This weekend I had the opportunity to help with Build Bazaar at the Concert of Colors. This event was an opportunity for local vendors to showcase their products in a pop-up fashion. There were over 45 vendors present over the two day event. This event was organized through D:Hive and it ended up being a large success. I want to talk about how this event served as an authentic symbol of hope in my mind.
Whenever I get into a lyft or uber ride, the rider has almost always asked where I’m from. I reply saying that I’m from Duke and am in Detroit for the summer and call Philadelphia to be my home. The next question has almost always been asking what my opinion of Detroit has been thus far. I’ve never asked this question in the same manner but always try to find some way to answer in at least a semi positive manner. I’ll say it’s safer than I’d expected or that it’s much more vibrant than I thought it’d be. As true as these answers are, they fail to properly how I’ve felt during my time in Detroit.
During my time thus far, I’ve had the chance to meet some incredible people, both at work and away from it. However, the event that best describes how I feel at Detroit was the excitement surrounding the Concert of Colors. As we started setting up early Saturday morning, I was responsible for helping all vendors get situated and moving all of their products up to their table. As we were making sure everyone had everything they needed and were getting set up, there was a nervous energy in the air. No one was really sure what to expect as they were setting up, would they be as successful as they hoped? As the event kicked off, most vendors became very busy trying to attract customers and ensure that they sold as many items as possible. I walked around a few times as this was going on and noticed that even the tables who weren’t selling as much still maintained this sense of optimism and hopefulness.
I think that this attitude reflects the city and its progress as a whole. A couple years ago, Detroit began its comeback with a sense of nervous apprehension. No one was really sure what would happen, Detroit had the potential to revive itself but it could also have been destroyed completely. However, as time when Detroit has proven to be hopeful and optimistic of its future. Things may not go exactly as planned and Detroit might not sell as many things as it’d like today, but it’s confident that it will one day be successful just as the vendors at Concert of Colors were.
Whenever I get into a lyft or uber ride, the rider has almost always asked where I’m from. I reply saying that I’m from Duke and am in Detroit for the summer and call Philadelphia to be my home. The next question has almost always been asking what my opinion of Detroit has been thus far. I’ve never asked this question in the same manner but always try to find some way to answer in at least a semi positive manner. I’ll say it’s safer than I’d expected or that it’s much more vibrant than I thought it’d be. As true as these answers are, they fail to properly how I’ve felt during my time in Detroit.
During my time thus far, I’ve had the chance to meet some incredible people, both at work and away from it. However, the event that best describes how I feel at Detroit was the excitement surrounding the Concert of Colors. As we started setting up early Saturday morning, I was responsible for helping all vendors get situated and moving all of their products up to their table. As we were making sure everyone had everything they needed and were getting set up, there was a nervous energy in the air. No one was really sure what to expect as they were setting up, would they be as successful as they hoped? As the event kicked off, most vendors became very busy trying to attract customers and ensure that they sold as many items as possible. I walked around a few times as this was going on and noticed that even the tables who weren’t selling as much still maintained this sense of optimism and hopefulness.
I think that this attitude reflects the city and its progress as a whole. A couple years ago, Detroit began its comeback with a sense of nervous apprehension. No one was really sure what would happen, Detroit had the potential to revive itself but it could also have been destroyed completely. However, as time when Detroit has proven to be hopeful and optimistic of its future. Things may not go exactly as planned and Detroit might not sell as many things as it’d like today, but it’s confident that it will one day be successful just as the vendors at Concert of Colors were.
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