Did you get a telescope over the holidays, or do you have one sitting around collecting dust because you find it difficult to use? Do you want to learn more about what to look for in the sky and resources that can lead to better enjoyment from backyard stargazing?
Learn more about astronomy and the night sky from the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) and Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association (GRAAA) as they team up again this year to offer three introductory Saturday afternoon classes at Schuler Books and Music, 2660 28th St., Grand Rapids. Each of the one-hour “Astronomy as a Hobby” sessions begins at 10:30 a.m., and is followed by a Telescope Tune-up Clinic from approximately 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During the Telescope Clinic, experienced amateur astronomers will adjust personal telescopes and provide advice about proper use. Those wishing to come to only a Telescope Clinic session may do so.
The schedule for 2020 Astronomy as a Hobby classes and Telescope Tune-up clinics:
January 25 – The Ever Changing Sky Attendees will learn what to look for and when; sky motions and seasonal attractions during 2020 for naked eye, binoculars and telescope. Effective viewing of sky objects is highlighted.
February 8 – Telescopes, Accessories and How to Use Them Attendees will learn how to select the right telescope for their background and level of interest, and equipment challenges often encountered by novice amateur astronomers.
February 22 – What’s Next from My New Hobby Attendees will learn about the most recommended guides, star maps and online resources, along with stargazing tips. What options are available to learn more?
All activities are geared to a family audience, and are free and open to the public.
Stop and think about one of favorite movies – the story, characters, the settings. It won’t be long before you start humming a few bars from the musical score.
In fact, you may have thought of the main theme before anything. That’s the power of music in movies.
Grand Rapids Pops says a big “Hooray for Hollywood” with Hollywood Hits with music from blockbuster films as Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, Dr. Zhivago, The Way We Were and Rocky on Friday Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17-19, in DeVos Performance Hall.
Grand Rapids Symphony Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt (Supplied)
Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt leads the concerts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Please note that 7:30 p.m. is a new start time this season for concerts on Fridays and Saturdays in the Fox Motors Pops series.
Visual images including movie stills and brief film clips will be part of the show.
Tickets for Hollywood Hits start at $18 adults, $5 children, available by calling the GRS ticket office at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4. Phone orders will be charged a $3 per ticket handling fee ($18 maximum per order). There are no fees for tickets purchased in person at the GRS ticket office at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across the street from Calder Plaza). Ticket office hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Full-time students of any age can purchase tickets for $5 on day of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program.
Tickets are available at the DeVos Place box office, weekdays 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. or on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.
In 1995, the Grand Rapids Symphony stepped on stage beneath a new outdoor band shell at Cannonsburg Ski Area, and a new West Michigan summer tradition of great music in the great outdoors was born. The sizzling sounds of the 1990s returns to the 2020D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops in July with the pop sensation, Hanson.
The Grand Rapids Pops’ 26th annual summer season features the extraordinary fiddle, mandolin and hammer dulcimer virtuosity of Kittel & Co.; the suave and sophisticated, close-harmony vocals of The Doo Wop Project; and the joyously uplifting world music sounds of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Sponsored by SpartanNash, the 2020 Picnic Pops, led by Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt and Associate Conductor John Varineau, opens with Grammy nominees Kittel & Co., fronted by Michigan’s own Jeremy Kittel from Ann Arbor, on July 22. Brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, whose smash hit “MMMBop” was the summer anthem of 1997, join the Grand Rapids Pops at Cannonsburg Ski Area on July 24.
“Symphony Under the Sky” continues with stars of Broadway’s “Jersey Boys” and “Motown: The Musical” singing songs made famous by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and more in The Doo Wop Project on July 29. The 2020 Picnic Pops wraps up on July 30 with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, featured prominently on Paul Simon’s 1986 album “Graceland,” which won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Season ticket sales for renewing subscribers are now underway. Season tickets for new subscribers, offering substantial discounts as well as access to the special event presale for Hanson, will go on sale on Feb. 3.
Single tickets to see Hanson for subscribers go on sale Feb. 24. All remaining single tickets for Hanson go on sale March 2. Single tickets for the rest of the 2020 D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops go on sale March 9. Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at 616-454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to PicnicPops.org.
Kittel & Co. – July 22
Switching from Bach to Bluegrass at the drop of a hat, Grammy-nominated violinist and fiddler Jeremy Kittel’s goal is “just to make honest music.” The Michigan-born musician has shared stages with artists including Bela Flack, Yo-Yo Ma, Paquito D’Rivera and My Morning Jacket, performed at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and at Berklee College of Music, and on TV’s “Late Night with Stephen Colbert” and radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Growing up near Ann Arbor, Kittel recalled “Playing different styles was kind of a dream of mine.” Today, the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, graduate of the University of Michigan and former member of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, plays music drawing from traditional roots, jazz, Celtic, Classical, electronic and more with his all-string band, Kittel & Co., which recently appeared at Interlochen Center for the Arts, at The Ark in Ann Arbor and at Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey.
Hanson – July 24
In 2017, the trio of brothers who make up pop-rock trio Hanson celebrated 25 years of playing music together, selling millions of albums and reaching fans from Tulsa to Tokyo. After five years and two independent albums, Hanson released their major label debut in 1997 and saw a meteoric rise with the international smash single “Mmmbop” from the album Middle Of Nowhere, which garnered multiple Grammy nominations and five consecutive top 40 singles, including “Where’s The Love,” “I Will Come To You” “Weird.”
HANSON | String Theory brings together an exciting collaboration of song craftsmanship and symphonic spectacle framing the established Grammy nominated multiplatinum pop-rock trio’s music with symphonic arrangements.
