All posts by Joanne

Kentwood 50: Registration deadline for Kentwood’s Got Talent coming up quickly

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The registrations deadline for the Kentwood’s Got Talent is only a week away.

 

Those interested in singing, dancing, or making people laugh, need to register by March 3. The event is part of the Kentwood 50th Anniversary celebration, which kicks off on Monday, Feb. 27, with a special City Commission meeting that marks when Kentwood’s first City Commission meeting took place 50 years ago. Registration forms can be found at www.yourkprd.org and may be sent in online through the website or mailed to Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE., Kentwood.

 

The Kentwood’s Got Talent is a talent show with first round auditions set for Thursday, March 9, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the KDL Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, 4950 Breton SE.

 

The contest is open to anyone ages six and up with adults and seniors encouraged to participate. A person may participate in one act, a solo or group. All acts are limited to five minutes. The event is family friendly, so music selection should be appropriate for all audiences. The Talent Committee does reserve the right to refuse materials or acts due to mature content.

 

Complete guideline details are available at www.yourkprd.org.

 

First round winners will be notified and will move on to the finals which will take place during the city’s weekend-long celebration in August. The Kentwood’s Got Talent final round is set for Aug. 11 from 7 – 9 p.m. at Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton SE.

March of Dimes Western Michigan hosts open house Feb. 28

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By Ginger Feldman

 

Local Grand Rapids community members will have the opportunity to learn about the work, mission and events of the March of Dimes Western Michigan Market. A ribbon cutting and open house will be held Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 3:30-7 pm at their new office location, 3001 Orchard Vista Suite 250 in Grand Rapids. All are welcome to attend and learn more about the March of Dimes and their fight to end premature birth.

 

The March of Dimes Western Michigan’s former office space flooded in 2014 causing extensive damage structurally as well as to office furnishings and supplies. The building was eventually sold and the March of Dimes had to leave the space. Thanks to an enormous amount of support from partners in the community the March of Dimes Western Michigan is now settled into their new office space. Northstar Commercial and Steve Millman donated the 1,000 square foot office space, while over $7,000 of office furnishings were donated by UBU. The Fox and the Owl designed and donated building plans, layout, and colors while FASTSIGNS donated all the signage for the new office.

 

The March of Dimes is incredibly grateful for all the support they have received and want a chance to share with the community not only their new space but all the amazing work that’s being done there. Guests will have an opportunity to learn about locally funded programs as well as receive information on the March of Dimes premier fundraising event, March for Babies.

 

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP via email to Executive Director Ginger Feldman or by calling the office at 616.247.6861.

 

About March of Dimes

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For more than 75 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines and breakthroughs. For the latest resources and information, go here.

Government Matters: Huizenga, Stabenow stress critical importance of completing Soo Locks study

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By WKTV Staff

 

In October 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted an analysis of the economic impacts of a 6-month closure of the 49-year old Poe Lock at the Soo Locks complex. DHS concluded that the Poe Lock is the Achilles’ heel of the North American industrial economy and that such an outage would send the United States’ economy into a recession, closing factories and mines, halting auto and appliance production in the U.S. for most of a year and result in the loss of some 11 million jobs across the nation. Later that year, in December 2015, USACE agreed to reevaluate the BCR of upgrading the Soo Locks after acknowledging inaccuracies in its original BCR determination that left the project unable to compete for federal funding.

 

On Feb. 23, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Co-Chair of the House Great Lakes Task Force and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Co-Chair of Senate Great Lakes Task Force, led a bicameral, bipartisan letter to the United States Army Corps of Engineers stressing the importance of completing the study at the Soo Locks in an accurate and timely manner. U.S. Senator Gary Peters and Representatives Jack Bergman, Sander Levin, Fred Upton, Tim Walberg, Dan Kildee, Debbie Dingell, Brenda Lawrence, David Trott, and Paul Mitchell also signed the letter as members of the Senate and House Great Lakes Task Forces.

 

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is currently undertaking an economic reevaluation of a project to build a new navigation lock at the Sault Ste. Marie Locks complex in Michigan,” the lawmakers wrote. “This revaluation is necessary due to erroneous assumptions later acknowledged by USACE in its original economic analysis. We write to ensure that USACE engages stakeholders and considers appropriate transportation alternatives to ensure an accurate benefit-cost ratio (BCR) analysis for the project, which is critically important to our states and the entire country.

 

“We therefore encourage USACE to ensure that the BCR reevaluation of the Soo Locks project is conducted in a manner that is consistent with other navigation lock and dam project evaluations regarding alternate transportation modes, and that every step is taken to expedite the completion of this critically important analysis,” the lawmakers went on to say.

 

The full text of the letter is available online here.

 

Spirit of J.S. Bach to fill Grand Rapids March 5-11

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , ,

 

By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk

 

The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is transformative. It has motivated the work of nearly every great composer to follow in the history of Western Classical music. It continues to inspire those who hear it more than 267 years after Bach’s death. The 11th Grand Rapids Bach Festival, which opens March 5, acknowledges that the music of J.S. Bach not only has staying power, it also has the ability to turn out an audience.

 

“The Grand Rapids Bach Festival was founded to infuse the community with opportunities to discover the works of Johann Sebastian Bach,” said David Lockington, Music Director Laureate of the Grand Rapids Symphony in 2013, following his appointment as the Festival’s director.

 

“We’re thrilled to share the transformational power of Bach’s music in an array of traditional and unexpected settings, said Lockington, who conducts three programs during the festival.

 

The 2017 Grand Rapids Bach Festival returns in March with a week of events celebrating the life and music of the composer whose music represents the pinnacle of the Baroque Era. The biennial festival launched in 1997 by Grand Rapids mezzo soprano Linn Maxell Keller, a singer, actress, organizer, advocate and devotee of the music of Bach. Keller, who died in June 2016, will be remembered during this year’s festival directed by David Lockington.

 

David Lockington, Music Director Laureate

The Grand Rapids Bach Festival, presented by the Grand Rapids Symphony, welcomes guest organist Isabelle Demers and harpsichordist Ian Watson to Grand Rapids and features solos by Grand Rapids Symphony’s concertmaster and violinist James Crawford, principal flutist Christopher Kantner, and principal oboist Ellen Sherman.

 

The culminating concert, titled Joyful Bach: Choral Celebration on March 11, features highlights of several of Bach’s cantatas including “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” from Cantata No. 147.

 

Expect some surprises during the 11th biennial festival. Visitors passing through the Gerald R. Ford International Airport on March 8 will be greeted by the music of J.S. Bach and others performed by the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Woodwind Quintet. Flutist Chris Kantner, oboist Sarah Peterson, clarinetist Suzy Bratton, hornist Erich Peterson and bassoonist Victoria Olson will play light classical music plus music by Bach from 2-5 pm in the Ford Airport’s Grand Hall adjacent to its food court.

 

Many area churches will include the music of Bach in Sunday services on March 5 and March 12.

 

The 2017 Grand Rapids Bach Festival also will remember its founder and champion, Linn Maxwell Keller. Grand Rapids Bach Festival originated in 1997 as a three-day celebration of the music of Bach, organized by Keller, a Grand Rapids resident, who had performed in major Bach festivals nationally and internationally. She engaged German organist, scholar and conductor Karl Hochreither, a noted authority on Bach’s church music, to serve as music director for several of the early festivals.

 

Isabelle Demers

Past guest artists at the Grand Rapids Bach Festival have included Jeannette Sorrell, harpsichordist and musical director of Apollo’s Fire in 2011. But many of the performers have been local musicians.

 

Keller’s vision for the festival included not only performances, but educational opportunities and explorations of Bach’s genius. Despite her loss, the Grand Rapids Bach Festival lives on.

 

“It’s established as long as the people of Grand Rapids want this festival,” Keller told The Grand Rapids Press in 2003. “As long as people are blessed by it and enjoy the music, it looks like we’ll be around for a while.”

 

The 11th biennial celebration of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach features five separate programs over six days in four churches and one museum in Grand Rapids.

 

Here’s the lineup:

The Bach Choral Celebration program will be rebroadcast on May 14, 2017, at 1 p.m. on Blue Lake Public Radio 88.9 FM and 90.3 FM.

Tickets

Tickets are $15 for either the Creative Keyboards concert on March 7 or the Cantatas program on March 9. Students can get tickets for $5.

 

A freewill donation will be collected for the Bach Choral Celebration on March 11.

 

A $25 Bach Pass can be purchased for the entire Grand Rapids Bach Festival, and are available at the GRS ticket office, weekdays 9 am-5 pm at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder Plaza), or by calling 616.454.9451 x 4. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum.)

 

Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.

Michigan band Pop Evil entertains kids at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; plays GR Feb. 25

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By Kelly Taylor, WKTV

 

Michigan band POP EVIL took time out of their tour schedule to visit with some special fans at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® in Memphis, Tennessee recently. The band was invited by the hospital as part of Music Gives to St. Jude Kids, an initiative that mobilizes the music community — artists, fans, corporate partners and sponsors — to join in the fight against childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

 

“Playing for the children of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was a career highlight,” said Pop Evil frontman Leigh Kakaty. “Whenever you can help bring inspiration and positivity to children in need it makes it all worthwhile. Being able to bring smiles to both the kids and their families was humbling and something we hope we can do more of in the future.”

 

The band performed some of their biggest hits like Footsteps and Take It All. Video of each performance can be seen here. Bassist Matt DiRito added, “It has been such an honor to be able to work hand-in-hand with the staff and families at St Jude. Those kids have touched our lives in a way that is so incredibly powerful and different from anything we have experienced in our travels across the world.”

 

Pop Evil was formed in North Muskegon, Michigan in 2001 by Leigh Kakaty. He then added Dave Grahs, Dylan Allison, and Jamie Nummer. Later, guitarist Tony Greve was added as a temporary studio musician for the band but was invited to become a full-time member in early 2007.

