The celebrity-studded inaugural The Coney variety show fundraiser set for Saturday is attracting new donors and funders from outside Detroit to benefit youth arts education.
Born from a conversation during the 2025 Detroit Homecoming event, The Coney will take place on its heels this year, bringing some two dozen celebrities with Michigan ties to at the 2,700-seat Detroit Opera House.
Leaders describe it as “a messy good time with a stacked menu: all the celebs, big-name laughs, music and unforgettable moments you can handle.”
A private welcome party Friday will bring together celebrity guests, community leaders, sponsors and supporters to raise money for direct grants to youth arts education groups in Detroit and a permanent endowment to fund them long into the future.
Detroit native and actor Marc Evan Jackson and Andrew Stein, president and CEO of the Children’s Foundation of Michigan, began talking about the idea for the event during a Homecoming dinner last year. The Coney is modeled after a similar event in Kansas City and “a hang” hosted by a nonprofit in San Francisco to raise funds.
“In essence, this event is about bringing back famous people from Detroit, but this has also been a way … of bringing in resources from outside of the area to support kids in Detroit,” Stein said.
So far, The Coney has raised $2.5 million toward a $3 million goal. Funding includes foundation grants, corporate and individual sponsorships, ticket sales and out-of-state contributions. A third of the major sponsors providing $25,000 and more for the event are from Michigan ties living outside of the state, said Kari Radjewski, director of marketing and communications for the Children’s Foundation.
“We’ve gotten gifts from families that people with ties to Detroit that live in Denver and Chicago and New York and L.A. and other places,” Stein said. “That was a particular interest for some of the foundations.”
The Coney has helped attract interest from people who have never attended Detroit Homecoming but plan to come to Detroit ahead of the fundraising event to check it out this year, Stein said.
If The Coney becomes an annual event like The Big Slick in Kansas City, as planned, the endowment could reach $10 million or more within five to 10 years, he said. At that level it would generate $450,000–$500,000 per year for Detroit youth arts grants.
Jackson, who founded the nonprofit Detroit Creativity Project in 2013 with his wife, metro Detroit native Beth Hagenlocker, to teach students improvisation, told Crain’s in June that The Coney is “deeply personal” to him.
“I’ve seen firsthand what happens when young people are given the space and support to be creative,” he said, pointing to increased confidence in students and more of them finding their voice.
“Those experiences reinforced something I’ve believed for a long time: Arts education doesn’t just shape artists — it helps shape resilient, creative and connected human beings. The Coney is about making sure more Detroit kids have access to those opportunities for generations to come,” Jackson said.
Celebrities scheduled to appear during The Coney with Jackson includeTim Meadows, J.K. Simmons, Sam Richardson, Diona Reasonover, Dave Coulier, Andrea Barber, Toni Trucks, Tony Hawk, Anna Garcia, Amber Ruffin, Amy Phillips, Shane Battier, Larry Joe Campbell, Jodie Sweetin, Andy Richter, Mike Young, Diarra Kilpatrick, Eugene Cordero, Gregory Jbara and Jessy Hodges, Jon Glaser and Vondie Curtis Hall.
Phredley Brown will serve as band director, and John Mason, morning host on KISS 105.9 FM Detroit and the longtime public address announcer for the Detroit Pistons, will emcee the event.
Metro Detroit natives and actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepherd in late August said they had to pull out of the event for contractual reasons but remain active host committee members.
“We heard back from so many people (like Chelsea native Jeff Daniels) saying, ‘I love this. I would love to do something for my hometown. I just can’t this year, but keep me on the list for next year.’”
“All of that, you know, very much gives us the hope that we can make this an annual tradition,” Stein said.
A silent auction open to the public will go live the week before event at TheConeyDetroit.org to raise additional funds. Items up for auction will include:
- Tickets and a meet-and-greet experience at a Renee Elise Goldsberry’s Christmas concert at the Detroit Opera House.
- Autographed items from Tim Allen
- Tickets to Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” in New York City
Additionally, a live auction for attendees of The Coney will offer “Frozen 3″ premier tickets in Los Angeles with Bell and the opportunity to serve as a guest coach with Coulier at a Red Wings alumni game.
Story by: Sherri Welch | Crain’s Detroit Business