Michigan Stadium vaccines open to all; graduation weekend in A2; Peony Garden a go! 🌸

Happy Friday!

Good news for peony enthusiasts: The Peony Garden at Nichols Arboretum will reopen to the public next month. The famed garden, which features thousands of blooms, was closed to visitors last year due to the pandemic.

“Even so, every visitor to the peony garden will be expected to mask up and follow the well-known distancing guidelines,” Matthaei-Nichols director Tony Kolenic wrote in a newsletter last Friday. He also said that visitors may be limited depending on crowd guidelines issued by the University of Michigan.

Not in Ann Arbor? We’ll be sure to share lots of pictures of the garden on Instagram so it feels like you never left.

Have a great weekend.

- Meredith (@meredith_A4)

What’s been happening:

🏟 Michigan Medicine has opened its COVID vaccine clinic at Michigan Stadium to anyone 16 and up. Here’s how to get a vaccine at the Big House. (A4)

💉 Meanwhile these pop-up vaccine clinics at local schools are taking appointments and will have some walk-in doses available over the next few days. (A4)

✅ The Washtenaw County Health Department announced it will resume administering the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the nationwide pause on the shot was lifted. (A4)

🗣 Several women have come forward alleging that former University of Michigan American Culture lecturer Bruce Conforth sexually assaulted and harassed them while they were students from 2008-2016. (Michigan Daily)

🥕 Food Gatherers has updated its website to include a new “find food” tool for those in need of food assistance in Washtenaw County. (A4)

🌷 Michigan Medicine announced this week the addition of three “recharge rooms” for its employees as burnout continues during the pandemic. (A4)

👩‍💻 This new program helps underrepresented college students get paid internships in Ann Arbor’s tech sector. (Concentrate)

🏙 A new exhibition by U-M that translates research into works of art is on display at these downtown businesses. (A4)

🚜 The city of Ann Arbor led the charge to secure $7.4 million in federal funding for regional land and water conservation. (A4)

🎭 Shakespeare in the Arb has been canceled again due to health concerns during the ongoing pandemic. (A4)

📚 The Family Learning Institute has kicked off its second annual fundraiser/fun run to promote children’s literacy. Here’s how you can participate. (A4)

💔 RIP Reggie. The famed University of Michigan campus corgi has died. Here’s a lovely write-up on the life of the furry celebrity. (MLive)

💩 Strange news of the week: One man in Lodi Township said his neighbor constructed a 250-foot-long wall of cow manure near his property following a dispute. That really stinks. (A4)

🎓 It’s graduation weekend at U-M. See this massive mural undergrads painted for the outgoing seniors (and where you can see it on campus). (A4)

Good to know:

🛍 Speaking of graduation, these local businesses will be offering specials this weekend in honor of the big event. (A4)

🍫 A new decadent chocolate cake launched by a local entrepreneur and the 24th Cheesecakerie is now available (and our readers get a 20% discount). (A4)

🧸️ The owners of Learning Express Toys & Gifts are looking for a buyer to purchase their Ann Arbor and Sylvania, Ohio shops. (A4)

🦖 Attention parents: Registration has opened for University of Michigan Museum of Natural History’s virtual summer camp. (A4)

Feature interview of the week:

“It’s only one hour long and at the end of the class, the participants have each made dinner for their families and have a new technique that they can work into their regular cooking rotation.”

- Ann Arbor-based chef Allison Anastasio on her new “Bite Sized” virtual cooking classes

🎟 Chef Anastasio is giving away two free cooking lessons to A4 subscribers! Respond to this newsletter to enter for your chance to win. 🎟

🗨 Have something to share? Write me anytime at mbruckner@wdiv.com.

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