3rd annual PorchFest to kick off in Flint’s Carriage Town neighborhood

Flint, MI—Flint’s PorchFest event series will return on July 15, starting in the city’s historic Carriage Town neighborhood.

While the series is known for highlighting local talent in a block-party style—think musical acts in front yards, food vendors lining the sidewalk, and artists composing poems and painting murals in-between—Carriage Town organizers have gone the extra mile to showcase the uniqueness of their neighborhood for this year’s iteration.

“The vendors (are) people that live in the neighborhood,” said Derek Dohrman, a Carriage Town resident and one of the event’s organizers.

Dohrman noted the Carriage Town residents behind Flint Candle Company, Smith & Stone Studio, and Recycle Bike Shop and Mobile Repair will all be taking part, as will one of the neighborhood’s storied venues.

“It does include the Arrowhead,” Dohrman said.

The Arrowhead Vets Club is normally a members-only location on Water Street, one of the event’s boundary roads. However, Dohrman said, the club will be opening its doors and hosting performances for the public in conjunction with the neighborhood’s PorchFest event.

“It’s a great bar,” Dohrman added, saying that he’s excited to share it with the entire Flint community.

Including the Arrowhead’s performers, guests to Carriage Town’s PorchFest can expect 14 total musical acts, multiple food trucks, and a 10 to 12-seat “Vietcajun” dinner offering from MaMang Chef Tony Vu.

Tickets for the pop-up were announced on Vu’s social on July 8.

Additionally, fellow Carriage Town resident and PorchFest organizer Kaye Sims said she will be selling her book, The Journey of a Decade, while helping to coordinate many other event highlights, like pop-up poetry, yoga classes, and a “Kids Zone” where the Flint City Bucks will stop by to teach soccer tips.

“I mean, two years ago, we were the only one I think,” Sims said of the growth of PorchFest events in Flint. “And it’s going to look different this time, but I like that it’s different.”

Carriage Town’s PorchFest will be held July 15 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on W. First Ave from Lyon St. to Grand Traverse St. and on Mason St. from Water St. to W. Second Ave.

The Neighborhood Engagement Hub, which is coordinating grant funding for PorchFest, has not yet confirmed future events in the series.

Tom Wyatt, Executive Director of the NEH, said the non-profit anticipates being able to support “up to seven” PorchFest events with funding they received from the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, and they are now working with neighborhood groups who have shown interest in hosting.