Get details on all of the great activities happening. as part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park in our Family Guide. Ann Arbor Top of the Park 2023 includes movies, music, kids zone tents, food, Annex activities, retreat fitness classes, and more.
Top of the Park 2023 starts on June 14, 2024. Movies were announced April 12 with KidZone Tents, Annex, and Retreats announced on April 25.
- What is Top of the Park?
- Where is Top of the Park?
- Top of the Park KidZone Tent
- Top of the Park Spectacles
- Top of the Park Retreat
- Top of the Park Ann Arbor Schedule of Performances
- Top of the Park Ann Arbor – 2024 Movie Schedule
- Culinary Row – Top of the Park Food Vendors
- Ann Arbor Summer Festival 2023 – Main Stage Performances
- What to Bring to Top of the Park
- Getting to Top of the Park
What is Top of the Park?
Top of the Park is the free outdoor component of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Top of the Park includes numerous live concerts each evening and movies on Sundays-Thursdays (closed Monday). Each night there is a KidZone tent with activities for kids. There are also food tents for dinner or snacks.
This Top of the Park Kids Guide lists all of the great family friendly activities happening at Top of the Park. Top of the Park is scheduled to start on Friday, June 14, 2024. It is held every night except for Mondays through June 30, 2024
While admission is free, they do ask for a $5/person or $10/family donation each night to help support the event. You can also support the event by shopping the food and merchandise stands.
Events from our Sponsors
Where is Top of the Park?
Top of the Park is held on Ingalls Mall on the University of Michigan campus. The large stage and movies are shown in front of the Rackham Graduate School Building on Washington Street. Washington Street is closed between Fletcher and Thayer for the duration of the festival.
There are folding chairs available in front of the Rackham stage/screen on Washington St. There is also a smaller Grove Stage nestled in the trees on the west side of the Ingalls Mall.
Chairs and tables are also available in the Beer garden. Sections of the beer garden are a great location for seeing either the Rackham stage and the O&W Grove stage.
For the 2022 season, they introduced a large tent with additional seating in the center area of Ingalls Mall. This tent also had several cornhole boards setup. I love the addition of games and shade.
However, most guests bring blankets or their own chairs and sit in the grass on Ingalls Mall.
Top of the Park KidZone Tent
Each night of Top of the Park, a local organization hosts activities in the KidZone Tent. The KidZone tent is typically open from 5-8p. The KidZone tent is located in the center of Ingalls Mall. Last year, it was on the north side of the fountain.
The KidZone Tent faced away from the main stage. This made it a bit quieter area for kids who need a break from the stimulation of the music.
One of my daughter’s favorite KidZone hosts has been the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Whether it was trying out the strings at age 3. or the brass instruments at 12.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s Instrument Petting Zoo is back for 2024 – on June 21.
KidZone Tent Schedule
🎪 June 14 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Storytime with Booksweet🎪 June 15 – Top of the Park Kids Zone: Sustainable Fun & Your Bright Future - A2ZERO
🎪 June 16 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Play & Learn with BandAids - CS Mott Children's Hospital
🎪 June 18 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Goldfish Fishing for Bubbles
🎪 June 19 – Top of the Park Kids Zone: Experience the Love - Meet Certified Therapy Dogs
🎪 June 20 – Top of the Park Kids Zone: Take Me Out to the Ballgame: The History of Negro League Baseball
🎪 June 21 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Instrument Petting Zoo
🎪 June 22 – Top of the Park Kids Zone: Black Men Read Storytime with Booksweet
🎪 June 23 – Top of the Park Kids Zone: Discover the World of STEM
🎪 June 25 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Meet AFC Ann Arbor & Nutmeg
🎪 June 26 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - My Future Fund - WISD
🎪 June 27 – Top of the Park Kids Zone: Zero-Waste Zone- UM Campus of Sustainability
🎪 June 28 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Computer Science for Early Elementary Kids - Books, Songs & Activities with Julie Darling
🎪 June 29 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Mud Painting - Apple Playschools
🎪 June 30 – Top of the Park Kids Zone - Cool Collages - Riverside Arts Center
Top of the Park Spectacles
David Zinn & Sidewalk Chalk at Top of the Park
David Zinn, Ann Arbor’s premier chalk artist, will be decorating the sidewalks at Top of the Park several nights.
Sunday, June 16 is Sidewalk Chalk Day. Come join in chalking the sidewalks of Top of the Park.
Or, visit on select nights to see David Zinn’s creations take shape. He’ll be out working on Friday, June 21, Sunday, June 23, Tuesday, June 25, Friday, June 28, & Sunday, June 30.
I love visiting for Top of the Park Spectacles. This year Cirque Kikasse brings their acrobatics to opening weekend!
