The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) invites the community to celebrate Back to the Future Day on Thursday, Oct. 21, at the Museum in conjunction with their special POPnology exhibit.
The Museum will offer discounted admission for all visitors to enjoy the special, traveling exhibit POPnology on Thursday, October 21, for only $2 per person. As part of the celebration, visitors are also invited to dress up as their favorite Back to the Future movie character. Participants who dress up are encouraged to show off their costumes at the Museum’s front desk, in exchange for free entry into POPnology. This discounted offer is valid with purchasing general admission to the Museum.
The GRPM’s POPnology exhibit explores innovation in technology, science, engineering and more that have been featured in popular movies, books and television shows. A highlight within the exhibition is the DeLorean Time Machine, a widely-recognized icon from the popular sci-fi movie, Back to the Future.
POPnology features over a dozen interactives that represent the connection between pop culture and technology throughout history. Visitors of all ages can indulge in the ultimate sci-fi experience by building a rocket to launch to Mars, taking pictures near the DeLorean Time Machine, racing against time to work faster than a robot, striking poses in a photo booth with out-of-this world backdrops, equipped with free image downloads) and more.
Admission includes the GRPM’s newest exhibit, Bats: Masters of the Night, as well as three floors of exhibits to explore science, history and culture. For more information, visit grpm.org.
The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, the symbol of quality and tradition for Anheuser-Busch since 1933, will make appearances at two West Michigan parades next month. On Wednesday, Nov. 10, the Clydesdales will march through downtown Fremont, and Thursday, Nov.11, Veteran’s Day, in downtown Muskegon. The parades are part of the Heroes United celebration honoring veterans from Muskegon, Newaygo and Oceana counties and United Way of the Lakeshore.
This will be the first appearance ever by the Budweiser Clydesdales in the City of Fremont and a return visit to the city of Muskegon where they most recently appeared in 2014. The Fremont parade will begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10, and the Muskegon parade will begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11.
The Clydesdales’ appearances in Fremont and Muskegon are one of hundreds made annually by the traveling hitches. Canadians of Scottish descent brought the first Clydesdales to America in the mid-1800s. Today, the giant draft horses are used primarily for breeding and show.
Horses chosen for the Budweiser Clydesdale hitch must be at least three years of age, stand approximately 18 hands — or six feet — at the shoulder, weigh an average of 2,000 pounds, bay in color, have four white legs, and a blaze of white on the face and black mane and tail.
It’s that spooky time of year and John Ball Zoo is joining in the Halloween fun by announcing the return of Zoo Goes Boo for two weekends Oct. 15 – 17 and Oct. 22 – 24.
The Zoo’s annual Zoo Goes Boo event is a family favorite destination for trick-or-treating. John Ball Zoo will transform into the ultimate Halloween destination with decorations, entertainment, costumes, candy, and the Zoo’s amazing animals. Zoo Goes Boo is presented by Meijer.
Traditions returns this year with spooky treat stations ready for trick-or-treating located throughout the Zoo, along with strolling entertainment.
Guests are encouraged to get in on the spooky fun and wear costumes. Also, John Ball Zoo is always looking for ways to be a friend of the environment, so they request that guests bring their own reusable bags for trick-or-treating or purchase one from the gift shop.
John Ball Zoo would like to remind families to make mindful choices when shopping for chocolate and candy this Halloween. Buy from companies that are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil or chocolate products certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
Zoo Goes Boo will be from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. each day, with a Zoo members’ only hour beginning at 9:00 a.m. John Ball Zoo would like to remind guests that Zoo Goes Boo is a children’s event. Adults in costume are requested to dress appropriately and costumes with masks are not allowed.
Guests are encouraged to purchase Zoo Goes Boo tickets in advance. A ticket link can be found online at jbzoo.org/event/zoogoesboo. John Ball Zoo is located on Fulton Ave., one mile west of downtown Grand Rapids.
Buldak chicken carbo from Broad Leaf Brewing. This dish features Heffron Farms chicken purchased through West Michigan Farmlink, peas, onions, bacon, and a spicy cheesy sauce served over soba noodles. (Photo courtesy of Broad Leaf Brewing)
Shown is the Korean corn cheese dip. (Photo courtesy of Broad Leaf Brewing)
A bowl of pork green chili from Broad Leaf Brewing. It features local pork, poblano chiles, and Michigan cheddar cheese. (Photo courtesy of Broad Leaf Brewing)
By Amy Sherman WKTV Contributing Writer
Broad Leaf Brewery + Spirits in Kentwood has introduced a new exciting menu, as well as craft spirits, to compliment its artisan beers. The brewery is excited to welcome new executive chef Gabriel Araujo, who is bringing years of experience, and a special passion for cooking that is going to fit right in here.
“Gabe has a wonderful reputation around town for the quality of his dishes and the care he puts into creating them as well as for being a great leader,” said Broad Leaf co-owner Kris Spaulding. She owns the three year old brewery with her husband Jason. They are also the owners of Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids.
Araujo comes to the brewery with ‘broad’ experience. Originally from Saranac, he’s been working in West Michigan kitchens for close to two decades. He was the opening chef at Harmony Hall West, Hancock, and most recently was the general manager and chef at Fish Lads and Carvers at the downtown market.
He also did a short stint at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College, but left before completing his degree. As a self taught chef myself, I can totally get behind his approach of just getting to work, and learning on the job.
“I found myself getting bogged down, I was working at two restaurants while attending school full time,” said Araujo via a Facebook post. “I decided to drop out and make money learning hands-on rather than paying to sit at a desk. I felt I got much more out of hands-on experience than I did at school. Being in the s*** on the line and working your way out of it while trying to stay calm, collected, organized is a better way for me to learn than any class I could take. Not to mention being surrounded by fire and knives on a slick floor.”
Chef Gabrial Aruajo works the line at Broad Leaf Brewing in Kentwood. He was recently hired as executive chef. (Photo courtesy of Broad Leaf Brewing)
Broad Leaf, which is located on the corner of Lake Eastbrook and 29th street, has gone through a few menu iterations since opening, some of which were chef driven and some due to the pandemic closings. The new menu that Araujo just introduced features interesting flavor combinations inspired by street style world cuisine.
So what the heck does that mean?
It means you’ll find things like a creamy, sweet and spicy baked corn dip, that comes out hot and bubbling with mozzarella cheese, and laced with spicy Korean gochugaru red pepper flakes. A slow and low burn comes from poblano peppers in the pork green chili, which features local pork shoulder braised to tender perfection and brightened by fresh green cilantro. The hot chicken katsu sandwich melds a classic Japanese technique with hot and spicy American flavors. A hearty chicken breast gets a crunchy panko coating and a heavy swipe of chili oil, then topped with a homemade miso pickle, shredded lettuce, American cheese, and curry mayo. When you say that a dish has flavors that sing, that is what we are talking about with Araujo’s cooking at Broad Leaf.
“I love taking the most simple of ingredients and turning them into something that someone will want to eat again and again,” said Araujo via Facebook.
Pairing up this exciting food is easy with all of the drink offerings at Broad Leaf. They recently added distilled spirits to their lineup, with their first offering being a gin, which is one of Araujo’s favorites. “The gin is killer, and Shayla (the bartender) has been doing some really cool stuff with cocktails using local seasonal fruits,” said Araujo.
Chef Gabriel Araujo (Photo courtesy of Broad Leaf)
As for beer, there is something for everyone, as the restaurant offers both the more traditional American styles that Broad Leaf makes, as well as the classic Belgium style beers that Vivant brews. Araujo is a fan of Cosmic Question, which is described as an ‘intriguing ale’ described as having a malty fruit punch flavor with just a bit of tartness. As an IPA fan, I’ve liked the Rapid IPA, which contains my favorite hop variety, Amarillo. Enigmatic Velocity is a juicy little IPA with notes of grapefruit, orange and red currant. If you are already a fan of Vivant beers, you’ll find classics like Beach Patrol to enjoy. The drinks menu changes daily, and you can see the updated list online at the Broad Leaf website.
Broad Leaf is a big, open, colorful space, with plenty of room to safely spread out. There are some private dining booths, lots of communal style tables, and a new outdoor patio. The kitchen is located in a converted shipping container inside the building, and you can see the production facility and barrel storage adjacent to the pub. Depending on the day, you might order beers at the bar. The knowledge of the staff is impressive, you can ask any question and they are happy to share what they know, and to guide you to the drink that you’ll love.
The passion of the staff here can only be enhanced by the addition of Araujo. “I love cooking because I love to create,” said Araujo. ”I love feeding people, making people happy and giving nourishment.”
The whole team at Broad Leaf is excited that Chef Gabe has arrived. “His passion and dedication to his craft inspire his team to do great things, while his approachability and kindness build a positive atmosphere,” said Kris Spaulding. “It’s something not found in enough kitchens in the restaurant industry.”
Adam Hougland’s ballet, “Cold Virtues”, scored by Philip Glass, is loosely based on “Dangerous Liaisons”, and follows a story of a power couple, moved to manipulate society for their own entertainment. (Supplied/Scott Rasmussen)
The Grand Rapids Ballet, after a year of beautiful but somewhat distant virtual performances last season as the troupe and everybody else battled COVID-19 shutdowns, will return to the live stage this week with the first weekend of its 2021-22 season of live-audience (and still virtual) performances.
GR Ballet artistic director James Sofranko and his 19 dancers’ return to the Peter Martin Wege Theatre stage — with a live audience watching, and listening to the exquisite marriage of dance and music — is an opportunity to return to a sense of normal as much as it is to a live stage.
The 2021-22 Season will feature classical ballet favorites, including The Nutcracker,Cinderella, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as showcasing contemporary works such as Off the Canvas and Jumpstart 2022.
The debut program, Off The Canvas, will offer three modern dances, choreographed by modern masters, set to modern music — including Philip Glass — or at least modern takes on classic music.
The program title is a reference to the brush strokes of a painting coming “off the canvas,” and does not have any relation to the common pugilist term “getting up off the canvas” after being knocked down — or does it?
Katarzyna Skarpetowska’s work, “Off the Canvas,” is set to music by Adrian Lim-Klumpes and Vivaldi. (Supplied(
“The title of this program Off The Canvas is taken from one of the ballets we are presenting from choreographer Katarzyna Skarpetowska, which is in fact called ‘Off the Canvas’,” Sofranko said to WKTV. “Her piece is inspired by the Baccus paintings of abstract artist Cy Twombly, so I believe that the title comes from the movement of the brush strokes coming ‘off the canvas’ and brought to life in the movements of the dancers.
