1/29/25 C & G Special Edition — Oakland by C & G Newspapers

NEWSPAPERS Special Edition

The last phase of the

EASTBOUND I-696 TO CLOSE BETWEEN I-75 AND LAHSER FOR 2 YEARS

BY KATHRYN PENTIUK kpentiuk@candgnews.com

OAKLAND COUNTY — On March 1, the third and final phase of the “Restore the Reuther” project will commence, as eastbound and westbound Interstate 696 between Lahser Road and Interstate 75 will be rebuilt in 2025-2026.

In 2027, I-696 between I-75 and Dequindre Road will see improvements such as the rebuilding of the roadway, bridge work and drainage structures.

Additionally, 60 bridges will be repaired, in-

cluding the rebuilding of the Church Street Plaza bridge that contains Victoria Park. During that construction, a walkway detour will be available.

The project is expected to be completed by fall 2027.

Diane Cross, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Transportation, clarified that westbound traffic will be maintained while eastbound and westbound I-696 will be rebuilt between Lahser Road and I-75.

“We’re reconstructing all of the freeway, but one year we will reconstruct the eastbound side

See ROADWORK on page 6A

Thanks to a $4.4 million grant from the EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program, streets in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties will see new electric recycling trucks in 2025.

15 EV recycling trucks to hit the streets in 2025

BY KATHRYN PENTIUK kpentiuk@candgnews.com

METRO DETROIT — A fleet of 15 electric recycling trucks will take to the streets of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to replace some of the older diesel-fueled vehicles.

This transition will begin this month and is expected to be completed by December, 2026, with the new EV trucks on the road by this summer, according to Phil Roos, who is the director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

“In the early part of 2025, we’re going to release a competitive RFP (request for proposal) for applicants in those three county areas, and we’ll be reviewing those, scoring them, and then announcing the awards, which should be early summer,” Roos said. “And then we can start putting these in place.”

According to Roos, EGLE was awarded $4.4 million by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program, which is made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act.

He said that aging diesel-fueled vehicles will be replaced,

Photo by Patricia O’Blenes

Michigan Department of Transportation’s “Restore the Reuther” project is slated to begin on March 1. Eastbound and westbound I-696 between Lahser Road and I-75 is set to be rebuilt in 2025-2026.

File photo by Sarah Wright

SECOND FRONT PAGE

WINTER BLAST TO BRING THE HEAT WITH NEW EVENTS

BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com

ROYAL OAK — Freezing temperatures are back, which means more fun activities in downtown Royal Oak to enjoy the weather.

The annual Winter Blast event will be back Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 and will be full of fun winter activities for the whole family at Centennial Commons, near The Rink, 221 E. Third St. in Royal Oak.

“The Winter Blast is one event in town that’s free admission, or one of the only major festivals out there now that are free admission,” Jon Witz, event producer said. “It just has a lot of value. It’s a time for people to get out of the house and embrace winter and just get moving again.”

Kicking off the 2025 Winter Blast will be a special event that has never been seen before. The Royal Oak Police Department and the Royal Oak Fire Department are going to be competing in a game of broomball to raise money for two Royal Oak homeless shelters, Outreach on 7th and the Welcome Inn Day Center.

“We are excited, and police and firefighters are excited to get out on the ice and compete in broomball,” Witz said. “There are two celebrity coaches, Ryan Ermanni from Fox 2 Detroit and Erika Erickson from Channel 4.”

Ermanni will be coaching police and Erickson will be coaching fire. The game will take place from 4 to

4:30 p.m. Jan. 31, according to Witz, and tickets will be on sale on the Winter Blast website at winterblast.com.

“It’s an exciting community kickoff to support the unhoused in our community,” Witz said. “We are glad that it is going to be the opening event to the winter blast.”

Ice sculptures will be on display in the Ice Garden, presented by Henry Ford Health. The display will be showcasing “expertly carved, photo worthy sculptures that light up in vibrant colors at night,” according to a press release.

The sculptures will include medieval designs like a fire and ice tower, dragons and knights, and sculptures of the Detroit Lions’ logo to celebrate the team’s success.

The Winter Blast is going to be a complement to the excitement already surrounding the Lions, according to Witz.

“We are going to certainly turn the festival into the largest Lions pep rally possible,” Witz said. “We have Theo Gridiron performing, who does the Lions fight song, we have specials planned if you wear Lions merchandise, guest appearances, and more to support and celebrate the Lions.”