 

The band will perform in Grand Rapids on Feb. 25 at the new venue, 20 Monroe Live. Go here to get tickets.

 

Need to make some home repairs? Kent County increases grant funding

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By Lisa LaPlante

 

Residents in need of repairs or home modifications may be eligible for additional funding through a grant available in parts of Kent County. The Board of Commissioners voted this morning to provide an additional $181,689 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for repairs on homes owned by low- to moderate-income families.

 

Kent County currently contracts with Home Repair Services (HRS) to provide home repairs of up to $10,000 for eligible clients outside of the cities of Grand Rapids and Wyoming (which have their own funding components). Those living in Kentwood would be eligible. The Kent County CDBG funds two programs:

*         Minor Home Repair Program: emergency home repairs to single family, owner-occupied homes for very low income homeowners making 80 percent of area median income (i.e. roofs, septic systems, furnaces, etc.);

*         Access Modification Program: modify homes of eligible individuals with mobility impairments in order to improve access and use of the home.

 

“The County partnership with Home Repair Services is vital to many homeowners,” said Jim Saalfeld, Chair of the Kent County Board of Commissioners. “Home repair or modification is often difficult for families living on a fixed budget, especially our most vulnerable elderly residents or those living with disabilities. This funding will assist families with necessary repairs that will also help retain or improve home values.”

 

“Home Repair Services is thrilled and honored to partner again with Kent County to maximize the use of these extra funds,” said HRS Executive Director Joel Ruiter. “We look forward to strengthening additional lower-income and vulnerable homeowners throughout the County. Successful and safe homeownership builds value and results in a stronger more vibrant community for us all.”

 

To learn more about Home Repair Service programs, call 616-241-2601 during business hours or go to www.homerepairservices.org.

Kentwood 50: 16th Annual ‘Taste of Kentwood’ — Bigger, tastier than ever

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Upcoming Events, , , ,
By WKTV Staff

What tickles your tastebuds — Thai? Mexican? Barbecue?

This year, Taste of Kentwood will host more than 15 local restaurants on March 2 at the Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE.

There will be a variety of food including the above-mentioned perennial favorites, Thai, Mexican and barbecue — plus soups, sandwiches and other gastronomical delights. Sample delicious creations from Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Pepping’s South Kentwood, The Candied Yam, Celebration! Cinema South, Daddy Pete’s BBQ, Jet’s Pizza, On the Border, Beta Bars, Bloop Frozen Yogurt, Larues Kitchen & Catering, Taco Bob’s, Zoup! and Mosbyspopcorn.

“Taste of Kentwood is a great way to showcase the variety of restaurants we have in the community and a delicious and wonderful way to bring together our local community with our businesses,” said Mayor Stephen Kepley.

The event is open to the community. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at www.yourkprd.com. Two time slots are available, from 4:30-6 pm. and from 6:30-8 pm.

For questions, please contact City of Kentwood’s Park and Recreation Event Coordinator Laura Barbrick at barbrickl@ci.kentwood.mi.us or 616.656.5272.

On the shelf: New GVSU book highlights the life and art of Mathias J. Alten

Entertainment, , ,

A new publication spotlights the life and artistic works of Mathias J. Alten, who called the city of Grand Rapids his home. Grand Valley State University owns the largest known single public collection of Alten’s works and papers in the world.

 

The book, entitled “Mathias J. Alten: An Evolving Legacy,” is a hard cover monograph that includes color illustrations and scholarly essays exploring Alten’s artistic legacy.

 

Grand Valley’s George and Barbara Gordon Gallery currently displays 96 pieces of Alten’s work. His vast résumé of creations has also been exhibited widely at major American art institutions, and many can be seen in various buildings around Grand Rapids.

 

Stacey Burns, Galleries and Collections program manager, said the book celebrates the ongoing gifts to the university of Alten paintings by individuals from around the U.S., and by lead donors George and Barbara Gordon.

 

“The book demonstrates Grand Valley’s commitment to active scholarship and visual learning,” she said. “The Gordon’s underwrote the production of this book and share in the Art Gallery’s ambition of enriching the quality of life for students and the community through direct engagement with original works of art.”

 

A native of Germany, Alten immigrated to Grand Rapids as a teenager. Often referred to as the “Dean of Michigan Painters,” Alten spent his career painting in Europe and across the U.S., but always returned to Grand Rapids, his professional base of operations and home until his death in 1938.

 

The book will make its public debut during a special community open house Friday, March 3, from 3 – 5 p.m. in the Gordon Gallery, located in Building E of Grand Valley’s DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

 

“We planned the open house to be a respite from winter where educators, students, the regional museum community and the public could visit the gallery and share experiences, ask questions and explore ideas,” said Burns.

 

“Mathias J. Alten: An Evolving Legacy” will be available for purchase at Grand Valley’s Laker Store beginning March 3.

 

To RSVP for the community open house, contact the Art Gallery at (616) 331-2563 or gallery@gvsu.edu. More information can also be found at gvsu.edu/artgallery.

California dreaming — back to the USA

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By Lynn Strough

Travelynn Tales

 

This is the final installment in this year-long journey, at least for WKTV. Lynn is currently wintering in Mexico and deciding where to go next.

 

After 18 months outside the U.S., it was time for a brief return. Leaving Thailand when my six months of visas were up and with the first draft of my book manuscript completed, I made a sweep through California to renew my passport and, more importantly, to see family and friends. In keeping with my backpacker’s budget — this included house- and pet-sitting, a cobbling together of places to stay. Opportunities arose and disappeared per usual on this journey, more chances for a planner like me to keep practicing letting go.

 

Through an amazing synchronicity, an American woman I met via Facebook — a fellow house and pet sitter — offered up a California cat sitting job she had to turn down due to a prior commitment. My first stop for 10 weeks was set in the city of Sacramento caring for Cinco, a 15-year-old cat. Easy — just feed him, clean out his litter box and keep him alive until his owners come home. That was before I knew about the cockroach invasion or the neighborhood gunfight, but that’s another story.

 

Sacramento is California’s capitol and it’s worth a stroll through the Old Town near the dome to learn a bit about American history — about the gold rush and stage coaches and the Wild Wild West. (It’s still a bit wild.)

 

The highlight for me was seeing my daughters after almost two years on the road (one of the downsides of being a nomad on a limited budget is being far away from loved ones). My Michigan daughter was visiting my Los Angeles daughter, and they took the coastal train up to visit me. It was a much too brief but wonderful reunion, including a hike in the Auburn hills.

 

Sacramento reminded me of what it’s like to live in American suburbs, taking daytime walks in neighborhoods virtually abandoned by people off hiding in cubicles at work, a stark contrast to the streets in places like Thailand that are bustling with people no matter what time of day. Empty yards of manicured grass led me to a lush rose-scented garden surrounding the local library, and grocery stores loaded with all of my favorite (and much-missed) foods. Reverse culture-shock set in — people who spoke English, signs and labels I could read, and driving a car once again — the homeowner’s giant old SUV.

 

Several dear friends came to town — too many to name, and it was such a delight to reconnect after being out of the country for so long. When my friend Beth came from Michigan, we got to check out Lake Tahoe for a couple of days. Tahoe has some of the most stunning scenery in California, in fact in the entire U.S. Take a spin around the whole lake in a day and you’ll see fabulous lookouts.

 

My plan was to end up in Napa, a town I’d lived in for several years, and then a housesitting stint in Redwood City, but those opportunities vanished like coastal fog. It’s a little unnerving not knowing where I’m going next, but when I can stop stressing and let curiosity overtake fear, something interesting always comes up. This time it included a pet sit in a luxury condo in San Francisco and another in an apartment with a view in Tiburon, across the bay. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, and my lively charge Loki kept me very busy hiking its famously steep hills.

 

Luckily I had a few hours each afternoon between dog walks to explore on my own — places like the famous Fisherman’s Wharf with barking seals, scents of sour dough bread baking and tastes of Ghirardelli chocolate. And then there’s bustling Chinatown, full of colorful shops displaying all manner of scarves, shoes and jewelry.

 

San Francisco is also home to some of California’s best museums — SFMOMA, the De Young and Legion of Honor art museums, and the fascinating Californian Academy of Sciences where you can view the stars in the planetarium, walk through a tunnel of sea creatures and feel what it’s like to be in a building during an earthquake.

 

There’s Haight Ashbury, full of tie-dye, and fashionable Union Square. In San Francisco, even getting around can be fun with sounds of street cars clanging and clacking up and down the rails. Along with a daily dose of that gorgeous red bridge, I felt at home in California once again.

 

Across the Golden Gate lies Sausalito and the tiny town of Tiburon –my next stop, for the care of a small pup and the real boss of the place, a cat. In a one-bedroom apartment high up on a hill, I enjoyed the most spectacular scenes of the bay in exchange for hanging out with Bea and Mowgli. One thing housesitting allows besides free accommodations is a chance to see how it feels to live in an amazing variety of places. And with kitchens, a chance to save money by cooking at “home”. Even though it’s not my own place, I’ve learned to get outside my comfort zone and make home where I hang my hat.

 

Life in Tiburon was slow, filled with dog walks, writing, visits from more friends and deckside dining, both at seaside and on the apartment’s sky-high deck. The views were mesmerizing in the daytime, at sunset and with glittering gold dust scattered across the horizon at night. It was hard to close my eyes at the end of the day as I didn’t want to miss a moment of such beautiful sights.

 

Angel Island State Park is a short ferry ride away, so I was able to hop over for a day hike. It’s not only a lovely place for a nature fix, but it’s also full of history about the Asian immigrant experience. Sometimes called “the Ellis Island of the West”, it was a detention point for immigrants from China, Japan and India, among other countries. You can tour some of the original buildings.