“I had not heard of the boxing reference, but I do like the idea that we at Grand Rapids Ballet were dealt a very difficult situation with Covid, but we have rebounded with spirit and energy to return to live performing this season.”
Off the Canvas features three different world-class choreographers “exploring art in motion, taking inspiration from the world of visual arts” — Adam Hougland, resident choreographer Penny Saunders, and Katarzyna Skarpetowska.
“The three choreographers in the Off the Canvas have a knack for moving the dancers around the stage in bold strokes the same way an artist might paint on a large canvas,” Sofranko said in supplied material.
Skarpetowska’s work, “Off the Canvas,” is set to music by Adrian Lim-Klumpes and Vivaldi. Saunders’ ballet, “In-Frame”, features music by Max Richter and explores the creative process cycle that coincides with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Hougland’s ballet, “Cold Virtues”, is scored by Philip Glass, loosely based on “Dangerous Liaisons”, and follows a story of a power couple, moved to manipulate society for their own entertainment.
Music and dance, as always, blend on stage
Penny Saunders’ ballet, “In-Frame”, features music by Max Richter and explores the creative process cycle that coincides with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. (Supplied/Ray Nard Imagemaker)
When it comes to the marriage of music and dance, ballet — all dance classic and modern really — has always been closely tied to music in the minds of choreographers, dancers and Sofranko (who is both).
“Music is often the reason we dance, so selecting a piece of music to choreograph to is a big first step (usually) in the process of creating a new dance,” Sofranko said to WKTV. “When I choreograph, I like to listen to a piece of music over and over until I know every measure and nuance by heart, and I use that knowledge as a sort of road map to create the steps.
“Certainly, you can also create a dance in silence, and then put music on top of it, or leave it without music too, but most of my favorite dances marry the music and the movement. A choreographer can come up with an idea for a dance and then find music to go with it, or they may be inspired by a piece of music first and let that lead them to develop ideas for the dance. There is no right or wrong.”
When, were and how to see (and hear) Off The Canvas
Off the Canvas will be presented Friday to Sunday, Oct. 15-17. Tickets are available, starting at $32, online, via phone at 616-454-4771 ext. 10, or in-person at the ballet’s box office, at Grand Rapids Ballet’s home, 341 Ellsworth Ave SW, Grand Rapids. Season subscriptions are still available for the 2021-22 season, as are tickets for all its individual programs.
And having learned from its season of virtual performances, and community feedback, the Grand Rapids Ballet will also begin a “virtual season” subscription for those who wish to see the GR Ballet dancers “differently” or are unable to join in person.
Additional program details and performance dates and times can be found at grballet.com/2122season.
Katarzyna Skarpetowska’s work, “Off the Canvas,” is set to music by Adrian Lim-Klumpes and Vivaldi. (Supplied)
John Ball Zoo envisions a fresh and salt water aquarium with a million or more gallons that includes a large shark tank, a living coral reef, jellyfish, floor to ceiling viewing walls with walkthrough tunnels. (pxhere.com)
John Ball Zoo is launching a comprehensive economic and feasibility study for a premier aquarium located in West Michigan.
The John Ball Zoo began discussions earlier this year about a detailed aquarium study with Kent County when Zoo officials were approached by the City of Muskegon requesting consideration as a potential aquarium site. As a result, a joint study is set to launch to explore which location (City of Muskegon or Kent County) drives the greatest community impact and is financially feasible for a large- scale aquarium.
“We’re humbled to work with two great community partners in exploring both amazing locations,” said Peter D’Arienzo, CEO of John Ball Zoo.
“The City of Muskegon Economic Development Team takes a regional approach to growth for the community we serve. We are very grateful for the opportunity to be considered in this feasibility and economic impact analysis, and are confident Muskegon will shine as a desirable option to consider. We thank the board and administration at John Ball Zoo for the partnership in allowing our city to participate in this process,” said Jake Eckholm, Director of Development Services for the City of Muskegon.
Both Muskegon and Kent County officials are excited about a large-scale aquarium being built in the area. The Zoo, along with the City of Muskegon and Kent County understand a study of this size and breadth is important in selecting the best site and community where the aquarium can be successful and make the greatest impact.
John Ball Zoo envisions a fresh and salt water aquarium with a million or more gallons that includes a large shark tank, a living coral reef, jellyfish, floor to ceiling viewing walls with walkthrough tunnels. Exhibits will educate visitors on the wonders of salt water and fresh water ecosystems, including the Great Lakes.
“A world class aquarium would be another phenomenal attraction in the Grand Rapids area,” said Kent County Administrator/Controller Al Vandenberg. “When you consider the land and water trail network that will go from the beach in Grand Haven to eastern Kent County and the huge number of amenity linkages created by that system, the aquarium would be another anchor to ultimately bring millions of folks to our community and greater region.”
Zoo Advisors will conduct the comprehensive study, which is estimated to take up to 12 months. “The results of this comprehensive study will help define the most successful location to not only ensure success but to also drive the greatest community impact as a national tourist destination to our great state,” D’Arienzo said.
It’s October, which means fall festivals, corn mazes, trips to the apple orchard and unpredictable weather. It’s Michigan, and we love it.
I’m John Gonzalez, and for more than two decades I have offered up my “Gonzo’s Top 5” list of events and things to do. I’m excited to publish my Top 5 once again, thanks to WKTV.
My goal, as always, is to give you a fun list of local happenings, as well as throughout the region. I welcome your input and recommendations.
Also, follow me on all the Social Media channels (listed below), and I’ll be sure to give you a shout out if I use one of your suggestions.
Have a great, safe weekend.
Here we go.
Gonzo’s Top 5
5. Greater Grand Rapids Fall Train Show
If you have a train enthusiast in your family — young or old — check out the return of the Greater Grand Rapids Fall Train Show presented by the Grand River Valley Train Club. The show features 80-plus vendoors, a Thomas the Train play area for kids, a huge Lego display and a drawing for a Lionel Thomas the Train set. The show is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 9) at HSB, Inc., 5625 Burlingame Ave. SW, in Wyoming. Tickets are $5 for adults and free for those 12 and under. More details at grvrrc.org.
4. Wise Men Distillery Fall Fest
Food, fun and cocktails, oh my!
Our friends at Wise Men Distillery are offering a fall fest with outdoor dining, cornhole, live music and tasty cocktails, of course. Check out new fall releases, as well as seltzers and special tours. Hours are noon-10 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 9). Food trucks include Arcane Wood Fired Pizza (2-9 p.m.) and Patty Matters Hamburgers (3-9 p.m.) Tours are at 3 and 6 p.m. Wise Men Distillery and Cocktail Bar is located at 4717 Broadmoor Ave SE, in Kentwood. Learn more about the event on the Wise Men Distillery Facebook page.
3. Downtown Grandville Fall Fest
A first-year beer garden, the opening of the Grandville Library renovation and the annual fall festival make for a fun time this weekend in Grandville. The annual lighted pumpkin trail will be set up around the KDL building from 5-10 p.m. Friday (Oct. 8). It is for walking only. No carriage rides will be available this year. Also, the Grandville-Jenison Chamber is hosting a beer garden in the library lot with live music and food, and KDL is having its grand re-opening open house and a kid’s craft. Michigan Moonshine, Osgood Brewery, Beecher’s Pretzel Truck and Tippy Cow Root Beer Floats will be on hand.
On Saturday (Oct. 9), on the west side of the KDL Lot and along Washington Avenue, attendees can expect traditional horse drawn wagon rides, scarecrow voting, kid’s pedal tractor pulls, The Critter Barn petting farm, pumpkin decorating, a mechanical bull, a giant corn box, pedal tractors, fall themed games and more. Food trucks include Tamales Mary, Street Frites, Beecher’s Pretzel Truck, Big Ed’s BBQ, Hot Dog Cart and more. KDL is located at 4055 Maple St. SW, Grandville. Details at cityofgrandville.com or the Downtown Grandville Facebook page.
2. Wyoming Trick or Treat Trail
Formerly the Pumpkin Path, Wyoming’s Trick or Treat Trail is set for 4-6 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 9) at Lamar Park. It features about 70 businesses who pass out treats on the tasty trail. Parents are encouraged to bring the whole family, offering candy (of course!), games, face painting, bounce houses, a DJ, and more. Admission is free. Halloween costumes are optional, but always a good idea. Organizers said “all children at Trick or Treat Trail must be with a supervising adult.” Also WKTV will be “on the trail” recording fall greetings. More information on the City Parks and Recreation Center Facebook page.
1. Downtown Holland Fall Fest
It’s going to be a beautiful weekend, which means it’s a perfect time to visit Holland for its annual Fall Fest, known for its professional pumpkin carving and beautifully decorated downtown. They even have a 949-pound pumpkin on the way! The two-day event — Friday (Oct. 8) and Saturday (Oct. 9) — celebrates fall with professional pumpkin carving, children’s activities, community tulip planting, an artisan market at Windmill Island Gardens, fall walking tours, and a Farmers Market.
On Friday, eight of the nation’s best professional pumpkin carvers, including Food Network alumni, will appear from 3-7 p.m. carving jack-o-lanterns all along 8th Street. At 7 p.m., the jack-o-lanterns will be lit from within and will remain on display until 10 p.m. (Community Tulip Planting is from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday. More info at tuliptime.com.)
On Saturday, professional pumpkin carvers will appear from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Holland Farmers Market. Children also can paint their own pumpkins to bring home. Cost is $1 per pumpkin. The Farm Market opens at 8 a.m. Saturday.
The annual Holland Fall Festival is organized by Downtown Holland, the Holland Farmers Market, the Holland Visitors Bureau, Tulip Time, and Windmill Island Gardens. See the schedule of events at hollandfallfest.com or check out the Downtown Holland Facebook page.
That’s it for now. As I said earlier, email me if you have an event you want to promote.
Be safe everyone.
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s an early adopter of Social Media and SEO expert. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
As the world grapples with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, Ferris State University stakeholders quickly collaborated to create a plan to keep campus safe and in operation after the state-wide stay at home order.
Nick Kuiper
The new documentary film from regional Emmy® Award winning filmmaker Nick Kuiper, “A New Normal,” features nearly 50 interviews with students, faculty, staff, and administrators as they share their experience during the pandemic. The film captures the stress of learning during a pandemic, the collaboration necessary to keep campus running, the creative problem solving necessary to keep stakeholders safe, and the challenges involved with quickly shifting classes online. A New Normal offers a roadmap of how one university utilized feedback from all their members to safely stay open.
