Drove up from West Bloomfield to catch my favorite comedian, Ali Siddiq a few weeks ago. Loved…read moreeverything about the experience. Because I arrived early, I was able to park for free on the street a couple blocks away. The venue itself was very well maintained and very clean. Every staff person was friendly and helpful. Even the process for the meet and greet afterwards was done in an orderly fashion. Even the ticket prices were very affordable. I would highly recommend making the short trip. It's definitely worth it.

The Capitol Theatre is one of the city's most unique and intriguing buildings, rich in colorful…read moreFlint history. Unfortunately, it's fallen on some hard times over the years and has been open for events intermittently over the last few years. There is hope, however, for this beautiful old landmark to shine once again. There are plans for reinvestment into the Capitol Theatre, although over the years, there have been numerous stalled attempts at redevelopment and renewal. It's still gorgeous and the interior, while fading a little bit each passing year, still shows what this Art Deco era theatre was like back in its heyday. The Will Ferrell fllm, "Semi-Pro," was shot on location here about a decade ago. I have fond memories of going to a few concerts here before it closed when I was in high school. It was in a state of decline then, but it was still something to be seen. Shortly before it closed, there were attempts at improvements and renovations, and the Captiol Cafe (a cute little coffee shop) was open late nights upstairs, past the winding, spiral staircase. We used to hang out up there after shows on the weekend back when I was still in high school. Sadly missed. Any longtime Flint native should have some memories of the Captiol Theatre at some point.

(AKA Buckham Gallery). A pretty interesting art gallery. The space is nice and is located a little…read moreoff the beaten path. Buckham regularly hosts Second Friday Art Walk receptions, along with the other local galleries downtown, like GFAC. Sometimes they host spoken word or poetry readings or, on rare occasion, an interpretive dance recital. It's really a great space for showcasing local art talent and, as one of the city's non-profits, they manage to do a lot with a little- no small feat in this day and age, and particularly in this city. It's a testament to the changing times in Flint and our city's dedication to both promoting and preserving the arts downtown. Whenever I attend one of their Art Walk receptions, I always run into a number of Flint-town regulars that I know from around our colorful downtown landscape. They serve appetizers and beer and wine at their receptions, so donations are always welcome to help defray costs, but it is not something that is pushed. Great art, great scene, great people. Some of the art exhibitions here will often be a bit quirkier than those at GFAC, but it's the ingenuity and independent spirit that drives this gallery. Once, my husband and I saw a Twinkie-themed art installation project here. Now that's entertaining!

Buckham hosts some of the more unique art shows in town. You know, the type of art with a little…read moremore "flavor" to it. To put it mildly, it's not your Grandma's quilting exhibition. The crowd at Buckham is filled with eccentric, free-spirited, creative types. I've seen the most unusual art shows here, but most have actually been very entertaining. Lots of upcycled "dumpster" art along with more mainstream photography and paintings. It's always surprising. The art is thought-provoking and gets people talking and that's what art is supposed to do- get people discussing it and looking at things in a different light. It's always fun to see everyone crowding around talking about the fusing of art, politics and commerce during art walk with a glass of wine in hand. Admission is free. Patrons may rent the space out for private events, too.

The UM-Flint theatre department stages professionally-produced productions all year, from dance…read morerecitals to plays and musicals. I've seen many productions mounted on the UM-Flint stage over the years, like Equus, Noises Off, Little Shop of Horrors, and the Ash Girl, just to name a few. I've never been disappointed. The tiny "black box" theatre at the rear of the regular theatre is also a unique spot for one-act performances, experimental performance art and for theatre students to conduct classes and dramatic readings. The acoustics, lighting and sound are always high quality and seats are comfortable as well. Ticket prices are cheap (often as low as $5 for theatrical productions, a little higher for dance performances) and alumni receive comped/reduced tickets for performances throughout the year thanks to UM's Alumni Association. Open to the general public.

Community Theater, reviving downtown Flint. I have been a season ticket holder for a number of…read moreyears and enjoy the shows greatly. Plus dinner at the Masonic! Yum.

