DBusiness Daily Update: Festa Italiana brings Italian Heritage to Freedom Hill This Weekend, and More

Festa Italiana brings Italian Heritage to Freedom Hill This Weekend

Festa Italiana is back at Freedom Hill Country Park in Sterling Heights this weekend, July 19-21, celebrating Italian heritage with live music, food, fireworks, and family fun. Everyone is welcome.

This year’s nonprofit event will feature both national and local entertainment presented by Don Christo’s Cigar Room and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, a Friday Night Fireworks Spectacular sponsored by Genesis Alfa Romeo, and a Family Fun Zone featuring bounce houses, zip line, bocce courts, rock-climbing wall, and more. The festival, presented by the Italian American Chamber of Commerce, will feature Italian cuisine, wine, and beer.

Headlining acts on The Lucido Family Stage include The Bronx Wanderers who will deliver a “Back to the Future” performance with ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s rock hits. Ray Massa’s EuroRhythms will be playing traditional Italian folk and Italian swing music. Aaron Caruso will be playing operatic songs while Mark Randisi will be performing Sounds of Sinatra. Guests also will be entertained by Fantasia, a seven-piece party band, Louie Prima Jr., Frank Scinta, Simone Vitale Band, Cory Pesaturo, and Francesco Cavallini, as well as an array of sounds of Italy throughout the weekend by a variety of talented performers.

Festa Italiana will be open 6-11 p.m. on Friday, noon-11 p.m. on Saturday, and 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free but it costs $10 to park with proceeds going to local charities.

For more information, visit here .

Ford Pro Insure, Powered by Pie, Now Offered in Seven States

Ford Pro is broadening the availability of its commercial auto coverage, Ford Pro Insure, to Maryland and Minnesota. Ford Pro Insure is underwritten by Ford Credit’s insurance subsidiary and powered by Pie Insurance.

While Ford Pro Insure is now offered in seven states across the country, Minnesota is the first where customers will be offered two choices: a standard policy or a usage-based policy that leverages the data capabilities on new Ford Pro vehicles.

Pie specializes in small-business commercial insurance and, as managing general agent, provides sales, distribution, underwriting, servicing and claims for Ford Pro Insure customers in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee and Wisconsin. In Minnesota, coverage is available here .

Ford Pro Insure is underwritten by Ford Credit subsidiary The American Road Insurance Co. (TARIC) and covers commercial vehicles purchased through Ford Pro and other channels.

Together Women’s Health Continues Expansion in Alabama

Together Women’s Health (TWH) in Detroit has announced an affiliation with OBGYN Associates (NAO) in northern Alabama.

This new affiliation adds 11 providers and a new location to the TWH network. It marks TWH’s second affiliation in Alabama, bringing the total number of affiliations to 16.

Together Women’s Health is a management service organization focused on women’s health and is supported by Shore Capital Partners. It remains committed to partnering with top physicians to develop a leading network of women’s health services in the U.S. Currently, TWH’s affiliate network includes 16 practices with nearly 150 providers offering women’s health services at over 30 locations across Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, Alabama, and Mississippi.

itselectric Announces $6.5M Seed to Accelerate Deployment of Curbside EV Charging

itselectric, a New York-based electric vehicle curbside charging company, announced its $6.5 million seed round, bringing its total funding to date to $11.8 million.

The raise, led by Failup Ventures and Uber Technologies, with participation from Newlab and others, will support deployments across seven cities in the United States in 2024, including Detroit.

Open for Opportunity Roadshow Visits Detroit to Showcase the Power of Franchising

The International Franchise Association (IFA) will bring its Open for Opportunity Roadshow to the Detroit area July 18-19, conducting two events featuring elected officials, community and business leaders, and local franchise owners.

The discussions will center around the lives franchising has impacted, the challenges facing small businesses, and the benefits franchising provides to Michigan communities, including a pathway to generational wealth and upward mobility, especially for underrepresented individuals.

This morning, a roundtable discussion took place at Little Caesars Headquarters in downtown Detroit featuring 25 officials and executives.

Tomorrow, 15 more leaders including U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens, and Tim Walberg will gather at Goldfish Swim School Franchising Headquarters in Troy to discuss franchising in Michigan, the diverse business ownership opportunities it provides, as well as how the sector is promoting upward mobility for individuals and communities.

Allison Transmission Provides 10K+ Automatic Transmissions for the Hyundai Mighty

Indianapolis-based Allison Transmission, which has an electrification engineering center in Auburn Hills, announced that more than 10,000 Allison-equipped Hyundai Mighty vehicles have been sold in the last four years since its 2020 integration.

Half of all Hyundai Mightys sold today are equipped with Allison fully automatic transmissions, up from 10 percent versus four years ago. The 10,000th Mighty truck with an Allison fully automatic transmission was delivered to Unchang Logitec, a leading Korean logistics company servicing South Korea’s largest laundry service provider.

