Detroit Events and Things to Do Over Labor Day Weekend, 2011

When: 9/2/11 through 9/5/11 (Labor Day Weekend)
Where: Downtown Detroit

The Detroit International Jazz Festival is in its 32nd year, and where better to celebrate the art form that is Jazz than in downtown Detroit? In 2011, the free event will have five stages of continuous entertainment, Saturday-night fireworks, late-night jam sessions, poetry slams, artist collaborations and a kid bop area. Featured artists include The Soul Rebels, Rayse Biggs & Friends, Mandrill, Johnnie Bassett wsg Thornetta Davis, Kevin Eubanks, and The Anthony Wilson Trio -- just to name a few.

When: 9/3/11 through 9/5/11 (Labor Day Weekend)
Where: Downtown Hamtramck

Not to worry, the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival still celebrates all things Polish with a Labor Day Parade at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, polka, a pierogi-eating contest and Polish dancers; but it also includes carnival rides, an art fair, a pub crawl, and live entertainment. Music acts include The Contours, The Misty Blues, Big Daddy Lackowski and the La De Das, Pazman's Super Session, and Danny D – America's best Rod Stewart Tribute act.

When: Labor Day Weekend, 9/2/11 through 9/5/11
Where: Downtown Royal Oak

The 14th Annual Arts, Beats & Eats Festival promises its usual celebration, humanitarian efforts, and multiple stages filled with live entertainment. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Panic at the Disco, Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Bret Michaels, Vince Gill, Psychedelic Furs, George Clinton, The Muggs, The Diablos, Killer Flamingos, and Priscilla Price are just a few of the 250 performances scheduled. There will also be puppet shows and other acts especially for kids, a fine arts show,  environmental displays, and over 70 local restaurants and caterers cooking up great food.

The Michigan State Fair closed permanently in 2009.

The Michigan State Fair is the second oldest state fair in the nation. It began its long run in 1849 and closed permanently in 2009 after a 161-year run. In the beginning, the fair traveled around the state; but Lansing was chosen as its permanent host in 1889. In 1905, community leaders, including Joseph L. Hudson, moved it to the 135-acre site off of Eight Mile in Detroit, where it remained until 2009...Read more about the history of The Michigan State Fair.

When: Weekends from 8/20/11 through 10/2/11
Where: Holly

At Michigan's Renaissance Festival, you get to eat an enormous turkey leg, let loose a cat call to passing crowds, watch a joust, and generally get saucy as you go back in time to the Elizabethan era -- more or less -- and experience life among the peasantry. Permanent buildings help create the illusion of 16th century England; and jugglers, comedians and sword swallowers help set the mood by providing their own unique brand of entertainment. Of course, theme weekends might reflect a slightly different era or culture, such as the Highland Fling, Italian Carnivale, and Buccaneer Beer Fest. Admission is $19.95 an adult / $10.95 a child.