 

Soon enough, my house sits ended and with new passport in hand — good for 10 more years — I booked a Megabus down to L.A. For the budget-minded traveler, avoiding flights running over $200 oneway from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Megabus is a great alternative ($26 to $46, depending on date and time). True, an overnight ride for eight hours on a sold-out double-decker bus isn’t the most comfortable way to travel, but with more time than money, it’s part of this nomad’s life. And you meet the most interesting people! Next stop, a peek at L.A. and a tour of the beaches in SoCal.

 

About Lynn Strough

Lynn is a 50+ wanderer whose incarnations in this life have included graphic designer, children’s book author and illustrator, public speaker, teacher, fine art painter, wine educator in the Napa Valley, and world traveler. Through current circumstances, she has found herself single, without a job or a home, and poised for a great adventure.

 

“You could consider me homeless and unemployed, but I prefer nomad and self-employed, as I pack up my skills and head off with my small backpack and even smaller savings to circumnavigate the globe (or at least go until the money runs out). Get ready to tag along for the ride…starting now!”

 

travelynnlogoAll images copyright Lynn Strough and Travelynn Tales

Reprinted with permission

Kentwood kicks off year-long 50th anniversary celebration with a special city commission meeting

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The first Kentwood City Commission met on Feb. 27, 1967

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

On Feb. 27, 1967, the City of Kentwood had its first commission meeting at Bowen Elementary School. Fifty years to the day, the city commission will once again meet at Bowen Elementary to kick off Kentwood’s golden anniversary.

 

“February 27 marks a truly historic occasion for the City of Kentwood,” said Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley. “Celebrating the original City Commission meeting is a memorable way to honor Kentwood’s past while looking forward to our future.”

 

Long before the city was even mapped out as Paris Township, people were coming to the area mostly because it reminded them of their former homes, with rolling hills and good soil, said Ray Boisvenue, a local historian who has helped collect oral histories of many of Kentwood’s residents.

 

In 1939, the township organized with resident Joel Guild suggesting the name Paris for the area after his former home of Paris, New York. Guild was then elected the first township supervisor. The township at that time was a perfect square, bordered by Hall Street to the north, 60th Street to the south, Division Avenue to the west and Patterson Avenue to the east.

 

As the township grew, so did the neighboring City of Grand Rapids, which slowly chipped away at the township’s area though annexations. The first annexation took place in 1891 but the bulk happened from 1958 to 1963 causing residents to fight for incorporation. It would take three attempts and the announcement of a new $4 million shopping center – Woodland Mall – for the vote of incorporation to pass by a slim margin of 177 votes in favor on Feb. 20, 1967.

 

A few minor details had to be worked out, but the newly formed city had its first meeting Feb. 27, 1967, with Peter Lamberts elected as the city’s first mayor. The rest of the city commission include Dale Heyboer and Robert Ide as commissioners-at-large, Preston Miller and Quinten (Jack) Ward from Ward 1 and Gordon Gezon and Clifford Barnes from Ward 2.

 

Kentwood officials moved into the current city hall structure in 1979.

The anniversary commission meeting – which will feature the current City Commission, Mayor Stephen Kepley, Commissioner-at-Large Betsy Artz, First Ward commissioners Gerald DeMaagd and Robert Coughlin and Second Ward commissioners Erwin Haas and Michael Brown – is at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Bowen Elementary, 4483 Kalamazoo Ave. SE. The event will feature special programming provided by the current city commission. The meeting will flow much like a typical city commission meeting but with special tributes and fun facts about the city and will include a two-minute clip of the Kentwood 50th Anniversary documentary produced by WKTV.

 

According to organizers, the evening will be a celebration of the community’s growth and recognition of the residents, schools, businesses and nonprofit that have made Kentwood a great place to live, work and raise a family. Among the special guests scheduled to attend are Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and State Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, both of whom will be presenting proclamations honoring the city.

 

Kentwood 50th Anniversary events have been planned throughout the year. Among the public events coming up in the next couple of months are the Taste of Kentwood set for March 2, the Kentwood’s Got Talent auditions March 9 (registration deadline is March 3), and an Easter Egg Hunt April 15. There is also a breakfast planned to honor businesses that have been in Kentwood since 1967 on March 23. Also, Railtown Brewing Company, 3555 68th St. SE, Dutton, will be unveiling a special beer next week in honor of Kentwood’s 50th Anniversary.

 

“We have been working really hard to make this a special year for our community,” said Kentwood Treasurer and Kentwood 50 committee leader Laurie Sheldon. “Our residents, businesses and organizations have made Kentwood an amazing city and we are making sure we express our thanks through great events in 2017.”

 

Other programs include The Vibe – a Parks and Recreation Gala that raises money for the department’s programs will be May 19 and a weekend-long street fair and festival August 11 and 12 that will include food, kid-friendly events, live entertainment and the finale of the Kentwood’s Got Talent.

 

The Farmer’s Market, Fourth of July celebration and parade and all other city-sponsored events also will be focused on the Kentwood 50th Anniversary.

 

WKTV also will be providing coverage of many of the events along with special Kentwood 50 stories at now.wktv.org.

 

For more about Kentwood’s 50th Anniversary celebration, visit www.kentwood50.com.

School News Network: Students Go Greek by Questioning, Discussing Issues as Socrates did

City of Wyoming, Education
Evelyn Villarreal-Cervantes expresses her thoughts (Courtesy of School News Network)

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Though the topic was tied to the American Revolution, discussion among Wyoming Intermediate School fifth-graders was inspired by a robed man with a long beard who did his musing more than two millennia ago: Socrates.

 

The young philosophers joined the Socratic Seminar discussion panels – desks pushed together into large rectangles –– for deep thinking about a long-debated question: “Who was responsible for inciting the Boston Massacre?”

 

Taunting colonists, trigger-happy British soldiers, events leading up to the massacre and how it all went down — students talked about such details in teachers Paul Debri and Wendy Kiel’s class. They drew conclusions about who was responsible for the March 5, 1770 event when five colonial residents were shot and killed by British soldiers.

The class discusses The Boston Massacre using the Socratic method (Photo courtesy of School News Network)

“The colonists were fearing the soldiers, so maybe (the soldiers) could fire to start a fight,” said student Emma Parm.

 

“Colonists were kind of guilty because the mobs were taunting and teasing the British soldiers,” chipped in Regan Mead.
Socratic Seminars, used in several Wyoming Intermediate classrooms, employ the Socratic method, a form of dialogue based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking, and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions.

 

Socrates, born circa 470 B.C., was known for questioning others, listening to what they had to say and probing for contradictions.

 

“Socrates wasn’t wanting one true answer,” said teacher Debri. “He had open-ended questions that could be debated, discussed and shared. … It was the whole process of questioning, thinking and rationalizing.

 

“This is a great way for students to discuss things in a polite way, ask questions, reason, justify answers,” he added. “It’s a great way for them to express their thoughts in a nice, safe environment.”

 

Quenton Gebben shares his thoughts while Gage Behrenbrinker listens (Photo courtesy of School News Network)

A Method of Questioning and Listening
Socratic Seminars, which work for nearly all subjects, take off with little teacher moderation. Students come prepared with questions, make points and counterpoints, speak only when they are holding a ball, and agree or disagree based on research they’ve done in class.

 

They start statements with, “I agree because …” or “I disagree because …” or I have a question …” and often end with “What do you think?,” prompting more dialogue as they pass the ball to a classmate.

 

Language arts department chair and sixth-grade teacher Jayne Bartrand introduced the seminars to staff members last school year. It requires skills used by “the great brains of time,” she said. Teachers tested it, debating the killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe by an American hunter.

 

“It addresses so many skills we want kids to have,” Bartrand said. “That’s how we should all function in a workplace really. You sit down, here’s an idea and you discuss it.”

Students offer each other checks and balances, pointing out other perspectives and more information. “They really do have to support their line of thinking,” Bartrand said.

 

Debri said students use key vocabulary and make intersections between other historical events during the seminars, taking active control of their learning.

 

Irvin Diaz-Castillo takes his turn talking about the Boston Massacre (Photo courtesy of School News Network)

Thinking Like a Greek
Students said acting like Socrates helps them have an open mind and look at issues and events from different angles. Fifth-graders have also had a seminar on Cecil the Lion. Sixth-graders have discussed stories of courage based on readings; the positives and negatives of being a YouTube star; and what happened to Amelia Earhart.

 

“I’ve learned everybody has an opinion on things and our opinions are not all going to be the same,” said fifth-grader Yeriel Francis. “You are learning more and more from what other people think.”

 

“I like it because there’s one person speaking at a time and there’s many different opinions going around,” added Emma Parm. “It helps me personally with understanding what the whole thing is about and what happened if I’m not clear about it.”

 

Fifth-grader Haley Young said the talks help her learn more than she would in a traditional classroom lesson. She’s also getting more comfortable with public speaking.

 

Gage Behrenbrinker agreed. “Like Haley said, if you just watch a video and read an article you don’t learn much, but if you really talk about it with other people you start to learn more and you want to get more involved.”

City of Kentwood seeks candidate to fill commission seat

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The City of Kentwood is seeking applications from residents to fill a vacant position on the City Commission.

Applicants must be a Kentwood resident and registered voter.  The selected candidate will complete the vacant Commissioner-At-Large term, which expires in November 2019.

“A Kentwood City Commissioner is an important leadership position providing a unique opportunity for a resident to perform a key role in shaping our community,” said Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley. “Many exciting initiatives are being developed and implemented in the City and I encourage anyone interested to apply.”

Steven Redmond recently resigned from the Commissioner-At-Large position. The City Commission will begin receiving applications on Feb. 22 and plan to have an appointment made by early April. The City will accept applications through noon on March 10.