Another addition to the Winter Blast will be an ice carving competition between 10 different ice sculptors from Michigan and Ohio carving for cash and prizes.

In other ice-themed news, The Rink will be free for one weekend only at the Winter Blast event. Attend-

See WINTER BLAST on page 10A

Film studio set to come to Southfield

BY KATHRYN PENTIUK kpentiuk@candgnews.com

SOUTHFIELD — This February, a 12,000-square-foot film studio will open its doors in Southfield.

The Collective Studios will open at 4 p.m. Feb. 1 with a ribbon cutting. The studio offers 44 diverse set spaces for local filmmakers, photographers, television producers and commercial directors.

The set spaces include a police station, jail cells, courtroom, doctor’s office, hospital, church, airplane and more.

The Collective Studios is a collaboration between a group of 13 Detroit-based filmmakers, including Rockey Black and Tonja Ayers, “The Shoe Lady.”

Black and his wife, Janaya, have been in the independent Detroit filmmaking industry for 23 years and have been a part of 27 films.

“I got my first shot in the movie, ‘8 Mile’. Got a small role in there, and that gave me the acting bug,” Black said. “Me and my wife … got married at the age of 20 and 18, so it was like we

See FILM STUDIO on page 9A

File photo by Patricia O’Blenes

Ellie Huerta, 8, of Novi, takes a ride on the zip line during the 2024 Winter Blast. This year, the zip line will be hovering over Centennial Commons at 34 feet high, stretching 300 feet long.

Two of the 13 filmmakers who own Collective Studios, Tonja “Tee-tee” Brown and Rockey Black, sit inside a chapel set.

Photo by Liz Carnegie

Trucks

which has a lot of public-health benefits, including reducing air pollution and noise.

“But also cutting costs, which is important so more dollars can be put into the operation and making proper use and recycling some of our waste,” Roos said. “That really ties into our state’s MI Healthy Climate Plan and its goals, and importantly, these are going to be operating in historically disadvantaged communities that are more vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change and air quality challenges. So it’s a win, win all around.”

According to Roos, the MI Healthy Climate Plan serves as Michigan’s “roadmap” for decarbonization and making the economy 100% clean energy by 2050 to provide public health benefits as well as lower residents’ utility costs, make renewable energy more accessible and aid in job creation.

According to Roos, the recycling rate has gone up, and he would like to increase it even more.

He said that it was 14% as recently as 2018, and that it is now close to 25%.

Roos shared that he would like for the rate to increase to 45% at some point.

“Recycling trucks and recycling efforts are a key part of that,” he said.

Roos emphasized the importance of implementing the change in order to improve air quality.

“We know that diesel as an emission can cause scent, respiratory issues, (and) asthma,” he said. “It also, of course, emits carbon into the air. This will make a big difference on all of those fronts.”

According to EGLE, replacing the diesel-fueled trucks with electric trucks is expected to cut 1.19 metric tons of nitrogen oxides and 1,545 metric tons of carbon dioxide per vehicle over their 15-year lifespan.

In addition to the environmental benefits of implementing EV recycling trucks, there are also more career opportunities in Southeast Michigan for drivers to operate the vehicles. The $4.4 million funding includes training for 30 drivers and mechanics through partnerships with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Electric Vehicle Jobs Academy.

LEO Director Susan Corbin explained the impact that this transition will have on job creation. “There will be an investment of nearly $400,000 to support training efforts for up to 30 people who will be using this equipment,” Corbin said. “So we know that as a state, by making investments in our workforce like this, we are putting people on really terrific career pathways that are going

to put more people into the middle class. So that’s what I’m really excited about with this activity.”

Corbin shared that around three years ago, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer created the EV Jobs Academy to champion the effort across the state.

According to Corbin, $5 million has been invested to prepare the state’s workforce to make the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

“We’ve had nearly 100 stakeholders working on the EV Jobs Academy,” she said. “It’s not just preparing our workforce, it’s preparing all of our partners. Our community colleges have been strong partners in this.”

Corbin also shared that unions have been supportive of the effort. According to her, training will be provided to 30 people under the grant.

“Michigan has demonstrated time and again that it is a leader in clean energy advanced manufacturing, and part of what is required to maintain that edge is deploying technologies that haven’t been widely used before in new contexts and demonstrating that they work,” said Zachary Kolodin, who is the director of the Michigan Infrastructure Office.