The Doo Wop Project – July 29
Stars of “Jersey Boys,” “Motown: The Musical” come to town with the classic doo wop sounds of The Drifters, The Del-Vikings and The Temptations. On Broadway, they sang as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. With the Grand Rapids Symphony, The Doo Wop Project spans the gamut of tight-harmony vocals from The Crests (“16 Candles”), The Belmonts (“A Teenager in Love”) and The Flamingos (“I Only Have Eyes for You”) and the early days of all-male vocal groups to doowopified arrangements of later songs by Michael Jackson, Jason Mraz and Maroon 5.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo – July 30
In the mines of South Africa, impoverished black miners, living far from their homes and families, created their own genre of vocal music to entertain themselves. In the town of Ladysmith in the African province of kwaZulu Natal, singers honed their craft where Ladysmith Black Mambazo were discovered by Paul Simon who featured them on his 1986 recording “Graceland,” which went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Proclaimed “South Africa’s Cultural Ambassadors to the World” by Nelson Mandela, the multiple Grammy Award winners have shared stages with Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Josh Groban, and the group has been heard on the soundtrack for such films as Disney’s “The Lion King, Part II,” “Eddie Murphy’s “Coming To America,” and Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus.” Benefactor sponsor for the concert is Inclusive Performance Strategies.
Tickets
Series tickets will be available to new subscribers beginning Feb. 3. There is a 3-Concert Series subscription for the Kittel & Co., The Dot Top Project, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Subscriptions for lawn seats are $45 for adults or $15 for children ages 2 – 18. Children under age 2 are free. Subscriptions for general admission chair seating are $81 and tickets for individual reserved table seat are $156 or $1,200 to reserve an entire table for eight.
The Flexpass 6-pack offers lawn tickets that can be used in any combination, on any concert night, for Kittel & Co., The DooWop Project, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Flexpasses are $114 for adults. Flexpasses cannot be used for the special event Hanson.
Single tickets will be available for Hanson first for Picnic Pops series and Flexpass subscribers beginning Feb. 24 and then for the general public March 2. All remain gin single tickets for the D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops go on sale on March 9. Lawn tickets for Kittle & Co, The DooWop Project, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo are $22 for adults or $5 for ages 2 -18. Other tickets are $33 for reserved chairs, $55 for individual table seats, and $440 for a full table of eight.
Lawn tickets for the special event Hanson are $45. Other tickets are $67 for reserved chairs, $112 for individual table seats, and $896 for a full table of eight.
Tulip Time Festival’s many art forms are now featured in one fabulous celebration.
Photo supplied
Creativity abounds at First Bloem, and you can be among the first to see it all at this prestigious cultural event on Thursday, Feb. 6, beginning at 6pm at the Holland Civic Place, 150 W 8th St, Holland, MI 49423 .
A preview of Tulip Time’s new Visual Arts Series, the First Bloem reception will unveil the winning 2020 poster from the 10th Annual Festival Artwork competition, this year’s winning Klompen Garden pick, a sneak peek into the new Dutch Dance Exhibit, and the 2020 Raffle Quilt. Guests will also find opportunities to support Tulip Time, its Join the Dance Fund, and other local organizations.
10th Annual Festival Artwork Poster Competition
Meet the Top 20 artists and share in the excitement as the winner is announced during the event. Like what you see? Guests may purchase any of the original Top 20 pieces at this event.
Public Art Project: Klompen Garden
See the top Juror pick for the 2020 Klompen Garden Public Art Project and be among the first to know which pair takes the top prize. All 20 pairs will be available for purchase – perfect for decorating your home and garden!
Dutch Dance Costume Exhibit
Enjoy a preview of the handmade costumes to be featured in the new Dutch Dance Costume Exhibit premiering in 2020 as we celebrate 50 years of Alumni Dutch Dance. Guests will have the opportunity to support the Join the Dance fund, removing barriers to participate in Dutch Dance by providing costumes for local high school students.
Quilt Show – Celebrating 20 Years
Take in the amazing pieces from the 2019 Quilt Show and witness the unveiling of the 2020 Raffle Quilt, with raffle proceeds benefiting two very special organizations – Living Threads Ministry and Love Sews Ministry.
2019 Quilt Show (photo supplied)
The fun, exciting evening will be filled with creative splendor, special announcements, wine grabs, raffles, cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres. Tickets for First Bloem are $70/person ($130/couple) and can be purchased online at www.tuliptime.com/events/first-bloem, in person at the Tulip Time Festival Box Office located at 42 West 8th Street, Holland, Michigan, or by phone at 800-822-2270.
Holland Tulip Time Festival Inc operates as a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization. Your contribution and participation in this event will help further our mission of celebrating tulips, Dutch heritage, and our community today.
About the Visual Arts Series
The Visual Arts Series is a creative collection of various art forms presented in cooperation with the Holland Area Arts Council from May 2 through 10. The Series comprises the Festival Artwork Exhibit, the Public Art Project winning Klompen, the Quilt Show and the premier of the new Dutch Dance Exhibit.
The Grand Rapids Symphony performs Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10 and 11, at DeVos Performance Hall. (Supplied)
Let’s face it, it is the first full week of January that most people are not dealing with the holidays — unless you are still working on taking those decorations down. While the sounds of the season are officially passed, there are lots of music, and theater, to be seen and heard.
Pianist Jeffrey Kahane performs with the Grand Rapids Symphony. (Supplied)
Going Classical
The Grand Rapids Symphony kicks off 2020 with award winning pianist Jeffrey Kahane in a concert featuring the music of Mozart and Shostakovich, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10 and 11, at DeVos Performance Hall, 301 Monroe Ave. NW.
The evening’s program will feature Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103, “The Year 1905” lead by guest conductor Peter Qundjian and Kahane will be featured on Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22. Richard Stauss’ Serenade for Winds, Op. 7, will round out the concert.