Residents are encourage to apply in person at the Kentwood City Clerk’s office, located at the Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Rd. SE, or online at:  www.ci.kentwood.mi.us.

Need a job? Here’s where to look

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Non-Profits, , ,

By West Michigan Works!

 

Kent County is home to many organizations dedicated to helping residents meet their basic needs: food/nutrition, energy efficiency, transportation, housing and employment.

 

ACSET Community Action Agency (CAA) assists many low-income individuals with emergency food, energy, transportation and housing needs. They also have direct contact with individuals who want and need meaningful employment. Seeking to create self-sufficiency amongst its clients, CAA refers these job seekers to organizations that focus on workforce development, like West Michigan Works!

 

With three service centers in Kent County, West Michigan Works! welcomes anyone looking  to advance their career or find a new job. Visitors can take advantage of no-cost services, such as:

  • Office resources to job search: internet, phone, fax and copier
  • Weekly Job Blast email with immediate job openings in West Michigan
  • Workshops to help you get your next job: resumes, interviewing, career exploration, etc.
  • Onsite hiring events with employers looking to fill current job openings
  • Specialized services for youth, veterans and migrant workers
  • And many more, based on eligibility!

To get started, visit a Service Center near you:

 

Franklin Service Center

Kent County Human Services Complex

121 Franklin St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507

Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm

 

Westside Service Center

215 Straight Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49505

Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm

 

Sparta Service Center

36 Applewood Dr, Sparta, MI 49345

Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, 8am – 12pm & 1pm – 5pm

 

Your Community in Action! is provided by ASCET Community Action Agency. To learn more about how they help meet emergency needs and assist with areas of self-sufficiency, visit www.communityactionkent.org

Grand Valley Writers Series continues with authors Vievee Francis and Matthew Olzmann

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Vievee Francis

Authors Vievee Francis and Matthew Olzmann are the next featured writers for the Grand Valley Writers Series set for Mon. Feb. 27.

 

The presentation will take place at the Grand Valley State University’s Pew Campus in downtown Grand Rapids. There will be a craft talk from 6 – 7 p.m. at the DeVos Center in room 203 E and then a reading and book signing from 7:30 – 8:50 p.m. at the University Club in the DeVos Center.

 

Francis is the author of three books of poetry, Blue-Tail Fly, Horse in the Dark and the recently released Forest Primeval, which was a finalist for the PEN Open Book Award. She is the recipient of the Rona Jaffe Prize and a Kresge Fellowship. Francis’ work has appeared in numerous publications including Best American Poetry, Poetry Magazine, and Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry, among others. She is currently an associate professor of English at Dartmouth College and an associate editor for Callaloo.

 

Matthew Olzmann

Olzmann is the author of Mezzanines, selected for the Kundiman Prize. His second book, Contradictions in the Design, was released in 2016. Olzmann received scholarships and fellowships from Kundiman, the Kresge Arts Foundation and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. His poems, stories and essays have appeared in Kenyon Review, New England Review, Necessary Fiction, Brevity, Southern Review and elsewhere. He teaches in the Master of Fine Arts program for writers at Warren Wilson College.

The butterflies spring out at Meijer Gardens starting March 1

3-bottom, Kids Activities, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming Events, ,
Butterflies of all colors and patterns will be flying around Meijer Gardens’ tropical conservatory starting March 1. (Supplied)

WKTV Staff

 

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s tropical conservatory, starting Wednesday, March 1, will be home to the first of more than 7,000 tropical butterflies that will be hatched and start flying around the heads of both children and adults alike.

 

Can’t you just see the Facebook photo?

 

Butterflies are Blooming runs through April 30. The annual show attracted more than 170,000 visitors last year.

 

With butterflies from Africa, Asia, South America and Central America, Butterflies Are Blooming is the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in the nation, according to Meijer Gardens.

 

The Atlas moth (not really a butterfly, but big and beautiful) will be making an appearance. (Supplied Meijer Gardens/William Hebert)

Approximately 60 colorful species will be flying freely in the five-story, 15,000 square-foot Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory, wherein the 85-degrees and 70-percent humidity environment mimics tropical regions that the butterflies call home.

 

“Our exhibition this year celebrates shape and pattern,” Steve LaWarre, director of horticulture, said in supplied material. “The butterflies and the natural environment of the conservatory are wonderful examples of how these patterns reveal themselves all around us. This exhibition provides a superb opportunity for our guests to view caterpillars, wings, flowers and foliage with a renewed appreciation for the world around us.”

 

Species of butterflies expected to arrive include the blue Common Morpho, whose iridescence impresses in flight; brushfoot varieties such as the Clearwing, Lacewing and Zebra Mosaic; the “Longwings” such as the Small Blue Grecian, Doris, Postman and Tiger butterflies; and the “Gliders” such as the Emperor, Ruby-spotted and Tropical Swallowtails.

 

Special related events include “Who Am I?” A Butterfly Ballet”, with two shows on both March 4 and March 18, a program performed by the Grand Rapids Ballet Junior Company; as well as Tuesday Night Lights, running each week throughout the exhibit’s run, where visitors bring their flashlights to find the butterflies at rest throughout the conservatory.

 

For more information visit MeijerGardens.org.

 

Cat of the week: Rio

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Rio needs a home all to herself

By Sharon Wylie

Crash’s Landing

 

Each week WKTV features an adoptable cat from Crash’s Landing or Big Sid’s Sanctuary. Both cat rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Petrovich, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).

 

Up for a challenge? Rio is one tough nut to crack, but we KNOW on the inside of her hard exterior there is a sweet center waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. We have seen glimmers of her gentle self when she has been alone in a room with ’just us humans’ but the problem is that we don’t have the accommodations that she soooo desires.

 

See, the problem lies with the fact that Rio was in a home of her own—her VERY own—for nine long and luxurious years before she had to be abruptly returned in the summer of 2015. Seems that when her mom moved into a new house without a foyer or vestibule, Rio took to running outdoors; even though she is a senior (born in late 2005) and a chunky 12 pounds, this girl is FAST—and her owner couldn’t keep up. After months of putting up with her antics and fearing for her safety, it was decided that she should come back to live with us, lest she end up splattered on the pavement.

 

Now, Rio doesn’t understand one bit why on earth she has ended up in a place overrun with cats of all shapes and sizes—and she isn’t afraid to express her dismay and disdain quite loudly. We had hoped that she would simmer down and settle in over time — especially after Dr. Jen had to extract quite a few of her teeth due to profound dental disease — but that didn’t happen.

 

And since it is impossible for us to provide solo housing in a facility that holds on average 90-100 kitties at a time, we have had to make do and shuffle her from room to room, allowing a cat or two in at a time in the hopes that she would take a shining to them.

 

The sad fact of the matter at hand (er, paw) is that Rio is miserable in our place—even as awesome as it is—so we are desperately trying to find her a place to reside where she can be the Queen of the Castle, a Rapunzel of sorts since she cannot be allowed outdoors due to her front declawed and semi-toothless status. Until then, we will do our best to sooth our angry beastie and shower her with understanding and anti-anxiety medication to ease her less than desirable cat-itude.

 

Rio really is a sweetheart—just not in her current surroundings, and she isn’t going to blossom until she is truly comfortable and content. So if you feel you can help us all out by opening your heart and home to a grumpy old girl who really needs peace and solitude in order to regain the happiness she so suddenly lost, please let us know!

MORE ABOUT RIO

  • House trained
  • Spayed/Neutered
  • Declawed
  • Current on vaccinations
  • Prefers a home without cats

Want to adopt Rio? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.

Interested in volunteering at one of the cat shelters? Email volunteer@crashslanding.org.

Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!

Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.

2017 Total Eclipse informational session at Public Museum set for March 1

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The Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Supplied)

By Kate Moore

Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) and the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) on Wednesday, March 1, for a special presentation on what people in West Michigan can do for the 2017 total solar eclipse.

 

On Aug, 21, the first significant total eclipse of the sun visible across a broad area of the continental United States since 1970 will take place midday. As the moon slips between the earth and sun, observers within the 70 mile wide band of the total eclipse, stretching from Oregon to South Carolina, will witness complete darkness for up to two minutes and forty seconds.

 

On March 1 at 7:30 p.m., Dave DeBruyn, Curator Emeritus of the GRPM’s Chaffee Planetarium and current GRAAA President, along with WZZM Meteorologist George Lessons will give a presentation about this year’s eclipse including useful tips to potential eclipse chasers and answer questions. The duo will also share information about the GRPM’s eclipse event that will take place at the GRPM on August 21, 2017.

 

DeBruyn will discuss how the motions of the sun and moon produce eclipses, but rarely total solar eclipses over a given location. Participants will learn what to look for and concentrate on during the eclipse, as well as what not to do. DeBruyn has traveled the world to see five total solar eclipses.

 

Lessens will discuss prospects for clear weather at various places along the path of totality. A weather system at the place of observation at eclipse time or midday convective cloudiness in the air could ruin viewing opportunities. Lessens will suggest locations where that is least likely to happen.

 

The presentation on March 1 will take place in the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Meijer Theater and is free to attend for the general public.

On the shelf: ‘Dead Ex’ by Harley Jane Kozak

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , , , ,

By Laura Nawrot, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main

 

Sometimes it’s too difficult to select a single book to review. Dead Ex, Firefly Lane, and The Red Queen’s Daughter have nothing in common except for the fact that they’re my most recent reads and well worth recommending.

 

Dead Ex

I really enjoyed author Harley Jane Kozak’s pace and intrigue in Dead Ex, a mystery that could come from the script of a daytime soap opera and actually involves a cast of characters that are part of a fictitious soap whose producer turns up murdered. Set in California, the story takes the reader back and forth between locations while the bodies pile up and the main character, Wollie Shelley, tries to protect her best friend, Joey who only happens to be the main suspect.

