As the Director of Washtenaw My Brother’s Keeper (WMBK), Jamall Bufford makes a powerful impression of warmth and conviction. “Everyone sees his heart,” his colleague Justin Harper said. “Jamall is a great person. It is easy to work with him because he is a good listener, a team player, and completely true to his convictions. When someone has those qualities, a lot of great things can happen.”
Posts filed under Local
What's New in the Community: fall 2025
What’s New in the Community: New books from local authors, new businesses, new offerings and practitioners and upcoming events for fall 2025.
Molly Ging: Owner of Ann Arbor's The Little Seedling
As a mother, entrepreneur, and community figure, Molly Ging provides local families with what they need most—support, and the best baby gear available. We sat down to chat about motherhood, philosophy, Ann Arbor, and the tenuous future of small businesses.
Anthropocentric Sound and the Search for Serenity
They are shooting over at the Washtenaw Sportsman’s Club this morning. It’s a half mile away, but it sounds like I’m in the middle of a firefight. Though a mile off, the din of Interstate 94 is ever present like the constant flow of a rushing river with none of the charm. At first periodically, then steadily, cars pass the house. I can hear them coming from well down the two-lane road on which the speed limit is 45 mph but on which many drive much faster. A car passes, then there is a momentary lull, then another goes by. Think of the inexorable splashing of waves against the shore of one of the Great Lakes and you’ll get the rhythm.
Ode to the Arb
When you step through the wrought iron gates along Geddes Boulevard into the hushed shady entrance of Nichols Arboretum, between a wide pea-stone path to the left and a thin deer trail to the right, sits the first bench to welcome you. Benches are placed along the river side, on overlooks, in meadows, along trails, in the Peony gardens, and in countless shaded areas throughout this 128-acre preserve, inviting anyone to rest and take in the grand expanse of nature.
Kindred Conversations with Hilary Nichols--featuring Jonathan Buckman
What does normal even mean?” Jonathan Buckman asked. Buckman is not normal—he is unique and extraordinary by any measure, and that is what makes him such a great therapist, social worker, practitioner, neighbor, and friend. “Jonathan has attained master level accomplishments in so many domains, but you would never guess it if you were meeting him for the first time,” his bandmate, neighbor, and co-conspirator Jeff Gladchun told me. “You couldn’t ask for a better friend than Jonathan. He is one of a kind.”
A Look at Great Lakes Performing Artists Associates: A Champion for Human Connection Through Music
As arts funding dwindles and screens pull audiences away from live experiences, one Ann Arbor nonprofit is quietly transforming the cultural landscape with soul and purpose. For nearly five decades, Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates (GLPAA) has championed real human connection through music.
Cottage Food Businesses in Michigan: Creative Connections and Community
Michigan’s Cottage Food Law allows small businesses to make and sell homemade foods from their home kitchens without cumbersome and expensive commercial licensing or inspections. Goodies like breads, jams, cookies, candies, granola, and more can be sold directly to consumers at farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and fairs. It can be a wonderful way to connect with the community.
Dzanc House ~ You’re in the Right Place
Within a beautiful historic house, nestled in the southside historic district of Ypsilanti, you will find a space for creatives where there are regular events, activities, and gallery exhibitions. Upon approaching the house, one will see writing on the window: Dzanc House, you’re in the right place. This is not only an indicator of having found the correct house, but also a way of communicating to the community at large that there’s a place where they belong. Whether it is for reading, writing, drawing, printmaking, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, performing, or simply absorbing the art—you’re in the right place.
A Traditional Yoga School Hiding in Plain Sight on Main Street: An Interview with Angela Jamison
For the last 15 years, in the early morning between five and eight, the 200 block of South Main Street has filled with yoga practitioners who come and go before the town comes to life. It’s a diverse group, ranging from those in their teens to those in their 80s, across all sorts of life situations and physical capacities. The yoga they practice is tailored to the individual. Depending on the person, the practice might include various physical asanas, breathing techniques, and meditations. What they all have in common is that they’re all part of a school, and a community organization, called Ashtanga Yoga Ann Arbor.
