The Metro: WDET joining Midtown Detroit’s 50th annual Noel Night celebrations

The city of Detroit is already donned in holiday drip following the tree lighting last month. This Saturday, holiday cheer will cascade throughout Midtown as the city’s cultural district celebrates its 50th annual Noel Night. 

Produced by the nonprofit Midtown Detroit, Inc., more than 100 participating businesses and vendors will offer Noel Night activities and entertainment including live music performances, holiday shopping with special deals, arts and crafts, Christmas carols and more.

WDET — celebrating its 75th anniversary this year — is a media partner for Noel Night and will be offering tours of the station, opportunities to meet hosts, sweet refreshments and more from 3 to 10 p.m. Several Wayne State University schools, colleges and divisions will be hosting Noel Night activities across campus as well. 

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Maureen Stapleton, interim director of Midtown Detroit Inc., joined The Metro on Monday along with Source Booksellers owner Janet Jones to talk about what participating businesses and organizations have in store for the event’s 50th year.

Stapleton noted that Midtown Detroit is the perfect place to showcase the city’s diverse holiday traditions and culture.

“What makes me most proud is the cultural diversity of the activities of the day,” she said. “We have cultural institutions that are some of the finest in the country that are on display.”

Stapleton also pointed out that, despite being called Noel Night, many activities will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. For a full schedule of events and activities, visit midtowndetroitinc.org/schedule.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More from The Metro on Dec. 2, 2024:

• With Thanksgiving now in the rearview, the holiday season is in full force. Over the weekend at Eastern Market, crowds of shoppers were loading their bags with gifts and filling their pickup trucks with Christmas trees. But Christmas is far from the only religious and spiritual holiday celebrated in the month of December. Aaron Gale, an associate professor and scholar of religious studies at West Virginia University, joined the show to discuss the vastly different ways people of different faiths celebrate the season. 
• For many, food is more than something to excite your taste buds; it’s a container for culinary traditions, helping continue the heritage of the people who created it. In the new documentary, “Detroit: The City of Chefs,” chef, producer and award-winning director Keith Famie highlights what makes Detroit’s food scene so rich and what food can do to continue old rituals and inspire new stories. Famie joined The Metro to discuss the film.
• The holidays are a time where we hear a lot about gratitude, joy and spending time with family. But it can also be a stressful or sad time for many people, emphasizing lost loved ones or estranged relationships. To discuss the importance of mental health awareness during the holiday season, clinical psychologist Dr. Cindy Morgan joined the show. Natasha T Miller, a Michigan poet and former co-host of the Science of Grief podcast from WDET and the MSU Museum, also joined the show.

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