 

Readers are introduced to Wollie as she muses over her living arrangements; she is currently between homes and living from a suitcase parked in the immaculate closet of her FBI boyfriend, Simon. Wollie’s state of disarray, the quirky humor and the numerous plot twists were just some of the things I really liked about the novel. I was only disappointed by the fact that it took me until page 145 to find out what “Wollie” was short for, something I should have figured out on my own.

 

Firefly Lane

It’s been a really long time since a book has brought me to tears, but I found Firefly Lane to be worth several tissues. This novel, by Kristin Hannah, follows the relationship of two girls who grow into that once-in-a-lifetime bond that makes them closer than sisters. Set in the Seattle area beginning in the 1970’s and moving to the present, the reader is drawn into the lives of Kate and Tully as they fumble along trying to grow into their respective places in the world. While the story line sounds kind of cliché, I could really feel the connection between two very different women, and that in itself is what made the book so successful for me. If you’re in the mood for a relationship story, Firefly Lane is a must read.

 

The Red Queen’s Daughter

And now for something completely different; The Red Queen’s Daughter, a historical novel by Jacqueline Kolosov, exploring what could have been the life of Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr who was King Henry the Eighth’s 6th wife. The author makes it clear in her notes that the story is merely speculation, but is historically accurate in capturing the era of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen of England. The reader gets a sense of what it must have been like to live in a time when social custom dictated the course of a young woman’s life typically directly into marriage and motherhood at about age sixteen. Even the sounds and smells of life at court are described well enough to give a sense of presence to the reader. The Red Queen’s Daughter is categorized as young adult fiction, but I think it could easily be placed in adult fiction as well. This novel is well written and successfully conveys the essence and mysticism of England during a period of religious upheaval and healing.

 

 

Recycling Facility in Grand Rapids shut down due to baler malfunction

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , , ,

UPDATE: The Kent County’s Recycling & Education Center is now open and processing recycables as of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22.

 

Kent County’s Recycling & Education Center experienced a mechanical malfunction in the baler that caused the facility to shut down. During this time the Recycling Center is unable to accept recyclables placed at the curb for pickup by waste haulers.

 

“Despite having preventative maintenance programs and dedicated maintenance staff, there are always going to be things that happen to the equipment that are outside of our control. Sorting equipment in these state-of-the-art processing facilities is dependent on all pieces working together,” said Darwin Baas, Director of Kent County’s Department of Public Works, an enterprise fund of Kent County that owns and operates the facility. “The baler is a critical piece of equipment in our system and we are unable to run for any length of time without it.” Residents and businesses are encouraged to hold off placing recycling carts out for service for the next couple of days in anticipation of the facility being able to process recyclables again at the end of the week.

 

Currently between 1,000 and 1,250 tons of material is awaiting processing on the ‘tipping floor’, where waste haulers dump recyclables that will be processed once the plant is back up and running. Kent County is working closely with two different companies to assess the baler repairs and establish a timeframe.

 

Haulers that normally deliver recyclables to the Kent County Recycling & Education Center are being redirected to Kent County’s Waste to Energy Facility, about a mile away, as of 2 p.m. today.

 

“Sending recyclables to the Waste to Energy Facility is not ideal. Sending recyclables to Waste to Energy is a much better alternative than landfilling. We can extract the energy, generate electricity and feed that back into the grid for productive use,” noted Baas.

 

While the Recycling Center is down the service fee for haulers tipping recyclables will be waived.

 

Kent County DPW will post updates on the progress of the electrical repairs on its recycling website, www.recyclekent.org.

Kentwood resident reveals a little behind the mask magic in company’s upcoming production

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, , , ,

By Joanne N. Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Commedia dell’arte may sound intimating but according to Kentwood resident Tim Corbett, who is the founder and playwright of Hole in the Wall Theatre Company, it really is not.

 

“I have never had anyone come to a show and say ‘that was unpleasant.’” Corbett said. “It has always been ‘that was fun, when are you going to do that again?”

 

It is has been awhile since Corbett has performed commedia dell’arte but this weekend he brings back the troupe, Hole in the Wall Theatre Company, as part of the Lake Effect Fringe Festival taking place at downtown Grand Rapids’ Dog Story Theater, 7 Jefferson Ave.SE. It’s a group he helped establish while attending the University of Michigan Flint but it went dormant as the members graduated and went their individual ways.

 

After graduation, Corbett moved to Kentwood to be closer to his son, eventually getting married and settling in. But there was always an inclination to bring back Hole in the Wall Theatre, which mostly presents commedia dell’arte. This year, it all seemed to align as the other founding member, Jordon Climie, had moved to the area. Add in returning member Ryan Moya, along with Corbett’s wife Lauren Booza, Lauren Greer, Samantha Klaskow, and Tamar Erickson — and well, the “Hole” gang was back together.

 

So what is commedia dell’arte?

 

“Well, it is basically what all comedy comes from,” Corbett said. “It is what our modern television sit-coms are based off of.”

 

Commedia dell’arte or “comedy of art” is a form of theater that was started in the sixteenth century in Italy and quickly spread throughout Europe, creating a lasting influence on Sharkespeare, Moliere, opera, vaudeville, contemporary musical theater, sit-coms and improv comedy. The form is credited for the creation of actresses (versus male actors portraying females) and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. “Often we are given the direction and what is going on, but have to come up with the dialog and actions ourselves,” Corbett said.

 

The theater form is also know for its masks in which the actors/actresses use to create their characters, characters who represent fixed social types such as foolish old men, devious servants or military officers. The masks, according to Corbett, serve as a way for the actor to become fully immersed into the character and accents the character’s extremes making, in the end, for good comedy.

 

Which, according to Corbett, making good comedy is what it is all about in Hole in the Wall Theatre’s upcoming production, “The Whole Vine Yards.” The diVonstro family vineyard has been going bankrupt over the last three generations and Modestina, the current head of the estate, is at about the end of her financial rope. That is, until a mysterious box is discovered and inside what appears to be a treasure map. Now Modestina has to outwit and out-run her nosey neighbors, crafty servants, and love struck youths to find the treasure to save the family’s vineyard.

 

Showtimes are at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb 25, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26. For more information about Hole in the Wall Theatre, visit the company’s Facebook page. For more information about the Lake Effect Fringe Festival or LEFF, visit www.dogstorytheater.com.

 

Meijer Gardens gives a taste of summer with early concert announcements

3-bottom, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Upcoming Events, , , ,
St. Paul & The Broken Bones will be on the Meijer Gardens concert schedule this summer. (Supplied Meijer Gardens/David McClister)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The catchline for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park summer concert series goes something like “It’s how you know its summer.” So it seems appropriate that after an almost summer-like run of weather over the weekend the Gardens gave us a tease of summer with the announcement of three of the acts coming to the Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens 2017 concert series.

 

On Monday, Meijer Gardens announced that up-and-coming Southern soul powerhouse St. Paul & The Broken Bones will be in town on June 9; the sweet sounds of Four Voices: Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter and the Indigo Girls will hit the stage on June 12; and the classic rock (and so much more) music of Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson will make a rare small-venue visit on Aug. 18.

 

Members of Meijer Gardens members pre-sale period will be April 29 through May 12 this season, with general public sale Starting May 13.

 

The Four Voices concert, led by the grand-dame of folk music Baez, will undoubtedly be a night of lovely songs and lovely voices in harmony, and just hearing Tull founder and frontman Anderson dancing around with flute in hand will be worth the price of admission on a hot August night.

 

But the scheduling of St. Paul & the Broken Bones will likely be one of those “I heard them first at the gardens” kind of events.

 

Led by vocalist Paul Janeway, the Bones gained notice with their single “Call Me” off their debut recording “Half the City” from 2013, but after opening for the Rolling Stones on a few dates in 2015 and the playing the Glastonbury Festival last year, they are really getting a buzz going with their second album, “Sea of Noise”, from last year.

 

For lack of a better label, the band is often called a  “gospel-tinged, retro-soul garage” band and hailing from Birmingham, Ala., and the sextet certainly has its southern soul credentials in order — including not being afraid to do an Otis Reading cover to two.

 

The new album also marks a little more depth of music and depth of songwriting for the band and Janeway.

 

“Sea of Noise,” Janeway says on the band’s website in describing the album, “is not quite a full-blown concept record. It is focused in terms of subject matter — finding redemption and salvation and hope. (The single) ‘Crumbling Light Posts’ comes from an old Winston Churchill quote, in which he said England was a crumbling lighthouse in a sea of darkness. I always thought that was a really interesting concept — that we’re falling anyway. In this day and age, it is the noise that has defined so many things. We’re going to fall to it eventually, but for now we feel like our heads are above water.”

 

It is likely that the audience at Meijer Gardens will be glad they dove into the deep southern water with the Bones this summer.

 

For more information on the concert series, visit meijergardens.org

Game on: WKTV’s featured games for Feb. 20-25

Area Education, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Education, Kentwood Public Schools, , ,
Hockey at East Kentwood High School is on tap for Saturday coverage by the WKTV crew.

WKTV Staff

 

This week in WKTV’s featured high school sport games, the coverage crew will be at East Kentwood for girls basketball game against Hudsonville on Tuesday, Feb. 21, and then at East Kentwood for a hockey game against Forest Hills Central on Saturday, Feb. 25.

 

WKTV videos and broadcasts several games each week during high school sports season.

 

Each Tuesday game will be broadcast that night on Live Wire Comcast Channel 24 at 10:30 p.m. throughout the Grand Rapids Metro Area and repeat on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. on  WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood. Every Friday game will be aired that night on Live Wire 24 at 10:30 p.m. and repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV 25 and AT&T U-verse 99.

