From a New Orleans style brass band, to a Farmington history light show on the side of the iconic Farmington State Savings Bank, to a spirits tasting for the 21+ crowd, Downtown Farmington is the place to be on Friday, September 27.

First up is opening night for the Grand Raven Festival, the kickoff party for a whole month of spooky celebration inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. At 6pm, it's time to strut your stuff! Don your finest raven-themed attire and join in a New Orleans style parade through Downtown Farmington with Gabriel Brass Band, beginning at Riley Park.

Grab dinner or snacks at Heights Brewing, SIPP, or La Pecora Nera on Farmington Road, then head to Dinan Park for the Bicentennial Light Show — an incredible celebration of our city’s history through the use of light and sound, appropriate for all ages. Using 3-D projection mapping technology, Farmington’s own Kresge Award-winning Gabriel Hall (Light Bender Studios) will artistically recreate the arrival of Farmington founder Arthur Power, tracking the city’s past and present — using the historic GLP Financial building as a massive “screen.” See Farmington’s history come to life in giant scale!

The light show will run at 8:30pm and 9:20pm. In between, at 8:50, pop into KickstART Gallery for a presentation on a hundred-year-old Farmington cold case: the Great Bank Robbery of November 1924. Using firsthand accounts reported by the Farmington Enterprise, historian Kathy Bilger will narrate a real-life Farmington hold-up straight from the days of Detroit’s infamous Purple Gang ... in the very building it took place! Come a few minutes early for a special tasting by Lone Light Spirits (coming soon to Downtown Farmington).

Be sure to visit the bicentennial booth onsite and fill out a Postcard To Farmington: whether you’re 9 or 90, we want to hear your favorite things about the city. Several of the postcards will be placed in the Bicentennial Time Capsule, to be buried in Masonic Plaza during the reconstruction this fall; one of them could be yours.

Refreshments will be available for purchase: popcorn from The Civic Theater, sweet treats from Never Forgotten Bakery, plus Heights Brewing will be open until midnight. Farmington Road will be closed down starting at 5:30 for the light show, so bring a chair and sit in the road to watch.

Special thanks to the sponsors whose generosity made the Light Show possible:

-Shining Star Supporters: DTE, Bosch

-Light Show Sponsor: The Dinan Foundation

-Lighting The Past Supporter: The Institute of the MIND

-Thank You, Arthur Supporters: Gotcha Covered, Farmington Smiles