According to the state’s website, Michigan’s EV infrastructure is growing faster than the national average.

In 2023, the state increased the number of public direct current fast charging stations by 52%, and is now home to 3,900 charging ports.

With the implementation of the 15 new EV recycling trucks, 15 fast-charging stations will be installed.

Kolodin explained that in order to deploy the EV recycling trucks, they have to have a large enough battery to complete a circuit of a neighborhood or multiple circuits.

“We need an EV charging station that can replenish their batteries quickly enough so that they can be reused on an appropriate schedule,” Kolodin said. “This is one reason why you see EV school buses being such a success, because EV school buses have two defined routes that they have to run every day. So you’ll get the morning route that charges up overnight, and then an additional charge to run the afternoon route, and then the school buses are done. So that’s a really great-use case.”

Kolodin also added that, “I think demonstrating that this technology works in this new context is useful in part because refuse collection is also fairly predictable, and so you can fairly easily deploy electrified vehicles in that context.”

For more information on the new EV recycling trucks, visit www.michigan.gov/ egle and search “Electric Recycling Trucks.”

Path to perfection

solve construction challenges, pick the right materials and love your new kitchen or bath!

Avondale GATE Magnet School recognized among top schools in the state

BY MARY BETH ALMOND malmond@candgnews.com

ROCHESTER HILLS/BLOOMFIELD

TOWNSHIP/AUBURN HILLS — Avondale GATE Magnet School has been recognized among the top schools in Michigan, according to U.S. News & World Report.

In the recently released 2025 Best Elementary Schools and Best Middle Schools rankings by U.S. News & World Report, Avondale GATE Magnet School ranked No. 2 in Michigan for middle schools and No. 4 for elementary schools. The report includes more than 79,000 public schools that are ranked at the state and district level.

Officials from U.S. News said the topranked public schools in the 2024 Best Elementary and Best Middle schools rankings were evaluated based on state-required test performance, graduation rates, and how effectively they prepare students for high school. Schools are assessed on their students’ proficiency in mathematics and reading/language arts, with half of the rankings formula based on test scores and the other half considering the context of socioeconomic demographics.

“The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a highquality education and preparing students for future success,” LaMont Jones, the managing editor for education at U.S. News said in a statement. “The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond.”

At Avondale GATE Magnet School — which serves students in grades 2-8 — 92% of students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 98% scored at or above proficient in reading.

James Schwarz, superintendent of Avondale School District, said he is incredibly proud of GATE students and staff for the “remarkable achievement.”

“Everybody in that building feels very passionate about what they do and what they do for that population of students,” he said. “That population of students are often ones that are — in most public school settings — ignored, whose needs typically

CONSTRUCTION LOANS

a home?

aren’t met. Those are the kids that ‘get it,’ so they are often the ones left coaching other kids who ‘don’t get it’ and left unchallenged themselves. That population is, nationally, the largest population that drops out, because they get disenfranchised with education — they’re bored. So our staff really feels

passionate about their purpose and providing this type of education and challenge to students to really push on their potential.”

The Avondale School District launched its GATE, or Gifted And Talented Education program during the 2017-2018 school year, See AVONDALE GATE on page 7A

Students at Avondale GATE Magnet School collaborate during class.

Photo provided by Avondale Schools

Roadwork

from page 1A

and one year the westbound side, but we’re going to always let westbound traffic use the freeway, and we’ll just move them around. We’ll either keep them on the original west while we rebuild east, or we’ll move them to the eastbound side while we rebuild west. West will always have two lanes open,” she explained.

Eastbound traffic will be detoured via southbound M-10 (Lodge Freeway/Northwestern Highway), eastbound M-8 (Davison Highway) and northbound I-75 back to eastbound I-696.

“But of course, not everybody’s going to use that detour. So therefore, a side effect, unfortunately, for the project, is we’re going to have a lot of eastbound, heavier traffic on the mile roads,” Cross said. “If somebody’s only going to Royal Oak, they are not going to take that detour, they’re going to just jump on a mile road, whether it’s Eight Mile, anywhere up to M-59, depending on where they’re going. Eastbound is going to be the one that’s going to see heavier traffic on local roads for two years and will be detoured for two years,” Cross said.

She added that this is the first time since the highway was constructed nearly 40 years ago that it has seen a total rehab, and with the exception of Interstate 94, it will be another 20 years before this part of the state has another major freeway reconstruction project.

