All eventsConcerts, festivals and markets, tonight and this weekend
Annual festivalsJazz, techno, cars and parades: Michigan’s year, festival by festival
Holidays & seasonsPumpkin season, Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, the Fourth
Sports: games & scoresLions, Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers: live scores and trophies
ItinerariesReady-made day plans, stop by stop
Places to exploreMuseums, parks, neighborhoods and icons
Free museum daysFlip the calendar: when museums let you in for free
Metro Detroit mapWhat Metro Detroit is, and what every town is about
The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
RenCen: live trackerThe Renaissance Center’s past, present and future, up to the minute
Gordie Howe BridgeThe new bridge to Canada: live waits, tolls, and yes, you can walk it
ToursBy boat, by bike or on foot, with a local guide
Escape roomsOne hour, one lock and your crew
Plan a meetingVenues, hotels and what’s on in town on your dates
Detroit A–ZFrom limos to chambers of commerce: every business and service in one place
ShoppingDetroit-made brands, markets and shopping streets
Detroit with kidsZoo, science center and rainy-day ideas
Motor City cultureFactories, museums and car events
Wellness & rechargeA riverside sauna, spas, yoga and running trails
My tripYour flights, your events, day by day, with an itemized budget in dollars and your own currency
Plan your tripWhen to come, how to get here, where to sleep: all in one place
Weather & seasonsWhat it’s like right now and month by month
Coming from abroad?Entry, money, phones, power, Canada: what you need to know
TransitBuses, trains and ferries with live departures
Driving in MichiganLicenses, rental cars, the rules and the yellow school bus
Lanes and left exitsKeep right? Here people pass on the right and exit on the left
Road work and potholesOrange barrels, detours, 45 mph: driving Michigan’s work zones
Mile roads: mile zero and 8 MileWhere the city counts from, and which Mile you’re standing on
People MoverThe free elevated loop above downtown
QLINE streetcarThe free streetcar on Woodward Avenue
DTW airportRed or blue terminal? We’ll show you.Your license in MichiganRental carsSpeed limitsMiles, gallons, MPGThe Michigan left and the rulesSchool busesTraffic lights, a Detroit inventionPulled over by policeDrinking and drivingWinter drivingWildlife on the roadGas and parking
Metro Detroit Genesee County City
Vehicle City: birthplace of GM and home of the great sit-down strike
01 / Why it matters
Flint is the Genesee County seat, about 66 miles northwest of Detroit, and it's worth saying plainly: it isn't Metro Detroit in the narrow sense. Flint anchors its own metro area (the Flint MSA covers all of Genesee County) and connects to Detroit only through the wider, nine-county Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor combined statistical area.
You can't tell Detroit's car story without it, though. The carriage town turned auto town was nicknamed Vehicle City; William C. Durant founded General Motors here in 1908; and from December 1936 to February 1937 the 44-day sit-down strike here turned the UAW into a major union and opened the door to unionizing the whole American auto industry.
The decades since have been hard: local GM employment fell from 80,000 in 1978 to under 8,000 by 2010, and the population nearly halved. In April 2014 a state-appointed emergency manager switched the water supply to the Flint River without corrosion control, and lead leaching from old pipes set off a public health crisis. The city went back to the Detroit water system in October 2015, and on May 19, 2025, the EPA lifted its 2016 emergency order after Flint met all of its requirements.
02 / Known for
General Motors, founded by William C. Durant in 1908 and headquartered in Flint until the mid-1920s.
The 1936–1937 sit-down strike, when workers held GM plants for 44 days and the UAW became a major union.
The Vehicle City arches over Saginaw Street: steel arches carried downtown's first electric lights in 1899, and in 1905 one got the "FLINT – VEHICLE CITY" sign, honoring Flint as the world's top producer of horse-drawn carriages.
The 2014–2019 water crisis, which exposed around 100,000 residents to elevated lead levels.
The Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan's second-largest art museum, founded in 1928.
Grand Funk Railroad, the rock band formed in Flint in 1969.
03 / What’s on
Oct 10, 2026, 7:30 PMWhiting Auditorium · The Flint Symphony Orchestra, led by Enrique Diemecke, plays an all-American program on Saturday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m. at Whiting Auditorium in Flint. Van Cliburn gold medalist Haochen Zhang is the soloist in Gershwin's Concerto in F. Tickets start at $28.
Oct 10, 2026, 7:30 PMMI · The Flint Symphony Orchestra, led by Enrique Diemecke, plays an all-American program on Saturday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m., with pianist Haochen Zhang. It streams live from Flint for $16.