The concerts start at 8 p.m each evening. Inside the Music, a free, pre-concert, multi-media presentation, will be held before each performance at 7 p.m. in the DeVos Place Recital Hall.
Tickets start at $18 and are available by calling GRS ticket office, 616-454-9451, ext. 4 or at the GRS ticket office, 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100. Office hours are 9 a.m – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets are available at the DeVos Place box office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may be purchased online at GRSymhony.org. Full-time students of any age can purchase tickets for $5 on day of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program.
Paws With A Cause dogs-in-training visit the cast of Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s “A Street Car Named Desire.” (Supplied)
Stella!
The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre kicks off 2020 by opening its production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which runs through Jan. 26.
The famous Tennessee Williams play follows the story of Blanche du Bois who goes to live with her sister and brother-in-law Stella and Stanley Kowalski in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Blanche arrives under the pretense that she needed a break from her teaching position. Blanche finds happiness with one of Stanley’s friends but her present is difficult for Stanley to handle. He discovers Blanche’s secret for leaving her hometown, which in the end could unravel Blanche’s imaginary happiness.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $18 -$29 for adults and $16 for students. Ticket are available from the Civic box office, 30 N. Division Ave. or online at grct.org. The show is recommended for adults due to sensitive material and strong language.
Making a Change
The LowellArt Gallery opened its “The Art of Change” exhibition this week. The exhibition is of art that raises awareness of current global issues of our time in an effort to provoke positive change. Artists from Michigan were eligible to submit artwork in any media that address themes such as human rights, social justice, gender equality, an environmental stewardship.
The exhibit will be up through Feb. 15 at the LowellArts Gallery, 223 Main St., Lowell. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday – Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
If you are into binge watching the latest “hot” television show — say the award season darling “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, or the much anticipated “Picard” — but still want to dig little deeper into the show, Fountain Street Church as an monthly series for you.
Fountain Street Church’s “FSC Screen Club” will continue its 2019/2020 Season, a series hosted at the Micro Cinema at Wealthy Theatre and in partnership with Grand Rapids Community Media Center, with a discussion of Ms. Maisel and her adventures on Monday, Jan. 13.
The FSC Screen Club meets one Monday each month, with the free to the public event starting at 6 p.m. Registration is encouraged, but not required, and can be done here.
Fountain Street Church’s Virginia Anzengruber hosts a panel discussion led by Wealthy Theatre director Sarah Nawrocki and, according to supplied information, features “regional influencers and film & television experts to dissect, analyze, and discuss some of today’s most thought-provoking TV shows.”
“Participants watch the shows at their own pace, on their own schedules. It’s like a book club that you can binge watch.”
The January event will focus on the Emmy Award-winning Amazon Prime series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino (“Gilmore Girls”), starring Rachel Brosnahan (“House of Cards”), Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”), and Alex Borstein (“Family Guy”).
“In 1958 New York, Midge Maisel’s life is on track — husband, kids, and elegant Yom Kippur dinners in their Upper West Side apartment,” as it is described in a media release. “But when her life takes a surprise turn, she has to quickly decide what else she’s good at — and going from housewife to stand-up comic is a wild choice to everyone but her.”
Star Trek Picard (promotional poster)
The remainder of the FCS Screen Club 2019/2020 season includes discussions as follows: Feb. 10, “The Good Place” (NBC); March 9, “Kidding” (Showtime); April 27, “Picard” (CBS All Access); and May 11, “What We Do In The Shadows” (FX).
All of which give you plenty of time to binge watch and catch up.
Fountain Street Church, located in downtown Grand Rapids, is an independent, pluralist church with a 150-year history of progressive action. for more information visit here.
Bello Spark a tight, often stripped down band that focus on vocals — as their bandstand often reveals. (Supplied by the band)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
Scouring the web for info on Grand Rapids’ own Bello Spark, you run across a bit on their Facebook page that states the band “uses a blend of male and female vocals, acoustic guitars and atmospheric electric guitars creating a light rock/Americana sound. Think Death Cab for Cutie meets The Civil Wars.”
They had me at Death Cab.
The band will lead off the City of Kentwood’s 2020 Winter Concert Series of three free concerts on select Thursday nights once a month from January to March at the Kent District Library’s Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch. WKTV Community Media will also record the concerts and will make them available on-demand.
Belo Spark (Supplied by the band)
Bello Spark’s band members include Rob Jordan on vocals and guitar, Tory Peterson on lead guitar and vocals, singer/songwriter Cole Hansen and drummer Jay Kolk.
According to their official bio, the group came together in 2011 with founders Jordan and Peterson, who toured as a two person group “across the Midwest, and out to the Great Plains, all the while honing their craft.” Together they released the band’s debut album, 2013’s self-titled recording.
After returning to their home state of Michigan, the two joined forces with Hansen and Kolk, and “the resulting sound has been a visceral mix of atmospheric guitar, three-part vocal harmonies, and lyrics that are both uplifting and poignant. Listeners will find the light rock, urban sound laced with the honesty of folk, and the grit and emotion of the blues.”
The band released their sophomore album, Among the Lights in July of 2016, and they are reportedly working on new music for a new release.
The band’s local awards include being an ArtPrize 2016 Song Competition Finalist and a WYCE radio’s 2014 Jammie Award Winner for Listener’s Choice: Best Album by a New Artist.
The series will feature Serita’s Black Rose and Nicholas James Thomasma in upcoming concerts. Food trucks will also be on-site during each concert. Bello Spark will be paired with Patty Matters Food Truck; Serita’s Black Rose, with food truck Grilled Greek, will be Feb. 20; Nicholas James Thomasma, with food from Bobby’s Fusion Grill, March 19.
All concerts will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. Concertgoers are welcome to bring their own beer or wine to enjoy.
