NFL draft, Sneaker Con and more Detroit events this weekend

Hi Detroit!

NFL draft week is upon us! Check out last week’s Detour newsletter for some logistical information about the draft , but we’re here to help cut through the noise so you can go straight to the fun. Couldn’t care less about the draft festivities? Skip past the first section to find your weekly dose of fun events in the city.

Unrelated to the draft: Saturday is National Independent Bookstore Day! Head to one (or a few) of Detroit’s independent bookstores to grab your spring reads and show our bookstores some love. Quick tip: Print this Detroit bookstore bingo card by MI Book Hop and win prizes while you’re hopping around. BINGO!

Let’s get busy! 💛

NFL draft events

Official programming for the NFL draft starts today. Be sure to check out Visit Detroit’s website to understand where to enter, exit, buy some grub and get in football gear. The NFL draft has three primary components: The Draft Experience (free), Draft Day in the D (free) and The Draft Theater (invited ticket holders only).

✍️ Get an autograph from your favorite Lions player at The Draft Experience in Hart Plaza. Stop by the autograph stage and see if you can spot Lions players Rome Odunze, Frank Ragnow, Drake Maye, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Barry Sanders. Sorry, we don’t have a Bingo card for you to check off. Free.

📸 Feel like a professional football star and show off your football skills in Hart Plaza. While you’re there, snap a selfie posing as an NFL player, hang out in a replica of an NFL locker room and don a ring from your favorite Super Bowl! Free.

🧒🏾🏈 Dash over to Corner Ballpark in Corktown where you’ll find USA Football coaches and NFL players hosting clinics for kids ages 6-14. See if your youngster can throw a Hail Mary and then snap a photo of their adorable attempt. Free.

😋 Grab some food and drinks at various pop-up food trucks and bars at a host of parks downtown, or try your luck at the (likely) busy downtown restaurants like SavannahBlue, Central Kitchen + Bar and Dime Store. While you’re munchin’, schmooze with other NFL draft goers. Try not to get FOMO watching what’s happening in The Draft Theater on giant TV screens at Draft Day in the D . Free.

Thursday

🎷 Get down to live music in Greektown from Thursday to Saturday at the Greektown Tailgate . The event is packing a full three-day music lineup, including musicians The Sax Maniacs Soul Revue , Alise King , Taylor Tucky and Larry Lee and the Back in the Day Band and DJs Esshaki, Vincent Patricola and Deon Jamar . Egg Roll Diva and Galindo’s will be serving up delicious eats. Sorry football haters, there will be football-watching happening, too. Free.

This weekend

🧘🏽‍♀️Take a moment for yourself at Riverfront Yoga on Friday morning at Cullen Plaza. The class is hosted by the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy and Urban Solace. Bring your own mat and complete the online waiver in advance. Registration required. Free.

🌳 Look up for art at Palmer Park during Art in the Trees on Saturday. The event will feature large-scale sculptures and paintings from artists Tim Burke, Dale Teachout, Dick Cruger, Cheryl English, Donald Calloway and Kelly O’Neill. Enjoy some live music while you’re artsing. Free.

🗃️ Be a part of preserving Detroit’s story at Documenting Legacy: Archiving for Beginners at Detroit Public Library Main Branch on Saturday. The event is hosted by Black Bottom Archives and Detroit Sound Conservancy. Bring a tote bag of documents, photos and small 3D keepsakes to archive. Registration required. Free.

👟 Show off your freshest sneaks at the 15th annual Sneaker Con in Huntington Place downtown. Shop at more than 300 vendors in attendance before playing stage games and Sneaker Con Trivia to win prizes. Got some old kicks collecting dust in your closet? You can even buy, sell and trade them with local collectors! Admission is $30.

🎨 Join more than 50 vendors at the Urban Arts and Eatery Expo on Sunday at Eastern Market. Kick off the day with a meet and greet that morning, and stay for the inkfest artists, Q&A with OUK Studio’s Crage Bernal and awards. End the night with drinks with all the friends you made. Free.

Next week

👝 Get a head start on that Mother’s Day gift by decorating tote bags with HYPE Teen Center at Detroit Public Library Main Branch. Supplies are limited, so take your own to be safe. Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Ages 13-18. Free.

NFL draft, Sneaker Con and more Detroit events this weekend · Outlier Media