Oct 15, 2026, 7:00 PMMott Memorial Building Auditorium · Grammy-nominated violinist and composer Meg Okura blends classical chamber music, jazz and folk and world influences with the AdaMa Quartet. They play the Mott Memorial Building Auditorium, 1401 East Court Street, Room 1130, in Flint on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 7 p.m.. It's donate-what-you-wish, and registration is required.
Oct 16, 2026University of Michigan-Flint Theatre · A man dies quietly in a café, and his cell phone won't stop ringing. An ordinary woman answers it and gets tangled up in his grieving family, his mysterious past and an unexpected romance. Sarah Ruhl's comedy plays the University of Michigan-Flint Theatre, 327 East Kearsley Street in Flint, on Friday, October 16, 2026.
Oct 16, 2026, 7:00 PMMacArthur Recital Hall · Alexander Lee’s “Time” recital is Friday, October 16, 2026, at 7 p.m. at MacArthur Recital Hall in Flint. Solo saxophone and piano works explore grooves, memories, and dreams of time.
Oct 16, 2026, 8:00 PMCapitol Theatre · Who's Bad brings the feel of Michael Jackson's live shows to the Capitol Theatre, 140 East 2nd Street in Flint, on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 8 p.m.. It's not imitation but re-creation, with world-class musicians and dancers fronted by Taalib York's velvety vocals and pinpoint choreography. They've played more than 2,500 shows worldwide.
Oct 17, 2026, 12:00 AMCapitol Theatre · Celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 12 a.m. outside the historic Capitol Theatre on 2nd Street in downtown Flint: inflatables, games, food, giveaways and DJ SicMusiq bringing plenty of maize and blue spirit. Then head inside to watch the Homecoming game on the big screen. It's free, with registration required.
Oct 17, 2026, 7:00 PMMott Memorial Building Auditorium · The Flint Jewish Federation's 14th annual Humanity in Harmony Concert fills the Mott Memorial Building Auditorium, 1401 East Court Street, Room 1130 in Flint, on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 7 p.m.. Grammy-nominated violinist Meg Okura leads the AdaMa Quartet, with guests Mustard's Retreat and Sheldon Low. Tickets are $11 and required.
Oct 21, 2026, 7:00 PMCapitol Theatre · Flint Under the Stars presents The Glam Reaper’s Ball, a Halloween-themed regional drag show, at Flint’s historic Capitol Theatre on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 7 p.m. Check the event page for tickets.
Oct 21, 2026, 7:00 PMCapitol Theatre · Flint Under the Stars throws The Glam Reaper's Ball, a Halloween drag show, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre, 140 East 2nd Street in Flint. Expect some of the region's best performers, wicked comedy, killer lip-syncs and plenty of glitter. Costumes welcome. Pay what you wish; registration required.
Oct 24, 2026, 8:00 PMCapitol Theatre · The Capitol Theatre, 140 East 2nd Street in Flint, goes full gothic on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 8 p.m.: Wandering Lantern Productions hosts a candlelit VIP Vampire Ball from 6 p.m., and Bram Stoker's Dracula screens for everyone at 8 p.m. Film-only tickets are available. The film is rated R.
Nov 2, 2026, 7:00 PMElgood Theatre Lobby · Flint Repertory Theatre's Ghost Light Cabaret Series brings Broadway Rocks to the FIM Elgood Lobby, 1220 East Kearsley Street in Flint, on Monday, November 2, 2026, at 7 p.m.. Curated music, storytelling, cocktails and surprises in 75 minutes with no intermission. Tickets from $27.
04 / Places
Flint Community Players2462 S Ballenger Hwy, Flint, MI 48507
Flint Repertory Theatre1220 E Kearsley St, Flint, MI 48503
Flint Under the Stars140 E 2nd St, Flint, MI
Sherman's Lounge4211 Fenton Rd, Flint, MI 48507
Wellness AIDS Services311 E Court St, Flint, MI 4850205 / What to do
The state's second-largest art museum, in the Flint Cultural Center, with more than 8,000 objects spanning European and American painting and decorative arts.
Official site ↗The hands-on museum that reopened, expanded, on July 16, 2022; its Durant Historic Vehicle Gallery shows rare cars built around Flint, with Longway Planetarium next door.
Official site ↗A year-round public market since 1905 with 50-plus permanent vendors, open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Official site ↗06 / History
Fur trader Jacob Smith founds a trading post at the Grand Traverse of the Flint River.
Flint is incorporated.
William C. Durant founds General Motors, headquartered in Flint.
On December 30 the 44-day sit-down strike at GM's plants begins; it ends on February 11, 1937.
In April the water supply is switched to the Flint River, setting off the water crisis.
On May 19 the EPA lifts its 2016 emergency order.
07 / Born here
08 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Flint city).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −2.4 percent.