Douglas R. and Barbara E. Gilbert Collection is the largest, most comprehensive collection of photographic images Grand Valley State University has received. The collection includes this rare photo of Bob Dylan. (Photo by Douglas R. Gilbert)
It’s hard to fathom now, but in 1964 a collection of photos of Bob Dylan that largely captured the enigmatic music legend in unguarded behind-the-scenes moments rather than on stage was deemed by the editors of Look magazine as inappropriate to publish.
“Too scruffy for a family magazine,” was the pronouncement to young photographer Douglas R. Gilbert when he presented his proposed layout.
Now, those rare Dylan images and thousands more are in the possession of the Grand Valley Art Gallery, a gift of unprecedented magnitude for a Grand Valley photography collection.
Gilbert, who grew up in Holland and now lives in the Grand Haven area, had been searching for the right place to house his life’s work, especially as he continued to lose his eyesight, a complication of glaucoma. He classifies his vision loss now at about 90 percent.
“Now, having made this move to the university, it has been really satisfying,” Gilbert said. “I really felt like I was at the end of something anyway.”
The Douglas R. and Barbara E. Gilbert Collection is the largest, most comprehensive collection of photographic images the university has received, said Nathan Kemler, interim director of Grand Valley’s Galleries and Collections.
The gift includes prints as well as negatives and slides, along with personal items such as letters to help fully understand Gilbert and the collection. Community members, with notice, can see the pieces at the Engagement Lab within the newly created Art Storage Facility on Winter Avenue NW in Grand Rapids.
“A gift like this for Grand Valley is a way for us to see the complete human story of the artist. Having the volume of work tells the nuances of life,” Kemler said. “It’s not often that institutions have this kind of depth in a collection.”
Gilbert’s work with Look magazine, a publication known for its acclaimed photography that closed in 1972, not only included the Dylan photos but also images of celebrities ranging from Carol Burnett to Simon and Garfunkel just as the smash “Bridge Over Troubled Water” hit the charts.
Douglas R. Gilbert’s photos of Italy are currently on display at the Grand Valley Art Gallery. (Photo by Douglas R. Gilbert)
His work in New York also included groundbreaking photography at a school that would go on to become the Association for Metro Area Autistic Children; some of those photos will be on display at Grand Valley’s Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health, which opens in May 2021. His images also have appeared in dozens of exhibitions, several books and publications, including Life and Time.
Meanwhile, his images captured during trips to Italy over a 10-year period are among his personal favorites and are the subject of a Grand Valley Art Gallery exhibition that runs through June 19 at the Blue Wall Gallery at the DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
More more information about Gilbert and his work, visit douglasrgilbert.com.
Benny Golson, 90 years young, is a world-renowned composer, arranger, lyricist, producer and, arguably, one of the best alto saxophonists ever to blow his horn. (Supplied)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
The jazz world’s “Old School” will meet “Next Gen” later this month in Grand Rapids as St. Cecilia Music Center’s 2019-20 Jazz Series returns with Emmet Cohen’s Master Legacy Series featuring Benny Golson on Jan. 16.
Cohen, a master jazz pianist at the young age of 28, is “on mission to celebrate the last remaining legendary jazz artists,” according to supplied material, with his Masters Legacy Series, a “celebratory set of recordings, interviews and live performances honoring legendary jazz musicians.”
Emmet Cohen. (Supplied/John Abbott)
Golson, 90 years young, is a world-renowned composer, arranger, lyricist, producer and, arguably, one of the best alto saxophonists ever to blow his horn.
“We are very excited to bring the Emmet Cohen Trio with Benny Golson together at St. Cecilia Music Center to celebrate an evening of jazz at its finest,” Cathy Holbrook, St. Cecilia executive director said in supplied material. “Emmet Cohen has hit the mark with his superb understanding of what jazz is all about and by bringing the legendary jazz master Benny Golson on tour, the blending of creative talent will be electrifying.”
Emmet Cohen, left, with Ron Carter, center, recorded and toured on pervious Master Legacy Series collaboration. (Supplied)
In describing his reasons for establishing Master Legacy Jazz series, Cohen says that playing jazz “is enriched immeasurably by connecting and studying with jazz masters, forging backward to the very creation of the art form.”
The Masters Legacy Series, according to supplied material, is a celebratory set of recordings and interviews honoring legendary jazz musicians, which Cohen serves as both producer and pianist for each album in the series. Volume one of the “Masters Legacy Series” features drummer Jimmy Cobb and volume two spotlights bassist Ron Carter. With Cohen’s work with Golson in work, future Masters Legacy Series efforts are also planned to include work with Tootie Heath and George Coleman.
The goal of the project is to “provide musicians of multiple generations a forum to transfer the unwritten folklore that is America’s unique musical idiom,” according to supply material.
Golson, for one, certainly qualifies as a “master” of the jazz music art form.
He has recorded more than 30 albums under his own name, and innumerable ones with other major artists. A prolific teacher at several musical conservatories and universities, he is also a prodigious musical writer, with more than 300 compositions penned.
Golson’s resume includes working with the legendary masters of old — Count Basie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, just to name drop just a few.
Cohen, while 60 years junior to Golson, is no novice on the jazz piano himself.
He began Suzuki method piano instruction at age three, according to supplied material. While active in many musical and creative areas, Cohen says jazz is his first love — saying that playing jazz is “about communicating the deepest levels of humanity and individuality; it’s essentially about connections,” both among musicians and with audiences. He currently leads his namesake ensemble, the “Emmet Cohen Trio”, which will accompany Golson at the St. Cecilia concert.
The remaining St. Cecilia Jazz Series concerts remaining for the 2019-20 season include, on March 5, jazz vocalist Luciana Souza — of which Billboard Magazine described as “a uniquely talented vocalist who organically crosses genre borders. Her music soulfully reflects, wistfully regrets, romantically woos, joyfully celebrates …” — as well as the two time Grammy-nominated Clayton Brothers Quintet performing on April 16.
