Mark your Calendar for the 2009 St. Mary's Polish Festival: The Nation's Largest High School Fair

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The St. Mary's 37th Annual Polish Festival will be held throughout Memorial Day Weekend on the campus of the historical Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory in Orchard Lake, Michigan.

The St. Mary’s Polish Country Fair is the nation’s largest high school fair. Originated in 1972, this Memorial Day event is an annual tradition for hundreds of Detroit-area families and attracts upward of 110,000 people.

In conjunction with Mid-America Shows, the amusement ride partner of the Polish Country Fair, the event offers 50 carnival rides for all ages. The Carnival Midway is second in size only to the Michigan State Fair.

Due to its amazing success last year, The Polish Country Fair will feature again this year the Crazy Mouse Spinning Roller Coaster - an 80 ft.-high roller coaster!

Polish food is center stage at the St. Mary’s Polish Country Fair. The Polish Combo Meal is a great selection of Polish favorites including a variety of pierogi, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa and sour kraut.

Fair patrons consumed over 20,000 pierogi (cheese, potato, mushroom or sauerkraut filled dumplings) at last year’s festival!

Bozek Market is the official pierogi sponsor and will supply an estimated 25,000 Polish Harvest brand pierogi for this year’s Fair.

FUN FOR ALL AGES

Ride the Rides! 50 rides -- including the only spinning Roller Coaster in Michigan.
Expansive Kidzone and fun crafts for the kids.
Play Games & Win Prizes on the Carnival Midway
Indulge in a Variety of Great Foods Including the Authentic Polish Combo Meal
Strike it Rich in the OLSM Raffle – Win $10,000!
Try Your luck in the Vegas and Bingo Tents
Dance the Night Away to Live Music or Just Enjoy the Bands – Rock & Roll, Jazz, Easy Listening and Country
Shop Local Crafters and vendors

GREAT FOOD: AUTHENTIC POLISH & AMERICAN FAVORITES

Authentic Polish food including pierogi, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa and sauerkraut.
All-American hamburgers, corn dogs, hot dogs, French fries, cotton candy, popcorn, candy apples, elephant ears, snow cones, ice cream, baked goods and much more.
A Fresh, hot pancake breakfast will be served in the food tent right after Sunday Mass at 9 a.m. on the Fairgrounds.
Thirsty: Enjoy soda-pop, smoothies, snow-cones, beer and wine. Powers Distributors (Molson & Coors) is the official Beer Sponsor of the Polish Country Fair.

Ride-All-Day Passes are $22 at the Fair or $19 if purchased in advance at Meijer, the official Polish Country Fair Midway Sponsor. Admittance is free. Parking is $7.00.

Fair Hours

Memorial Day Weekend, Friday May 22nd – Monday May 25th 2009.

Friday, May 22 - 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 23 - 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 24 - 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Monday, May 25 - 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.


Vegas Hours

Friday, Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Monday 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.


Location

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s is located at 3535 Indian Trail in Orchard Lake, Michigan, at the intersection of Orchard Lake and Commerce Roads.

For a Complete Listing of Fair Events and Entertainment Visit:

www.stmaryspolishcountryfair.com or call the Fair Information Line at (248) 706-6775

Andiamo Champions Club Opening The Weekend of the 2009 NCAA Championships

Joe Vicari, President and CEO of Andiamo Restaurant Group, has announced the opening of the Andiamo Champions Club on April 3, 4, 5, and 6th, 2009 during the NCAA Championships.

The Club will be open on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Noon-2am and on the 6th from 3pm-2am.

Mike Nowinski, general manager of Andiamo Riverfront, said, “The Andiamo Champions Club, in partnership with Bacardi, Budweiser, and Coca Cola will become the perfect headquarters for food and beverages as guests enjoy the Big Dance across the street, a free concert series with national recording artists on the Detroit Riverfront.”

The Andiamo Champions Club will provide complimentary admission with live entertainment. There will be nightly drink specials and a bar menu. And to make sure that sports fans don’t miss the action, there will be live HD broadcasts of the NCAA Tournament.