I'm doing this review a little late...sorry! I get emails though from them and pretty sure nothing…read morehas changed just yet in the last few months as far as displays go. I was there December 30, 2022 for the first time in the new place and boy were we amazed! So glad they finally finished getting it done. Going to the one in the mall in Burton wasn't cutting it anymore the older my step-son was getting. He is 10 now. Taking him to the new place, he LOVED IT! So did we!! Pretty sure we were there over 2 hours.....could've spent more time there but we caught a show at the planetarium so we had to be there on time. Will review that next. There was a lot of hands-on activities, and it was busy when we went, so I'm sure holiday breaks will always be busy. It's spread out pretty good though and if you need a break to sit, there's a large room for coloring and doing crafty things. A lot of kids were enjoying that. The huge waterfall feature with a river(?) was a HUGE hit. Tons of kids around that and they even have some rain jackets or something like that for little kids to put on as you can get very wet from this activity. There's also playscape's on different levels that had a learning twist to it. They made a neighborhood-yes, a whole neighborhood! You can go in a market, a post office, different places to learn about for young ones especially. The place is big with areas to grow and they do a-lot of events, summer camps, plenty to do here if your close enough to be involved. The car area was very spread out-I'm wondering what they will add to that if anything down the road. I have never had any problems with any staff that work for Sloan, they are always friendly and knowledgeable. They have raised their prices from what it was a year ago, but I believe this is a great addition to the area and they will use the money wisely as they grow. It's nice that you can walk around on this street to the planetarium or even the art gallery across the street. Good job!

What's not to love about the Flint Cultural Center?…read more Home to the Flint Institute of Arts, Applewood/Mott Estate, Whiting Auditorium, Sloan Museum, Longway Planetarium, Buick Research Gallery, Flint Public Library, Flint Youth Theatre, Flint Institute of Music/MacArthur Recital Hall, Flint Symphony Orchestra, Flint School of Performing Arts, Whaley House and more, the cultural center in downtown Flint is a hidden gem. If you want to soak up some culture in the city, then look no further. This little niche arts community, situated between the College Cultural and East Village neighborhoods, has more than its share of cultural happenings going on throughout the year. I love everything about the cultural center, from its many free or low-cost festivals hosted throughout the year, namely the annual tree lighting near Applewood every December and the Sloan Auto Fair and the Flint Art Fair during the summer, to productions at the Whiting, like the Nutcracker, FSO performances, Holiday Pops, etc, and free lectures, foreign films and exhibitions at the FIA. There's always something for everyone of all ages. On several occasions during the fall and winter, the MacArthur Recital Hall even plays host to free classical music concerts, based on first-come, first-served basis. These intimate concertos are super nice for families or students trying to stretch a buck in a city often plagued by money woes. These days, the doors to Applewood Estate have been thrown open for tourists at no cost! Yep, free tours of the estate and grounds for all ages throughout the summer and fall. Most events at the FIA are free or low-cost, including "Free Saturdays" sponsored by Huntington Bank, which allows for free admission to the museum's temporary Hodge Gallery exhibitions (admission to the rest of the museum's exhibitions is always free). Recently, Sloan held its Titanic exhibition, which proved so popular that it was extended by many months to accommodate the number of visitors flocking to it. The area also plays host to food and wine tastings, beer tap takeovers, and fundraisers. The money goes to charity and it's fun to participate, sample the wares and give to a good cause at the same time. Some of the nicest events in the city take place on the grounds of the cultural center, which I think is actually nicer than similar cultural center areas in other, larger cities. If you've never visited the grounds of the Flint Cultural Center, then I think you probably don't know what you're missing. The area always looks impressive and is incredibly well-maintained. Sometimes, it's hard to imagine this fantastic little area is located in Flint. It's like its own little "cultural slice of heaven." It's sort of like it's a different city, indeed, free of the more blight and crime issues that people complain about in the city. Another plus? Parking in the cultural center is free, unless you're using valet parking for events, of course. Essentially, I'd say the cultural center has been somewhat of a boon to the community for years and is a bright spot in an otherwise not so-happy town. For both people of means and cash-strapped families and students, as well as everyone in between, there are fun things to do here that fit any budget. Even the museum and symphony tickets aren't that expensive and student tickets are super cheap. Other events are outright free to the public. You can't beat free, right? I just attended the local Christmas tree lighting ceremony this year as part of the city's Holiday Walk. It was amazing, with all of the trees lit up/decorated for the holidays and all. On top of that, the recent performance of the Nutcracker this year was top-notch, as usual. For a town that has garnered such a bad reputation, and deservedly so for a litany of reasons, there are still fun, even low-cost cultural activities for the family to be had and most of those involve the Flint Cultural Center, a rare gem to be found, no matter which way you slice it. Seriously, it's pretty easy to bag on this city, with all of its issues (blight, crime, poverty, lead water, etc), but the downtown cultural center is a bright spot, one that seems almost like a carved-out little niche tucked away for locals to run back to every once in awhile as a sort of "artistic reprieve" from the rest of the city and its outlying areas.

