Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti are more than Michigan Football, although that is one thing that makes living here exciting. We’re more than the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. We have a great community of wonderful and innovative tech companies here such as:

• Accuri Cytometers – a powerful, compact yet inexpensive flow cytometer
• Adaptive Materials – portable solid oxide fuel cells – clean, long lasting portable power

(just to do the A’s)

and wonderful resources, such as Ann Arbor SPARK working to ignite innovation through supporting and growing the community of businesses through talent retention, business acceleration, and business retention, expansion and relocation. We recently listed some of our favorite groups and organizations supporting technology and entrepreneurship. All this activity goes to show that the midwest is a hotbed of creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

Add another great event to the list! Ann Arbor is hosting its very own Startup Weekend June 20-22, 2008.

The weekend will bring together idea people and worker bees, marketing wonks and financial types, designers and developers, business folk and gear heads, web junkies and pragmatic project managers to build a set of new companies. The intense, 54-hour event starts Friday evening, goes all day Saturday and Sunday. The goal of the weekend is to enhance the local community of entrepreneurs, foster some new collaborative endeavors, and get some startups up and started.

Startup weekend is a national movement, with start-up weekend events in cities all around the US. Ann Arbor was picked from a list of cities based on local interest, in a web poll. Some international cities are currently up for votes. The last three startup weekends happened in Boulder, CO, Memphis, TN, and Portland, ME.

Startup Weekend provides a facilitator, Ann Arbor commercial and residential real estate management company McKinley donated the space, and the hard work and ideas will be contributed and fostered by the participants.

Hear ye, hear ye. Inviting all entrepreneurs, entrepreneur wannabes, and those contemplating entrepreneurship to learn more about the logistics, the location, and the yummy goodness happening at Ann Arbor’s Startup Weekend. Get your tickets from the Ann Arbor Startup Weekend website!