One such story focuses on the Ferris Plastics program’s collaboration with Operation Face Shield. While campus shifted to online education, staff and faculty in the plastics program helped develop a mold for mass production of face shields and eventually creating over 40,000 face shields that were sent out across the globe.
Imagine being an excited student ready to embark on your first study abroad trip to Peru, when suddenly, in the middle of your excursion, the Peruvian government initiates a mandatory lockdown. A New Normal showcases the quick thinking of Ferris faculty as they rush to evacuate their students before being stuck in the country indefinitely.
Also hear from students and faculty in Biotechnology, as they quickly implement revolutionary wastewater testing technology to narrow in on COVID-19 clusters and stop outbreaks before it can spread around campus.
“A New Normal” will air on WKTV Channel 25 Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. and again on Oct. 14 at 10 :30 p.m. and Oct. 15 at noon.
IllumiZoo Wild Hues at John Ball Zoo is announcing five themed music evenings on Wednesdays to mix up the fun for this popular illuminating event.
The first of the five music themed evenings begins with We Love the ‘80s on Wednesday, Oct. 13. Guests can take a totally rad step back as the top music of the 80s guides guests through IllumiZoo Wild Hues.
Set for Wednesday, Oct. 20 is the second music event with Here Comes the Beatles. Guests can twist and shout their way through IllumiZoo Wild Hues to the famous beats of the Beatles!
Grab a seat as we time travel back to the 1970s with a 70s Flashback set for Wednesday, Oct. 27. An evening of rock to disco and punk to funk, where the groovy music of the 1970s will transform IllumiZoo Wild Hues.
The fourth music theme takes a classical turn with It’s All Classical on Wednesday, Nov. 3. This evening of captivating selections of classical music will create a unique visual and auditory experience as guests make their way through an illuminated landscape of nature drenched with rich lighting and sounds.
The final music themed evening is Wednesday, Nov. 10 with Boy Bands Unite!. This fun night will get guests movin’ and groovin’ to the iconic music of boy bands. Sharing the “stage” for this evening will be BTS, NKOTB, NSYNC, The Jackson 5 and more!
Along with the themed music, IllumiZoo Wild Hues will continue to tell a conservation story by creating illuminating connections between wildlife and wild places. Showcasing how we are all connected to each other, to the land, the water, the air, the trees, and all animals, big and small, with the power to make a positive change in our world.
IllumiZoo Wild Hues tickets are $20 for adults, $13 for children ages 3-12, and free for children 2 and under with Zoo members receiving a discount on admission. The themed music nights are the same admission price.
Guests are encouraged to reserve tickets in advance to guarantee their preferred date and time to experience these music nights at IllumiZoo Wild Hues. Tickets are available at www.jbzoo.org/tickets.
John Ball Zoo is located on Fulton Ave., one mile west of downtown Grand Rapids. For questions or for more information, visit www.jbzoo.org, call 616-336-4301, or email info@jbzoo.org.
Leslie Odom Jr. originated the part of Aaron Burr in “Hamilton.” (supplied)
Tickets for the revolutionary musical about the American Revolution — “Hamilton” — will go on sale to the public Thursday, Oct. 14.
Tickets will be available at 10 a.m. online at BrodwayGrandRapids.com or Ticketmaster.com or by calling Broadway Grand Rapids at 1-616-235-6285 or Ticketmaster at 1-800-982-2782. Tickets will be for performances Feb. 8 — 20, 2022.
There is a maximum purchase limit of eight tickets per account for the engagement. When tickets go on sale prices will range from $49 to $189 with a select number of premium seats available from $249 for all performances. There will be a lottery for 40 $10 seats for all performances. Details will be announced closer to the engagement.
“It’s tempting to get tickets any way you can,” said “Hamilton” producer Jeffery Seller. “There are many sites and people who are selling overpriced, and in some cases, fraudulent tickets. For the best seats, the best prices and to eliminate the risk of counterfeit tickets, all purchase for the Grand Rapids engagement should be made through Broadway Grand Rapids.”
With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton” blends an array of music styles, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, to tell the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton. The music has received Tony, Grammy, and Oliviers Awards, the pUlitzer Prize for Drama and a special citation form the Kennedy Center Honors.
For more information about the “Hamilton” Grand Rapids performance, visit BroadwayGrandRapids.com.
The theme of this year’s Pulaski Days. (Pulaski Days Facebook)
By John D. Gonzalez WKTV Contributing Writer
After taking 2020 off because of Covid-19 restrictions, the annual Pulaski Days celebration on the west side of Grand Rapids returns this weekend, Oct. 1-3.
The theme of Pulaski Days 2021 sums it up best:
“Keep Calm and Polka On!”
“We have all experienced some sort of challenge over the past year and a half,” said longtime resident Eddie Sypniewski, a local event promoter and advocate for the west side.
Pulaski Days is the celebration of Polish/Lithuanian culture held every fall in Grand Rapids since 1973 . (Supplied)
“It’s time to step back, take a deep breath and ‘stay calm and polka on!’”
The return of the 49th annual event means a lot to the Polish community, and those who frequent the halls throughout the year. Pulaski Days is a great opportunity to spend the weekend in food, drink and entertainment when 14 halls are open to the public.
What does Sypniewski love most about Pulaski Days?
“I love it all!” he said. “Family, food, music, tradition. The parade and Polka Mass are there for all to participate.”
“The turnout has been amazing, more than even in year’s past,” she said. “I feel like people are anxious to get back out and back into Pulaski Days. The buzz is good. We’re going to have a big turnout this weekend.
Pulaski Days on the west side of Grand Rapids dates back to 1973, and honors Revolutionary War Hero Gen. Casimir Pulaski. Fourteen private halls will be open to the public this weekend featuring Polish food, music, and dancing.
Each hall will have a variety of events. The parade is at 11 a.m. Saturday and runs down Michigan Street starting at College Avenue and ends at Diamond Avenue.
The polka Mass is at 10 a.m. Sunday at Holy Spirit Church.
Polish Halls open to the public Oct. 1-3:
American Legion Post 459 (658 Michigan Ave NE)
Knights of Columbus (1104 Muskegon NW)
Polish Falcons (957 W Fulton)
Polish National Aid Society – Jackson Street Hall (921 Jackson St NW)
Sacred Heart Benevolent Society Eastern Avenue Hall (506 Eastern Ave NE)
Sacred Heart Club – Kosciuszko Hall (935 Park St SW)
Saint Adalberts Aid Society – 5th Street Hall (701 5th Street NW)
Saint Casimir’s – 6th Street Hall (649 6th St NW)
Saint Isidores Aid Society – Diamond Hall, home of the Pulaski Days Monument and Pulaski Square (435 Diamond NE)
Saint Ladislaus Aid Society “Laddies Hall” (58 Lane Ave SW)
Saint Stanislaus – Little Hall (823 Michigan Ave NE)
Saints Peter & Paul Aid Society – Saint Georges (1513 Quarry NW)
Sons & Daughters Club (1057 Hamilton NW)
Vytautas Aid Society (1300 Hamilton Ave NW)
For more information, including a list of events, go to pulaskidays.org.
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s an early adopter of Social Media and SEO expert. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
Outdoor adventure center Adventure Point, the region’s premier youth and adult adventure center focused on team building, sustainability, STEM, leadership and outdoor adventures for all ages, is hosting Fall Harvest Days Saturday, Oct. 9 and Sunday, Oct. 10 at the 35 acre campus at 3213 Walker Avenue, just 2 miles northwest of downtown Grand Rapids.
Visitors must purchase tickets in advance for a morning or afternoon session. Saturday has two sessions: 9am-Noon and Noon-5pm. Sunday’s session runs from 11a-5pm.
This fun, family-friendly event is 100% outdoors and will incorporate safe social distancing and strict safety guidelines. Masks will be worn/required upon entry and in any area where 6 feet of distance cannot be guaranteed while on property.
Visitors are invited to come explore the beautiful 35+ acres that is Adventure Point during Fall’s most beautiful color display, with a wooded campus where Mill Creek runs along groomed trails.
ACTIVITIES (included with admission)
Apple Target Practice on the Archery Range – Test your skills or learn a new one!
Apple Cider and Doughnut Cafe -Your admission includes a delicious snack of cider and freshly made doughnuts!
Fall Harvest Photo Shoot – We will provide a beautiful Photo Shoot area where we will take your Fall photo and send you the digital copy, or bring your camera!
Visit Pumpkin Hollow – For guests 5 and under. Games, Climbing Wall and even some tasty snack prizes!
Trick or Treat Trail – Follow the clues and you can’t lose! Trick or Treaters will love finding treats along our non-scary trails!
EVENT PRICING
Family Pass – $75
Up to 6 members of same household.
Includes cider and doughnut for each person.
Includes visit to Pumpkin Hollow, Fall Photo Booth and Trick or Treat Lane.
10 activity tickets (good for zipline, climbing wall, choice of shooting sports).
Individual Pass – $15
Admission for 1 Adult and 1 minor (4-17) child.
Children under 4 admitted free.
Includes cider and doughnut.
Includes visit to Pumpkin Hollow, Fall Photo Booth and Trick or Treat Lane.
2 activity tickets (good for zipline, climbing wall, choice of shooting sports).
Additional activity tickets can be purchased on site for $5.
Horrocks Market Tavern offers a ranger of fall beers from local breweries and beyond. (John D. Gonzalez)
By John D. Gonzalez WKTV Contributing Writer
It’s fall, which means colorful foliage, brisk mornings and homecoming football games.
But if you’re a craft beer fan, it also means fall beers, namely – Oktoberfest!
“I’m a huge Lager and Pilsner fan,” says Carley Morrison, manager at the Horrocks Market Tavern, “so I like that Oktoberfest has a little bit more than that.
“It’s such a good style, and a lot of people agree because we sell so many of them. It’s a huge hype.”
The change of seasons, especially for craft beer lovers, is a good opportunity to try new styles and break out of your comfort zone.
Horrocks Farm Market, 4455 Breton Rd. SE, Kentwood, is the perfect place to do it with more than 50 taps of cider, seltzers and beer, of course. In addition, you can find aisles of packaged beers and singles, as well as wine from all over the world.
Morrison’s goal is to keep the taps rotating, “and always craft,” with a huge variety of Michigan beer. But she also works hard to get brands from popular breweries across the country, such as 3 Floyds Brewing Co., in Munster, Ind., which just began distribution in Michigan.
Horrocks is one of a few places in the Grand Rapids area to have 3 Floyds’ “Munsterfest” on tap.
And it’s tasty.
