DETROIT – Neighbors in the Old Redford area of Detroit were busy on Wednesday, setting up and preparing for their annual Angels Night event.
Residents and business owners are continuing a tradition of bringing families together in a safe atmosphere the night before Halloween.
“It’s a time to come together as a community,” said John George of Blight Busters. “As neighbors. As friends. To not only patrol and protect Detroit, but to celebrate all of the positive things that are going on.”
Blight Busters, the team at Java House, and other friends and partners are now 32 years into Angels Night celebrations.
The tradition launched in the mid-1980s when hundreds of fires across the city around Halloween forced community members to patrol and protect their neighborhoods.
“We just thought that if we changed the frequency, the energy around that night, we could make some positive improvements,” George said.
Focusing on positivity has been a major part of Old Redford’s continuing its Angels Night tradition.
This year, that includes opening the city’s first Art Alley.
“The Artists Village and Blight Busters have been amazing in being very inclusive about all art, all people,” said Katrina Storm, Art Alley Fellow for Blight Busters on behalf of the City of Detroit’s Office of Arts, Culture, and Entrepreneurship.
Old Redford is among nine Art Alleys designated to open across the city. The Old Redford Art Alley is filled with murals designed by local artists.
Supporters hope it will become a destination space for the greater community.
“You get introduced to possible art forms and artists that you had no clue even existed,” Storm said.
The Old Redford Angels Night event will be held Wednesday, Oct. 30, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the alley next to Artist Village at 17336 Lahser Road, Detroit, MI 48219.