Places: Dreamland Theater

Ypsilanti wants to be the hip artist colony Ann Arbor is too expensive to have. If you read MAKE Magazine or shop at ETSY, then this 100+ year old city is probably what the doctor ordered, and Dreamland Theater is its designated puppet theater-weirdo-alt-local music & artist scene. It's intimate, located downtown and pretty much cooler than anything you'll find outside Detroit. They do puppet shows for kids, audio-visual performances for adults and sell a "Buff Wizard" calendar for those who are hot to see Gandalf's abs ripped out and oiled up. It's the perfect place to mess with your mind before heading out to the bars.