ROYAL OAK – The 18th annual Ford Arts, Beats & Eats presented by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort will once again offer unparalleled healthy and delicious edible options. Healthy food choices return while many new restaurants join the mix that festival guests will choose from this Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-7, in Royal Oak.
With more than 50 Metro Detroit-area restaurants to choose from, the incredible epicurean choices of Ford Arts, Beats & Eats sizzle even hotter this year. The lineup includes some new eclectic favorites including Cafe Muse, KouZina and Salad Sensations at Somerset Collection. Famous Dave's, known for its mouthwatering choices, leads a stellar list of barbecue establishments including Bert's Market Place, Lockhart's BBQ and Victory Smokehouse.
Adding to the impressive representation of Metro Detroit's restaurants, hungry crowds can also enjoy the return of the popular filet mignon sliders from Prime 29 Steakhouse and the fine dining options of Soaring Eagle Cuisine Machine and Steven Lelli's Inn on the Green. For those with dietary and health concerns, Priority Health "Healthy Options," sponsored by Beaumont Hospital, will provide festival guests color-coded food designations at participating vendors. Designations include: Low-Carb, Low-Fat, Gluten Free, Sugar Free and Vegan. Vendor menu boards and the festival app will indicate these healthy options. Participants of this program include Mr. B's, Alexandria's Mediterranean Cuisine, an array of fresh salads from Salad Sensations, delicious corn on the cob from Shuck-N-Ladder and more.
Other restaurants scheduled to participate offer something for every taste, include bozii, Gaucho Brazilian Steakhouse, Peking House and cool ice cream treats from Eskimo Jack's and Treat Dreams of Ferndale.
For those whose palates are more primed for art, organizers have announced the selection of artists whose work will be on display and for sale.
As one of the nation's premier juried art shows, the Juried Fine Art Show again will be a highlight of this year's festival, with top artists from the across the continent vying for cash awards totaling $7,500. The Juried Show will showcase art in a variety of mediums, including ceramics, digital art, drawing, fabric/fiber/leather, glass, graphics/printmaking, jewelry, metal, mixed media 2D, mixed media 3D, painting, photography, sculpture and wood.
Artists will come from all over North America, including Canada and Mexico, to display, share and sell their work. Festival patrons have the opportunity to peruse original works at more than 135 artist booth spaces. Artists in attendance will include some of the finest in their respective mediums. Returning visitors will recognize the deep colors of the layered glass landscapes by Vince Pernicano of Boyne Falls, Michigan. James Parker, of Rochester Hills, is a digital photographer whose moody, evocative work tells stories of a disappearing American landscape, a visual commentary on things left behind.
New this year are the spectacular sculptures of John Wayne Jackson of Black Mountain, North Carolina who uses a stone-like medium as organic canvases to create huge leaves and other natural pieces that look like contemporary fossils sculpted in stone. These artists and more than 120 others will amaze and delight art fans of all tastes and background.