“It has a lot of bready notes to it,” Morrison said. “It’s super crisp and clean; a little bit of an Amber flavor. I think 3 Floyds really knocked it out with Munsterfest.”
Morrison was also able to snag some of Rake Beer Project’s “FESTIVōL,” an anticipated beer from the popular Muskegon brewery.
“It’s a little unique; a Farmhouse style,” Morrison said. “It’s not too funky, just a little different. It’s really good.”
Other popular Oktoberfest beers available this weekend:
On Tap:
3 Floyds “Munsterfest” Oktoberfest
Hofbrau “Oktoberfest”
In Bottles or Cans:
Fair State “Festbier” German Style Festbier
Rake “FESTIVōL” Oktoberfest Style Farmhouse
Hacker Pschorr “Oktoberfest” German Marzen Lager
Hofbrau “Oktoberfest” German Marzen Lager
Brew Detroit “Corktoberfest” Marzen Style Lager
And there are always new beers coming in, so be sure to ask Morrison or anyone in the taproom about new releases.
If you’re not familiar with “Oktoberfest” (also known as a German Marzen-style), Morrison recommends you try some of the German beers – “at least a couple of them” – to better understand the style.
Fall offerings are available on tap and in bottles and cans. (John D. Gonzalez)
“It’s nice because at Horrock’s you can buy singles, so you don’t have to commit to a full pack of anything,” Morrison said.
You can’t go wrong with Oktoberfest beers from Hacker Pschorr, Paulaner and Hofbrau.
“All of those are going to be great,” she said.
Horrocks Market Tavern also offers samples at the bar, a beer garden, and a dining area to enjoy pizza, sushi, soups and salads, and beverages, too. It has a separate entrance on the west side of the parking lot off Breton Road SE.
Even if you’re not a craft beer fan, this is a perfect time to check out Horrocks Farm Market, Morrison said.
“In addition to all the great seasonal beers, we also have all the fun seasonal items like mums, caramel apples, and popcorn…you’re definitely going to find something you love.”
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s an early adopter of Social Media and SEO expert. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at
The Friends of Art Award, “Rain After Dark”, by Carolyn Sowa of Caledonia. (Muskegon Museum of Art)
The Muskegon Museum of Art’s 92nd Michigan Contemporary Art Exhibition this fall continues the museum’s “well-established legacy of showcasing the work of Michigan artists, from talented beginners to accomplished professionals in the longest running juried show of its kind in Michigan.”
The exhibit opened Sep. 23, with a public reception and awards program, and the show will be on display until Nov. 10. Also coming up at the museum is its annual Appraisal Fair fundraiser on Oct. 16. (See more information later in this story.)
“The (contemporary art) exhibition presents a look at the issues, themes, and materials inspiring today’s Michigan artists,” Art Martin, MMA Director of Collections and Exhibitions/Senior Curator, said in supplied material. “The artwork is meant to engage, challenge, and inspire conversation.”
Best of Show winner, “Kellie Looks Left”, by Bryan Hoffman of Saugatuck. (Muskegon Museum of Art)
Several west Michigan artists are among the artists honored and having their works on display.
The Best of Show winner, “Kellie Looks Left”, is by Bryan Hoffman of Saugatuck; Honorable Mentions of the exhibition include, “silenceINsojourn” by Ralph “Nunzi” Annunziata of Grand Rapids, and “Ebb and Flow” by Henry Droski of Grand Rapids.
The Curator’s Choice, “The Waters Began at Home,” is by Lee Ann Frame of Fruitport. The Friends of Art Award, “Rain After Dark”, is by Carolyn Sowa of Caledonia. The West Michigan Potters Guild Eleanore Smith Memorial Ceramics Award went to Jamey Limbers of Lowell (for Untitled #2), and the Docent’s Choice Award, “Desperate Times”, is by Nathan Margoni of Benton Harbor.
Juror (and artist) of exhibition
Juror Karen Hampton selected the works in the exhibition. Hampton is an internationally recognized conceptual artist whose work “addresses issues of colorism and kinship within the African American community,” according to the announcement.
Hampton is a weaver, dyer, painter, embroiderer, storyteller, and teacher whose work exhibits nationally and internationally. She taught at Howard University in Washington, D.C. from 2007-2011, and in 2017 was an assistant professor and Critical Race Issues Resident Artist at Michigan State University.
The Muskegon Museum of Art is located in downtown Muskegon at 296 W. Webster Ave. For more information visit muskegonartmuseum.org or by calling 231-720-2570. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays and closed Mondays.
MMA Appraisal Fair returns October 16
The Muskegon Museum of Art will host its returning (usually annual) Appraisal Fair on Saturday, Oct.16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appraisers from DuMouchelles Art Galleries in Detroit will be at the event to evaluate collectibles, jewelry, art, and antiques. DuMouchelles appraisers combine decades of professional experience in many areas and have regularly appeared on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow.
Director’s Choice. “Dream Lake Sunset”, by Peter Blackburn. (Muskegon Museum of Art)
The event provides an opportunity to help participants decide if a formal appraisal (apart from this event) should be sought for high-value items.
All proceeds benefit the Muskegon Museum of Art.
Appraisals will be available by advance-ticket reservations only as the system should decrease wait times and crowding. The cost is $30 per item for non-MMA member ($20 per item for members) and tickets are available at the Museum Store counter or by calling 231-720-2580.
Each ticket includes a 10-minute verbal evaluation for one item, one museum admission, and free coffee and cookies. Ticket holders must check in at Museum Store upon arrival. Customers will receive notification of their turn with a text message from museum staff.
After being cancelled last year due to Covid, Downtown Holland’s annual Fall Fest is back…and this year is bigger and better than ever before! Downtown Holland and the Holland Farmers Market have partnered with the Holland Visitors Bureau, Tulip Time, and Windmill Island Gardens to expand this year’s Fall Fest offerings. During this two-day event held Friday, Oct. 8, and Saturday, Oct. 9, the entire community is invited to celebrate everything there is to love about fall, with professional pumpkin carving, children’s activities, family hayrides, community tulip planting, an artisan market at Windmill Island Gardens, fall walking tours, and more.
Fall Fest kicks on Friday, Oct. 8, with Community Tulip Planting from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., hosted by Tulip Time. Visitors and community members can visit the Tulip Time website (www.tuliptime.com) to sign up for a time slot to help plant 75,000 of Holland’s famous tulip bulbs at Window On The Waterfront in Downtown Holland. All volunteers will be treated to complimentary donuts from Bowerman’s Blueberry Market and coffee from Biggby Coffee of Holland. Gardening gloves are recommended, but all other tools and instructions will be provided onsite.
Fall Fest continues on Friday, October 8 with eight of the nation’s best professional pumpkin carvers, including Food Network alumni, appearing in Downtown Holland from 3 – 7 p.m. The carvers will spend the afternoon and evening carving jack-o-lanterns all along 8th Street in Downtown Holland. At 7 p.m., the jack-o-lanterns will be lit from within and will remain on display until 10 p.m. that night for visitors to explore while strolling through Downtown Holland.
The professional carvers also will be assembling 3D pumpkin sculptures. (Supplied)
On Saturday, Oct. 9, the professional pumpkin carvers will appear at the Holland Farmers Market from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., carving 3D sculptures onsite. Children can also paint their own pumpkins to bring home during that time for just a dollar per pumpkin, with all painting supplies provided by Fris Supply Shop in Downtown Holland. Market vendors Visser Farmers also will be offering hayrides from the Holland Farmers Market to Downtown Holland and back again from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Hayrides are just $3 per person for the round trip.
The Holland Farmers Market will be open from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. that day. Visitors will find seasonal décor items, including pumpkins, gourds, mums, and corn shocks at the Market, along with apples of every variety, squash, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables. And as always, you can pick up bread and baked goods, farm-raised and fresh caught meat, honey and maple syrup, and a wide variety of specialty foods and beverages while you’re there.
The Community Tulip Planting will continue on Saturday morning at Window On The Waterfront from 8 a.m. – noon. Tulip Time also will be offering guided fall walking tours throughout Downtown Holland that day from 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Each tour is approximately an hour and a half long and covers one and a half miles. Tour highlights include Hope College, Dimnent Chapel, Pillar Church, Centennial Park, and unique architecture sites. Tours are $25 per person and tickets must be purchased in advance at www.tuliptime.com.
Tulip Time will also be hosting an all-new Artisan Market at Windmill Island Gardens from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. as part of Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 9. More than 50 local artisans and crafters will be selling their works as part of this juried show. Visitors can shop for hand-crafted jewelry, home décor, artwork, clothing, specialty foods, and more. Entry to the Artisan Market is just $5 per person, which also includes the opportunity to tour the beautiful gardens at Windmill Island and to visit the Dutch attractions, including the DeZwaan Windmill, the historic Dutch carousel, the miniature Dutch village, and much more. Professionally-carved pumpkins will also be on display throughout Windmill Island Gardens during the Artisan Market.
The Fall Fest fun continues in Downtown Holland on Saturday, October 9 too! The professional pumpkin carvers will return to 8th Street from noon – 7 p.m. that day to continue carving 3D pumpkin displays. Watch these talented artists at work all afternoon long, then be sure to return later on in the evening from 7 – 10 p.m. to see their finished masterpieces. To add to the fun for families, street performers will also be performing on 8th Street from noon – 4 p.m., including musicians, face painters, balloon twisters, and more.
The fully assembled James Webb Space Telescope with its sunshield and unitized pallet structures (UPSs) that fold up around the telescope for launch, are seen partially deployed to an open configuration to enable telescope installation. Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) will host another installment in their Backyard Stargazing virtual program will take place Oct. 21 at 6 p.m., focused on the upcoming launch of NASA’s James Webb Telescope.
Virtual attendees will join the GRPM’s Chaffee Planetarium staff to learn about the James Webb Space Telescope’s current mission to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, its history, and the potential risks of this endeavor. The James Webb Space Telescope has a 6.5-meter-wide mirror with a honeycomb-like pattern of 18 gold-coated mirror segments; these hexagonal segments will unfold in space to form the largest and most powerful space telescope. This ambitious space telescope is expected to open doors to a new field of possibilities in infrared astronomy, although the project has undergone numerous delays, including a major redesign in 2005. The expected launch date is set for Saturday, December 18, 2021.
“We’re excited to continue expanding on the space and science curriculum we present for our virtual Backyard Stargazing programs,” said Jack Daleske, the GRPM’s Planetarium Manager. “Our planetarium team is so excited about this historic mission and we want to share as much information as possible leading up to the launch, while providing viewers with the tools they need to continue expanding their curiosity about this topic.”
