Believe it or not we have a real prehistoric fish in Michigan, and  it’s coming to Belle Isle.

The Belle Isle Aquarium is celebrating the return of sturgeon with a special fundraising event, “Urgin’ for Sturgeon,” on Thursday, Nov. 30 when it will unveil its new Great Lakes sturgeon exhibit. Guests will also enjoy an avant-garde, sturgeon-themed art exhibit.

The exhibit will be open to the public the next day, Friday December 1. That’s a great to show your kids (and yourself) something prehistoric right here in our state.

The concept for this exhibition is the product of a collaboration of fine arts faculty members at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Ryuta Nakajima and Darren Houser.

Nakajima and Houser saw the exhibition as an opportunity to not only organize an exhibition of aesthetic merit, but to also raise awareness for the conservation efforts of this unique prehistoric species of fish. This is the third venue in the United States for this exhibition highlighting reproductions of work from 42 artists throughout the United States.

Guests will be treated to specialty cocktails by Valentine Distilling, an assortment of beer and wine, and a diverse offering of gourmet foods from the Great Lakes region. In addition, guests will be entertained by the live artistic creations of Antonio “Shades” Agee.  “Shades” has racked up a vast catalogue of impressive work by creating custom murals for movies and canvases for the likes of Chrysler, Ford, and Universal Studios.

General admission tickets are $60 or 2 tickets for $100.

VIP admission is $110 and includes an exclusive pre-party in the Aquarium’s rarely seen prohibition-era speakeasy, which is housed in the historic Aquarium’s basement. Decades the Belle Isle Aquarium was used as a hub for bootleggers transporting liquor from Canada to Detroit across the Detroit River.

VIP tickets are not available at the door.

The Belle Isle Aquarium is open to the public 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, year around.

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.belleisleconservancy.org/deeper-dive-sturgeon.

  Antonio “Shades” Agee, belle isle, Belle Isle Aquarium, Darren Houser, Ryuta Nakajima, sturgeon, University of Minnesota Duluth, Urgin’ for Sturgeon, Valentine Distillery