Summer Spectacular: Family Guide to Top of the Park

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 2025 includes movies, music, kids zone tents, food, Annex activities, retreat fitness classes, and more.

Top of the Park 2025 starts on June 13, 2025. Movies were announced April 3, Spectacles on April 11, and Annex on April 18. We are still waiting for KidZone and performer announcements.

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 13, 2025. It is held every night except for Mondays through June 29, 2025.

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.

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Events from our Sponsors

First Steps Kid Fest Join the fun on May 3

Future Innovators Academy Break Camps Days Off From School

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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.

The large tent in the main viewing area behind the projection booth with cornhole, chairs, and other games was not available for 2025. While the tent was nice, it limited site lines, so I hope they don’t bring it back. Cornhole and Connect 4 games were still available at various locations.

Many 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.

Hopefully they will be back for 2025.

2024 KidZone Tent Schedule

Top of the Park Spectacles

Ann Arbor Summer Festival Top of the Park Spectacles & Attractions

Top of the Park Spectacles are one of the most fun parts of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival! They provide amazing free shows downtown. The 2025 Top of the Park Spectacles were announced on April 11. The Ann Arbor Summer Festival takes place from mid-June through early July. has announced more of their schedule. The […]

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 15 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 Wednesday, June 18, Sunday, June 22, Tuesday, June 24,& Sunday, June 29.

Kif Kif Sisters

The Kif-Kif Sisters, identical twin sisters from Montréal, Canada, have been captivating audiences worldwide since 2007 with their innovative visual shows for both stage and outdoor public spaces. Renowned for their tender yet intelligent humor, their performances resonate with both children and adults alike. Their unique blend of physical theater, circus arts, music, puppetry, and performance art has been showcased over 1,000 times across 20 countries.

Brouhaha

Brouhaha is an immersive outdoor spectacle bursting with rollicking music, dazzling imagery, and the thrill of audience participation! At the center of this riotous romp is the Squonkcordion, an enormous musical instrument powered by behemoth bellows topped with towering tuba bells. At the peak of the performance, Squonk invites the audience to play this foghorn organ, welcoming them to experience the joy of a brass band and the fireworks of community. The show ends with a 30-foot head made of brilliantly colored banners, comically blinking its eyes and shooting smoke out of its ears.

Top of the Park Annex

Top of the Park Annex holds events each night of Top of the Park. Some of the events are family friendly with most being at least teen friendly. Join A2Zero, explore science with WCC, play trivia with AADL, watch the day and night sky with Detroit Obersvatory, and more.

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. As of April 18, they have not yet been announced for 2025.

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. 2025 Musical acts have not yet been announced as of April 18.

Top of the Park Ann Arbor – 2025 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 (Wicked) which still starts at 10p. Sunday night movies return each weekend after being dropped the first two weekends in 2024. Movies by Moonlight are a lot of fun and there are some great movie options this year. Check out the 2025 Movie Lineup and get all your questions about Top of the Park Movies answered.

2025 Top of the Park Movies By Moonlight Lineup

The 2025 Ann Arbor Top of the Park Movie Lineup is out! It has a nice mix of classic movies and newer movies – plenty of which are family-favorites. My family loves attending Top of the Park, particularly when we can meet up with friends. My daughter and I particularly enjoy seeing the movies. On the other […]

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.

The 2024 Food vendors were

• Chela’s (Food Truck)
• Coco Local Grill (Hot Dogs & Sausages)
• Desi Ruchulu Indian Cuisine
• Frita Batidos (Desserts Only)
• Joe’s Pizza
• Michigan Creamery
• Oasis Mediterranean Grill
• Sugar Shack
• Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea
• Beverages

In 2023, Bao Boys was my go-to multiple times but they weren’t there in 2024. I opted for a variety of dinners last year with Desi Ruchulu and Oasis Mediterranean Grill. We will be sure to attend opening weekend to see what the 2025 food vendors are.

We visited on opening night after having dinner at Ashley’s Lobersterfest so we were only looking for dessert. We got dessert from Frita Batidos. The mini churros were large churro balls and priced at $1 each. I also had a coconut Paleta. They liken it to a popsicle, but it was creamy and delicious.

If you want full options for dinner, we highly recommend arriving early. Lines can get long at the prime dinner hours. Popular dishes tend to sell out so eating later in the evening when lines decrease isn’t always a great option.

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 2025 – Main Stage Performances

Ann Arbor Summer Festival Main Stage Performances are ticketed performances. As of April 18, they have not been announced for 2025.

2024 Main Stage Slate:

• 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. But had no issues in 2023 or 2024. 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 or on a bus line..

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.

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