Detroit Homecoming

Expats: Are you home for the holidays? This winter, Michigan Central is hosting a Winter Market, featuring local artisans, food vendors, and festive activities. 🎁 Shop unique, locally-made goods. 🍴 Savor delicious food from Detroit's best vendors. 🎶 Enjoy live music and community spirit. If you missed Homecoming 2024, don't miss the opportunity to see the transformation for yourself. What else is on your home for the holidays to-do list? #DetroitHomecoming #MichiganCentral #WinterMarket #Detroit #SupportLocal

Changes at Detroit Homecoming Detroit Homecoming has been a transformative experience – for Detroit, for the nearly 1,000 “expats” who have attended since 2014 and re-engaged in the city they love and for the folks who created the initiative. It remains THE highlight of my long career at Crain Communications. I was proud to take the initial idea floated by retired FORTUNE publisher Jim Hayes and bring it to life – with the help of generous funding from area foundations and companies, the support of Crain Communications and the Crain family and the magnificent event production support of Colleen Robar, APR Robar. I served as Director for 10 years, working closely with Coileen during that entire time – even when she was dialing in from Singapore or Shanghai (her family moved with her husband Dan’s career at General Motors.) Colleen has been part of the fabric of Detroit since we met professionally – and as neighbors in Detroit's West Village and Indian Village – in 1989. She also worked at Crain fulltime for a number of years before launching her firm, Robar PR, which has handled clients ranging from automotive heavyweights to small Detroit retailers. And she has worked on Homecoming year-round. She even brought in her daughter Hannah Robar to help; Hannah has been a whiz at social media, sponsor fulfilment and more.   But new people are taking on our roles. This is predicated in large part by my retirement from Crain on Jan. 1, 2024. Clare Pfeiffer is now officially Director of Detroit Homecoming. She leads a team of creative Crain’s Detroit Business team members who will make it all happen: Samantha Flowers and Hannah Wong in events and Bernie Barnes-Munk in sponsorship development. The team is already working on bringing the 12th edition to life, Sept. 17-19, 2025. I’m sure it will be a terrific experience.   Part of the “magic” of Homecoming has been our ability to support the ideas and goals of our alumni by making introductions and connections. That will continue through Clare and her team. Clare can be reached at clare.pfeiffer@crain.com. I will continue to advise the team Clare leads.   I thank all the sponsors, the alumni and the dozens of boots-on-the-ground partners and vendors who worked on Homecoming as a passion project – not just another job. But mostly I thank Colleen. She IS the secret sauce. She is unflappable and handles myriad details seamlessly. It has been a joy to work with her for this passion project we shared. She is simply remarkable.   I look forward to watching Detroit Homecoming continue to grow and engage new “expats” in ways to support Detroit. The city still needs investment – in education and in neighborhoods. Expats can be a big part of finding ways to strengthen both. Can’t wait to see what’s next.   Happy holidays to all.   Mary Kramer, Co-Founder, Detroit Homecoming

Huge news coming out of Newlab at Michigan Central! The Gilbert Family Foundation is giving Black Tech Saturdays a $1.25 million grant to expand the work it’s doing to inform and connect Black founders, startup entrepreneurs and those interested in tech. Hundreds of Detroiters meet twice a month at Newlab at Michigan Central to network, learn, pitch ideas and build the future right here in Detroit. The grant will not only allow Black Tech Saturdays to continue its efforts, but also to expand, including its first pitch competition. Black Tech Saturdays was founded by Johnnie Turnage and Alexa Turnage in March 2023, and has already drawn more than 15,000 people. The Turnages also are working to bring Black Tech Saturdays to other cities across the country. Congratulations to the Turnages and the Black Tech Saturdays family, and thank you to the Gilbert Family Foundation for supporting Detroit’s tech ecosystem. Photo: Heart of the City Photography for Black Tech Saturdays

Believers can help Detroit rise, according to today’s The New York Times! Thanks for believing in this great Midwestern city. #reconnect #reinvest

Big sports news! Detroit has been selected to host the NCAA Men's Final Four in 2027 at Ford Field, followed by the NCAA Men's Basketball Regional in 2028 at Little Caesars Arena. LCA in March 2028 will also host the Big Ten Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, marking the first time that tournament will take place in Detroit. #ncaa #basketball #BigTen #hoops

Darren Riley and JustAir were part of Detroit Homecoming’s Six Cool Companies just 10 days ago. Give them a vote in this exciting competition. #detroit

We wanted to share Charisma Holly's opening night poem that painted such a vivid picture of Detroit’s history and where it is — or could be — heading. Holly is a spoken-word artist and a senior at the Detroit Edison Public School Academy, where she participates in InsideOut Literary Arts Citywide Poets after-school program. Read it below: https://lnkd.in/eS_jbVQh

Check out this extended conversation with our Detroit Homecoming expats with Devin Scillian. Thanks to Michael Scherer, Keir Worthy®, Emily T Gail for always being amazing ambassadors for Detroit no matter where they are!

What a week for Detroit Homecoming XI! A huge thank you to everyone who made this event a success, from the inspiring speakers to the passionate expat attendees. From insightful discussions on Detroit's growth and development to the vibrant cultural moments that showcased the city's creative energy, this week has been a reminder of the power of community and collaboration. We are proud to be part of Detroit's bright future!

What a day! Day One of Detroit Homecoming was one for the books. We started the day off with our Real Estate Forum with panelists talking about the most important trends and projects in Detroit today. Our expats then visited the 44th floor of the Hudson's Detroit site, Greatwater Opportunity Capital LLC Homes, Pope Francis Center, and a modular home showcase in North Corktown. We then had a magical opening dinner at Library Street Collective's The Shepherd on the east side. We were inspired by live music, poetry from InsideOut Literary Arts' Charisma Holly, and strolling through the beautiful grounds. Day Two is already proving to be another great day! 😉