Concert of Colors: Metro Detroit's Diversity Festival
The Concert of Colors is metro Detroit’s free annual diversity music festival. It is presented by ACCESS/Arab American National Museum, New Detroit Inc. and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) with the goal of bringing together metro Detroit’s diverse communities and ethnic groups by presenting musical acts from around the world. Over its 15-year history, the festival has become a beloved highlight of metro Detroit’s summer festival season.
The Concert of Colors was established by New Detroit and ACCESS in 1993 as a one-day event at Chene Park on Detroit’s riverfront. The festival expanded to three days in 2001, when it was part of the official festivities for Detroit’s 300th birthday. In 2005, the festival’s opening night performance was relocated to historic Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit, the recently expanded home of the DSO. The DSO became a full partner in 2006 as the entire festival relocated to The Max, with two indoor stages and one outdoor stage. In 2007, the festival grew to encompass four days of free live music.
Music is the major focus of the Concert of Colors, but not the only focus. The festival includes ethnic food and merchandise vendors, a large children’s tent featuring family activities and arts & crafts, and musician-led workshops. In 2006, an annual Forum on Community, Culture & Race was added to the festival, to stimulate discussion and action by spotlighting how the arts can spur unity among the diverse ethnic and racial groups that comprise metro Detroit.
The first Concert of Colors drew a modest crowd to Chene Park, but by 1999, some 10,000 music lovers were coming out each year. The number of attendees has since grown to about 100,000 people annually. The festival remains free to the public because of its sponsors: lead sponsor DaimlerChrysler along with major sponsors Comerica Charitable Foundation, AT&T, DTE Energy, Masco, Polk, and Meijer.
As the Concert of Colors brings in groups from all over the world, metro Detroit witnesses its ethnic communities also coming together to welcome the artists. Members of New Detroit’s Cultural Exchange Network, a working committee representing 40 local cultural groups, support the bands and welcome them into their communities, providing food and other necessities they need while in Detroit.
ACCESS is a human services organization committed to the development of the Arab-American community, and the greater community, in all aspects of its economic and cultural life. It provides a wide range of human and cultural services and advocacy work. Learn more at www.accesscommunity.org.
The Arab American National Museum, a project of ACCESS, documents, preserves, celebrates, and educates the public on the history, life, culture, and contributions of Arab Americans. It serves as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in this country. Visit www.arabamericanmuseum.org for details.
New Detroit is a non-profit organization that aims to work as the coalition of Detroit-area leadership addressing the issue of race relations by positively impacting issues and policies that ensure economic and social equity. For further information, visit www.newdetroit.org.
Founded in 1914, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performs September through June in Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, offering a variety of concert presentations appealing to people of all ages and musical tastes. It is currently the most widely heard orchestra in America, reaching millions of listeners weekly through satellite and terrestrial radio broadcasts. More at www.detroitsymphony.com.
PREVIOUS HEADLINERS AT CONCERT OF COLORS:
DR. JOHN
FEMI KUTI
TOM-TOM CLUB
SOLAS
THE TEMPTATIONS
SUSANA BACA
CHEB MAMI
