Arts, Beats & Eats Returns to Royal Oak This Weekend

Find out what’s happening at the annual Labor Day weekend celebration of art, music, food, and community.
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arts beats and eats
Photograph courtesy of Eighteen Photography

Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats & Eats presented by Flagstar Bank is returning to the streets of Royal Oak this Labor Day weekend with a new lineup of cultural, environmental, and community initiatives, alongside art displays, musical performances, plenty of food, and both new and returning vendors.

The musical performances at the 26th annual event, will happen across nine stages and includes both local talent and international stars.

Nearly 75 local artists, bands, and ensembles — including songstress Rëdi Choi (Saturday 9:45 p.m.), Jill Jack Band (Friday, 9:45 p.m.), The Wrenfields (Saturday, 8:00 p.m.), Winestoned Cowboys (Saturday, 9:45 p.m), Smoke Jones (Sunday, 8:00 p.m.), R&B/soul musician Apropos (Monday, 6:15 p.m.), Alise King (Monday, 8:00 p.m) along with Sunset BLVD, Kenny Rogers, and Foo Fighters tribute bands. Go here for a full lineup of dates and times of performances.

Returning sponsor Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort will transform the Fifth St. area into a “New York-style Times Square,” complete with a video wall that features scenes from the festival, and is bringing back its Cuisine Machine food truck, which features eats from the casino’s eight restaurants prepared by their top chef.

The fest will also feature tastes from other local restaurants including authentic Mexican flavors from Royal Oak’s Café de Olla, barbecue from House of BBQ, fresh catches from the East Coast offered by Cousin’s Maine Lobster, deserts from For the Love of Cheesecake, Lekker Choco Treats, and Cinnabon, and so much more. You can find a full list of participating restaurants online.

Plus, culinary art students at Baker College, which has a new flagship campus in Royal Oak, have also created a special menu for the festival. These items will be sold at various booths and eateries and $1 from each sale of these items will go to support Open Hands Pantry.

In addition to the music and the food, Arts, Beats & Eats also hosts one of the top art fairs in the country.

The Arts, Beats & Eats Juried Fine Arts Show, once again sponsored by Corewell Health (formerly Beaumont Health), sets up in the south end of the festival and features work from artists across the nation in all kinds of media including ceramics, digital art, drawing, fabric and more.

Kids will also be able to enjoy several activities throughout the weekend, such as performances curated at the Detroit Institute of Arts Kids Stage, free arts and crafts presented by United Way, and a kiddie carnival, which will be running from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday.

The Detroit News Kids zone will also feature their own stage, where a variety of interactive, educational, and fun performances will take place during the weekend. Here is a full list of the Kids entertainment for the festival.

Another returning sponsor, House of Dank, will host pop-up experiences full of live music, entertainment, exclusive merch, and interactive merchandise. This year’s “Dankland” is curated for festival goers 21 and older to unwind and engage with their products.

They’ll also present their partnership with Baker College by introducing interns who have completed one of the three cannabis certificates offered by the college.

But these new and returning offerings are just the start. This year’s Arts, Beats & Eats “will feature an abundance of diverse art and cultural elements, including new collaborations focused on showcasing important and intricate elements of culture, diversity, inclusion and awareness,” according to a press release about the event.

Among these elements is the return of the Culture on 4th area, sponsored by Flagstar Bank. This booth space hosts a collection of BIPOC-owned businesses and artists. Restaurants and vendors setting up shop at Culture on 4th include Pakistani desserts from Love Froyo and popular North African cuisine from Fork in Nigeria. The Flagstar International Stage will feature music from all over the world, such as celtic, reggae, Brazillian, polka, and more. Plus, a mural created by students at the Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design, the first historically Black college/university focused on design in the U.S.

And that’s still not all.

Corewell Health, in collaboration with the Judson Center and Ted Lindsey Foundation Hope Center, will return as the official sponsor of the Arts, Beats and Eats 11th annual Family Days, which allows hundreds of children and adults on the autism spectrum, plus their families, to receive a one-day pass to enjoy festival offerings for free on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2024 Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats & Eats presented by Flagstar Bank will be open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, August 30 through Sunday, Sept. 1, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2.

Like last year, tickets are being sold in advance for $7 online. In person, admission is free before 5 p.m., $12 after 5 p.m. on Friday; and $10 before 3 p.m., $12 after 3 p.m. all other days. Cash and credit cards are accepted.

This year’s sponsors include Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Anheuser Busch,  Baker College, Corewell Health, Detroit Institute of Arts, Flagstar Bank, Jim Beam, Michigan Lottery, Faygo, House of Dank, Oakland Community College, Oakland County, Rip It, Royal Oak DDA, Tito’s Vodka, Kroger, and more.

For more information, visit artsbeatseats.com. Plus, find even more things to do in metro Detroit at hourdetroit.com.

This post has been updated for 2024.