2015 Bikes on the Bricks was a family-friendly, annual event with a ride into Downtown Flint on…read moreSeptember 11, 12 and 13. This was a fun event for spending the afternoon supporting a great cause. I love checking out all the bikes and it is a cool place to people watch. There were over 10,000 motorcycles in the show, scores of participants in the police skills competition from several different agencies, dozens of vendors, a police escorted ride, and tens of thousands of spectators like me.

Great art museum in flint featuring top quality contemporary, classic, and modern art!…read more I was really impressed with the featured show as well as works from the permanent collection. They have art from different parts of the world as well... and its grouped by region.. and in some cases art movements. Very happy i got to check it out before my trip back home! An added bonus is that there is free admission on Saturdays!

I've been meaning to check out this art museum for a while, and finally had the chance to make it…read moreup here to see what all the excitement's about. Let me tell you, it was totally worth it! While it's no DIA, it actually is super cool. For starters, every Saturday is free admission thanks to Huntington Bank. If you don't come here on a Saturday, that's fine, admissions only like $10 which is super cool. Staff here was friendly and helpful, and we did the whole museum in about an hour and a half. They have plenty of cool artwork here and there's LOTS to see and do. What we loved about it was the different styles of art, and it wasn't just painting. Glass sculptures, a beautiful horse made out of wood, and a library! The library was cool but we didn't go in and check out any books. They also have a QR audio guide if you want additional info about the specific piece of art that you're viewing. Lots of modern art along with historic art from several hundred years ago. They also have a glass blowing section where you can watch artists make glass art forms and they have a person giving descriptions of what their doing and why. We watched for about 15 minutes and really enjoyed the experience. Worth watching and checking out. You don't get to see glass blowing all that often, so that was a lot of fun as well. There's a gift shop and a cafe here, which had a nice variety of products. We weren't hungry so we didn't eat anything especially since had lunch immediately before coming here. I would have stopped to have a coffee if I wanted, but we were not needing coffee or snacks so we passed. Art museums are always worth the trip and if you want a wonderful experience come check this place out. It's also immediately next door to the planetarium, so you can easily walk next door (as long as the weather is cooperative) and check that out as well. It's also across the street from the Sloan Museum but I think their still closed for remodeling from what I understand. Overall a really great day trip to come up and do. Easy to find and a lot of good fun for all!

It is not worth it for the money. You pay a general cost for the regular museum which could use…read moresome help as it is crowded in the children's hands on area and lackluster in the other areas. Then you have to pay extra for the special exhibit which is not noted on their website. For 4 adults and a 6 year old it was over $100 for a lack luster museum. Would rather spend my money in Detroit or Grand Rapids.

While up here last December, I discovered this gem while visiting the Art Museum directly across…read morethe street. It was closed for renovations and I wasn't able to visit at the time, so I made a point of stopping in while in the area. This seems to be a family friendly museum with a large kids area for them to explore. There's also a large area of Flint's history with logging, automotive, General Motors and cars. Also, I didn't have to pay since I wasn't a Genesee county resident? Otherwise I think it's $12 to get in if you are. The car exhibit is fabulous to look at. It's pretty much General Motors since it was a major Flint employer for many years. Overall I didn't spend more than a half an hour here cruising through the place. I thought there would be more, but there wasn't. I was hoping to have spent at least an hour but couldn't pull it off. No, I didn't read every single sign because not everything here appeals to me, but it is a good spot to learn and expand your horizons at.

We went on a date night to see the movie Weapons in IMAX and the facility was clean and well…read moremaintained. The movie pretty much sucked but the staff were great and helpful. The theatre was really warm and it was humid that day but it was still good to get out and actually do something together besides work and no play.

Had to go to someone in maintenance to start our movie last night. Not sure how long we would have…read morewaited if they weren't notified that the movie was already 10 minutes late starting. Just a blank screen. The guy was apologetic and went to the background and got it started. Women's Restroom was discussing. See video. They said at the desk that there has been record low attendance lately. Hmmmm... i wonder why?&$)?& Not in a hurry to return.