Cue the opening number of Fiddler on the Roof. There’s a fair bit of tradition in this issue.
First, let’s work up a healthy sweat. Mark Kurlyandchik pays a visit to the Schvitz, a nondescript building on a forlorn stretch in Detroit’s North End where the Old World custom of a Russian-style banya survives.
Then Martina Guzman raises a glass to heritage from another part of the world. For 25 years, the Lopez family has run a successful Southwest Detroit tire shop. But they also maintain ties to their Mexican homeland. See how they produce tequila from agave grown on their ancestral property.
And what good would a Fiddler on the Roof reference be without giving a nod to an old-school matchmaker? We chat with one who’s been getting recent nibbles from a few millenials.
But we’re not totally wed to tradition. We also visit a thoroughly modern researcher looking into online dating, plus we take some gorgeous wedding dresses on a photo shoot in a nontraditional setting.
While we’re on the topic of marriage, here’s another reason to celebrate last summer’s historic Supreme Court ruling: A recent study from UCLA’s Williams Institute estimates that more than 7,300 same-sex couples in Michigan could tie the knot over the next three years. Wedding arrangement and tourism spending could pump as much as $53.2 million into the state’s economy.
Anticipating an increase in attendance, the annual same-sex wedding expo sponsored by Between The Lines is moving to larger digs — the MotorCity Casino Hotel. Their 2016 Ultimate LGBT Wedding and Anniversary Expo on March 20 will likely draw around 125 vendors hoping to get a slice of that growing market.
Nothing like a little tradition-busting to spice up the local economy!
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