Tickets for Emmet Cohen’s Master Legacy Series featuring Benny Golson are $40 and $45 and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE, Grand Rapids. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org.
A pre-concert reception for $15 at 6:30 pm, with wine and hors d’oeuvres, is available by reservation in advance (reserve by Friday, Jan. 10). A post-concert party with dessert, coffee and wine is open to all ticket-holders to meet the artists, obtain autographs and purchase CDs.
Max Colley latest release, “Jubilee”, includes Jimmy Cobb, Jon Faddis and others. Locally, he has played with the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra, The Truth in Jazz Orchestra and Gumbo Nuveau, as well as leading the Max Colley III Quartet. (Supplied/Max Colley III)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
The Listening Room, one of Grand Rapids newest music venues, will debut a new jazz series this week when the Robin Connell Trio, with opening night special guest trumpeter Max Colley III, hits the stage Saturday, Jan. 4.
While the venue, located at Studio Park at 123 Ionia Ave SW, is definitely new, having opened late last year, the idea of jazz in an intimate setting where sipping a cocktail and listening to some jazz in small club setting, is perfectly old-school.
Robin Connell (Supplied)
“It’s a wonderful venue for those who love live music and enjoy listening … It is designed such that it could very well function as a jazz club on a par with NYC clubs that require people to refrain from talking,” local pianist Robin Connell said to WKTV. “The (venue general manager) … described it to me as ‘a music room with drinks vs a bar with music.’ … (and) he is bringing in an eclectic mix of genres, including some jazz.
“This (new) series is loosely based on what I did at The Harris Building four years ago, which was loosely based on the old style jazz club that hired a ‘house’ trio to back touring artists such as Charlie Parker & Billie Holiday,” Connell said.
The jazz nights will start at 7:30 p.m., with doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $12, with open seating, drinks available for purchase, and a parking garage attached — “So no outdoor hassle (park on 2nd floor to walk right in),” we are told.
Connell’s “house trio”, which will usually have with Rob Hartman on bass and Keith Hall on the drums, are scheduled to feature Colley and his trumpet to open. From then, the monthly series will have Ivan Akansiima, on guitar and piano, on Feb. 6; Paul Brewer, on trombone but also a fine composer, on March 7; and wrapping up the initial winter series on April 1 with Carl Cafagna on woodwinds — “Almost all of ‘em and vocals, too!” Connell says.
Max Colley III, according to his website, received music education degree from Central Michigan University, has studies with the likes of Jon Faddis, and has won awards including outstanding soloist at the Aquinas College, CMU and Montreaux-Detroit Jazz Festivals, and won the Jimmy Forrest Memorial Scholarship.
In 2016, he released the recording “Jubilee”, which includes Jimmy Cobb, Faddis, “and many other jazz luminaries!” Locally, he has played with the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra, The Truth in Jazz Orchestra and Gumbo Nuveau, as well as leading the Max Colley III Quartet.
And while Connell is looking forward to the series and all her guests, she is also looking forward to playing the house piano.
“I played there Dec. 15 in a collage type concert … I was the only jazzer in a wonderful lineup of singer songwriters,” Connell said to WKTV. “After I waxed on about the piano, a woman reached out to me and said the piano had been her grandmother’s. A man nearby then told me the piano had been his mother’s. So I realized then that I was meeting the owners of Studio Park since I knew it was their piano in the club.”
For more information on the jazz series and all concerts at The Listening Room, visit listeningroomGR.com or call 616-900-9500. For more info on Max Colley III, visit maxcolley3.weebly.com . For more information on Robin Connell, visit robinconnell.com .
The Grand Rapids Symphony will perform “The Snowman” on Jan. 4. (Supplied)
The Grand Rapids Symphony will perform “The Snowman” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, at DeVos Performance Hall.
“The Snowman” wordlessly tells the story of a boy who who builds a snowman who comes to life and leads him on a wide-eyed and wondrous adventure to meet Father Christmas.
Led by Associate Conductor John Varineau, the Grand Rapids Symphony will perform the magical score by Howard Blake as the snowman and his young friend adventure through darkened woods, over rolling mountains, and above quiet ocean waves in the film that garnered an Academy Award nomination in 1982.
Besides “The Snowman,” the program also features the Grand Rapids Symphony performing such wintery melodies as the “Winter Train Ride” from Prokofiev’s Winter Bonfire Suite and the “Winter” Concerto from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
Violinist Paola Dara, of Grandville, who formerly served as concertmaster of the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony, will return as soloist in the concerto movement from The Four Seasons.
Tickets for “The Snowman” are $15 adults, $5 children, available by calling the GRS ticket office at 616-454-9451, ext. 4. Phone orders will be charged a $3 per ticket handling fee ($18 maximum per order). There are no fees for tickets purchased in person at the GRS ticket office at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across the street from Calder Plaza). Ticket office hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Kick off the New Year with Concerts Under the Starsat the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) featuring the sounds of synth-pop music with How to Live Together on Thursday, Jan.16.
“We’re thrilled to kick off the Concerts Under the Stars series with How to Live Together,” said Kate Kocienski, Vice President of Marketing & PR for the Public Museum. “Each concert, held in our Chaffee Planetarium, will generate a highly immersive experience for attendees, showcasing an immense amount of diverse musical and visual artistry.”
How to Live Together is composed of Grand Rapids residents Jesse Kaczmarczyk and Steffanie Rosalez. The pair utilize digital and analog synthesis to compose their synth-pop songs. The duo sample lighthearted Nintendo blips while creating dark analog sounds, which became an ongoing parallel for their own relationship and their relationship to the world around them. Using the limitless world of synthesizers, they examine the joy and dysfunction of being an interracial couple in the current cultural landscape of race, politics and social norms.