 

For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action in January, see now.wktv.org/sports/

 

DVDs and Blue-Rays of each game are also available for purchase at $20 including shipping. For more information, visit WKTV.org

 

School News Network: Brain Games: Focusing on Memory to Reduce Effect of Poverty

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Second-grade teacher Patrick Sokol talks about how memory works with his students. (Photo courtesy of School News Network.)

By Erin Albanese

 

School News Network

 

Kelloggsville Public Schools second-grade teacher Patrick Sokol is working to close gaps in achievement seen in students raised in poverty, and he’s zeroing in on helping students develop “working memory.”

 

In his West Elementary classroom on a Friday morning, Sokol drew a mixing bowl on a whiteboard in front of his students. He asked them to name ingredients needed to make pancakes. They eagerly answered: “eggs,” “baking powder,” “vanilla,” “flour,” “sugar,” as Sokol wrote the list on the bowl.

 

“If we get those all in the bowl, we are going to be able to do something with them. We are going to be able to make pancakes. But what if there are holes in the bowl?”

 

He told students to think of their brains like the bowl: They need to be able to use what they put inside. “If you can’t keep those things in your brain, are you going to be able to do anything with them?”

 

Isaiah Wiseman and Alivia Walber work together on remembering numbers.

Sokol’s mini-lesson was an introduction to activities aimed to improve students’ working memory. That’s the ability to store and manage information in one’s mind for a short period of time, like remembering a list of items or series of number long enough to apply them to what you need.

 

During a game called “If I Went,” students named items they would bring to the beach or camping. On their turns, they recalled items named before them in order. “If I went to the beach I would bring food, an air mattress, marshmallows and…,” said Myana Santiago-DeJesus, remembering the items named by her classmates and adding “shelter” to the list.

 

They also created a string of numbers, adding one at a time, and recalling them with a partner.

 

Students enjoyed the tasks, taking pride in remembering eight, nine, even 10 numbers in a row, and a list of camping items worthy of the Scouts, but Sokol’s purpose is larger than meets the eye. He is hoping to “fill the gap” in memory function caused by the stressors present in many of the lives of students who grow up poor.

 

Sokol’s work is part of an ongoing study by Kelloggsville staff, administrators and Board of Education members of Eric Jensen’s book, “Teaching with Poverty in Mind.” In Kelloggsville, about 78 percent of students are considered economically disadvantaged, qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and research shows students who grow up in poverty struggle with working memory.

 

That could be a factor in the stark correlation between poverty and student achievement. An analysis by School News Network as part of its series “The Burden of Poverty, a Backpack of Heartache,” shows a close correlation between poverty and performance in the 20 school districts in the Kent ISD. In almost all cases, the districts with the lowest family income levels also had the lowest scores on standardized tests.

 

In his book, Jensen, a former teacher who now presents on brain-based learning, explains that constant stressors affect the developing brain, “creating a devastating cumulative effect.”

 

“The prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, crucial for learning, cognition and working memory, are the areas of the brain most affected by cortisol, the so-called ‘stress hormone,'” he writes, citing brain research from various sources.

 

“Experiments have demonstrated that exposure to chronic and acute stress actually shrinks neurons in the brain’s frontal lobes–– an area that includes the prefrontal cortex and is responsible for such functions as making judgements, planning and regulating impulsivity and can modify and impair the hippocampus in ways that reduce learning capacity.”

The Jensen book study – which started by reading and discussing chapters – is a long-term project involving ongoing district-wide training, Assistant Superintendent Tammy Savage said.

A Board of Education committee dedicated to poverty is gathering information this year. Administrators and staff members are studying and attending seminars on poverty, have watched a webinar by Jensen and attended a two-day Michigan Department of Education session in November with Jensen on his book. They hope to bring him to Kelloggsville to present.
Gianchrist Mendez-Jimenez and Yuleika Gonzalez-Morales work on remembering a series of numbers. “9, 0, 1, 8, 6, and 2,’” said Gianchrist.

The goal is to apply some of his strategies in the classroom and embed tools to boost student effort and engagement, Savage said. It’s also about developing empathy and understanding of living situations many teachers haven’t experienced.

The district has long been aware of the high level of need and has worked hard to address it, she said. This is about going deeper and examining poverty from different perspectives. “There are a lot of things we are already doing. That was an affirmation for the district. We are already doing a lot of things to connect with students and parents.”
More than just brain development, training involves developing strong bonds with students, which leads to better achievement. “We are focused on student engagement, and it goes back to building relationships with kids,” Savage said. “Research has always proven that student/teacher relationship is key.”

Teachers are doing fast-track relationship builders, recommended by Jensen, in the classroom. For example, they share something personal with students once a week.

 

“In order to build a relationship with somebody, it can’t be one-sided. It can’t be just the students sharing,” Savage said. “Teachers have to share about themselves too. The more we share about ourselves, the more students are going to feel connected with us.”

 

Jensen also recommends staff members provide a favor or a show of empathy so powerful that students remember it well; invest two minutes a day for 10 consecutive days with the student who needs it most; and discover three things other than a name about a student each day, every day of the year.

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

Local high school sports schedule: Feb. 20-27

City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Kentwood Public Schools, ,
OK Red Conference Boys Swimming Meet at East Kentwood starts Thursday, Feb. 23.

Looking for a Wyoming and Kentwood area high school varsity sports event to get out to? Here is your weekly list.

 

Monday, Feb. 20, 2017

Girls Basketball

Godwin Heights @ Benton Harbor

West Michigan Lutheran @ Wellspring

 

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Girls Basketball

Bloomingdale @ Zion Christian

Algoma Christian @ Potter’s House

Grand River Prep @ Western Michigan Christian

Holland Black River @ Tri-Unity Christian

Kelloggsville @ Hopkins

Wyoming @ Christian

Hudsonville @ East Kentwood

Boys Basketball

Bloomingdale @ Zion Christian

Algoma Christian @ Potter’s House

Grand River Prep @ Western Michigan Christian

Tri-Unity Christian @ Holland Calvary

Hopkins @ Kelloggsville

Christian @ Wyoming

Godwin Heights @ Wyoming Lee

East Kentwood @ Hudsonville

 

Wednesday, Feb. 22

Boys Basketball

Creative Technologies Academy @ West Michigan Aviation

Girls Basketball

Creative Technologies Academy @ West Michigan Aviation

 

Thursday, Feb, 23

Boys Swimming

OK Red Conference Meet @ East Kentwood

Girls Basketball

West Michigan Lutheran @ Grattan

 

Friday, Feb. 24

Girls Basketball

Zion Christian @ Holland Black River

FH Northern @ Tri-Unity Christian

Belding @ Kelloggsville

Kenowa Hills @ Wyoming

South Christian @ Middleville T-K

East Kentwood @ Rockford

NorthPointe Christian @ Godwin Heights

Boys Basketball

Zion Christian @ Holland Black River

Potter’s House @ West Michigan Aviation

Grand River Prep @ Tri-Unity Christian

Belding @ Kelloggsville

Kenowa Hills@ Wyoming

Wyoming Lee @ Hopkins

South Christian @ Middleville T-K

East Kentwood @ Rockford

NorthPointe Christian @ Godwin Heights

Boys/Girls Bowling

Wyoming @ Grand Haven

East Kentwood @ Grand Haven

Godwin Heights @ Catholic Central

Boys Swimming

South Christian @ Hastings

OK Red Conference Meet @ East Kentwood

Boys Hockey

East Kentwood @ Rockford

 

Saturday, Feb. 25

Boys/Girls Bowling

Wyoming @ Grand Haven

East Kentwood @ Grand Haven

Godwin Heights @ Catholic Central

Boys Swimming

South Christian @ Hastings

Girls Cheer

East Kentwood @ Brighton

Boys Hockey 

FH Central @ East Kentwood

 

Sunday, Feb. 26

Boys Hockey

West Michigan Aviation @ Flint Kearsley

 

Monday, Feb. 27

Boys Hockey

West Michigan Lutheran @ West Michigan Aviation

Girls Basketball

Tri-Unity Christian @ Zion Christian

Kelloggsville vs Godwin Heights @ South Christian – MHSAA State Districts

Wyoming @ West Ottawa

 

GVSU offers a number of free music and dance programs

Entertainment, , , , ,


Valentine’s Day may be over, but there are still plenty of fun things to do in the month of February, all of which are free and open to the public. Grand Valley State University has a number of options to fill up the month. Here is a sampling.

 

GVSU Choral Concert – “Songs of Love”
Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m.
Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale Campus
This concert, which is free and open to the public, will feature the Cantate Chamber Ensemble and Select Women’s Ensemble, under the direction of Ellen Pool, and the University Singers, under the direction of Shirley Lemon. The concert will feature songs of love from many different genres, including jazz, spirituals and folk songs.

 

GVSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concert
Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m.
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus

 

Great American Voices Series Collaboration Concert
February 25 and 26, at 7:30 p.m.
Park Church (10 E Park Pl NE, Grand Rapids)
Building on the success of the February 2015 Collaboration Concert at Park Church, this year’s collaboration will include the GVSU University Arts Chorale, Park Church Chancel Choir, and West Michigan’s Holland Chorale. The concert will begin with Patrick Coyle, Park Church minister of music, conducting the Park Chancel Choir and the Holland Chorale, accompanied by the GVSU Chamber Orchestra, in a performance of Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass.” The evening will conclude with two sections of Alexander Borodin’s powerful opera, “Prince Igor.”  The GVSU Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Henry Duitman, will present the rousing “Overture” and then the three choirs, 120 voices strong, will join the orchestra for the opera’s exhilarating “Polovetsian Dances.” Proceeds from the offering will benefit string scholarships at Grand Valley.

 

GVSU Concert Band Performance
Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m.
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus

 

GVSU Jazz Concert
March 2, at 7:30 p.m.
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus
The GVSU Large and Small Jazz Ensembles will perform during this free concert that is open to the public.

