EPIC Change for NEXTGen Detroit’s Premier Annual Fundraiser

An EPIC Night at the Carnival is totally reimagined and ready to wow!

NEXTGen Detroit is dropping the mic and raising a tent for their annual EPIC event — all part of a year-long 10th anniversary celebration that’s proving to be more about changing things up than upholding traditions. An EPIC Night at the Carnival — brought to the community by Sue & Alan J. Kaufman & Family — will take place on November 6 at the new M1 Concourse Event Center in Pontiac.

Traditionally held every spring, except for last year due to COVID-19, EPIC has consistently drawn 500+ young Jewish Detroiters to celebrate and support their community. But with concerns about large gatherings inside, NEXTGen Detroit took this year as an opportunity to reinvent EPIC, and the many innovations mean that even the most seasoned EPIC guests are in for something new.

“The pandemic has made event planning incredibly challenging, but it also has pushed us to think outside the box and reinvent annual events that have run their course,” said Andrew Sherman, EPIC co-chair. “We’ve loved sitting down in a theater for a comedy show for the last eight EPICs, but we’re also ready for something fun and different.” 

Stand-up comedians were the headlining entertainment for all the previous EPIC events, which over the years were held at MGM Casino, The Renaissance Center, The State Theater and most recently The State Savings Bank in Detroit. But this year EPIC has left the theater and is popping up at the M1 Concourse Event Center in the form of an after-dark carnival under an open-air tent that will be large enough for the anticipated 300 guests to enjoy the evening and spread out.

“We’re so excited to be creating An EPIC Night at the Carnival in this new event space and thankful that we can put this together in a COVID-conscious and safe way for our guests,” said Samantha Foon, EPIC co-chair. “We are bringing together the best elements of any carnival — the games and prizes, the characters and entertainment, the excitement in the air, all that great fair food, and of course, we have some surprises up our sleeves.”

In addition to being a highly anticipated night out, EPIC is a chance for young Jewish Detroiters ages 21 to 45 to make a significant impact on their community. Each guest is asked to make a minimum of donation of $100 to the Jewish Federation’s 2022 Annual Campaign to attend. You can get tickets and learn more at jewishdetroit.org/EPIC.