| Help Us Celebrate 100 Years of Rouge Park! |
|
Join us for this free three-day celebration, scheduled for June 27-29th 2025, to celebrate Rouge Park's 100 year anniversary! The celebration promises to be a vibrant gathering, attracting thousands of visitors from across the region to celebrate. The celebration will include a family-friendly carnival, live entertainment for all ages and a community resource fair. RSVP to Eventbrite below or follow us on social media to get updates as we announce the musical acts! |
|
Purchase your ticket today for the Centennial Reception! Friday, June 27, 5-8PM Join us in celebrating 100 years of natural beauty, community, and conservation at the Rouge Park Centennial Reception, a fundraiser for Friends of Rouge Park. This special fundraising event honors the legacy of Detroit’s largest park and supports its future for generations to come. Don't miss this unforgettable evening filled with live entertainment featuring the City’s Summer Music Series, local food and drink, inspiring stories, and the chance to connect with others who share a love for this treasured green space. Be part of the movement to keep Rouge Park thriving for the next 100 years—secure your ticket today and make a lasting impact! |
|
Volunteers Needed for Centennial Celebration |
|
We look forward to you joining the party to celebrate the opening of Rouge Park 100 years ago. The three day Centennial Celebration will be the largest event in Rouge Park in many years and we need your help. Please consider donating a few hours of your time to make this event a success. We need volunteers to help with set up and breakdown, guest relations, information booth and kids activities. Sign up today for a three hour shift. |
|
23rd Annual Rouge Park Appreciation Draws 150 Volunteers |
|
Every year since we were founded, we have hosted a spring clean up called Rouge Park Appreciation Day (RPAD) that attracts several hundred people who spruce up the park for the summer. The 23rd annual RPAD on May 17 had lower numbers but still attracted 150 hard-working volunteers including 56 dedicated AmeriCorps members who donned t-shirts reading “Choosing Service over Politics” in reference to their service program being defunded by the president. Our U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib joined the cleanup and spoke of green spaces as local treasures that need to be taken care of. Mark Payne from Councilman Fred Durhal’s office celebrated our recent collaboration in getting the city to allocate funding for park maintenance. The Detroit AeroModelers once again cooked the hotdog lunch, the City General Services Department provided the large grill and hauled away all of the debris, Motor City Makeover provided gloves, bags and flats of flowers, and 20 experienced volunteers led a group and ran registration.
Despite the lower numbers, volunteers completed 12 different projects. We removed 89 bags of trash and 11 bags of invasive plants, planted 20 pawpaw trees and 3 flats of flowers and filled 60 bags with garlic mustard with a recipe to hand out. Jason with Motor City Magnet Fishers and volunteers removed 350 lbs of metal from the river and was happy to report that this is less than in past years. A big thank you to all the volunteers and those who supported the event.
|
|
Come celebrate the beginning of an amazing summer of fun at Rouge Park! Join us for the Friends of Rouge Park Membership Meeting and BBQ. Not a member yet? You can join today! |
|
We’re excited to partner again with Yoganic Flow to offer free yoga through DPC’s Yoga in the Parks! Sunday Mornings at 9AM, June 1-Sept 1, near Brennan Pools. |
|
We’re bringing back the Rouge Park Walking Club with support from Detroit Parks Coalition and their partnership with Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Rouge Park’s Walking Club will be led by Donulae T. Knuckles, PhD, RN, “Nurse Knuckles” of the Well-Able Walkers & Movers & Shakers Walking Club. Free one-time registration online on the DPC website; all participants will receive “I Walk Detroit’s Parks” T-shirts. June 1 - September 30.
|
|
Monthly Movie Night in the Park |
|
Join us for Movies in Rouge Park, kicking off June 21st with Sonic the Hedgehog 3! Movies will be held this year in Joe Prance Recreation Area. These activities will connect youth to the joys of being outside in the park, moving our bodies with physical activity and connecting with nature. To kick off the movie nights, we’re excited to bring Stickfit, an organization that supports physical and emotional wellness and artistic expression through the medium of percussion music. Get ready to make some noise!!! |
|
Honeysuckle Happy Hour Fridays, 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM |
|
Join us for Honeysuckle Happy Hour, a recurring event where volunteers help restore the historic trails of Rouge Park while enjoying great food and drinks! Each session, we’ll work together to remove invasive honeysuckle, improve the park’s natural beauty, and then celebrate our efforts with refreshments and camaraderie.
|
|
April Showers brought May flowers, and likely June Mosquitos Phenology Updates from the Land Stewardship Manager Antonio Cosme
|
|
Rouge Park has concluded its vibrant spring ephemeral flower season, with highlights including ant-assisted seed dispersal, late-blooming species like Virginia waterleaf, and a fully flushed out canopy complete with late-leafing oaks, ashes, and walnuts. While parts of the park show signs of past disturbance, the southern section (south of Tireman) near the sugarbush remains a high-quality, old-growth floodplain forest. We can measure quality ecosystems with community science efforts, such as vernal pond monitoring. Cody high school students joined this activity revealing a rich diversity of plants, amphibians, and macro-invertebrates, offering valuable data to guide future conservation and track the ecological health of our park in the face of climate change. Click to learn far more details about our forests and this spring’s ecological activities on our website. |
|
The Rouge Park Soap Box Derby 1935-1955 |
|
Top of Derby Hill at Spinoza Drive & Sawyer St. (Detroit News) |
|
For 20 years, Rouge Park’s Derby Hill was the location for the annual Soap Box Derby. From 1935-1955, every July up to 15,000 spectators lined the sides of Spinoza Drive to watch hundreds of home-made soap box cars race down the hill with their 9-15 year old drivers dreaming of glory. Learn the history of Derby Hill and see more photos here. (photos from the Detroit News) |
|
Looking North down Spinoza Drive from the bottom of Derby Hill (Detroit News) |
|
In honor of the centennial anniversary of Rouge Park, we've dedicated a page on our website to recognize our generous donors who have contributed $100 or more to support the Centennial Celebration. Their contributions help commemorate this milestone year and ensure the continued preservation of our beautiful park. Donations will be accepted throughout the year, and all donors will be acknowledged on this page as a heartfelt THANK YOU for their commitment to Rouge Park. |
|
Pistons Neighborhood Program |
|
PISTONS NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM: Presented in partnership between the Detroit Parks Coalition, Detroit Pistons Foundation, and City of Detroit Parks & Recreation Division, the Pistons Neighbors Program will take place from June 16 - August 15. Rouge Park will host programming near Brennan Pools Wednesdays: 4-8 pm Fridays: 4-8 pm Saturdays: 9:30-1 pm
Stay tuned for more programming updates from Come Play Detroit, who manages the programming!
|
|
Detroit Parks Coalition Kicks Off Summer! |
|
Summer Kicks off this month with exciting summer programming supported by the Detroit Parks Coalition! Check out the exciting summer programming scheduled across the city on DPC’s programming calendar. DPC also just released an amazing Pocket Guide to Detroit Parks. It’s going to be an amazing summer of fun in the parks!
|
|
Click here to see the Edison Branch's June events. Edison Branch is now open on Saturdays but closed on Fridays. Hours: Mon. & Wed. 12-8pm, Tues., Thurs., & Sat. 10am-6pm |
|
We would LOVE your help in supporting the future of Rouge Park! |
|
|
| |
|
|