In a June 2019 Local Spins article, Jesse Kaczmarczyk said “We play it all live with many synths on stage including modular synths and Nintendos. We also bridge groups of songs together with improvised mini-tracks for a more seamless performance. Our music can be fun and upbeat with heavy and meaningful lyrics.”
Concerts Under the Stars will begin at 7:30 p.m., with Museum doors opening at 6:30 p.m. At each concert, performers will play two sets with a short intermission in between.
The video component of the show will be provided by Grand Rapids native Nate Eizenga. Eizenga, a video artist who has been participating in the Concerts Under theStars series since 2017, focuses on accompanying his intricate visuals with live musical performances. By using controllers intended for digital music production to create, mix and manipulate video in real time, he crafts a visual experience that connects the line between artistic spontaneity and musical synchronicity.
Refreshments, beer and other beverages will be available for purchase. Tickets are $12 for GRPM members and $17 for the public. Tickets are currently on sale and available at grpm.org, by calling 616-929-1700 or at the Museum’s front desk.
The 2020 Concerts Under the Stars series will continue on Feb. 6 with rock and roll sets performed by Coffin Problem, Feb. 27 with the smooth sounds of Indie rock from Seth Beck and will conclude on March 19 with a unique mix of surf, pop rock by Hollywood Makeout.
By Colleen Cullison Pine Rest Christian Metal Health Services
A new exhibit titled, “Zen and Human Relationships,” by local artist Stone Peng, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on Jan. 9 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.
Born in Taiwan, taking photos since the early 1980’s, Stone Peng is a self-taught photographer. Peng has lived in Michigan for more than 30 years. He is a Grand Rapids-based national and international award winning photographer.
“Through photos I try to express a message of peace and calm. Every landscape has its own life and meaning, depending on the viewer’s mood. I try to catch that emotional feeling at specific moments in landscapes, using the Chinese philosophy of life and the aesthetic principles ‘less is more’ and ‘empty is full’ in creating my images,” says Peng. “Using primarily white tones in the background lends a simplicity and ethereal purity to a subject that gives you a calm, peaceful, infinitely deep and immeasurable feeling. The empty space offers the viewer a chance to focus on what it really takes to find balance in life and capture a little piece of it for our self.”
Tranquility, simplicity and beauty are the essence of Peng’s photos. His work has been presented in numerous publications throughout the United States. Peng’s photos are in public and private collections throughout West Michigan, the United States and beyond. He has won numerous awards over the years as well.
The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE., from Jan. 9 to April 6. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616-222-4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery.
LowellArts recently announced twelve concerts for the 2020 Gallery Concert Series, where guests can listen to music while enjoying the exhibition that is on display.
Concerts include: The Ryne Experience on Jan. 10; Edye Evans Hyde and Mike Hyde on Jan. 19; Lowell High School Fusion Rock Orchestra on Jan. 24 & 25; Roger MacNaughton and Friends on Feb. 9; Josh Rose and the Founding Fathers on Feb. 15; Chain of Lakes on Feb. 29; Blue Water Ramblers on March 7; Delilah DeWylde on March 14; Hayes Griffin and Nate Roberts on March 21; Political Lizard on March 28; and The Willeys on April 4. The concerts are sponsored by Chimera Design with additional support from Local Spins and New Union Brewery.
The Ryne Experience is a solo/collaboration project from Lowell and West Michigan, led by front man and songwriter Ryne Clarke (formally of the Preservers). The Experience verses in styles of folk, rock, alternative, punk, funk, jam, and comedy. Tickets are $10 in advance / $12 at the door. A ticket to the show gets you a copy of their new album, “Funky Town”.
Edye Evans Hyde & Mike Hyde – Jan. 19 at 4pm
Edye and Mike are a Grand Rapids married musical couple that specialize in jazz standards and light pop covers. Tickets are $10 in advance / $12 at the door.
Lowell High School Fusion Rock Orchestra – Jan. 24 & 25 at 7pm
Lowell High School Fusion Rock Orchestra
Fusion Rock Orchestra is a student-led ensemble that has a style to entertain all audiences, from Motown to Metallica and Moondance to Mozart. Tickets are $10 in advance / $12 at the door.
Roger MacNaughton and Friends – Feb. 9 at 4pm
Roger MacNaughton and Friends
Join Roger and Friends for an afternoon of Songs & Memories from Mackinac Island, music composed by Roger during an Artist-in-Residence in the summer of 2019. Tickets are $14 in advance / $16 at the door.
Josh Rose and the Founding Fathers – Feb. 15 at 7pm
Josh Rose and the Founding Fathers
Josh Rose and the Founding Fathers offer music that resonates and melds with the listener long after the last note fades. Tickets are $10 in advance / $12 at the door.
Chain of Lakes – Feb. 29 at 7pm
Chain of Lakes
This Grand Rapids quintet features singer songwriter Kyle Rasche, great vocal harmonies, and performs a blend of Americana songwriting and energetic folk/rock. Tickets are $10 in advance / $12 at the door.
Blue Water Ramblers – March 7 at 7pm
Blue Water Ramblers
The Blue Water Ramblers write and perform contemporary folk songs of love and life. Their intricate arrangements for guitar, bass, banjo and pedal steel support close harmonies and dynamic deliveries with a distinct bluegrass and old country vibe. Tickets are $10 in advance / $12 at the door.
Delilah DeWylde – March 14 at 7pm
Delilah DeWylde
Whether boppin’ to a rockabilly classic or performing one of her great originals, Delilah puts on a show that is not to be missed! Tickets are $12 in advance / $14 at the door.