The Andiamo Champions Club will be located at Beaubien Place next to the Renaissance Center, the site of the former Asian Village.

For additional information please call 313-567-6700 or check the website at http://www.andiamoitalia.com/.

Growing IT firm Secure-24 Inc. building $5 million data center in Plymouth Township

Sven Gustafson

Michigan Business Review

Southfield-based IT firm Secure-24 Inc. is building a $5 million state-of-the-art data center in Plymouth Township, capitalizing on what the company says is a trend by companies to save money by outsourcing the hosting of business-critical applications.

The new center is slated to open in March in a 16,609 square-foot facility in the Metro West Industrial Park near Sheldon Road and M-14.

The building, which is undergoing extensive interior renovations, will include a data center with servers, offices, conference space and a command center for customers.

"We're anticipating (investing) $10 million over the course of the next couple of years," said Cheryl O'Brien, marketing manager.

While the data center - the company's fourth - will not house a large number of new employees, Secure-24 has seen steady growth since its founding in 2001.

The company appeared on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing, privately held companies in the U.S. in both 2007 and 2008. The latter list placed it as the fastest-growing firm in Michigan with a growth rate of more than 1,400 percent.

The company, which has 105 employees, finished its most recent fiscal year with $11.8 million in revenue. It expects its growth to continue in 2009.

"What we're expecting to do is to add high-end technical jobs," including network and application specialists and database administrators, O'Brien said. "These are high-end jobs and we hire locally. And all of our people, aside from a couple sales offices on the East Coast, all these people work in Michigan."

Secure-24 targets its managed hosting, disaster recovery and managed services to mostly middle-market companies of roughly $25 million-$1 billion in revenue. It hosts and manages critical enterprise resource planning software such as Oracle, SAP and QAD.

By outsourcing those services, companies avoid the need to build their own data centers and can instead focus their IT efforts on improving products or services, O'Brien said. Secure-24 also helps customers in financial, health care, government agencies and automotive industries deal with compliance issues that arise with regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and the Health Information Portability and Accounting Act.

"We secure the infrastructure for them," O'Brien said. "That helps them meet that compliance. That's huge. That's just getting more and more complex all the time."

The design of the new facility, which was pushed by CEO Matthias Horch and Farmington Hills-based Biddison Architecture + Design, focuses on energy efficiency and is a departure from the company's other data centers.

The facility, which is being constructed by Royal Oak-based Ronnisch Construction Group, will feature a custom-designed cooling management system centering on an exaggerated raised floor. That allows for more precise control over cold-air flow, and it includes a system to keep hot air emitted by servers from re-circulating, O'Brien said.

The facility will also feature next-generation server and data storage technology, such as servers with adaptive cooling, 91-percent efficient server power supplies and blade technology that boost the efficiency of servers while decreasing their physical size.

It also will rely on virtualization technology, which partitions one physical computer server into multiple "virtual" servers to allow the server to run several operating systems and applications simultaneously. That helps boost server capacity, drive down energy usage and reduce the need for hardware, ultimately lowering costs for customers, O'Brien said.

The township welcomed the new facility and worked with Secure-24 to navigate zoning changes necessitated by the presence of backup generators on the site, said Richard Reaume, Plymouth Township supervisor.

"It's not a great number of jobs, but they're the right kind of jobs, they're the high-tech information jobs that Michigan needs," he said.

$86 million film studio planned for former MGM Grand casino

Bill Shea

Crain's Detroit

The vacant Detroit building formerly used as MGM Grand’s temporary casino will be transformed this year into an $86 million Hollywood-style digital animation and visual effects studio directly employing more than 400 people.

The Detroit Center Studios is a partnership between Wonderstruck Studios L.L.C. owned by film and video game deal-maker Michelle Richards, a Detroit native, and Los Angeles-based real estate developers SHM Partners.

The state today awarded the project a 12-year, $16.9 million Michigan Economic Growth Authority tax credit and an $11.7 million infrastructure credit under the state’s new film incentive laws.