Backyard Stargazing programs are only $2 for GRPM members and $4 for the general public. One ticket link is needed per household. Capacity is limited; early registration is recommended. Tickets can be purchased at grpm.org/Calendar.
Meet-ups are in webinar style held via Zoom, so attendees will be able to see the GRPM panelists, but not each other. A brief Q & A session will follow the presentation.
The Chaffee Planetarium is open with shows playing daily for all ages. To see the current show schedule and learn more, visit grpm.org/Planetarium.
You don’t have to head to New York City to see the work of iconic American painter and printmaker Jasper Johns. The Grand Rapids Art Museum is set to open an exhibition of his prints only a couple of days after New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art opens its exhibit of Johns’ paintings.
Souvenir, 1970, Lithograph on paper, has a self portrait of Jasper Johns in the lower left corner.
(Photo by Gene Pittman for Walker Art Center.)
“An Art of Changes: Jasper John Prints, 1960-2018,” will be on display at the GRAM from Oct. 2 through Jan. 8. The exhibition surveys six decades of Johns’ practice of printmaking through a selection of about 90 works in a wide range of techniques.
“‘An Art of Changes’ is one of the most beautiful exhibitions I have seen at GRAM,” said GRAM Chief Curator Ron Platt. “Making prints was just as important to Johns as making paintings, and over his long career he mastered the full range of printmaking processes and materials. Johns is rightly known as a deep thinker, but this exhibition proves how much he also loved working with different materials and processes to create works that dazzle the eye.”
Johns, who at the age of 91 continues to work at his Connecticut studio, became well known for his American flag and targets. In 1958, Johns had the opportunity for a solo exhibition at the famed Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City, where the Museum of Modern Art purchased three of his pieces, according the artist’s bio.
“The truth is sometimes scorned but it is that one night I dreamed I painted a large American flag and the next day I got up and went out and bought materials to begin it,” Johns said in an interview about his art.
Always more focused on the process of art, Johns transitioned to print making with his first print, a lithography of a target, released in 1960. Since then, he has reworked many of his paintings in print form using strategies and techniques such as fragmenting, doubling, reversing, and varying scale or color. To date, Johns has created more than 350 prints in intaglio, lithography, wood and linoleum cut, screen printing, lead relief, and blind embossing.
Target, 1974, screen on paper (Jasper Johns/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY)
The exhibition follows Johns’ deep fascination with printmaking and is organized in four thematic sections: “Signs & Systems,” “In the Studio,“ “Surfaces,” and “Traces.” Viewers will see examples of the artist’s recognizable flags, targets, and numerals as well as images that incorporate the tools, materials, and techniques of mark-making; abstract works derived from images of flagstones and hatch marks; and more recent works that teem with autobiographical and personal imagery.
The GRAM is located at 101 Monroe Ave. NW. For museum hours and admission, visit ArtMuseumGR.org or call 616-831-1000.
That’s part of the message of “Created by Circumstance,” a collaboration between the Grand Rapids Ballet Company and Dégagé Ministries as part of ArtPrize 2021, which continues through Oct. 3 in downtown Grand Rapids.
Three performances of the six-minute show — created by GRB professional dancer Gretchen Steimle — are planned beginning at 5:30 tonight (Sept. 22), with additional shows Sept. 24 and 26.
The goal of the show, and collaboration, is to share a message of hope, help and awareness, said Thelma Ensink, executive director at Dégagé Ministries.
She said more than 800 people a night experience homelessness in Grand Rapids.
“It’s such a variety of circumstances that places someone in that position,” Ensink said. “I am constantly amazed at the stories I hear from the people we serve; some have Masters Degrees and above, and then experience a traumatic event in their life or struggle with mental health or whatever it may be… All of us are vulnerable to being in this position.”
“Created by Circumstance” offers a glimpse into the lives of those experiencing homelessness in the Heartside neighborhood.
Steimle, a member of the Grand Rapids Ballet, began the project last winter, where she communicated with staff, as well as musicians Thomas and Isaac, who knew first-hand of the resources that Dégagé provides the community.
She was at first “overwhelmed with the idea” of creating an artistic piece of work from their struggles.
Gretchen Steimle, a member of the Grand Rapids Ballet, was the creative force behind “Created by Circumstance.” (Supplied)
“I can only create from my perspective,” Steimle said, “so I really tried to find the ways we were connecting, and the commonality we were finding together in what we shared.”
And what they shared was “hope, and dance, and music, and art, and all of those things that all humans experience,” she said.
The six-minute, music and movement piece includes four dancers from the Grand Rapids Ballet Company, as well as saxophone and vocals from patrons Isaac and Thomas, who have been served by Dégagé.
Words in the piece are actual testimonials and quotes from patrons, as well as songs and rhythms.
“It’s really this big, community movement piece,” she said.
It’s a testimony of an organization that strives to keep up with the demand, especially after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to ongoing services, Dégagé added new services such as job creation for patrons, hotel stays, extended shelter hours and PPE, according to reps.
In 2020, Dégagé served more than 60,000 meals, provided more than 7,200 loads of laundry, nearly 6,000 showers, and helped 52 women move into housing.
To see their community work turned into art is an awesome experience, Ensink said.
“I love that ballet and homelessness came together,” she said.
“That isn’t something you often think about as coming together…. Dance is an ancient art form, and I love that dance is expressing homelessness, It’s raw, it’s human. And that’s what homelessness is, it’s raw and it’s human.
Grand Rapids Ballet dancers and musicians Thomas and Isaac will perform “Created by Circumstance,” an ArtPrize 2021 entry. (Supplied)
“I love that dance is expressing this in such a beautiful way. I think people will be truly moved by this performance.”
As for ArtPrize, “Created by Circumstance” is included among other artist entries as a recipient of one of ArtPrize’s curatorial grants.
Each of the three performance locations also will include a QR code for visitors to scan with a chance of finding cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,500 each to award to any participating artist which would directly impact Dégagé by supporting its mission.
In addition, Ensink said Dégagé is expanding and is in the middle of a $7.3 million capital campaign. Each performance will have information about the campaign available via QR codes.
Ensink hopes ArtPrize attendees will see all the good things they do for the community through their ministry.
“We are all people created in God’s image, and we are all connected,” she said. “We all have the potential of being friends, of being neighbors and of being a community that supports one another.”
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s an early adopter of Social Media and SEO expert. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
The six-minute performance will be done at three different locations in the city on Sept. 22, 24, and 26. (Supplied)
Call it what you will — Folk, Americana, blue grass or new grass — mandolin master Sam Bush has played ‘em all and played with ‘em all.
And Bush will bring his new band to Grand Rapids Oct. 6 as St. Cecilia Music Center kicks off its 2021-22 season of return-to-live performances by folk, jazz and chamber music artists.
Mandolin virtuoso Bush will usher in a new season of the Acoustic Café Folk Series, with the concert starting at 7:30 p.m., after a drought of live concerts with a live audience during a 19-month closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tickets for Sam Bush are available at scmc-online.org or by calling 616-459-2224.
Sam Bush.(Courtesy of the artist)
Sam Bush has released seven albums over the past two decades, but his fame is rightly grounded in his live performances with the “who’s who” of Americana and bluegrass. Punch Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Greensky Bluegrass are just a few present-day bluegrass vanguards among so many musicians he’s influenced.
In 2009, the Americana Music Association awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist.
“With this band I have now, I am free to try anything,” Bush said in supplied material. “Looking back at the last 50 years of playing “new grass”, with the elements of jazz improvisation and rock-n-roll, jamming, playing with New Grass Revival, Leon, and Emmylou; it’s a culmination of all of that. … I can unapologetically stand onstage and feel I’m representing those songs well.”
St. Cecilia’s deep, impressive folk series lineup
After the Sam Bush concert Wednesday, Oct. 6, the St. Cecilia Muisc Center’s Acoustic Café Folk Series just does not stop through the fall, winter and into spring 2022.
This fall, Rodney Crowell is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 12; Leo Kottke on Friday, Nov. 19; the Milk Carton Kids on Thursday, Dec. 2; and Watkins Family Hour on Thursday, Dec. 16.
“During this coming season we will be featuring most of the artists who were scheduled to appear last season and had to be sidelined due to COVID-19,” Cathy Holbrook, St. Cecilia executive and artistic director, said in supplied material. “These great artists are looking forward to getting back out on tour to perform in front of live audiences and to bring music back to concert stages in the U.S. and worldwide. … (And) we so missed seeing our loyal supporters and music lovers in person.”
Things really get cookin’ in the Acoustic Café in 2022 as well, starting with local fave May Erlewine on Thursday, Feb. 17 — if you didn’t catch Erlewine’s late 2019 socially/politically charged release “Second Sight”, which was unjustly lost in the shuffle of the pandemic, you missed one of the best local releases in years.
Following Erlewine, Shawn Colvin will make a much-delayed return on Thursday, May 12; followed by the incomparable Judy Collins on Wednesday, May 18.
Special note: as of this day/time, SCMC will require proof of fully vaccinated status, or a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours, to attend a concert at the SCMC venue. Attendees need to bring photo ID and proof of vaccination, or a negative test, the night of a concert.
Also, given the current pandemic status, SCMC also “highly recommends” that all attendees wear a mask while in the building.
“We will continue to monitor the COVID environment and may change policies at any time if necessary,” according to a SCMC statement. “Please note that individual artists may issue mandated mask requirements and we will honor their request.”
All ticket holders will be notified if mandatory mask requirements are in effect for a particular show by an artist. If you a have tickets to an upcoming performance and are unwilling or unable to abide by this policy, please contact the SCMC box office for a refund at kelly@scmc-online.org a minimum of 48 hours prior to the concert date.
For complete information on all shows at St. Cecilia, visit SCMC-online.org.
Circle Theatre and Wealthy Theatre partner up to bring back Movies on the Lawn. (Supplied)
Circle Theatre will partner with Wealthy Theatre once again to bring back Movies On the Lawn events. Halloween movies include “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 and “Hocus Pocus” on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
Get in the Halloween spirit – bring your picnic baskets, blankets and beach chairs, favorite costumes, friends and family, and join Circle Theatre and Wealthy Theatre for a spooky night of Halloween fun on the lawn at the Performing Arts Center, 1703 Robinson Rd. SE. All proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to supporting local theatre through Circle Theatre and Wealthy Theatre. Masks will be required when indoors at our Performing Arts Center.