“It’s a huge investment for Oakland County,” Cross said. “Yeah, it’s a pain in the neck; we totally get that. We all drive

the same roads. We drive them, our families drive them, and we hear about it all the time, but what an investment to Oakland County — another $250 million into the local economy of jobs and services, and that kind of thing says what we value, I think, as a state.”

The total investment for I-696’s three phases of construction is $655 million, with this last phase totaling $250 million, which MDOT is funding through the “Rebuilding Michigan” bond program and the federal “Reconnecting Communities” grant program.

This last stretch of the project supports 2,385 jobs, directly or indirectly, according to an MDOT press release.

The communities of Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, Southfield and Warren will be directly impacted by the project.

Southfield, known as the “center of it all,” drew roughly 150,000 commuters to the city before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the city’s mayor, Kenson Siver.

“It’s going to be a major inconvenience for our businesspeople and our residents, but it’s beyond our control and some needed repairs are necessary for the highway,” Silver said. “Road construction is always inconvenient, but we have to live with the reality of it because we need safe roads, and we need roads that are in good repair.”

Siver added that as a Southfield resident for more than 50 years, he remembers using the mile roads before I-696 was constructed.

“We went east to west on mile roads, and that’s what we’ll be doing again,” he

said. “And I remember after 696 opened, that the amount of traffic, particularly on 10 and 11 Mile roads, decreased significantly because people switched to the freeway. And so I would expect that they’ll all continue to get around, and it’ll just take us longer and be less convenient.”

Pleasant Ridge City Manager James Breuckman said the closure is going to “definitely” change the regional travel patterns for the city’s residents.

“Obviously, you close down 696 eastbound and it’s going to have a major impact,” he said. “We don’t know what the exact local impact on us is going to be. … We’re going to wait and see how travel patterns change because, beforehand, we can predict but we don’t know what the actual impact on traffic is going to be. And if we find that we have problems, we’ll address them and we’ll react and do all those as best we can. But it’s going to be an inconvenience to everybody.”

Aside from the traffic disruption and the inconveniences it will cause, Breuckman does see positives in the construction with the investment and improvement in infrastructure.

As for how the project will affect local businesses, Breuckman stated that Pleasant Ridge has a business mix of professional offices and services, but not many retail stores.

“I believe that our businesses will likely be OK,” he said. “They’re serving, generally, a clientele who is either already close by and won’t be coming from regional destinations, or they’re service providers whose clients may not even need to come to their offices because they can do things remotely. So, I think our business community should be

relatively unaffected by this other than that baseline level of inconvenience that we’ll all be living through.”

Ryan Ringold, the chief marketing officer at Bionicc Body Screening, said that the two-year closure is going to be an inconvenience to the clients visiting the MRI clinic, which is located at the northeast corner of Northwestern Highway and Lahser Road in Southfield.

“The thought for a lot of people of going into an MRI machine is already overwhelming and can make them feel anxious, some a lot more than others. But when they’re coming and already feeling a little anxious about having the service done, adding to that by taking longer, fighting traffic, I mean, that itself can be overwhelming for people, so I think it’s kind of a double whammy for them,” Ringold said.

Cross highlighted the importance of drivers staying alert to ensure the safety of construction workers.

“We are working on the side of the road in a hard hat, a vest, a cone, a barrel, maybe a barrier wall, trying to get home to our families the same way you’re trying to get home to your family,” she said. “You got to slow down. You can’t be distracted. Whatever it is that you think is more important is not more important than killing someone or killing yourself in order to get somewhere or read a text or something.”

MDOT is planning a public meeting for early February, with the date expected to be announced soon.

To stay updated on MDOT’s Oakland County projects, visit drivingoakland.com.

Staff Writer Mike Koury contributed to this report.

Once

Avondale GATE

from page 5A

enrolling approximately 31 students in two multiage third-and fourth-grade classrooms at Woodland Elementary School.

At that time, Schwarz said the idea was that it would be a self-contained magnet program to service truly gifted students — being that there was not one in this area — a public school that services students to that end, in a program specific for that ability.

“We had brought in staff that had specific certifications in gifted education and began to run methodologies in the classroom that were steeped in best practice gifted strategies, coupled with support — because often gifted students also have areas of deficit, usually socially and emotionally. So we were very careful to supply those supports within the pilot,” Schwarz said. “The program quickly caught on with demand.”