Hayes Griffin and Nate Roberts – March 21 at 7pm
Hayes Griffin & Nate Roberts
Guitarist Hayes Griffin and mandolinist Nate Roberts are leading the charge in West Michigan’s progressive acoustic music scene. Tickets are $12 in advance / $14 at the door.
Political Lizard – March 28 at 7pm
Political Lizard
Political Lizard musical endeavor seeks to combine musically mature composition with quaint, but intense lyrical sketches that can pierce the vulnerable part of your soul. Tickets are $12 in advance / $14 at the door.
The Willeys – April 4 at 7pm
The Willeys is a folk rock band playing original songs and unusual eclectic covers with a Celtic/Americana edge. Tickets are $12 in advance / $14 at the door.
About LowellArts
LowellArts connects artists and audiences through the visual and performing arts. Located on Main Street in downtown Lowell, LowellArts is a vibrant arts organization that has served the greater Lowell community since 1977. Annual programming includes: rotating gallery exhibitions, art and theater classes, house concerts, community theater, the Showboat Sizzlin’ Summer Concert Series (featuring free evening concerts every Thursday June through August by the Flat River), and the Fallasburg Arts Festival (a two-day juried art fair with 100+ artists, live music, and craft demonstrations held at Fallasburg Park).
The Grand Rapids Art Museum will waive admission fees for visitors age 17 and under from Dec. 21 through Jan. 5.
Families can explore GRAM’s current exhibitions including “David Wiesner & The Art of Wordless Storytelling”; Michigan Artist Series “Billy Mayer: The Shape of Things”, and the permanent collection galleries on Level III.
Additionally, the Museum will be offering an extended Drop-in Studio schedule from Thursday, Dec. 26, through Saturday, Dec. 28, from 1 – 4 p.m. Visitors of all ages can participate in these free hands-on workshops, crafting festive graham cracker houses to take home.
For more information on programming over break, contact Visitor Services at 616-831-1000 or info@artmuseumgr.org.
According to recent statistics, the share of men reading for pleasure on any given day fell from 25 percent in 2004 to 15 percent in 2017, a drop of nearly 40 percent.
It was this decrease that caught the attention of resident Randy Otterbridge, the chief writing officer for Randy Austin Publishing and Media and the person behind this weekend’s “Men Who Write and Win.” The free event is Saturday from a 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army Kroc Center, 2500 Division Ave. SE.
“I started thinking there has to be a reason for this,” Otterbridge said of the drop of readership during a recent Locally Entertaining podcast. Otterbridge admitted that people today are busy people with work, children’s activities, and other events, adding that men tend to be more “doers,” wanting to be outside and simply doing something.
“When you hear about reading and you hear about wealth, and readers are leaders and leaders are readers….[well] when I look at a book there is gold in it and we just need to shovel it out.”
Otterbridge decided to have an event focused on male authors and to celebrate what they are doing while at the same time encouraging others to write and share their story, he said. That event became the “Men Who Write — and Win!,” an author showcase and wrting-tainment event. Because men have a competitive nature, Otterbridge said he incorporated a competition element with the audience deciding who wins by clapping for the stories they like to who does well in sales at the event.
Otterbridge has more than a dozen authors signed up for Saturday’s showcase covering a variety of genres from financial to children’s books. Along with readings, there will be presentations on how to get started writing, marketing and other topics.
Otterbridge said the event is not only open to men, if it was “I might only end up with two,” he joked. The event is open to anyone interested in writing, because the ultimate goal, Otterbridge emphasized, is to encourage people to write, not to worry about editing or anything else, but to get their story on paper.
In the mid-1990s, Byron Center school officials and community leaders came together looking for a new idea that would “really put ourselves on the map,” according to Van Singel Managing Director Sara Bower during a recent Locally Entertaining podcast. “That it would make us a destination district.”
“We had this wacky idea of not just having an auditorium but to have a state-of-the-art auditorium that could be utilized by the community and host professional shows,” she said. “It could host classes, things like that. Whatever the shell of the building needed to be, we could adapt it.”
VanSingel Fine Arts Center Managing Director Sara Bower. (Photo by WKTV)
The idea of a full state-of-the-art facility, such as the Van Singel Fine Arts Center, was revolutionary. Most school districts at that time had an auditorium but nothing that would allow touring shows to come into the community. In fact, when studying the possibility of the Van Singel Fine Arts Center, it was determined that the facility’s closet competitors would be the Red Barn Theatre in Saugatuck, DeVos Performance Center in Grand Rapids, Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, and the Wharton Center in Lansing.
So Byron Center built the Van Singel, which in turn helped make the school district that “destination district.”
Today, several districts, such as Forest Hills and Jenison followed Byron Center’s lead and are now are homes to state-of-the-art facilities. Similar to the Van Singel, these facilities also offer touring shows, community theater and other arts and entertainment events. The Van Singel also is the home of the Gainey Gallery, which hosts exhibits of work by area artists.
With the changing landscape, Bower said during the Locally Entertaining podcast that the Van Singel and Byron Center community leaders came together again to talk about how to raise the bar in what a facility like the Van Singel can offer.
Referring to it as Van Singel 2.0, Bower said the group looked around its community and the West Michigan area to see what gaps in arts and entertainment education and programming were needing to be filled.
The Van Singel now hosts the Meijer Great Choices Film Festival, where student filmmakers from around the state enter public service announcements on positive life choices to Michigan’s K-12 youth. The 2020 competition is accepting entries through Feb. 7. For more information, visit meijergreatchoices.com.
Last year, Van Singel started its own Youth Theatre program which will present “Disney’s Frozen Jr.” in June.