For “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” tickets are $20 and include a prop bag. Cash bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and a concession stand with popcorn and candy will be available. Picnic style food is welcome. Patrons can get into the spirit and join in all the fun with complimentary prop bags, as well as enjoying Circle Theatre’s very own Shadow Cast performing on both nights. Doors open at 7 p.m., costume contest at 7:45 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.
For “Hocus Pocus,” tickets are $15. This special, family-friendly showing for all ages will feature a concession stand with popcorn and candy. Picnic style food is welcome. Patrons can get into the witching spirit with $5 Witches Bags for kids featuring everything your kids will need to put a spell on your friends and family. Doors open at 7 p.m., Costume Contest at 7:45 p.m., Show Starts at 8 p.m.
Local theatre has taken a deep hit this summer with multiple postponements and cancellations due to COVID-19. These intermissions have left both Circle Theatre and Wealthy Theatre with renewed commitments to keeping theatre alive through safe and entertaining community events. These events are just one of the many ways that you can help support Circle Theatre and Wealthy Theatre.
For more information on the Movies On the Lawn events or to purchase tickets, call the box office at 616-456-6656 or visit circletheatre.org. Find more information about Wealthy Theatre and its upcoming events at grcmc.org/theatre.
Executive Chef Josef Huber at Gun Lake Casino shows off the popular burger, which comes with two 4.5-oz. patties. (Photo by John D. Gonzalez)
By John D. Gonzalez WKTV Contributing Writer
WAYLAND, MI – If you’re looking for more than 100 craft beers in one place, big TV screens for the big game and a tasty steak dinner, then you’ll be happy about three new restaurant and entertainment concepts at Gun Lake Casino.
Located right off Exit 61 on US 131, the casino’s growth and build out phase has been evident to passersby and patrons for months. Now it’s show time.
Reps of the Gun Lake Tribe’s Tribal Council and Gun Lake Casino executive team celebrated the opening of Phase IV of its expansion with a special ribbon cutting on Friday morning.
Even though today (Sept. 17) is the official grand opening, the crew has been testing systems and serving hungry customers for a couple weeks.
Everyone is loving it, said Gun Lake Casino executive Chef Josef Huber, who spent 23 years in the same role at Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids.
“I guarantee you’re going to have a great time out here,” he said on Thursday. “You’re going to be surprised by the amenities we offer, the food we serve and the quality of drinks.”
The new offerings at the 229,000-square-foot facility, owned by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi, include:
SHKODÉ Chophouse (ISH-KO-DAY), a flame-grilled steak and seafood restaurant open Thursday through Sunday, which offers a fresh take on American Cuisine and Artisan-crafted cocktails and curated wine list. Expect big flavors from a 32-oz. Tomahawk steak or 16-oz. New York Strip, said Chef Huber. Seafood lovers can delight in a platter for two, King Salmon and more. SHKODE is the Potawatomi word for fire and “honors Gun Lake Casino’s heritage through attention to flavor and quality with locally sourced and freshly harvested ingredients,” reps said.
CBK, a.k. “Craft, Bar, Kitchen” (Photo by John D. Gonzalez)
CBK, a.k.a. “Craft, Bar, Kitchen,” features more than 100 beers in bottles, cans and on draft. In addition, diners can check out the farm-to-table menu and shareables. Chef Huber said they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner with 45 items on the menu; open daily. Favorites already include the burger, fish tacos and Chinese chicken salad. And they have pastas and sandwiches, too. He also brought back the popular Philly cheesesteak egg roll with a spicy aioli sauce from the former Sand Hill Cafe. CBK also has a new outdoor fireplace.
131 Sportsbar & Lounge, which has been re-imagined from its previous incarnation, offers floor-to-ceiling LED video walls and 180-degree panoramic views. Chef Huber said the video walls feature more than 28 million pixels and 1,000 square feet of HD viewing surface. “If you’re a sports fan, and you want to watch sports, this is the place to do it,” he said. As for the menu, he said fans can expect “great bar food, burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, salads and apps, and wash it down with some beer.” It also has a huge stage. The plan is to feature live music, comedy and sports entertainment. Local band Wayland and national act Blue Oyster Cult perform this weekend. (Both concerts are sold out.) In addition, 131 Sportsbar & Lounge has an outdoor patio area.
Along with the excitement of the official opening, those visiting the casino this weekend will see a variety of evening entertainment throughout the venue, including aerialists, stilt walkers, magicians, living statues, mimes and a speed artist.
But Chef Huber encourages guests to come out any day of the week.
“You can come on a Monday evening, on a Tuesday morning, on a Saturday or whenever you have a day off,” he said.
Whether it’s the highly touted burger, egg roll, wings, pizza or steak, “you’re going to have a hard time” deciding what to have first, he added.
SHOKÉ is the Potawatomi word for fire and the SHOKÉ Chophouse honors Gun Lake Casino’s attention heritage with attention to detail and quality. (Photo by John D. Gonzalez)
In addition to the new dining and entertainment options, the casino features 2,500 state-of-the art slot machines, 47 table games, a modern sportsbook, and keno.
Other dining options include the Harvest Buffet, which features fresh ingredients and cooked to order items. Chef Huber also oversees the buffet, as well an employee-only cafe where he serves more than 500 people daily. Each employee gets a free meal on their shift, reps said.
For more information about the offerings at the Gun Lake Casino, visit www.gunlakecasino.com.
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He’s an early adopter of Social Media and SEO expert. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
The beauty of fall is on display with Chrysanthemums & More! at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. (Supplied/by Johnny Quirin)
By D.A. Reed
WKTV Contributing Writer
As West Michigan enters the fall season, the local community can enjoy an annual floral feast — an exhibition that literally spans thousands of blossoms across 158 sprawling acres.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is presenting its fall horticulture exhibition, Chrysanthemums & More!, opening to the public Sept. 17 and on display through Oct.31. The largest of its kind in Michigan, the exhibition not only features expansive displays of chrysanthemums and fall foliage, it also offers family-friendly activities.
“This year’s theme for Chrysanthemums & More! is Autumn Glow,” Steve LaWarre, Vice President of Horticulture, said in supplied material. “We hope that guests will notice how the low light of autumn softens textures and cast long shadows and see how some leaves and plants appear as if they are glowing from within, illuminating fall’s beauty.”
Chrysanthemums & More! at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a flower show and so much more. (Supplied/by Johnny Quirin)
Outdoor pathways offer a treat for your senses, allowing you to peruse various gardens aglow with vibrant fall plantings while breathing the crisp fall air. Be sure to pay attention to changes in texture, hue, and mood as you move from the intensity of sun-filled spaces to the understated low light of autumn afternoons.
Stunning displays are also available for viewing indoors, with a notable and exciting weekly change in the BISSELL Corridor as different local floral designers create a singular arrangement highlighting the chrysanthemum as its primary element.
Other activities offered during the horticulture exhibition include local gourd art, The Fall Bonsai Show, music and dancing, and Hallowee-ones.
Chrysanthemums & More! at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a flower show and so much more. (Supplied/by Johnny Quirin)
Starting off will be the Herb & Gourd Fest on Sept. 18-19. Participants will discover many ways to use herbs and gourds at this event, including how to create gourd art using locally available supplies.
Tuesdays at the Farm will occur Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 and feature the James & Shirley Balk Café pop-up with fresh local fare, West Michigan beer, and an adult cocktail. Dance to local music in the barn and enjoy an Autumn Glow display featured at Michigan’s Farm Garden.
For young visitors, Oct. 22 boasts Hallowee-ones, a special event designed for your “wee ones” from 10 a.m. to noon, with a parade at 10:15 a.m. Children are encouraged to be creative and dress as a sculpture, fish or flower, or in any other way that highlights the Children’s Garden. No tricks. No treats. Just fun!
All exhibition programming activities are included with admission. For a full listing of events visit https://www.meijergardens.org/.
Opera Grand Rapids is looking for volunteers to help in a number of capacities from greeting patrons to helping with administrative needs.
Ushers and greeters are needed for the company’s upcoming productions which are “Don Giovanni,” Oct. 22 and 24; “Stinney: An American Execution,” Feb. 25 and 27; and “Turandot,” April 22 and 23. Time commitment is usually two to four hours totals. Ushers and greeters are called one hour prior to the start of the show in order to check in with the Opera Grand Rapids staff representative, to ask questions and prepare for the performance. There are clothing requirements to serve as an usher.
Other volunteer positions include artist services helping to transport artists and provide host homes; load-in/load-out team for the sets; special events that have check-in tables, coat check and other needs; and administrative tasks such as mailings, data entry, filing, and courtesy calling. Volunteers do earn two free complimentary tickets to productions that they assist with.
LowellArts invites you to the 53rd annual, 2-day arts festival held in picturesque Fallasburg Park, located approximately 20 miles east of Grand Rapids in Lowell, MI. The event features fine art and fine craft booths, food booths, children’s activities, and music performed on an outdoor stage. Fallasburg Park is located at 1124 Fallasburg Rd, Lowell. The event is free and parking is $5 per car.
On a central, outdoor stage, a variety of musical live entertainment will be showcased both days of the event. Saturday’s performers include Eli Roe Music, Hawks and Owls, The Weatherheads, Paddy’s Cure, and the Bruce Matthews Band. Sunday’s performers include Easy Idle String Band, Blue Water Ramblers, B-Side Growlers, The Adams Family, and The Wild Honey Collective.
Join in the great activities happening throughout the weekend, including:
Annual Raffle: Enter to win this year’s beautiful quilt, by Mary Kidwell Tobin, or one of over 75 artist-made items donated by this year’s festival artists.
Children’s Activities: Free pumpkins will be available, one per child, for kids to take home to decorate. Children are also invited on a Fallasburg Scavenger Hunt!
Food Booths: The Fallasburg Arts Festival is a major annual fundraiser for LowellArts as well as for many other community non-profits who raise funds through food sales and donations.
For the safety of the guests, volunteers, and artists at the Fallasburg Arts Festival, it is recommended that guests wear a CDC approved face mask to help protect yourself and others from COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status. Free masks will be available at the LowellArts Information Booth. Due to additional precautions this year, hands-on children’s crafts will not be provided and the indoor pavilion will be closed.
The Covenant Fine Arts Center at Calvin University is known for being a great venue for live music as well as being a place to see acts the “college crowd” is getting into these days.
A prime example is Andy Shauf — whose “The Neon Skyline” recent release has gained praise from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR Music and The Atlantic, with NPR calling him “A gifted singer-songwriter. More than that, a gifted storyteller.” Shauf opens the center’s fall 2021 season with a concert this week.