No Matter Where You Go, You Are in a Watershed!
Our Southeast Michigan watersheds are the Huron River, Rouge River, Clinton River, River Raisin, and Ecorse Creek Watersheds. All of these nets of nomadic water empty into the Detroit River (which has its own watershed). Detroit River waters flow into Lake Erie, then travel through the Niagara River merging into Lake Ontario, narrowing again into the St. Lawrence River, and releasing finally into the Atlantic Ocean.
Kindred Conversations with Hilary Nichols: Singer, Bandleader, and Performer Dani Darling
Last summer, as she has every summer since 2018, Dani Darling performed at the Ann Arbor Summer Fest. This time she took to the main stage with her identical triplet sisters as guests to drop into an electrifying harmony like it was their first language—maybe because it was.
What's New in the Community: Spring/Summer 2025
This ongoing column features upcoming events within Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County and surrounding areas’ Body/Mind/Spirit communities, new (during the past year or two) practitioners and holistic businesses, new books written by local/regional authors, new classes, as well as new offerings by established practitioners and holistic businesses.
The Power of Music: Local Music Scene is a Source of Healing and Connection
“Music is inherently an emotional experience, whether while performing it or hearing it. Some people are reached by song lyrics in a way that a sermon could never reach them. Some people are moved by a chord progression or a minor key, even if they have no idea why,” said Katie Geddes. As the Director of the Green Wood Coffee House Music Series since 2000, Geddes has organized hundreds of concerts featuring musicians ranging from local performers to Grammy nominated artists like Sophie B. Hawkins and even the legendary poet and lyricist Rod McKuen.
Local Author Colby Halloran and Her New Book, The Northeast Corner
Colby Halloran was born and raised in Ann Arbor. She studied acting at Wayne State University’s Hilberry Gateway Theater and moved to New York City where she became an actress and playwright. Returning to Ann Arbor in 2006, she wrote about her life experiences. Her first book, The Northeast Corner, chronicles a chapter of her youth growing up in Ann Arbor from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. It was published in October 2024 by the Ann Arbor District Library’s Fifth Avenue Press.
The Magical Community of ConVocation
On February 20 through 23, 2025, ConVocation will celebrate its 30th year as a Michigan convention for magical people. First founded in 1995, ConVocation has been hosted in various hotels around southeastern Michigan before finding its new home in Ypsilanti in 2024. Moira Payne, ConVocation 2025’s Program Chair and President of the Magical Education Council of Ann Arbor, hopes this new home will be permanent.
The Perks of Being a Perky Wallflower — Finding Love Through a Speed Date
Over the buzz of both hops and chatter there is a cow bell. The noise can be a spell-breaker or a tension-reliever depending on who is sitting in front of you. The cowbell means your six minutes have concluded. It’s time to turn to your clipboard of names and scrawl some notes— to quickly decide if the stranger in front of you is worth a seventh minute (or perhaps, even, a second date) before the next date sits down. Welcome to a Perky Wallflower Speed Dating session.
The Michigan Medicinal Herb Supply: The Current State and a Vision for Re-localization
After a long day, you reach for your favorite herbs to make a soothing cup of tea: a spoonful of tulsi, a scoop of chamomile, and a pinch of peppermint…perfect! Just what you need to unwind. The fragrant brew might relax you, but did you ever wonder what went into bringing the herbs to your cup?
The Neutral Zone: A Bright Place for Our Brilliant Young People
We have all seen the brightly painted portico and cheerful murals on the impressive brick building downtown Ann Arbor and wondered, “What is this place?” The Neutral Zone was founded in 1998 by teens, and for teens, with a simple yet profound mission: to create a safe space for youth in Ann Arbor. Simple, maybe, but not static.
Kindred Conversations: Musician Kyler Wilkins and Ki5
The first time I experienced Kyler Wilkins’ music I was mystified. I had to move toward the front of the audience to witness close-up all of the intricate and elegant sounds being amplified from a simple set up on stage. He was playing the Ann Arbor’s SummerFest side stage in June 2022.