 

‘Ecce Homo’: Calvin art gallery explores the faces of Jesus

Education, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, ,
“Ecce Homo” (1969) by Salvador Dali, Lithograph. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

There may be no human faces in art more explored than those of Jesus of Nazareth and the Virgin Mary, and with Jesus there is a certain “historic” image of the man. But in the hands of artists such as Salvador Dali and Otto Dix, the accepted image is altered.

 

The current show at Calvin College’s Center Art Gallery, located in the Covenant Fine Arts Center, offers both the historic and altered images of the man in “Ecce Homo: Behold the Man”, currently running through March 4.

 

“Ecce Homo”, along with the companion exhibit “Most Highly Favored: The Life of the Virgin Mary”, are both drawn from the collection of Sandra Bowden, who with husband, Robert Bowden, have established the Sandra Bowden Art Scholarship at Calvin to “encourage Christian artists to prepare to become leaders in the field of art,” accord to the college.

 

“I feel like a caretaker, so to speak, of each piece in our collection, preserving it for the future,” Sandra Bowden said in supplied material. “The Bowden Collections focuses on religious art for several reasons: first, it is the subject I am most passionately interested in; second, it is a wonderful time to be collecting work with biblical themes because the art market in general is not particularly interested in art with religious content.

 

“I also feel that religious art needs exposure within the Christian community, and it is my intent to make these pieces available whenever possible for that purpose. I see my collector’s role as a calling — something that is critically important to do at this particular time.”

 

There are more than 20 works in the exhibit “Ecce Homo” — which is is Latin for “behold the man,” a declaration which refers to the presentation of Christ by the Roman ruler, Pontius Pilate, before the Jewish mob as described in the Bible in John 19. Among the artists included are Jacques Callot, George Rouault, Max Beckman, Bruce Herman, and Tyrus Clutter.

 

But it is the works of Dix and Dali that offer a non-traditional images worthy of fresh artistic consideration.

 

“Christus” (1957) by Otto Dix, lithograph. (Supplied)

“Christus”, by Dix (1891-1969), is a 1957 work shown in lithograph. According to supplied information by the gallery, Dix was “a German Expressionist artist who was defamed as ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis, created many works with biblical content, especially later in his life. This head of Christ titled, shows Christ with a crown of thorns and blood dripping down his face helping us consider Jesus’ suffering.”

 

“Ecce Homo”, by Dali (1904-1989) is a 1969 work shown in lithograph by the Spanish artistic giant. According to supplied information, the work is “one from a suite of 105 lithographs on heavy rag paper that illustrate the Bible. Guiseppe Albartto commissioned this suite in hopes of leading Dali to God and the Catholic Church. His Ecce Homo illustration is rich in content and shows the artist’s range of creativity and spontaneity. Dali employed the use of “bulletism,” a Dalinian invention where an arquebus (a type of antique gun) was loaded with ink-filled capsules and then fired at blank sheets of paper. The resulting patterns and designs were then incorporated into the illustration. We are left to imagine parts of the face of Jesus where the splatters merely suggest a crown of thorns and agonizing wounds.”

 

For more information visit calvin.edu/centerartgallery

 

School News Network: Board Member’s Bywords: Grit, Growth, and Giving Back

3-bottom, Education, , ,
Kentwood School Board Vice President Allen Young (Photo courtesy of School News Network.)

By Erin Albanese

 

School News Network

 

If Kentwood Public Schools Board of Education Vice President Allen Young was standing in front of a classroom, he would tell students to never give up. He would tell them to use the “Kentwood grit” for which the the district is known, and which he himself has used plenty of.

 

“I would love for them, whatever dream they have, to make sure they follow it,” said Young, a board member since 2012. “I would have to be really honest with them because I would have to tell them that life brings about changes. There are going to be hills and valleys and curves in the road, but stick to it.”

 

Kentwood is all about the growth mindset, meaning that people can get smarter through hard work and practice, he said. “Keep exercising that brain. Don’t let it go soft, and also don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

 

Young, a maintenance coordinator for Linc Up, a community development organization in Kent County, grew up in Arkansas. He remembers being an average student who struggled in some classes. “I had to throw in a little extra grit,” he said.

 

But his goal was to graduate with honors, which he did in 1973, and enrolled in a trade school. He then worked in the metal distribution industry for many years before working in maintenance.

 

He and his wife, Johngerlyn Young, have one son, Austin, a 2014 East Kentwood graduate and now a sophomore at Morehouse College, in Atlanta.

 

For Young, serving on the board has always been about giving back. “I’ve always had the desire to help. I followed my son all the way from kindergarten through graduation, so I have a passion for education and for young people to improve themselves.”

 

He said the biggest challenge of the job, which requires about 10 hours of work per week, is dealing with the limits of the budget.

 

“You want to try to not cut anything, but sometimes you have to do that. We try not to do it so it’s going to be a detriment to the students. It can be painstaking.”

 

Boards of education are the frontline for parents and community members to address issues they feel strongly about. Young said he’s happy they come to him. “I don’t really accept those as complaints,” he insisted. “I accept them as concerns.”

 

When asked how much the stipend for board members is, Young had to ask a fellow board member. “I didn’t have a clue!” he said about the $40 per meeting rate.

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

The Interview: more answers to common questions

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, How-To's, Non-Profits, , ,

 

By West Michigan Works!

 

Editor’s Note: This is the final in a four-part series about how to answer common interview questions.

 

The interview is a time for you to make yourself stand out from other candidates. Asking thoughtful questions during the interview can set you apart just as much, if not more, than how you answer questions. Questions are the best way to show your interest in the company, demonstrate confidence and highlight your qualifications.

 

The key to asking good questions is the same as answering them. Do your homework before the interview. Practice and be prepared. Here are some recommendations to get you started.

  1. Ask a question that shows you have done your research. Address one of the company’s core values or goals and ask how the position you are interviewing for connects to it. For example, “Your core value of sustainability and reducing environmental impact is something I believe strongly in. How does this position contribute to this value, especially in day-to-day work?”
  2. Ask questions to learn more about the company culture. A question like, “What do you enjoy most about working here?” is an opportunity to see a more personal aspect of the company. If the interviewer struggles to find an answer, it may be a red flag.
  3. “What skills and experience does the ideal candidate for this position need?” If the interviewer mentions a skill that you haven’t addressed yet, here’s your chance to provide an example.
  4. Finally, the following questions can help you determine is the job is a good fit for you:
  • “Can you describe a typical day for someone in this position?”
  • “What are the top challenges this position faces?”
  • “How do you define success for this position?”

Come prepared with at least four questions to ensure you have something to ask at the end of the interview.

 

Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.

Grand Rapids Public Museum opens registration for Camp Curious Summer Camps

Entertainment, , , ,

By Kate Moore

Grand Rapids Public Museum

Camp Curious is now open for registration at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Camp Curious is the Museum’s summer camp program that explores the wonders of science, history, culture, art and fun. For nine weeks this summer, kids ages 4-14 can use the Museum as a learning lab in a variety of camp themes.

Camp Curious runs from June 19 through Aug. 14 with various sessions available depending on age and interest. Discounts are available for enrollment in multiple camps and by registering multiple campers. Additionally, Museum members receive discounts off each camp.

Camp Curious offers sessions with a focus on a variety of themes from space exploration to building with Legos®, and from fossils to exploring what it was like to grow up in the Victorian Era. Camp options vary for each age group and are suited to their interest. Age groupings are 4-5 years old, 6-8 years old, 9-11 years old and 12-14 years old. To register and to learn more about Camp Curious, visit grpm.org/CampCurious or call 616.456.3977.

Camps range in dates and duration, including Be Curious Day Camp offering one day sessions on Mondays and new this year one day camps on Fridays! Others camps are multiple days and have options between morning or afternoon sessions.

New camps for 2017 include our “Farm to Table” Camp for ages 9-14. Campers will learn about the gardening process from the science of soil to the fun of harvesting! The Museum is partnering with Urban Roots, a non-profit dedicated to connecting people to soil and table, for this one-of-a-kind experience.

Brand new for 2017 is adult camps. This summer adults can be a part of “Date Night Out” where Museum staff watches the kids while the adults enjoy an evening exploring the Museum. Adults can also enjoy “Dinner at the 1895 Voigt House,” one of the Museum’s sites that serves as a time capsule of the late Victorian period.

GVSU’s Arts at Noon series continues with the Hildegard Singers

Citizen Journalism, , ,
Hildegard Singers

 

The 39th season of Grand Valley State University’s Arts at Noon concert series continues Wednesday, Feb. 22, when the Hildegard Singers come to the Allendale campus.

 

Based in Grand Rapids, the Hildegard Singers are three professional vocalists who were convened in 2011 to celebrate the beautiful and timeless music of Hildegard of Bingen, a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, and Christian mystic. The ensemble, comprised of Diane Penning, Lisa Walhout and Barbara McCargar, also perform other medieval vocal music treasures, including Gregorian chant, Spanish and French pilgrimage music, and French, German and English motets and carols.

 

All Arts at Noon concerts during the 39th season of the popular series will take place in the Cook-DeWitt Center on the Allendale Campus, begin at noon, and last approximately one hour. Every concert is free and open to the public.

 

 

On the shelf: ‘Chess Story (or The Royal Game)’ by Stefan Zweig

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , , ,

By Drew Damron, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main

 

“Chess Story, also known as The Royal Game, is the Austrian master Stefan Zweig’s final achievement, completed in Brazilian exile and sent off to his American publisher only days before his suicide in 1942. It is the only story in which Zweig looks at Nazism, and he does so with characteristic emphasis on the psychological.

 

Travelers by ship from New York to Buenos Aires find that on board with them is the world champion of chess, an arrogant and unfriendly man. They come together to try their skills against him and are soundly defeated. Then a mysterious passenger steps forward to advise them and their fortunes change. How he came to possess his extraordinary grasp of the game of chess and at what cost lie at the heart of Zweig’s story.

