Flint, MI—Flint kicked off the summer weather with a city-wide celebration that included PorchFest and First Friday Sound and Vision.

Event-goers gathered in the Carriage Town neighborhood for PorchFest, an event put on by the What’s Up Downtown Project on June 4, 2021, where musicians and performers transformed porches into stages along West First Avenue and Mason Street in downtown Flint.

The event also featured local vendors including artists, tarot card readers, poets, entrepreneurs, authors, and chefs.

Across the Flint River in Brush Alley, local artist Pauly M. Everett and the What’s Up Downtown Project also hosted the Flint Underground Presents: First Friday Sound and Vision event. The event featured an outdoor art gallery where attendees were presented with local artists’ displays, custom light fixtures, live music, and drinks provided by Cork on Saginaw.

First Friday will return to Brush Alley on Friday, July 2, 2021, with a new set of activities and entertainment.

The band LEROY performs on the porch of 414 Mason Ave. at PorchFest in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. LEROY is a self titled “Genre-Blending Groove Band based out of the Greater Flint Area, specializing in their own brand of Funk, Reggae, Blues and Bluegrass,” members said.   (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Flint artist Venus Blu, 27, of VenusBlu Art displays and sells her creations and reads tarot cards at her booth at PorchFest in the Carriage Town neighborhood on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Roby Lee, 30, of Flint, sells ice cream during PorchFest in Carriage Town in Flint on June 4, 2021. Lee hosts a podcast called The Roby Horror Picture Show on YouTube covering all things horror, conspiracy, true crime, and pop culture. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Event goers hang out on W. First Avenue during PorchFest on June 4, 2021. Neighbors brought seating into the street for people to watch performances. (Courtesy of Travis James)
Tony Drew Boyd performs on W. First Avenue in Carriage Town during PorchFest on June 4, 2021. (Courtesy of Travis James)
Flint artist and activist Jo Lynell 22, of Flint, wrote personalized poems for event goers at the Poet for Hire section of PorchFest in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
The Magick in Motion Belly Dancers perform on W First Ave during PorchFest in Carriage Town in Flint on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Flint poet Frankie Mcintosh, 22, participates in the Poet for Hire portion of PorchFest in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. (Santiago Ochoa | Flint Beat)
Crowds gathered on W. First Avenue in Carriage Town for PorchFest on June 4, 2021 where musicians were performing live on various porches on W. First Avenue and Mason Street. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Sean Leen play with a drum set during the PorchFest event in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. (Santiago Ochoa | Flint Beat)
Event goers dance to live music on W. First Avenue in Carriage Town during PorchFest on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
PorchFest attendees interact with author Joe Schipani who was promoting his book with Roxanne Rhoades, “Haunted Flint,” on Mason Street during the event June 4, 2021. (Santiago Ochoa | Flint Beat)
Event goers gather for PorchFest in Carriage Town in Flint on June 4, 2021. Musicians played on various porches in the neighborhood and vendors were scattered through the streets. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Twicee performs alongside Jeff Skigh the evening of June 4, 2021 in Carriage Town. Performers and vendors dotted the porches and streets throughout W. First Avenue and Mason Street for PorchFest. (Courtesy of Travis James)
Flint artist Jeff Skigh fist bumps a young fan during his performance at PorchFest in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Twicee performs alongside Jeff Skigh the evening of June 4, 2021 in Carriage Town. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Flint artist Jeff Skigh performs at PorchFest in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. (Courtesy of Travis James)
Twicee (front left), Jeff Skigh (front right), and the band High Definition pose for a photo after their performance at PorchFest in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. (Courtesy of Travis James)
Mildred and Asa Zuccaro of Flint attend PorchFest in Carriage Town on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
The Magick in Motion Belly Dancers troupe perform on W First Ave during PorchFest in Carriage Town in Flint on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
The Flint Underground Presents: Sound and Vision event in Brush Alley on June 4, 2021. (Santiago Ochoa | Flint Beat)
Jenna Bankston of Flint looks at art hung on the walls of Brush Alley in Downtown Flint for the Flint Underground Presents: First Fridays Sound and Vision on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Flint artist Pauly M. Everett’s art on display during the Flint Underground Presents: First Friday Sound and Vision event in Brush Alley in Downtown Flint on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
DJ’s perform at the Flint Underground Presents: First Friday Sound and Vision event on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)
Ximena Kohn, 25, of Flint, dances at the Flint Underground Presents: First Friday Sound and Vision event on June 4, 2021. (KT Kanazawich | Flint Beat)

Santiago Ochoa is Flint Beat's Latinx Community reporter. He is always looking to write about anything Flint or Latinx. He especially enjoys investigative reporting and human-interest stories. A communications...