In 2019, the program more than doubled — with 74 students enrolled in four multiage classrooms; two second-and thirdgrade split classes, and two fourth-and fifthgrade split classes.

To meet the increasing demand for enrollment, in 2000 the GATE program moved into a dedicated building, the Avon-

dale Meadows Learning Center in Rochester Hills, with students in second through sixth grades eligible to be part of the program. The GATE program continued to expand, with the addition of seventh grade in the 2020-21 school year and eighth grade in 2021-2022.

“Originally it was 30 students, now (GATE) serves about 400 in a matter of about seven years,” Schwarz said.

Upon eighth grade, Schwarz said GATE students then go to high school, where they can differentiate into a wide variety of honors choices, Advanced Placement, dual enrollment and early college. GATE students can complete their high school requirements in half the time, which allows them to take AP or dual enrollment courses.

The GATE program is open to students in second through eighth grades within the Avondale School District and those outside the district as a school of choice, as space allows. Applications for students within the district are typically due in the fall, and school of choice applications are typically due in February. The application window for the 2025–2026 school year at the GATE Magnet School in the Avondale School District is now through Feb. 4. For more information about Avondale School District or GATE Magnet School, visit www.avondale schools.org.

ROHS SCIENCE TEACHER ON A MISSION TO FIND THE KEY TO HAPPINESS 4,276 MILES AWAY

BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com

ROYAL OAK — David Barnett, a Royal Oak High School science teacher, recently embarked on a journey of more than 4,000 miles with the hopes of learning more about students’ mental health.

Barnett arrived in Helsinki on Jan. 17. He will be there throughout the rest of the 2024-2025 academic school year teaching, studying and researching.

Barnett was awarded a Fulbright Teacher Exchange award to Finland from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board through the Fulbright Program.

“I’ve had an interest in doing something related to education abroad for quite a while,” Barnett said via email. “I have had friends do it in different capacities and it always seemed like a great opportunity for me.”

Barnett is among more than 800 U.S. citizens who are going abroad through the Fulbright Program.

“Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions,” as stated in a press release sent out by Royal Oak Schools.

The working title of Barnett’s project is “The Role of Environmental Education

in Promoting Student Mental Health.” It is what landed him the trip abroad and guided him to wanting to do it in Finland.

To get considered for the Fulbright program an educator has to complete an application and propose a project, along with letters of recommendation, according to Barnett.

“There are three main factors that drew me to Finland, one, studying the environment is emphasized in their national curriculum, and two, they are annually rated among the happiest populations on Earth. I hope to explore connections between environmental education and student mental health,” he said.

According to Barnett’s project draft, his goal is to “study the curriculum and pedagogy in Finland as it relates to exosystems and the environment. ... Based on this research, I will strive to develop lessons that can be used by teachers in most any natural setting to promote access to outdoor education for all students.”

To support his research, Barnett said he will be visiting various schools in Finland, interviewing teachers and reading existing research related to his project. He will be working closely with an advisor, Sirpa Tani, from the University of Helsinki.

After the completion of his research and time in Finland, Barnett is hoping to make impacts on various levels of how educators view teaching in a natural setting, and spread the word on how that can affect students’

mental health.

“My biggest hope is that I’ll come away with some approaches that can be added to help students struggling with mental health,” he said via email. “Spending time learning

about the environment, especially outdoors, seems like it can be one way to help students feel less anxious and more connected.”

Barnett said that he believes Finnish

See BARNETT on page 9A

David Barnett, Royal Oak High School science teacher, was awarded the opportunity to travel to Finland through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program.

Photo provided by Royal Oak Schools

Film studio

wasn’t planning on being no movie actors, producers, directors. It’s just the way God led and where it fell, and we fell in love with it. And 23 years later, now we’re about to open a movie studio.”

Black acts, directs, produces and distributes, and his wife writes, directs, produces and edits.

The couple owns a distribution company called Silver Line Entertainment and a production company called Black-Smith Enterprises. Together, they create thrillers and faith-based films such as “Turn of the Cheek” and “Bigger than the Game.”

“We might be No. 2 in the country with making films now, behind Hollywood, and that’s of course, independent films,” Black said. “But we’re definitely in the top five.”

He explained that he and his wife never had plans of moving to Hollywood because the film industry is booming in Detroit.