 

This new translation of Chess Story brings out the work’s unusual mixture of high suspense and poignant reflection.

 

Hands down it’s one of the best stories I’ve ever read. It’s a clear, riveting novella, which not only reaches very extreme psychological depths, but also offers a poignant new understanding of Nazi Germany—a period in history which already has a multitude of perspectives and analysis.

 

Stefan Zweig makes use of the game of chess as both a character in the novel and as a metaphor for his life as he perceived it at the time. Within this narrative, chess is described as, “the game among games devised by man, which rises majestically above every tyranny of chance, which grants its victors the laurels only to a great intellect, or rather, to a particular form of mental ability.” It is a game where there is no element of chance. Where the players are in absolute control and may dispose of their pieces as they like, while on a board with very little room for creativity or mercy.

 

Zweig utilizes this understanding of chess to a profound degree in order to illustrate how it feels to be someone trying to escape the grasp of a war that will inevitably get to you. It’s a story from an incredibly talented writer about the necessity for creativity to have a place in our lives and the adverse differences between an uncaring ‘intellect’ and a manic, but human, mind.

 

If you’re in the mood for a quick, and thoughtful read, then you should definitely check this gem out.

 

Spring-like weather has Kaufman Golf Course, along with others, open Monday

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming
The Kent County Parks’ Kaufman Golf Course

 

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

The warm temperatures this weekend may have put the kibosh on the Grand Rapids Griffins’ Great Skate Winterfest and other winter activites, but the unseasonably warm weather is bringing good news for golfers.

 

The Kent County Parks Department announced today that Kaufman Golf Course, which is located in Wyoming at 4807 Clyde Park Ave. SW, announced last week that it would be open for walking play only for the next three days, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, Feb. 18 – 20. Reservations can be made by calling 616-538-5050. Online reservations are not available at this time.

 

“Kaufman Golf Course has a reputation as a great course among the golfing community,” said Parks Department Director Roger Sabine. “We’ve seen turnout grow in recent years. The staff at Kaufman have really helped keep this course in phenomenal shape and one of the top public courses in the state.”

 

Rates for these special February dates are $19 for 18 holes, or $13 for nine holes. Seniors can play 18 for $15, nine holes for $10.

 

For more information about all of the Kent County Parks, visit www.kentcountyparks.org.

 

Several private courses will be open as well this weekend.

 

“This is probably about the third time in 20 some years that we have been open in February,” said Mike Boogaard, owner and operator of Pines Golf Course, 5050 Byron Center Ave. SW. This weekend, Pines Golf Course will be open and allowing carts, probably one of the few courses that will be doing so, Boogaard said.

 

If both weather and course conditions allow it, Boogaard said, then he will open the course. “And the phone has been ringing pretty steady asking if we are going to be open,” he said. For available tee times, call 616-538-8380.

 

The same holds true about conditions for other courses as well. Maple Hill Golf Course, 5555 Ivanrest SW, has facilities open throughout the year and its course will be open for walking only during the warm weather, according to sources at Maple Hill. For more on Maple Hill, call 616-538-0290.

 

Several of the golf pros did recommend that if you are interested in taking advantage of the the warm weather by getting in a game that you call the course you are interested in first to check available tee times.

Tons of fun for kids in West Michigan!

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , , , , , ,
Treetop Adventure Park (photo from Facebook)

By Jeremy Witt, West Michigan Tourist Association

 

Where to take that bundle of energy you call a child? There are many options right here in West Michigan.

 

The Grand Rapids Treetop Adventure Park has six (soon to be seven) courses that are broken into four different skill levels. These range from very easy to expert. Each course takes 30 to 45 minutes to complete, but you have three hours to do as much or as little as you please. They have activities for kids of all ages with a mini zipline course designed for kids ages 4 to 6, and a main deck which starts with kids that are 7 years old. You may have a hard time getting your kids to come back to the car when you visit this outdoor adventure park.

 

The Tri-Cities Historical Museum in Grand Haven is the perfect place for young learners who don’t want to be limited to just reading. Instead, step in, see, touch, and even smell all things history. Each exhibit is housed in a structure that is appropriate for the era. For example, the Woodland Era of Native American history is found inside an authentic birch bark wigwam. While The Tri-Cities Historical Museum is open to all ages, parents and guardians typically find 1st grade and above to be the most invested in the exhibits, though highly engaged parents will find something teachable in each exhibit.

 

Critter Barn (photo from Facebook)

A visit to Catch Air in Grand Rapids is sure to have your kids jumping for joy. Their indoor adventure park has inflatable slides, jungle gym, bounce castle, and more. Catch Air is also the perfect place for a birthday party. Throw the most memorable and enjoyable party ever without lifting a finger. Whether you’re stopping by for an afternoon of fun, or celebrating a birthday, Catch Air is always a hopping place to be.

 

The Critter Barn in Zeeland is a nonprofit educational farm spanning three acres. Their curriculum focuses on promoting an understanding of agriculture, food sources, animal care, animal science, volunteer initiatives, and the farmer’s role in feeding the world. They have an authentic learning environment with many friendly animals. Working on a farm, even visiting a farm, develops character and deepens an appreciation for the world around us.

 

Windmill Island Gardens (photo from Facebook)

A palette of colors await you as you wind along the entrance to Holland’s treasured Windmill Island Gardens. Tour five stories of the DeZwaan windmill, the only authentic Dutch windmill operating in the United States. From the top, you can survey 36 acres of manicured gardens, dikes, and canals. Complete your immersive Dutch experience with their costumed guides, hand-painted Dutch carousel and children’s gardens, gift shops, and more. Mark your calendars for Opening Day on Saturday, April 15th, 2017!

Tickets on sale now for Whitecaps opening day April 6

3-bottom, Kids Activities, Sports, ,
Play ball! West Michigan Whitecaps will soon begin play at Fifth Third Ballpark. (Supplied)

WKTV Staff

 

Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers have reported, position players are filtering in. That can only mean that, despite the current weather in Grand Rapids, spring is coming and the Whitecaps season is coming too.

 

The first tickets for the 24th season of baseball at the Fifth Third Ballpark went on sale this week, with opening day planned for April 6, as tickets for the 4Topps tables and the opening day bash in the Stadium Club are now available. Regular game tickets for all 70 home games season will go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 21.

 

At the Whitecaps opening day, the first 1,200 fans through the gates will receive a Whitecaps Alpine Hat courtesy of Fifth Third Bank, and there will be a post-game fireworks display.

 

The 4Topps tables include four swivel chairs at a rounded table behind home plate, with exclusive wait service so you don’t have to wait in concessions stand lines. Tickets for Safeco Insurance 4Topps tables are $110 and the number of tables was expanded to a total of 30 tables a year ago.

 

The Opening Day Bash in the indoor Pepsi Stadium Club overlooking right field is a special event for the 6:35 p.m. opening day game against the South Bend Cubs. In addition to access to the Pepsi Stadium Club, each ticket includes an all-you-can-eat barbeque from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for $26 per person. The Stadium Club is usually rented to large groups for Whitecaps games.

 

Fans can order 4Topps tickets and Opening Day Bash tickets, as well as regular game tickets later, online at whitecapsbaseball.com, by phone at 616-784-4131 and in person at the Fifth Third Ballpark administrative offices  at 4500 West River Drive, Comstock Park. A complete schedule is also available online.

 

‘Detroit’ play to be completely produced, performed by GVSU students

Entertainment, , , ,

 

By Matthew Makowski

Grand Valley State University

 

Robbie Bell has dreamed of working for the Walt Disney Company since his childhood.

 

“Ever since I discovered my true passion for theater, I decided that I could combine the two,” he recalled. “I would love to be a show designer or director for one of the Walt Disney theme parks, or maybe even Disney on Broadway.”

 

Bell, a senior majoring in theater, is taking one step closer to achieving his dream by sitting in the director’s chair for the first time for the Theater Department’s upcoming production of “Detroit.”

 

The production is a part of the department’s annual Performance Studio Series, which gives upper-level theater students the opportunity to use the practical skills they have learned in the classroom. During P.S. Series productions, students have creative control over directing, acting, backstage production, set design and costume design.

 

“Detroit,” a play written by Lisa D’Amour that, ironically, has nothing to do with Detroit, depicts Mary and Ben living in a suburb near an unnamed mid-sized city. Mary and Ben are hosting new neighbors, Sharon and Kenny, who live next door in a rented house, for a friendly backyard barbecue. The gathering spirals into a deliriously dangerous revelry when themes of suburban troubles related to upward mobility, spousal relationships and economic anxiety take over.

 

Bell said he chose “Detroit” because it takes place in the unique and intimate setting of a backyard, but also for its message.

 

“I love this play because it is genuinely funny, but, most importantly, I chose ‘Detroit’ for its message that everyone has a secret struggle that they’re dealing with,” he explained. “This is what I believe makes us all the same on some level, and you really cannot judge a book by its cover for this reason.”

 

“Detroit” will not be Hannah Frank’s first time acting as stage manager for a Grand Valley production. She filled the same production role for 2016’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” and 2015’s P.S. Series production of “Café Murder.”

 

Frank said she enjoys “Detroit” for its dynamic cast of characters.

 

“I love the complexity of ‘Detroit.’ You think you know who the characters are, but by the end of the show, you’re questioning them,” said Frank, a senior majoring in theater. “I love how crazy the characters are and how much they contrast against each other.”

 

Performances of “Detroit” will take place Friday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. in Louis Armstrong Theatre in the Performing Arts Centers on the Allendale Campus. Tickets are $6 for general admission. For more information, call the Louis Armstrong Theatre box office at (616) 331-2300.