Things to do this week: Black and Chicano history celebrations, fashion workshop and yoga at the Detroit Zoo

Greetings, Detroit!

Welcome to February! Not only do we get a bonus day on the calendar this leap year, but we will also be treated to Black History Month events to celebrate the achievements of African Americans who suffered from and fought against systemic oppression while producing art, literature and music.

We’ll gather a list of Black History Month events each week, but if you’re looking for other ways to support, here’s a list of Detroit’s Black-owned businesses .

What else to do this week? A teen upcycle and fashion workshop, an art exhibit and more for Chicano History Week and a Detroit Riverfront history walk, warm beverage included.

<3 Let’s get busy!

Black History Month events

👚 Upcycle your teen’s old clothing (or yours!) on Thursday while they learn about men’s high fashion and hip-hop clothing icon Dapper Dan at the Detroit Public Library Main Branch in Midtown. Needles and thread provided. Free, registration encouraged.

📽️ Join 2023 Kresge Eminent Artist Melba Joyce Boyd at College for Creative Studies in New Center on Thursday for a talk about her film “The Black Unicorn: Dudley Randall and the Broadside Press.” Hear how she blended imagery and poetry to create her cinematic portrait of the celebrated poet. Free.

🎨 On Saturday, grab your little ones and head to Family Day at Painting with a Twist in Ferndale for a “Know Your History” painting session . Take home your 16-by-20-inch canvas and maybe splurge for a scented candle. $30, registration required.

📖 Join the University of Detroit Mercy’s Black History Month live webinar with National Book Award winner Tiya Miles on Monday. She’ll talk about her new book “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake,” a story about the separation of an enslaved mother and daughter. Free, registration required.

Thursday

🎤 Singers, dancers and comedians, come on down! Grab that microphone at Chroma Detroit’s monthly Flowers Open Mic Night and Artists’ Exhibition in Milwaukee Junction. This month’s featured artist is David Young . Free, donations welcome.

This weekend

🕵🏾‍♀️ Think you can solve an Agatha Christie whodunit? Test out your super sleuth skills at “ Murder on the Orient Express ” at Wayne State University. If you can’t catch the show’s opening on Friday night, it runs through Feb. 11. $27, registration required.

❄️ For weekend outdoor family fun Friday through Sunday, check out Winter Blast in Royal Oak . Show off your best figure eight with free ice skating, marvel at the ice sculpture demonstrations, eat your heart out at food trucks and feel that adrenaline on the zip line. Free.

⚡ Discover what a daytime “Afro-Martian” DJ set is all about at Electric Otto’s Funk Factory Multimedia performance at Detroit Hustles Harder in Eastern Market on Saturday. We’re intrigued and ready to get funky. Free.

☕ Take in that fresh winter air and learn about the Detroit riverfront’s rich history on a daytime walking tour on Saturday. Showing up gets you a hot chocolate. Yum! Free.

🎦 Head to the Senate Theater in Southwest Detroit to celebrate Chicano History Week with Nuestras Cultura on Saturday. There will be an art exhibition, a film screening of “American Homeboy,” directed by Brandon Loran Maxwell , and a panel discussion. Free, registration required.

🍀 This weekend, learn from artists, poets and musicians about Imbolc, a pagan festival native to the Gaelic and Celtic peoples in Ireland and Scotland. Local and visiting artists are honoring their roots in a series of events Friday through Sunday across Woodbridge, Core City and Corktown. Free, donations welcome. Registration is required.

🍷 Get your groove on and blow air kisses to your new friends with grape-stained lips on Sunday night for Maybe Tonight with Ladymonix at Motor City Wine in Corktown. 21+. Free.

Next week

🧘 Stretch it out at yoga sessions at the Detroit Zoo ! On Monday, yogis will be full lotus with the reptiles; they’ll be joined by other creatures on multiple dates through spring. Don’t believe me? Go experience this for yourself. Each session includes a mini-lecture about the animals you visit. $30 for members, $35 for non-members. Registration is required.

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