Local faves The Accidentals is coming to Calvin University’s Covenant Fine Arts Center. (Supplied by the band)
But Shauf’s visit is just the beginning: on Sept. 25, the center will present An Evening with Dawes, with West Michigan favorite The Accidentals (with Sawyer Fredericks) coming Oct. 9, David Ramirez on Oct. 20, Joy Oladokun on Oct. 28, and Major Murphy on Nov. 5.
While Dawes is no stranger to the national stage — remember “Time Spent in Los Angeles” and “All Your Favorite Bands”? Yes you do … And Traverse City’s own The Accidentals is no stranger to the local area (although the will be a special show with a new release coming out this fall), some of the other names may be new to people.
Bur probably not to the Calvin “college crowd.”
The Calvin’s Covenant Fine Arts Center shows are open to the public. Some performers may may require specific audience guidelines — Shauf required all concert attendees to wear a mask while inside the venue and show proof of vaccination (with the final shot at least two weeks before the concert date) or a negative COVID test from the last 72 hours.
Art and history will blend, or maybe meld tougher, at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park as the venue’s 2021 contribution to ArtPrize 2021 will be selected works of Virginia Lee Montgomery including her modern take on an ancient work, “Sword in the Sphinx”.
The exhibition, which includes other sculptures and videos located in Meijer Gardens’ new Welcome Center, will open on the opening day of Artprize, Sept. 16, and close Oct. 31. The exhibit of the work is supported by a Project Grant from ArtPrize.
Meijer Gardens is an official ArtPrize venue as part of the 11th annual ArtPrize competition. (And WKTV Voices will be present at ArtPrize.) ArtPrize exhibition areas will be free and open to the public during regular Meijer Gardens business hours. All other areas will observe regular hours and standard admission fees.
The sculpture by Virginia Lee Montgomery (VLM, as artist is often called), “Sword in the Sphinx”, is a surreal adaptation of a French 18th century statue often found in gardens.
VLM (Virginia Lee Montgomery). (Supplied/Ka-Man-Tse)
VLM, according to her website (virginialeemontgomery.com) is a multi-media artist who described herself as: “Working across video, performance, sound, and sculpture, her artwork explores atomic consciousness from a metaphysical feminist POV. Her artwork it surreal, sensorial, and symbolic.
“It shifts in subject matter from ponytails to particle accelerators, to syrups, stones, moths and machines as VLM deploys an idiosyncratic visual vocabulary of repeating gestures like drilling, dousing, or reaching and recursive symbols like circles, holes and spheres. Her diverse artistic movements interrogate the complex relationship between physical and psychic structures.”
Visitors to Meijer Gardens will, in addition to the ArtPrize entry, will see additional sculptures by VLM located in the Courtyard Level of the new Welcome Center, as well as two short videos shown in the O-A-K Orientation Theater. The additional sculptures, “Marble Ponytails”, are named after ancient deities, including Aurora, Andromeda and Medusa.
Additional exhibition programing
While the ArtPrize exhibit is free and open to the public, there will be additional drop-in exhibition programs which are included with admission but do not require advance tickets or registration.
“VLM is a brilliant creative mind who works across different media, including sculpture and film,” Jochen Wierich, assistant curator and researcher at Meijer Gardens, said in supplied material. Her “Sword in the Sphinx” work “is a contemporary interpretation of an ancient figure that blends with our gardens and sculpture collection in stimulating ways and will be a big draw for ArtPrize visitors.”
“History, Hair, and the Body: Conveying a Feminist Perspective” will be presented Sunday, Sept. 26, at 2 p.m., with Suzanne Eberle, PhD., Professor Emerita of Kendall College of Art & Design.
The talk, according to supplied material is described as: “Like Virginia Lee Montgomery, many contemporary artists layer historical references and elements of the human form to address personal, social, and political issues related to feminism. Join us as we explore how and why these artists embody a complex feminist perspective in exciting, moving ways.
“Composite Creatures: A Brief History of Monsters” will be presented Sunday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m., with Amber Oudsema, Meijer Gardens curator of arts education.
The talk, according to supplied material is described as: “Part human, part animal: Images of composite creatures date back to prehistoric times. Their function in evolving cultures varies from the malevolent monster to the benevolent protector. Join us for a brief exploration of how these mythical beasts have appeared in art, from the ancient to the contemporary.”
For more information about ArtPrize 2021 visit artprize.org.
For more information about Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park visit meijergardens.org.
A new classical concert series curated by a Grand Valley State University piano faculty member will present chamber music in venues both on campus and at locations throughout West Michigan.
The inaugural GV Piano Chamber Series will showcase more than a dozen musicians, including several GVSU faculty members, in a series of free, open-to-the-public concerts. The performances start Sept. 20 at the Haas Center for Performing Arts on GVSU’s Allendale Campus and extend into 2022.
The series will feature the totality of German composer Johannes Brahms’ chamber music work written for piano and other instruments, segmented into six programs, said Sookkyung Cho, the associate professor of piano for GVSU who curated the series. Besides the on-campus location, the off-campus concert venues include locations in Grand Rapids as well as along the lakeshore.
Cho will be joined by musicians playing violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn. These acclaimed musicians have vast experience performing at venues across the globe; many also are current members of, or have appeared, with symphony orchestras in West Michigan.
BrahmsFest, as the series is called, is an opportunity to present piano-based chamber music on some of the most beautiful pianos in the West Michigan area, Cho said.
“This will give us a rare opportunity to explore one composer’s musical world throughout the year, and Brahms’ chamber works are some of the most beautiful music ever written,” Cho said. “The timing also just seemed perfect to me — chamber music is all about coming together, being in harmony with one another, and conversing with each other.
“Most of all, I would just love for audiences to indulge in and enjoy beautiful music.”
Grand Valley State University is resuming its community arts celebration with a revamped timetable that will feature free art-related events throughout the year.
The GVSU Arts Celebration, formerly known as the Fall Arts Celebration, in 2021-2022 is set to feature art, music, poetry and an academic lecture in events that start in August with a GVSU Art Gallery exhibition and finish with a lecture in April.
Organizers said that spreading the events throughout the year will allow more people to access them, said Amorak Huey, chair of the GVSU Arts Celebration’s steering committee. He noted that commitment to wide community participation is important to the celebration.
Huey also said a central theme for this year’s celebration is relevance and a reflection of the current climate, one dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the holiday concert will focus on music from countries that are particularly affected by the pandemic.
“It seems like it’s important for the events we have to feel timely and have contemporary urgency,” Huey said.
“Identity Mask” by Jerry Coker (Supplied)
Responses to those current issues are prominently displayed in the Art Gallery exhibition, “Honest and Unrefined: Art Outside the Academy.” It runs from through Nov. 5 at the GVSU Art Gallery in the Haas Center for Performing Arts on the Allendale Campus.
The exhibition is the culmination of a nearly five-year effort to collect pieces that reflect the work of artists who ignore convention and tell their stories without the constraints of what others might think, said Nathan Kemler, director of GVSU Galleries and Collections.
“These are true voices coming through very directly,” Kemler said. “Art tells a story, and the story that this kind of artwork tells is usually more immediate and unfiltered.”
Belated Birthday Party: Tesla String Quartet Performs Music by Beethoven
Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Cook-DeWitt Center
Allendale Campus
“Coming Together to Celebrate the Holidays,” featuring multiple choirs and orchestras
Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Fountain Street Church
24 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Poetry Night: an evening with Danez Smith, Ericka “Kyd Kane” Thompson and Marcel “Fable the Poet” Price, all of whom also perform their work
Mar. 14, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Eberhard Center, second floor
Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Lecture: Hanif Abdurraqib with Louis Moore, associate professor of history, to moderate an interview/conversation. Abdurraqib is author of the book, “A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance.”
The Gilmore’s Ultimate Truck Show will include pickup trucks, 4x4s, Jeeps, big rigs, tow trucks, emergency response vehicles, and military vehicles. (Gilmore Car Museum)
The Gilmore Car Museum and Tow Community are joining forces to present the Ultimate Truck Show, a celebration of “the trucks we all love and rely on,” on the Gilmore Car Museum campus this weekend.
The event will run Friday, Sept. 10, from noon to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 11, from 9 a/m. to 4 p.m. The Gilmore is located on M-43, just north of Gull Lake, between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.
Tow Community is an online member community of thousands of towing services professionals and emergency responders, promoting roadway safety and the “Slow Down, Move Over” national industry campaign. For more information visit facebook.com/thetowingcommunity
The Ultimate Truck Show, according to a announcement from the Gilmore, will include activities like Touch-A-Truck, a Kids Zone with games, swap meet, bake sale, silent auction, Light Up The Night with the lights from First Responder vehicles, a school bus extrication demonstration, helicopter landing, and more.
Present for viewing will be a wide range of pickup trucks, 4x4s, Jeeps, big rigs, tow trucks, emergency response vehicles, and military vehicles in the show fields, alongside the historic barns and classic dealership buildings containing the Gilmore Car Museum’s indoor car collection.
There will also be live concert performances on both Friday and Saturday, included in the admission price, with Schlitz Creek Bluegrass Band on Friday, starting at 5 p.m.; and Barefoot Blonde Country Rock Band on Saturday, starting at 2:30 p.m.
There will also be an onsite fundraising efforts at the show which will directly benefit the Great Lakes Burn Camp for Burn Injured Children. (glbcforkids.org)
The Hackley and Hume Historic Site, one of the sites of the Lakeshore Museum Center, is hosting “An Evening with the Hackleys” on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 6-9 p.m.
Come party like it’s 1899 at the Historic Site at 484 W. Webster Ave in Muskegon. “An Evening with the Hackleys” will start with fifteen-minute tours of the Hackley and Hume homes and will showcase traditions of parties in the 1800s. Tours will be followed by dinner in the courtyard at 7:30 p.m. Dinner will be created from the menus of parties hosted by the Hackleys during the Victorian Era.
“This is certain to be a unique event and experience for those who are passionate about history,” says Historic Site Director Erin Schmitz. “We want people to feel like they are being transported through time, back to the era of Charles and Julia Hackley, having a dinner party like they would have had in the late 1800s. We are excited to use the menus from their actual parties and bring a little bit of bygone time to current-day Muskegon. We think this will be unlike any other party people have been to before.”
Tickets for the semi-formal “An Evening with the Hackleys” are being sold by the table for a minimum donation of $1,000. This includes a tour of the houses, dinner for six guests, and three drink tickets per guest. Individual tickets will not be sold for this event.