“We probably have over 100 films now in the last three years,” Black said. “It’s grown tremendously, and that’s with the help of social media and the streaming platforms. We have a lot of connections, relationships, with Tubi, Peacock, YouTube, (and) Crackle. … People can make a living off this, so it’s grown tremendously.”

Black connected with Ayers through their late

mutual friend, Melissa Talbot, who was also in the local film industry.

“She connected a lot of people with each other and she had been in the film business a long time, too,” Black said. “She passed away two years ago, but she connected a lot of us together.”

Before getting into the film industry, Ayers sold shoes.

She went from shoes to the screen after a friend suggested that she develop one of her books, “Stay in Your Place,” into a stage play.

It was eventually adapted into a movie.

According to Ayers, collectively, her and Black have been a part of seven movies in the last year.

Her personal office is located in the same building as the film studio, and the connection to Southfield means something to her.

“I love that the studio is there,” Ayers said. “I was already familiar with the area. I love how accessible it is because we’re right at Southfield Road, (with) Greenfield right up the street. Everything is there. And one of my movies I filmed in Southfield.”

For more information about Collective Studios, which is located at 18000 W. Nine Mile Road, suite 450 in Southfield, visit thecollectivestudios248.com.

To learn more about Rockey and Janaya Black’s work, visit black-smithenterprises.com or www.silver line-ent.com.

To learn more about Ayers’ films, visit www. theshoeladyproductions.com.

Barnett

from page 8A

schools would have the best curriculum for learning about a subject like this.

According to an article by Johanna Järvinen-Taubert and Päivi Valtonen on otter-project.eu, Finland has a long tradition of “Education outside Classroom (EOC).”

“For decades it has been typical for Finnish education to utilize EOC in teaching,” it states. “Visits to museums, libraries, exhibitions, cultural events, and versatile workplaces have been part of schooling from early childhood education to upper secondary education for generations.”

The article goes on to state that nature can be a learning environment for not only the sciences, but math, art, geography, languages and more.

“To assume that the right type of learning can take place only in a well-structured classroom environment and according to the adult’s best thinking is to limit the power of available spaces and students’ potential,” the article states.

Barnett said he is most looking forward to spending time outdoors and bringing back the ideals of the Finnish people.

“Both in the educational context and in my free time, I’m looking forward to spending time outdoors,” he said. “I’m eager to see how teachers in a pretty cold climate do this.”

Barnett will be tracking his progress on his research and travels on an instagram account, @mr.barnett_in_finland.

For more information on the Fulbright program, visit ful brightprogram.org.

Winter Blast

ees can skate for free and have the option to bring their own skates or pay $5 to rent skates.

Coming back for its second year is the Rock the Mic 2025 Karaoke Competition where participants can compete for prizes.

There will be 15 karaoke singers who had to qualify for the Winter Blast performance through previous karaoke competitions, according to Julie Dilworth, owner of Fusion Entertainment, the company hosting the karaoke competition.

Karaoke singers will be covering songs at the DTE Energy Family Stage in the Cornerstone Family Tent; the competition will offer $2,000 in cash prizes to the top six performers.

“There is some amazing talent in metro Detroit, and this is a chance for a lot of these singers to get out there and perform for a huge crowd,” Dilworth said. “You will see all sorts of different styles of music, everything from pop music to country. It appeals to an audience of all ages and demographics.”

Dilworth said that the singers are encouraged to do popular songs to relate to the crowd and get the party going.

The singers will be judged by a panel consisting of a group of professionals within the music industry. This could be singers, producers or professional theater directors. The audience will also be voting.

Last year the Winter Blast included a medieval village, which will be making another appearance this year with expanded hours and more adventures.

New to the festival will be animatronic dragons covered in lights that are intended to add to the whimsy of the medieval village. Michigan’s own Knights of the New Order, a renowned medieval jousting team, will be

performing for attendees.

Returning to the medieval village experience is the quest to recover a stolen dragon egg. This activity is for kids and adults, and those who successfully complete the challenge will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a weekend getaway at Soaring Eagle Waterpark.

Throughout the weekend there will be multiple hands-on activities for all to enjoy, including archery, ax throwing, interactive storytelling and a knighting ceremony.

Delirio del’Arte will be performing, a group of “professional idiots” that specialize in juggling, magic, comedic improv, fire manipulation and more, according to a press release.

At 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 will be one of the highlights of the event, when the village ice tower will be set ablaze.

