Neighborhood Hot Spot
The Congregation is a café and community space offering a calendar packed with a diverse array of events.
MARCIA PILLICIOTTI, a resident of the Boston Edison and Atkinson neighborhoods, has been a regular visitor to The Congregation and its wide array of community events since it opened in March 2020. She offers tours of the neighborhoods, with the final stop always being lunch at the former New St. James AME Church—now a vibrant café serving coffee, pastries, cocktails and small bites.
Her guests consistently admire the ambiance of the space, both indoors and outdoors, including an expansive deck and garden area. She eagerly anticipates shopping at the summer farmers market and enjoys attending the music concerts as a fun way to dance without staying out until dawn. Additionally, Pilliciotti has even graced the stage with her stand-up comedy at a few Comedy Nights.
“The Congregation is a wonderful community gathering place that we didn’t even know we needed,” Pillicotti says. “Now that it has been brightening our lives for three years, we can’t imagine our sparkling urban life without it!”
The true essence of these events emerged when the local community embraced The Congregation, 9321 Rosa Parks Blvd., shaping the gatherings into a unique reflection of their collective spirit and energy. Until the summer of 2023, event management rested solely with the operations manager. Then, Bella Brown, now serving as The Congregation’s events coordinator, transitioned from the kitchen to lend her support, gradually assuming leadership and expanding local programming initiatives. Over time, they’ve been able to solidify and grow the team to allow a full calendar of curated events.
“We looked at what we were already doing and thought about how we could improve it, always keeping the community at the forefront of our programming,” Brown explains. “When I started developing more curated programming for our events, drawing on my experience in event planning, I asked our operations manager what kinds of events she preferred, and her answer was, literally, ‘All of them.’ It was liberating and terrifying at the same time!”
Unlike traditional venue operations in the city, The Congregation deliberately steers away from categorizing the events they host, as well as their overall ambiance, into a specific niche. Instead, it aspires to be a versatile space accommodating various events.
“We were very intentional from the beginning,” Brown says. “We didn’t want to be just a music venue, community space, or a place for fitness classes. We wanted to be it all.”
While The Congregation offers space for private events such as weddings and birthdays, the calendar is “predominantly filled with community events rather than private ones,” explains Brown. “Most of our events revolve around nonprofits, fundraising activities, community initiatives, meetings, workshops and fitness classes.”
The calendar offers numerous opportunities for entertainment and engagement. Among them are recurring performance-based events like Comedy Night and Match Made On Stage—a singles dating event held on what was formerly the church altar, occurring every second Friday. Furthermore, every third Friday features a free open mic night in collaboration with Power In Poetry Experience of Detroit (PIPED), while every fourth Friday is dedicated to a drag-themed event.
Additionally, community initiative-driven events are held in various spaces at The Congregation, offering activities such as live music, comedy and poetry writing workshops; grief support groups; and donation-based yoga and fitness classes on Saturday mornings. The Congregation also partners with The Phoenix, a national sober active community, to host Sober Karaoke.
Brown says The Congregation aims to welcome all kinds of events.
“Say someone wants to come in and host a small knitting group. We work to fit them in, and given enough time, we’ll even help them get the word out to the neighborhood and post online. We attempt to make this space for everyone.”
With summer on the horizon, The Congregation is gearing up to host its outdoor farmers market, set to kick off on June 5 and take place every Wednesday throughout the season from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. In case of rain, the market relocates to the basement of The Congregation. Among the lineup of local vendors are Crain Street Garden, Back 40 Farms and ROI Urban Farms, the latter managing the garden at The Congregation. They will be joined by various other vendors and local makers, creating a lively atmosphere. In 2024, attendees can also enjoy The Farmers Market Jam, a free open-mic-style jam session. The market accepts SNAP, EBT and Fair Food Network’s Double Up Bucks, ensuring accessibility for all.
“For me and my business, The Congregation’s farmers market was a great place to showcase my items to a new range of individuals,” says Jonathan Peregrino of JP Makes and Bakes, which is opening as a brick-and-mortar. “Many that I met there now follow me and have supported me through my other pop-ups. And the baking and food community that’s a part of The Congregation and the market have been so supportive of one another and even telling their own customers to go check out myself and other vendors for particular items.”
Following the farmers market, The Congregation kicks off its House Night on June 6. In 2020, amidst more limited operations, local DJs approached the team and initiated a live-stream DJ night. Its popularity soared, leading to the hosting of a socially distanced event on the deck, marking one of The Congregation’s earliest events. The tradition continues annually, with attendance growing each year. This year, the event will take place on a specially built stage, accompanied by food trucks parked just beyond the garden. A satellite bar will be positioned within the garden, drawing crowds by the hundreds for an evening of music, dancing and community bonding.
For those interested in hosting events at The Congregation, further information is available via the website’s inquiry form or by contacting events@thecongregationdetroit.com.
Courtney Burk is a writer whose work primarily focuses on the hospitality industry across Metro Detroit. Being a restaurant kid, she found her love of storytelling through food and the narratives of those within the industry. When she’s not writing, she can be found in the garden, working on new projects with her husband and enjoying the Great Lakes with her rescue mutts. Visit yeahnoforsure.co to check out her work.