Detroit also is considering property tax abatements. The deal calls for the studio to begin operation this year, with 413 direct and 287 indirect jobs. Terms and financing were not released. The site is owned by MGM, but it’s unclear if the film studio will buy or lease the facility, which will include sound stages, offices, screening rooms, a commissary, editing bays and other film infrastructure.

“It will be everything a filmmaker needs to come to Michigan and be well taken care of,” Richards said, adding that the project expects to use “every square inch” of the MGM site.

MGM bought and extensively renovated an old 75,000-square-foot Internal Revenue Service building along the Lodge Freeway to house its temporary casino until the new gaming facility opened in October 2007.

The film facility is being modeled on Los Angeles Center Studios, a SHM Partners project that turned an old Unocal headquarters into a modern studio, she said. “It’s a very similar model, where you take a building not in use with similar infrastructure and some land that works just well enough,” she said.

The Detroit studio will be used for Wonderstruck’s digital animation and graphics work and for outside projects that need film production facilities. The effort also will include a workforce training program aimed at engineers, artists and others already familiar with 3-D software applications, Richards said.

The studio also will bring in veteran Hollywood professionals with experience at Dreamworks, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney, she added.

Richards said she was involved in the worldwide marketing and distribution of the popular “Guitar Hero” video games, and a number of straight-to-video animated features.

Not involved in the effort is Richards’ husband John, who is head of worldwide creative for Warner Home Entertainment. She declined to name the other principles, but said none at this point are from Michigan.

About a dozen other sites were considered by settling on the MGM property, she said, without naming any of the locations. “We felt like most of them would take a long time to bring to market,” she said.

Ford Puts Its Best Face Forward

Maria Panaritis
www.philly.com

Talk about putting a positive spin on a bleak story line.

The man in charge of marketing Ford Motor Co.'s sedans and crossover utility vehicles to consumers across North America - Michael Crowley - says his company is ready to rumble.

That's because, unlike its domestic competitors, Ford is way better off.

Crowley was the only Detroit guy on hand at the Convention Center to begin the annual Philadelphia International Auto Show with a can-do news conference.

Instead of dwelling in the dumps and harping on the bad news that is hitting the U.S. auto industry with numbing frequency these days, Crowley and his company made a statement of strength.

"Ford is the best-positioned to prosper - of our domestic automakers," Crowley said. Ford is the only one of the Detroit Big Three to have declined taxpayer loans to stay in business, even though it supports government assistance for its competitors.

"We're in the best financial position, we're funding our plan, we've got the best leadership we've ever had with [chief executive officer] Alan Mulally, a clear vision," said Crowley, seated among a dense display of shiny new wheels on the show floor.

"We believe we're on the right path," Crowley said. "Ford's in the best position to win."

"We're here in a big way because we have something to say," said Steve Randall, Ford's sales manager for the Philadelphia region.

The 2010 Taurus, the new Ford Fusion, the new Mustang Shelby, the high-mileage Ford Focus, the F-150 pickup truck - Randall pointed to them like a proud father.

"We have the products that people want," he said.

Birmingham's Restaurant Week offers great deals on meals

Jay M. Grossman

ECCENTRIC STAFF WRITER

If Forest Grill aims to present itself as an American bistro with a flair for fine French cuisine, Birmingham Toast wants to be known for Taco Tuesday.

"You can't walk in here, it's so busy," chef Ron Buechs said while toying with a cup of coffee during a break in the action.

"We have a DJ spinning Latino music ... we have two-dollar tacos ... we make our salsa and guacamole from scratch that day. It's phenomenal."

Cozy booths, bright red vinyl seats, paper napkins, assorted clutter and a stream of wallpaper wrap their way around the interior of Birmingham Toast. Owners Thom and Regan Bloom hope to replicate the success they enjoy with the original Toast in Ferndale.

So far, they're succeeding.