Cirque Kikasse’s Santé
Cirque Kikasse will bering thrills & chills to opening weekend with shows each night. This dynamic circus features extreme acrobatics and breathtakng ballances on an extraordinary food truck – that serves up treats after each show.
| Date/Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 💙🆓 | 06/14/2024 8:15pm | Circue Kikasse's SANTÉ! at Top of the Park, Ann Arbor Michigan |
| 💙🆓 | 06/15/2024 8:15pm | Circue Kikasse's SANTÉ! at Top of the Park, Ann Arbor Michigan |
| 💙🆓 | 06/16/2024 8:00pm | Circue Kikasse's SANTÉ! at Top of the Park, Ann Arbor Michigan |
Top of the Park Retreat
Top of the Park kicks off each night with a wellness/fitness activity like yoga, martial arts, and more. While Retreat is not a kid-centric program, they are welcome to join in. Retreat activities happen on the Power Center Lawn at 5:30p.
Top of the Park Ann Arbor Schedule of Performances
The big draw of Top of the Park is the nightly musical performances. There are two stages setup at Top of the Park. The larger stage is in front of Rackham and is the main stage for Top of the Park. The Acoustic Stage is setup in the Grove near the Bell Tower.
Music typically starts at 5p on the Grove Stage and at 7p on the Rackham Stage. 2024 Musical acts have not yet been announced.
Top of the Park Ann Arbor – 2024 Movie Schedule
Top of the Park Movies by Moonlight take place on Tuesday-Thursday nights during Top of the Park. There is also a movie on the closing Sunday (June 30).
Movies by Moonlight start earlier this year! They start at 9:30p except the closing movie (Barbie) which still starts at 10p. However, unlike past years there is only one Sunday night movie. Sundays used to feature family movies. The movies are a lot of fun and there are some great movie options this year. Check out the 2024 Movie Lineup and get all your questions about Top of the Park Movies answered.
Culinary Row – Top of the Park Food Vendors
Culinary Row is part of many of our visits to Top the Park. It has food booths and food trucks offering everything from drinks to dinner to dessert mostly from local vendors. The Culinary Row vendors help to support Top of the Park. Attendees are encouraged to support the vendors instead of bringing their own food.
As of April 25, they still list the 2023 food vendors. Last year, my husband walked by the day before they opened to get the list of food vendors.
The 2023 Food vendors were:
- Slow’s Barbecue Truck
- Bao Boys
- Joe’s Pizza
- Desi Ruchulu
- Chela’s
- Michigan Creamery
- Oasis Mediterranean Grill
- Sweetwaters Cafe
- Sugar Shack
- Beverages
* Desi Ruchulu is the new name of Hut-Kay Fusion, a longtime Top of the Park Culinary Row vendor.
If you want full options for dinner, we highly recommend arriving early. Bao Boys ran out of their popular baos early last year – before 6:30p on some days, By 7p, they only had their 2 vegetarian options available. (My daughter and I both enjoyed the vegetarian Bao Mi).
Alcoholic beverages are served in the beer garden to the left when looking at the stage under the trees. Kids are allowed in the beer garden.
There are picnic tables across from the culinary row vendors and tables and chairs in the beer garden.
Ann Arbor Summer Festival 2023 – Main Stage Performances
Ann Arbor Summer Festival Main Stage Performances are ticketed performances. This year’s Main Stage Shows are mostly at Lydia Mendelssohn Theater.
- June 15 at 3:30p – The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (silent film with live score, part of Cinetopia Film Festival)
- June 16 at 3:30p – The Fabulous Fleischer cartoons (silent film with live score, part of Cinetopia Film Festival)
- June 17 at 7:30p – Gregory Alan Isakov with Special Guest Mon Rovîa (Hill Auditorium)
- June 22 at 4 & 7p – REFLEX – Unraveling 4,000 Years of Juggling
- June 23 at 4 & 7p – REFLEX – Unraveling 4,000 Years of Juggling
What to Bring to Top of the Park
You don’t need to bring anything to Top of the Park. But, you can bring chairs or a blanket. If you have younger kids, a wagon is helpful. It can carry your blanket, water bottles, and kids who don’t want to walk.
If you visit in early evening, you may want sun screen. If you plan to stay later in the evening, you may want a sweatshirt and/or long pants to stay warm.
2022 was the first time we had an issue with mosquitos at Top of the Park. We suggest bringing bug spray just in case this year.
Many of the Top of the Park culinary row vendors have mobile credit card machines so you won’t need cash. However, Cash is helpful for a few things. You can make a donation to Ann Arbor Summer Festival volunteers. Or, you can send the kids with cash to buy their own food/drinks.
Getting to Top of the Park
Biking, walking and the bus are great options for getting to Top of the Park if you live close enough. We usually drive to Top of the Park since we don’t live near downtown.
My husband works at UM and has a blue parking pass. We will often use that to park in the Fletcher Parking Structure. Without the pass, there is often a $5 parking fee. The Thayer lot also has a $5 parking fee for non-pass holders.
Many other UM Blue lots offer free parking after 5 or 6p. We have also parked at the Ann Structure which offers metered visitor parking and is a blue lot. It is a little further, but can be worth saving the $5 in parking. UM Parking maps can be found on their parking and transportation website.
How can I find out what is going on this weekend through the rest of the summer? The dates offered above stop on July 2nd.
Thank you!
Top of the Park is part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and only ran through July 2nd. You can find all upcoming activities on our Events Calendar. We send out a weekend roundup to our newsletter subscribers on Thursdays and publish it to the website 12 hours later. Your best bets for finding information are subscribing to our newsletter or following us on Facebook.