Saturday in Downtown Royal Oak

Let's do a little name-dropping.
Not to brag of the notable people we know, but to illustrate the civic benefit of attending such events as the giant hot dog fest. One has encounters with the likes of Brett Tillander, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club; Jack Salter, former long-time exec of the Boys & Girls Club;  Mike Sophiea, Chamber of Commerce President; Alan Kroll, civic activist and Chamber of Commerce Past President; Tom December, president of the Skylofts Condo Association; Brendan Wehrung, friendly curmudgeon who speaks frequently at CITCOM meetings. There's small talk, of course, but there's also focused conversation about such matters as the status of the Skylofts Condominiums. You know, occupancy, rentals, foreclosures. And there's, "I wanted to write you about ______, but I wouldn't want to be named, and you won't print unsigned emails."

Ear-to-the-ground, you know.

	Saturday Morning & Afternoon Hot Diggity Dog at Farmers Market No-hands Watermelon Eating Contest was one popular event. Proud parents take pictures of their well-mannered children.
	How many hefty men does it take to manhandle a 110-foot hot dog? And a woman to supervise, of course. On the serious side, the Royal Oak Restaurant Association promotes events like this and over several years has contributed $150,000 to local nonprofit organizations like the Boys & Girls Club.
	Saturday Evening 80th Anniversary of Royal Oak Music Theatre Theatre manager Justin Miller pumps  the player piano, generating ragtime music to welcome history-minded patrons who came to see Charlie Chaplin and Our Gang Comedy movies. The pyramid of boxes behind Justin contains rolls of songs, that generation's CDs.

The celebration -- conducted in cooperation with the ordinance-established Royal Oak Historic Commission and the private/volunteer Royal Oak Historical Society -- brought young and old to see the refurbished Music Theatre. Dave Heidt, grandson of the theatre's architect, set the tone for the evening with family-focused introductory remarks. Spotted in the audience were Mayor Jim Ellison and Police Chief Ted Quisenberry.

Clint Eastwood was in town? Big deal!
The never-ending downtown-vs.-neighborhood debate goes on. Last week, I mentioned being inconvenienced a bit by the crowd-control needs of the movie-makers as we made our way to another downtown event. Among comments received since then at other downtown gatherings, like the 80th Anniversary of the Music Theater and the giant hot dog event at the Farmers Market, I heard, "Hey, so Clint's crew doesn't do anything for the neighborhoods. Can't you quality-of-life people understand that downtowners might have different quality-of-life preferences than neighborhoods?"

Downtown Royal Oak on Friday Evening
Nothing is perfect, right?
The excitement and crowds generated by Clint Eastwood came with a price:  Taking valuable parking meters for his crew forced drivers to hunt for space -- especially since part of the Center Street Parking Structure is closed for repair and the Lafayette Parking Structure was closed for the big Garage Sale. . . . Pedestrians were prevented from walking north on Center Street to approach Eleven Mile -- where he was filming at the local barber shop. . . . Geez!

We weren't downtown to see Clint but to attend the Photography Exhibit at the Bean & Leaf Cafe, where the experience was worth having to park far away and being told we couldn't walk part of the shortest route to the cafe.

Five artists displayed 60-70 photographs ranging from a cute kid, through close-ups of a flower, to cityscapes. A conversation with a couple of the photographers reprised the century-old argument about whether photography can be considered "art;" whether art is primarily concept or the skilled manual labor involved in painting and sculpture. We learned that there is now similar tension between advocates of film photography and digital photography. The exhibited photographs and others can be seen at www.exposuredetroit.net.

Back to the downtown experience. Walking around, we encountered: A man in his forties saying "I'm in Royal Oak" into his cell phone, apparently asking his phone mate to join him. . . . Several retailers were open. . . . The majority of those walking around and sitting in the sidewalk cafes were in their early-40s and younger, with a noticeable cohort in their teens and twenties. . . . Standing by their motorcycles were some 50-year-olds. . . . We saw one cop, who mostly was monitoring the Clint Eastwood crowd, in which everyone seemed to be smiling. . . . In the Bean & Leaf Cafe was a similar mix, supplemented by a couple of women with infants and one gentleman in his 60s, complete with laptop and 3-ring binders, taking over an entire table -- just like a teen-ager!

Downtown Trivia
I am among those who:

• Praise the DDA for the general improvement in the appearance and cleanliness of downtown, Kudos especially for those beautiful hanging flower baskets.

• Wonder what DDA was thinking when they approved that new logo which reminds one of the For Sale signs realtors stick on lawns.

• Wonder again how they could have considered attractive that the sickly orange color on lamppost-mounted banners.

Of course, some would object to whichever color I chose if I served on the DDA, especially since my favorite color changes depending on what I have for breakfast. But, boy, what joy to have the power to make my personal preference "official!" -- 21 Jul 08