Hyundai Mighty is a 2.5- and 3.5-ton light-duty truck, which has unrivaled market share in South Korea. Mighty automatic trucks have been on the rise in recent years, meeting market demand for driving comfort, fuel economy, reliability, serviceability and productivity. Allison has delivered more than 10,000 units of the Allison 1000 xFE fully automatic transmissions for the Hyundai Mighty since its launch in 2020. Mighty automatic trucks are used in a variety of applications, including pickup and delivery trucks, cargo trucks, refuse vehicles, firefighting trucks and specialty vehicles.

Ponyride Announces Contest to Ignite Southeast Michigan Entrepreneurship

The Ponyride Initiative, a program through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan (BGCSM), in partnership with Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE) has announced the Battle of the Pitches contest, designed to empower aspiring entrepreneurs in southeast Michigan and offer a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs at all stages — from startups to established businesses.

The competition provides a platform for individuals to display their innovative business ideas and gain the resources needed to turn their dreams into reality.

Participants will have the chance to compete for cash prizes. Each cohort (Retail/E-Commerce and Services, Health Care, and Technology) will award $7,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place, and $3,000 for third place.

The Battle of the Pitches is open to businesses based in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Washtenaw Counties with 1-50 employees and annual revenue below $500,000. Applications for the first cohort (Retail/E-Commerce) will be accepted through July 31, with the pitch contest tentatively scheduled for Aug. 28. Applications for the second cohort (Services, Health Care, and Technology) will be open from Aug. 19 to Sept. 13, with the pitch contest on Oct. 16 (dates subject to change).

To apply, visit here .

Midtown’s City Bird and Nest Looking for Local Vendors for Holidays

In recognition of their 15th anniversary, City Bird and Nest are calling for new local product submissions to feature in their neighboring Midtown Detroit stores and online for the holiday season and beyond.

Applications are now being accepted from Detroit- and Michigan-based artists for any products that fit within the themes of the two stores such as cards and paper goods, home goods, accessories, jewelry, t-shirts/apparel, kids’ toys and books, candles and incense, soap and apothecary, plant accessories, glassware, barware, books, and gifts.

Applications are open here until Aug. 12. They will be reviewed and selected brands will be announced by Sept. 16. Orders must be fulfilled and shipped or delivered by Nov. 1. Anyone in Michigan is eligible to apply.

For general information about the store, visit citybirddetroit.com .

Lawrence Tech Connected Car Research Session Ends with Demonstration

Lawrence Technological University’s summer autonomous and connected car research program for undergraduate students from around the nation wrapped up its third year Tuesday, with seven students making a final presentation after programming two cars to drive themselves around a test track in a parking lot at the Southfield campus.

The students were selected from a field of 86 applicants. They spent eight weeks on campus to conduct research and development on self-drive and V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communications systems.

The final public demonstration of the students’ algorithms in two Gem electric city cars took place July 15 on a “road” of white tape lane markers laid out on an LTU parking lot. Drone video from the demonstration is available here .

Based on the data collected from the demonstrations and practice runs, the students then wrote a technical report and made a final presentation Tuesday morning.

The project developed five different self-drive lane-keeping algorithms. After testing on the road course, students evaluated and analyzed performance and reliability of the algorithms.

For the V2X communication research, students developed a smart traffic light management system with adaptive vehicle speed control algorithms, allowing the vehicles to move smoothly through a crosswalk or intersection, stopping for red lights, and proceeding when the light turned green.

A video of the presentation is available here .

Dossin Great Lakes Museum Showcased 100 Years of Bayview Mackinac Races

As sailors prepare to embark on this week’s 100th Bayview Mackinac Race, visitors are invited to look back at a century of sailing tradition in a new museum exhibition, Challenge These Waters, on display now at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle.

Produced in conjunction with Bayview Yacht Club, the exhibit features artifacts from the Detroit Historical Society and Bayview Yacht Club archives as well as local families’ personal collections. The exhibit features sailors’ stories — including one about a sinking and the rescue — changing technology and interactive displays.

The exhibit is open now through spring 2025 in the Robert M. Dossin Gallery and included with museum admission.

American Cancer Society to Host Pink & Powerful Women’s Networking Breakfast

The American Cancer Society is planning Pink & Powerful: An Empowered Women’s Networking Breakfast from 8-10 a.m. Aug. 8 at the Corner Ballpark Ballroom (1680 Michigan Ave.) in Detroit.

The event will feature a panel of influential women leaders who will share advice and stories of overcoming obstacles, leading with courage, and finding strength in the face of adversity.

Panelists will include:

• Ellyn Davidson, CEO of Brogan & Partners
• Sati Smith, CEO of Diversified Members Credit Union
• Tamara Collins, vice president of marketing and business development for Karmanos Cancer Institute
• Bridget Sponsky, executive director of marketing for Ally

The panel discussion will be moderated by meteorologist Ashlee Baracy of WDIV Detroit, a longtime American Cancer Society supporter and breast cancer advocate. Jack Howard, senior director of financial health and wellness for Ally, will close out the event.

To purchase tickets, visit here .

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