

Then at about 10:30 a.m., the parade begins, and will include 90 military and community groups.

The parade is followed by a Remembrance Service, during which Cronauer will give a keynote address.

Cronauer is a former sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, but is remembered best for his major role in military radio.

He co-authored the original story that became the 1987 motion picture, Good Morning Vietnam!, and was loosely portrayed by Academy Award nominee, Robin Williams.

Read the rest of this entry »

Royal Realties, LLC, a group of overseas investors, now owns Dearborn's Hyatt Hotel.

It appears the $12.5 million sale of the Hyatt Hotel in Dearborn is finally official. We reported it had been sold back in August on these pages didn’t have the name of the buyer (see earlier story, HERE.)

In a press release issued Friday, HREC Investment Advisors says the purchaser was Royal Realties, LLC, a group of overseas investors.

The sale of the 772 room hotel was handled by Mike Cahill, CEO and founder of HREC.  As the court appointed hotel receiver, Capital Hotel Management was the named seller of the asset acting on behalf of the special servicer.

The 20th annual HFCC Mike Adray Memorial Tournament is May 18 at the Dearborn Counry Club.

There are awards for men’s, women’s, mixed-division champions, longest-drive, straightest-drive, hole-in-one, closest to hole, and chipping contest winners.

Register Online Today HERE.  A.M. golf is $200. P.M. golf is $250 includes:  Eighteen holes with cart, breakfast, lunch, dinner and use of Dearborn Country Club’s driving range, locker rooms and facilities.

 Check out the Online Auction HERE. Silent Auction at DCC.

Info. www.adraygolf.com

Email adraygolf@hfcc.edu

Call (313) 317-4092

We dedicate all of our efforts here around discussing Dearborn but occasionally we run across a story about our neighbor city Detroit that is worth mentioning. This particular story is from The New York Times with the headline “36 Hours in Detroit.” It is a travel piece that just might provide some ideas for Dearbornites looking for something easy to do on a spring weekend that only requires a drive across our city border.

The story begins below:

“DESPITE recent news stories of a population exodus from Detroit, there are many reasons to make a pilgrimage to this struggling city right now — and not just because Eminem’s slick Super Bowl commercial showcased the inner strength of the Motor City.

No video can portray the passion one finds on the streets of Detroit these days, where everyone from the doorman to the D.J. will tell you they believe in this city’s future.

While certain areas are indeed eerily empty, other neighborhoods — including midtown, downtown and Corktown — are bustling with new businesses that range from creperies and barbecue joints catering to the young artists and entrepreneurs migrating to Motown, to a just-opened hostel that invites tourists to explore Detroit with the aid of local volunteer guides.

In the historic Brush Park district, architecture buffs will find some lovely refurbished houses, and along Woodward Avenue, restored film palaces are a wonderful reminder that this city’s storied past includes not just automobiles, but also the entertainment industry. No urban enthusiast will want to miss the recovery that Detroit is now attempting.”

For the full story in the New York Times, click HERE.

Come join Green Brain Comics for free comic book day this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. They are located at 13210 Michigan Ave.

Just for visiting you get three Free Comic Book Day comic books!

Donate canned food to Gleaners Community Food Bank and get up to 3 more FCBD comics.

Donate used Cell Phones For Soldiers and get up to 3 more FCBD comics.

A portion of every sale supports WDET 101.9 FM non-commerical radio from Wayne State University.

Live music and deejays spinning!

Hourly door prizes/Surprise Guests/ Fun for the whole family!

Interesting story in today’s edition of the Detroit Free Press. The paper is reporting that Dearborn teachers have approved a contract that gives the union full control of their health plan and such vexing decisions as coverage levels and co-pay amounts.

It’s a first-ever twist, in line with Gov. Rick Snyder’s idea that public employees should pay more toward their health insurance.

Under the agreement, Dearborn Public Schools has capped its contribution at $12,000 per employee, and the union will have to run the health plan and figure out how to best spend the money.

The paper says it’s a risky move for the union, which would have tough decisions if the plan goes over-budget. On the other hand, the plan would bank any savings to cover future cost increases.

Read the full story HERE.