Please call to reserve one of the remaining tables for this exclusive event. Guests will have the option to pay by credit card or be invoiced later. Contact Graciela at 231-724-5522.
Wizards and wizards-in-training can visit the magical world of John Ball Zoo. (Supplied)
As the season turns to fall and school begins, a magical change begins to occur at John Ball Zoo. It’s a time when the distinguished magical Zoo staff give lessons in caring for fantastical beasts. It’s time for magic.
John Ball Zoo is officially inviting all wizards, witches, and muggles alike to Wizarding Weekends. For two enchanting weekends, the Zoo will magically transform for this family- friendly event. From entering Nocturnal Alley, to exploring the Forbidden Forest, there is much for every wizarding fan to enjoy.
Visit the realms, hollows, and platforms throughout the magical grounds. Time to renew your imagination and brush up on your spells. Costumes are highly encouraged so put on your robes and grab your wand, and visit the fantastic beasts of the muggle world.
Wizarding Weekends at John Ball Zoo happens for two weekends starting Sept. 11 – 12 and again Sept, 18 – 19, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. each day.
It is recommend purchasing your tickets online prior to arrival. This will make your entry quicker and easier by not having to visit the ticket window first to purchase a ticket before entering the Zoo.
For daily admission tickets and more information about the event, visit jbzoo.org/wizardingweekends. John Ball Zoo is located on Fulton Avenue, one mile west of downtown Grand Rapids. For questions or for more information, call 616-336-4301 or email info@jbzoo.org.
Zeeland will host its seventh Fall Peddler’s Market, an artfully curious faire downtown on Church Street between Main Street and Central Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. brought to you by Back to Health Chiropractic.
The market will house a number of different curiosities, including but not limited to locally handmade children’s clothing and accessories, screen printed clothing, art prints, flowers and botanicals, handmade women’s jewelry, household gifts and goods, vintage furniture and décor, architectural salvage, handmade specialties including, fresh bread, handcrafted outdoor furniture, live music, food trucks, antiques and repurposed finds.
“This event has attracted a variety of vendors. From brand new businesses to well established ones – even young entrepreneurs! It’s a fresh open-air lifestyle market for all of your favorite things in one setting,” says City Events Coordinator Kerri VanDorp. Grab a cup of coffee and stroll Church Street and shop or enjoy an adult beverage as the event is within the downtown Social District.
You will be able to not only grab some great flowers, but also rummage through antique shop booth, check out the handmade jewelry, one of a kind artwork, refurbished furniture, and come home with some interesting and creative finds all in one place. To view a complete list of vendors online, visit the Peddlers’ Market Facebook page, and the Feel the Zeel Instagram account: @feel_the_zeel.
This event has attracted more than 60 different vendors from around the area, offering a large variety of items available for purchase, as well as special order. For more information, visit the City of Zeeland’s website.
Diomede Mother and Child, from “Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska”, on display at Muskegon Museum of Art starting Sept. 16. (Supplied)
Edward Curtis and daugher Beth in a kaiak, from “Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska”, on display at Muskegon Museum of Art starting Sept. 16. (Supplied)
Nunivak Man on sled rails, from “Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska”, on display at Muskegon Museum of Art starting Sept. 16. (Supplied)
Cliff houses on King Island, viewed from Jewel Guard, from “Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska”, on display at Muskegon Museum of Art starting Sept. 16. (Supplied)
Ju-kuls Nunivak, from “Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska”, on display at Muskegon Museum of Art starting Sept. 16. (Supplied)
On June 8, 1927, Edward Sherriff Curtis, one of America’s premier photographers and ethnologists, set sail on the steamer ship Victoria towards Nome, Alaska, accompanied by daughter Beth Curtis Magnuson and newly employed assistant Stewart C. Eastwood.
Curtis took hundreds of images on his journey, only part of which were ultimately published. The rest sat, unseen, passed down through the family until the recent publication of a book and the curation of an exhibit detailing this “lost photographs.”
On Sept. 16, the Muskegon Museum of Art (MMA) will open the exhibit “Edward S. Curtis: Unpublished Alaska, the Lost Photographs”, with the exhibit running through Jan. 9, 2022.
This exhibition accompanies the 2021 publication of the complete journals by Curtis’ descendants, John and Coleen Graybill, in the book “Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska.”
The exhibition’s opening event — on Sept. 16, with a reception at 5 p.m., a book signing 6 p.m., and a lecture at 7 p.m. — will feature Graybills in attendance. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.
“Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska, The Lost Photographs” presents, for the first time to the public, images made from the unused original negatives. Over 100 images will be included in the exhibition, along with excerpts from the personal journals of Curtis and his daughter Beth that describe their often harrowing adventures in the Bering Sea.
Curtis, his history, and ‘The North American Indian’
Born in 1868 near Whitewater, Wisc., Edward Sheriff Curtis was to become one of America’s premier photographers and ethnologists, according to the Edward S. Curtis Gallery website.
When the Curtis family moved to Port Orchard, Wash., in 1887, Edward’s gift for photography led him to an investigation of the Indians (now more properly called Native Americans) living on the Seattle waterfront. His photograph “Homeward” won Curtis the highest award in a photographic exhibition contest.
Edward Curtis and daugher Beth in a kaiak, from “Edward Curtis: Unpublished Alaska”, on display at Muskegon Museum of Art starting Sept. 16. (Supplied)
Having become well-known for his work with Native Americans, Curtis participated in the 1899 Harriman expedition to Alaska as the lead photographer. He then accompanied George Bird Grinell, editor of Forest and Stream, on a trip to northern Montana. There they witnessed the deeply sacred Sundance of the Piegan and Blackfoot tribes. Traveling on horseback, with their pack horses trailing behind, they stopped at the precipice. Below them, the view of the valley floor stretched with over a thousand teepees — an awesome sight to Curtis.
This event would transform his life and inspire him to create “The North American Indian”. Consisting of over 700 large portfolio images, over 1,500 volume size images, and over 7,000 pages of text, “The North American Indian” is a part of American history in both its imagery and its creation.
Begun in 1906, “The North American Indian” was the defining passion of Curtis’s life, an attempt to record, in writing and photography, the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Southwestern, Western, and Northwestern United States. This trip, planned for a single season, would be the final voyage to complete his epic quest.
The MMA is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily; 11 a.m. to 8 a.m., on Thursdays, and closed Mondays. Visit muskegonartmuseum.org for more information.
Kent District Library, Schuler Books and three other libraries from across Michigan announce the tenth annual Write Michigan Short Story Contest, which drew almost 1,000 Michigan writers last year.
Writers of all ages are invited to enter, with separate categories for youth, teens, adults and Spanish language (12 and younger). Winning entries will be published and receive cash prizes.
“Writing is powerful for storytelling and artistic expression, but also has healing power,” said Katie Zuidema, Marketing Communications Specialist at KDL. “Research shows that writing can be an important release for emotions and stress, but first and foremost, writing is a beautiful form of expression that we celebrate with Write Michigan.”
Stories can be submitted at writemichigan.org through Tuesday, Nov. 30, at noon. Details include a 3,000-word maximum length; $10 entry fee for ages 18 and above, free for 17 and under; current Michigan residents only; all entries must be submitted online.
Winners are chosen by public vote for the Readers’ Choice award and by a panel of judges for the Judges’ Choice award. Voters and judges choose winners from the top ten semi-finalists. The top honor in each category receives a $500 cash prize and a Judges’ Choice runner-up in each category will receive a $250 cash prize. In addition, judges will award one writer a slot in Johnathan Rand’s 2022 Author Quest writing camp for kids ages 10-13.
Winners will be honored during an awards ceremony in March and their story will be published in an anthology by Chapbook Press. KDL is pleased to welcome author Stephen Mack Jones as the Write Michigan keynote author for 2022.
Those who enjoy reading stories are encouraged to sign up to be a volunteer story reviewer at writemichigan.org/volunteer.
Joining KDL this year in the Write Michigan competition as partners are Hancock School Public Library, Traverse Area District Library and Canton Public Library.
The John Ball Zoo will once again be washed in sound and light as it brings back the popular “IllumiZoo.”
Offered for the first time last year, “IlluniZoo” is a nighttime journey through John Ball Zoo where guests stroll through an illuminated landscape of nature drenched in light and sound. The striking spectacle cycles through creative imagery, music-synchronized animal displays, and animated motifs of moving light.
The hues of natures are captured in this year’s IllumiZoo production. (Supplied)
“We are excited to continue creating unique experiences to tell the important story of conservation and bring the community together,” said John Ball Zoo Chief Development and Community Engagement Officer Kelli Smith.
Opening Sept. 3 and running through Nov. 14, this year’s “IllumiZoo” theme will be “Wild Hues,” with the many hues of color reflecting the “hues” of species and environments throughout the world. Each have their own unique colors, traits, and stories to tell. The survival of many of these species and enrichments are in jeopardy, with more than 16,000 animal species facing endangerment and extinction in the world.
“‘IllumiZoo Wild Hues’ is an illuminated message about our commotion to each other and our environment, and the power each of us possess to make a positive change in our world,” Smith said
This year’s display will tell the conservation stories by creating illuminating connections between wildlife and wild places. These connections will showcase how we are connected to the land, the water, the air, the trees and all the animals, big and small, with the power to make a positive change in the world.
This year’s pathway will be in the opposite direction of last year’s path and will travel into new areas of the zoo. Returning favorites from last year will be the “fobbles,” the interactive storytelling LED walls, and the Fluorescent Flower Field (formerly the fairy garden).
One of the new features to this year’s IllumiZoo is the oversized “campfire.” (Supplied)
New this year, will be an oversized “campfire” With digital embers flickering with color. Colorful animated animal footprints and lush greet leaves will illuminate the trail reacting to visitors steps. The “invisible” animals will also speed up and run away when guests get too close to their footprints. The night sky will also be illuminated with animal constellations, and more.
“We are thrilled to partner with John Ball Zoo again this year,” said Braden Graham, vice president of operations and client services, live events at Bluewater Technologies, which has designed and created the show. “Look for a slightly longer path and new interactive A/V and lighting elements as we bring the grounds of the Zoo to life at night.”
Tickets are $20/adults, $13/children ages 3-12, and free/children 2 and under. Time ticketing will vary as sunset times change. Guests are encouraged to reserve tickets in advance to guarantee dates and times. Tickets are available at www.jbzoo.org/tickets.
John Ball Zoo is located on Fulton Avenue, one mile west of downtown Grand Rapids. For more information, visit www.jbzoo.org, call 616-336-4301, or email info@jbozoo.org.