White linen napkins and table cloths rule the day at Forest Grill. The upscale restaurant offers an exquisite choice of freshly prepared meals, from Dover sole to loin of lamb. It's the brainchild of Brian Polcyn, the celebrated proprietor of the popular Five Lakes Grill in Milford,
"We have extremely technically driven cuisine that we want to share with the people at reasonable prices," chef Dave Gilbert said. "We don't have fifty-dollar entrees on the menu like some of the other restaurants do. We're not a steakhouse ... we're unique."

The two places are newcomers to Birmingham's Restaurant Week, Feb. 1-6, in which 15 participating restaurants offer three-course meals at bargain prices. The Principal Shopping District sponsors the event.

Gilbert, 34, grew up in Milford. He learned his craft at age 13, working in local diners before attending the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. He then honed his skills in kitchens throughout the south of France, Spain and other parts of Europe.

He then spent four years running the Rugby Grille in the Townsend Hotel until he decided to join forces with Polcyn.

The location of Forest Grill, next to a series of residential sidestreets on the east side of Woodward Avenue, is worth noting. Nearly all the other restaurants in Birmingham, including Toast, are located downtown on the west side of Woodward.

"One of the most crucial elements to this restaurant is that we're not on a busy street," Gilbert said about the location. "You're almost in a little oasis in a neighborhood. You could be in Paris or Barcelona... it's that same feel."

Buechs, 28, grew up in Canton. He graduated from the Johnson & Wales School of Culinary Arts in 2005 and then worked at restaurants from New York to Charlotte. He was cooking at Andiamo's in downtown Royal Oak when the Blooms recruited him.

He joined Birmingham Toast in December. Already he plans to stir things up with a new menu in February that concentrates on seasonal Michigan dishes.

Like Gilbert, he started cooking at a young age.

"I'm the youngest of five and I have an identical twin at that," Buechs said with a broad smile. "My mom has a picture of me and my twin brother standing on a stool and flipping flapjacks on the stove when we were 5."

Additional Facts

Participating

Now in its fourth year, Birmingham Restaurant Week offers a three-course $15 lunch and a three-course $25 dinner. The event runs Feb. 1-6.

Here's a list of participating restaurant:

• 220 Restaurant, 220 E. Merrill, (248) 645-2150.
• Big Rock Chop House, 245 S. Eton, (248) 647-7774.
• Chen Chow Brasserie (dinner only) 260 N. Old Woodward, (248) 594-2469.
• Elie's Mediterranean Cuisine, 263 Pierce, (248) 647-2420.
• Fleming's Prime Steakhouse (dinner only) 323 N. Old Woodward, (248) 723-0134.
• Forest Grill (lunch only) 735 Forest, (248) 258-9400.n Forte, 201 S. Old Woodward, (248) 594-7300.
• Max & Erma's, 250 E. Merrill, (248) 258-1188.
• Mitchell's Fish Market, 117 Willits, (248) 646-3663.
• Peabody's, 34965 Woodward, (248) 644-5222.n Phoenicia, 588 S. Old Woodward, (248) 644-3122.
• Rugby Grille, (lunch only) 100 Townsend, (248) 642-5999.
• Salvatore Scallopini. 505 N. Old Woodward, (248) 644-8977.
• Streetside Seafood, 273 Pierce, (248) 645-9123.
• Birmingham Toast, 203 Pierce, (248) 258-6278.

D-scene: Jan. 28-Feb. 3

http://detroit.metromix.com/

Happy hour at the PalaceIf the idea of catching a glimpse of Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace or Detroit’s newest bad boy Allen Iverson isn’t enough to get you to the Palace a little early, how about $1 hot dogs and $2 off draft beer?

On Friday, when the Pistons battle the Boston Celtics, food and drink specials will be available from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and will include $1 hot dogs, $2 off draft beer at the concessions stands and $3 draft beers in the Old No. 7 Club inside the Palace Grille, the Canadian Club Terrace (above the East Entrance) and the Red Bull Bar (in the Comcast Pavilion just inside the North Entrance).

The Red Bull Bar will also feature hand-carved roast beef and turkey for sandwiches“Not only are we trying to build awareness of the unusually early start time of 7 p.m. …for games against two top teams but we want to encourage all fans to come out early and get the most bang for their bucks,” says Palace Sports and Entertainment President and CEO Tom Wilson in a press release.The first 10,000 fans who enter the Palace will receive a free mini-basketball hoop courtesy of Esurance.