Thrill seekers can enjoy the 34-foothigh, 300-foot-long zip line that will go over Centennial Commons. Tickets for the zip line are available at $15 each or two for $25.

Local artists, bands and fan favorites will be performing in the M3 Investment Services Comfort Zone every day of the event.

Winter Blast will also have a House of Dank Comfort Zone including the House of Dank Gallery Stage showcasing performances by bands and musical acts representing a variety of genres. They will be selling CBD, but no THC products will be sold or consumed.

“There is not much going on in February, and to be able to bring people together to embrace winter, it’s exciting to provide that opportunity to get people out and about after you have those January blues,” Witz said.

Winter Blast will have free admission to the public from 4 to 11 p.m. Jan 31, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Feb 1, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb 2. For more information, visit winterblast. com.

Nowthere’shopefor hormonalhealthrecovery formenandwomen

Dr. Rona Wadle, D.O., doesn’t hold back when talking about the life-changing bioidentical hormone replacement therapy that she received - and now offers to others at RenewMyWellness in downtown Birmingham.

“After suffering through severe menopausal symptoms myself, this therapy has given me my life back,” Dr. Wadle said.

As a registered nurse who later went to medical school and became board certiﬁed in emergency medicine, Dr. Wadle owned and operated an urgent care center in Birmingham. Based on her own medical journey and personal experience with hormone depletion, she founded RenewMyWellness.

“After suffering through severe menopausal symptoms myself, this therapy has given me my life back,” Dr. Wadle said.

As a registered nurse who later went to medical school and became board certified in emergency medicine, Dr. Wadle owned and operated an urgent care center in Birmingham. Based on her own medical journey and personal experience with hormone depletion, she founded Renew My Wellness.

For men and women dealing with fatigue, depression, apathy, anxiety, weight gain, decreased libido, decreased exercise endurance and muscle mass there is a bioidentical way to improve these symptoms. “What we’re offering is hormone replacement therapy in the form of testosterone and estradiol pellets for both women and men,” Dr. Wadle explains.“Pellets provide a delivery system that mimics the human body so that even improved physiologic levels can be achieved.”

For men and women dealing with fatigue, depression, apathy, anxiety, weight gain, decreased libido, decreased exercise endurance and muscle mass there is a bioidentical way to improve these symptoms. “What we’re offering is hormone replacement therapy in the form of testosterone and estradiol pellets for both and men,” Dr. Wadle explains.“Pellets provide a delivery system that mimics the human body so that even improved physiologic levels can be achieved.”

For men and women dealing with fatigue, depression, apathy, anxiety, weight gain, decreased libido, decreased exercise endurance and muscle mass there is a bioidentical way to improve these symptoms. “What we’re offering is hormone replacement therapy in the form of testosterone and estradiol pellets for both women and men,” Dr. Wadle explains. “Pellets provide a delivery system that mimics the human body so that even improved physiologic levels can be achieved.”

Since the 1930’s patients throughout Europe, Japan and

Since the 1930’s patients throughout Europe, Japan and the United States have successfully used bio-identical hormones. Many studies show that when prescribed and administered correctly, bio-identical hormone pellets can help a variety of conditions and symptoms. They don’t present the potential hazards that many synthetic medications do.

the United States have successfully used bio-identical hormones. Many studies show that when prescribed and administered correctly, bio-identical hormone pellets can help a variety of conditions and symptoms. They don’t present the potential hazards that many synthetic medications do.

RenewMyWellness also offers testosterone injections for men and a prescription weight loss program for both men and women that is monitored to ensure it is safe and effective.

Dr. Wadle said she founded RenewMyWellness to promote wellness through a holistically-integrative approach to patient care that combines conventional and functional medicine. The results leave patients with improved conﬁdence and a whole-body sense of well-being.

Renew My Wellness also offers testosterone injections for men and a prescription weight loss program for both men and women that is monitored to ensure it is safe and effective.

RenewMyWellness is located at 33466 Woodward Ave., in downtown Birmingham. To schedule a consultation or for more information, call 248-602-3177.

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Dr. Wadle said she founded Renew My Wellness to promote wellness through a holistically-integrative approach to patient care that combines conventional and functional medicine. The results leave patients with improved confidence and a whole-body sense of well-being.

Scan to receive more information & monthly newsletters.

Renew My Wellness is located at 33466 Woodward Ave., in Birmingham.

To schedule a consultation or for more information, call 248602-3177. Or visit www.renewmywellness.com.