Entertainment In Ann Arbor During Your Study Break - Krisjanuardi Aditomo

Being named the best college town in the US doesn’t mean that Ann Arbor is only for studying and not for fun. Even though it’s not really a big city, you can always find a way to entertain yourself when in the city. These are several recommendations of entertainment around Ann Arbor that you can enjoy for your study break!

1. Cinema

Who doesn’t like movies? There are several choices of cinema if you want to go watch a movie. If you want to watch the latest blockbuster movies, you can go either to Goodrich Quality 16 or Rave Cinemas Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX. Rave Cinemas is bigger and better compare to Quality 16, but it is farther since it is located in Ypsilanti. Both are reachable by AATA bus (if you want to use cheaper transportation mode). There are also cinemas in downtown in Ann Arbor, Michigan Theater and State Theater. Both are in walking distance from central campus. These are historical cinemas and usually used for movie exhibition and playing indie films. Michigan Theater is sometimes also used for concerts.  

2. Concerts

From orchestra to university a cappella group, there are a number of concerts that you can attend in Ann Arbor throughout the year. In some occasions, you can even enjoy the concert for free! For orchestras, mostly they play in Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan’s great concert hall which the acoustics have been widely praised. How do we find the schedule of all these concerts? Facebook Events page is one good source, of course. You can also look at the season schedule in University of Michigan’s University Musical Society website.    

3. Performing arts

There are also other forms of performing arts that you can enjoy in Ann Arbor, such as dance performance, theatrical play, and drama musical. You can find the list of the performances also in the University Musical Society (UMS) website. These performances listed in UMS website usually come from outside of Ann Arbor. But, Ann Arbor also has its own performing art group called Young People’s Theater (YPT). It’s a non-profit children’s performing art group, which usually plays dramas, comedies and musicals. I watched their performance once, playing Shrek the Musical, and it was so good!

4. Cultural show

One amazing thing about University of Michigan is that there are lots of international students who come from wide variety of countries, and hence a variety of international student associations. These international student associations usually hold cultural shows annually  to introduce their culture to the society of University of Michigan and also Ann Arbor. Some of the cultural shows that I have been to are Thai Night (hosted by Thai Student Association), Annual Persian Cultural Show (hosted by Persian Student Association), and Annual Diwali Celebration (hosted by Indian Student Association). It’s a great opportunity to learn about other country’s culture while taking a break from your study!

Entertainment around Ann Arbor is not limited to those mentioned above, of course. There are other ways to entertain yourself when in the city, such as playing laser tag, bowling, and karaoke. Make the most of your time here in Ann Arbor by occasionally taking break from your study and

have some fun!

Written by Krisjanuardi Aditomo

International Center Summer Orientation Peer Adviser

Country of Origin: Indonesia

Master of Public Policy