The Metro Events Guide: The Auto Show, fiery festivals and freebies to check out this weekend

Happy New Year! We’re starting 2025 strong with the Auto Show’s return to its original January time slot, a fiery outdoor festival, new exhibits and captivating performances.

Plus, some freebies to take advantage of this weekend. Read on to learn more.

The Auto Show

The Detroit Auto Show is back and open to the public from Saturday, Jan. 11 through Monday, Jan. 20. This is the first January show in several years since the event was moved to September to accommodate for the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2025 Auto Show will feature 30 brands and four indoor tracks, as well a “Detroit Through the Decades” display and a sampling of celebrated TV and movie vehicles at Huntington Place. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for kids. For more information, visit detroitautoshow.com.

Festivals

This weekend is the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s second annual Fire and Ice Festival at Valade Park. Visitors can enjoy tons of medieval fun with a winter twist, including oversized fires, turkey legs and an ice carving competition. There will also be ax throwing, Renaissance Fair performers and an Iron Throne made of ice. Admission is free, and pre-registration is preferred but not required. Festivities kick off on Friday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. and go through Sunday, Jan. 12 at 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit detroitriverfront.org.

Exhibits

This weekend is your last chance to check out the “Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within” exhibit at Cranbrook Art Museum. “Worlds Within” is a chronological retrospective that charts the development of ceramic artist Toshiko Takaezu’s hybrid practice over seven decades, documenting her early student work in Hawai’i and at Cranbrook through her years teaching at the Cleveland Institute of Art and later at Princeton University. To represent this evolution, the show presents a series of installations loosely inspired by ones that Takaezu created in her own lifetime, from a set table of functional wares from the early 1950s to an immersive constellation of monumental ceramic forms from the late 1990s to early 2000s. The exhibit is on display in the Upper Galleries now through Sunday, Jan. 12. For more information, visit cranbrookartmuseum.org.

One of the Wright Museum’s newest exhibitions is called “Gems from the Wright Museum,” highlighting cherished heirlooms, family traditions and stories passed down by Black Detroiters. Divided into six sections, the collection spans multiple countries and decades, preserves American history, documents important people and places, and captures everyday life. The exhibition is on display now through Sunday, March 9. For more information, visit thewright.org.

The Wright’s other newest exhibition is “Paul Collins: The Traveling Artist,” which features the Michigan artist’s portraiture work spanning many decades and continents. As a practice and process, Collins traveled the world, learned about the culture, and painted local people he encountered every day. He believed his process of understanding others and then drawing them helped him to understand himself. The exhibition is on display now through Sunday, March 2. For more information, visit thewright.org.

Freebies

This Sunday is your last chance to take advantage of Kresge Second Sundays at the Detroit Historical Museum. In celebration of the Kresge Foundation’s 100th year, admission is free and open to the public from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 12. For more information, visit detroithistorical.org.

For another free opportunity, stop by the DIA’s Art-Making Studio this weekend during their open-ended Drop-In Workshop. Visitors can create something uniquely personal with a variety of fun and interesting materials. The studio will be open on Friday, Jan. 10 from 6-8:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Jan. 11 and Sunday, Jan. 12 from noon to 4 p.m. General admission is free to residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. For more information, visit dia.org.

Performances

Friday, Jan. 10 is opening night for Detroit Repertory Theatre’s production of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Set in 1927’s Chicago, the show follows the “Mother of the Blues” and her band as she fights to retain control over her music. More than music goes down in August Wilson’s riveting portrayal of rage, racism, self-hatred and exploitation. Performances go through Sunday, March 2, and tickets are $25 in advance or $30 day-of. For more information, visit detroitreptheatre.com.

Staying in the retro blues vein, Sky Covington’s Satin Doll Revue is performing at Cliff Bell’s on Saturday, Jan. 11. Guests will be treated to an enchanting evening filled with soul-stirring performances by Detroit’s finest vocalists, featuring Faye Bradford as Nina Simone, Tosha Owens as Etta James, Nina Simone Neal as Dinah Washington and Sky Covington as Billie Holiday. These powerhouse women, backed by a stellar live band, will transport you through the timeless classics of jazz and blues, bringing the unforgettable artistry of these legends to life. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., with doors opening at 5 p.m. For more information, visit cliffbells.com.

Or for something more in the way of alt-rock, check out Detroit-based bands Virga, Deadbeat Beat and Pretty Island at Ziggy’s in Ypsilanti on Saturday, Jan. 11. Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit ziggysypsistore.com.