MADISON HEIGHTS — The city of Madison Heights is home to many Asian-American businesses. To celebrate the fact, the city’s Human Relations and Equity Commission is planning a lantern festival where attendees can enjoy authentic Asian food, music and dance.
The free event is called Paradise Eve, and will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 31 near the bandshell at Civic Center Park, 360 W. 13 Mile Road.
The HREC is partnering with Dasian Media and 168 Group, lining up live performers, food vendors and more that fit the theme.
The HREC is also fundraising for the event. Madison Heights City Councilman Quinn Wright serves as the council representative for the HREC. He said sponsors are needed and that sponsorships can be arranged by emailing quinnwright@madison-heights.org.
“We’re looking for sponsors for the lanterns themselves,” Wright said. “We would like the big lanterns, but there might only be the smaller ones, because of the costs of tariffs and shipping.”
He explained that the lanterns are usually made of paper material and vary in size and shape. Attendees will be able to build and customize smaller lanterns with battery-powered lights, which they can place on a stage for all to see. They can then take their lantern home at the end of the evening.
The large lanterns, meanwhile, could reach sizes comparable to a refrigerator or small car, he said. Those would be preassembled by organizers and set up around the venue for ambiance.
As for the live entertainment, there will be a DJ playing K-pop and J-pop hits, as well as traditional Chinese performers. Food and drink will run the gamut of Asian-Pacific culture, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and more.
But the lanterns will likely be the highlight, he said.
“We want ones that the kids can put together so they can familiarize themselves with the culture by making them firsthand,” Wright said. “The plan is to have some space erected where we can display them and share them with the community. There will be several styles, and everyone will have the opportunity to make them their own by coloring them, or the way they assemble them.”
Wright and the HREC also spearheaded the event “Rev’n in the Heights,” which made its debut last year and will return to Civic Center Plaza this year on Sept. 13. That event celebrates culture in another way, bringing people together over their shared love of cars and cooking.
The event features unique and exotic cars lined up in the parking lot. Chefs square off in a juried barbecue competition, while guests enjoy something to eat and drinks from local food trucks.
“It was such a success,” Wright said. “Rather than going in blind and trying to figure it out ourselves, we partnered with local car enthusiasts and small business owners to make it possible. It’s the same idea with this lantern festival, partnering with Dasian Media and 168 Group.”
As for the HREC, its mission remains the same.
“We want to make the city a more inclusive place — not only in its programming, but also in its policy,” Wright said. “To be inclusive means to consider all of our residents with particular needs. This could include making sure our policies are inclusive of their culture, or their disability, or their identity. We want to make sure we’re being intentionally inclusive, and that we’re not being unintentionally exclusive.”
This approach can be seen in an upcoming project by the HREC, where special boards will be installed at local parks. The boards feature illustrations and phrases that help nonverbal or less verbal individuals to express themselves. They can point to the elements of the board to communicate their thoughts and feelings in a way that’s more comfortable for them.
“We’re looking at ways we can be more compliant with (the Americans with Disabilities Act), and also more inclusive with it,” Wright said. “So not just meeting the standard, but going above and beyond. We want to meet the needs of all our citizens.”
Emily Rohrbach is another member of the Madison Heights City Council. She serves as the council alternate for the HREC.
“This lantern festival will bring us all together to celebrate Asian-American culture through food and dance and music and light. People always say, ‘Oh, Madison Heights has my favorite Thai restaurant,’ and ‘Oh, I love the Vietnamese restaurants there.’ So this acknowledges that, and celebrates how we’re an important place for their communities here in southeast Michigan,” Rohrbach said. “It’s really just a very special opportunity for our city.”
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