5:30-6:30 p.m. Friday, the Palace, 5 Championship Dr., Auburn Hills, 248.377.0100.
BBQ and Beer You ride a bus getting chauffeured around to area barbecue joints (while enjoying samples of course) and end the day washing it all down with drafts from local breweries. Sounds like heaven, but it could be your reality if you book a seat on the BBQ and Beer tour this Saturday.

Teaming up with the Night Move bus (a 30-passenger bus that currently goes from Royal Oak to Ferndale to Detroit and back Friday and Saturday nights), chef-guided Taste-full Tours will introduce metro Detroiters to well-known eateries and little-known gems via local-and-themed tours.

“We want people to make connections with these businesses so they feel comfortable going back themselves,” says Laura Romito , co-owner of Taste-full Tours. “In this economy, the thing that’s going to keep people out there and buying stuff is personal connections.”

The tours will showcase area restaurants and bars, and cooking demos on the bus will add another element to the experience.

“Chris (Night Move owner) and I went on their test run tour, and it was very cool,” says Jennifer Harlan, Night Move marketing director. “We ate, learned and bought tons of great stuff. It was just a really unique and fun experience. I’m a huge fan of the concept.”

The BBQ and Beer tour will include three American-style barbecue places, including Lazybones Smokehouse, a Korean barbeque place and Black Lotus in Clawson.

All tours will depart from and return to the corner of 6th and Lafayette streets in downtown Royal Oak (adjacent to the parking structure) unless otherwise noted.

For more information, or to book a tour visit http://www.taste-fulltours.com/.

11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, $60 per person.

Eden turns 2

Judging by its success the last couple of years, Eden Nightclub has nothing to fear when it comes to the terrible twos.

This Saturday, the Ferndale hotspot will celebrate its second anniversary with special guest and world-renown electric violinist Rachel Grace from Amsterdam who will be performing with the talented DJ Jenny LaFemme.

Getting to be one of the most recognized clubs in Ferndale doesn’t come without a bit of history. Once Cobalt, Posh emerged in 2003 before Eden came to fruition in 2006.

“I think it’s the look and feel inside of the club,” said Eden co-owner Vlad Mirkovich about Eden’s popularity over the last two years. “We wanted to create a kind of exclusive-looking place, but we don’t want people to feel intimidated.”

Ladies are free before 11:30 p.m.

10 p.m. Saturday, Eden, 22061 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 248.541.7674.

Year of the Ox

Though the official start of Chinese New Year was Jan. 26, one of Troy’s most prominent Nu-Asian eateries is kicking off its celebration a little later with a two-day party filled with traditional Asian events, food and music.

Mon Jin Lau, Troy’s not-so-secret sushi lounge and Wednesday-night party spot, has hosted an annual Chinese New Year party to “ward off evil spirits and bless the next year,” since it opened about 40 years ago, says May Sue Chin, who runs the restaurant with her family, including her sons Bryan and Brandon.

For those not of Asian descent, MJL’s Chinese New Year is “a great night for them entertainment wise and to share a great piece of history,” says Bryan Chin. “It’s one of Mon Jin Lau’s biggest events.”

A 4-course dinner leads Tuesday’s celebrations followed by magicians, fortune tellers, a lion dance, Asian martial arts and firecracker show. Reservations must be confirmed by cash or credit card and all ticket sales (which include gratuity and tax) are final.

The following day, in conjunction with Shanghai Wednesday, DJs Matt A, Tom T and percussionist Bruce Cobb will bring the sounds as guests celebrate the Year of the Ox.

7 p.m. Tuesday, Mon Jin Lau, 1515 E. Maple Rd., Troy, 248.689.2332. $89.

8 p.m. Wednesday, Mon Jin Lau, 1515 E. Maple Rd., Troy, 248.689.2332. $10 (free with Tuesday dinner reservation).