The Van Singel also continues to offer touring shows. Upcoming productions are “The Closet You Can Get to Elvis” featuring Scot Bruce as Elvis on April 18 and Cool Jazz featuring Aaron Diehl and Chad Eby on May 1. For more information about these shows or other events at the Van Singel Fine Arts Center, visit vsfac.com.
An earlier, slightly smaller version of May Erlewine and The Motivations. (Supplied)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
West Michigan singer/songwriter May Erlwine will take a break from her national tour promoting her recent and splendid alt-Americana release, Second Sight, to offer up some local holiday dance party gigs fronting The Motivations.
Part of a hectic two weeks of Michigan concerts includes a stop at Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, on Friday, Dec. 13.
The Motivations is a now-9-piece band that offers up boogie jams and classic soul cuts. According to supplied material, The Motivations holiday party project was born in the winter of 2016 when Erlewine set out to make music and create a positive space “meant to get people moving, to feel connected, and to help everyone celebrate the moment — and each other” amid the holiday season rush/crush.
“It’s not an easy time for everyone,” Erlewine said in supplied material. “We invite you to shake out your holiday stressors and come on out to dance with us!”
The Motivations feature Phil Barry on guitar and vocals; Joe Hettinga on synth, keys and vocals; Eric Kuhn on guitar and vocals; Max Lockwood on bass and vocals; Mike Lynch on organ and keys; Terrence Massey on trumpet and vocals; Brandon Proch on saxophone, vocals and percussion; and Michael Shimmin on drums, percussion and vocals.
Despite the changes in band and musical genre, Elrewine will likely play a few songs from her latest alt-Americana release. (We can only hope!)
May Erlewine (Supplied/Michael Poehlman)
On her latest full-length studio album release, Second Sight, which hit the streets Nov. 1, she delivers her constantly beautiful-voiced singer/songwriter vocals with a powerful push into the realm of socio-political commentary — the first single released from Second Sight, she states, was “Written as a testimony for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. And for all of the women who have been ‘unheard’ in their truth.”
“We are living in a time where we are inundated with media, consumerism and distractions from being connected to our deeper visions,” she told WKTV in a previous interview. “The songs are a journey to reconnecting with our home, ourselves and each other while grieving the incredible trauma of our history.”
In addition to this week’s gig at Pyramid Scheme, the band will play Thursday, Dec. 12, at Beards Brewery in Petoskey; Saturday, Dec. 14, at The Old Art Building in Leland; Thursday, Dec. 19, at Otus Supply in Ferndale; Friday, Dec. 20, at The Livery in Benton Harbor; Saturday, Dec. 21, at Seven Steps Up in Spring Lake; and Sunday, Dec. 22, at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo.
For more information on May Erlewine, her music and tickets to announced local dates, visit mayerlewine.com.
The LEGOs display was created by the West Michigan LEGO Train Club. It is a popular attraction during the Snowflake Break at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Photo supplied)
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) just announced Snowflake Break activities and additional displays at the Museum for the holiday season. Snowflake Break includes a variety of family-friendly programs and activities themed around special exhibits Design Zone and TOYS!
During Snowflake Break at the GRPM, visitors will be able to create themed paper snowflakes, decorate wooden ornaments, play a variety of giant-sized games, interact with artifacts from Discovery Carts, explore special exhibits Design Zone and TOYS! and more.
Snowflake Break runs from Dec. 21 — Jan. 5. General admission includes hands–on activities for Snowflake Break, special holiday displays and admission to Design Zone and TOYS! The Bodies Revealed exhibit will be an additional fee. More information can one be found at grpm.org.
Kent County residents receive reduced admission. Kent County adults are only $5 for general admission and Kent County children 17 and under are FREE general admission daily.
Holiday Displays
Historic LEGO® Display – See historic Grand Rapids like never before, built from LEGO®s. The 1925-era display, complete with operating trams, will be on display in the Streets of Old Grand Rapids exhibition now through January 11, 2020 and is included with general admission. The display was built by the Western Michigan LEGO® Train Club.
Flashback: The popular Herpolsheimer’s Child Passenger Train will be on display and available for family pictures. (Photo supplied.)
Herpolsheimer’s Child Passenger Train – Visitors to the Museum can enjoy a community favorite on display – the Herpolsheimer’s Child Passenger Train. The Train is included with general admission to the Museum and will be on display through Jan. 13.
The monorail train debuted as “Santa’s Rocket Express” when the new Herpolsheimer’s Department Store opened in in 1949. Recognizable to any baby-boomer resident of Grand Rapids, the train chugged along the ceiling of the toy department at the Herpolsheimer’s Department Store, which sat at the corner of Fulton and Division streets in downtown Grand Rapids.
Santa and Elf Hunt – Find 15 historic Santas from around the World in the Streets of Old Grand Rapids, and 12 whimsical elves hidden throughout the three floors of the Museum. The Santa & Elf Hunt is included with general admission.
Let it Snow Planetarium Show – Let it Snow features a new variety of festive classics from Frank Sinatra and Chuck Berry to Burl Ives and Brenda Lee, and includes a stunning multimedia finale by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The soundtrack is visually enhanced with thematic animation, laser imagery and special effects. Tickets are $4 each with general admission to the Museum, free to Museum members and $5 each for planetarium only tickets. Let it Snow will run through Jan. 5.
Exhibitions
Design Zone In Design Zone, visitors of all ages can explore a variety of concepts to learn the processes and tools needed to create a successful design. Organized into three thematic zones, the activities featured in Design Zone highlight the importance of science and mathematical thinking in areas critical to building creativity and innovation in art, music and engineering. More specifically, visitors will discover the secrets behind how video game developers, music producers, roller coaster designers and other creative problem solvers do what they do in this new exhibition.
TOYS!
TOYS! is an interactive, multi-generation exhibition of toys and games to rekindle childhood memories and spark the creation of new ones. Baby Boomers loved Paper Dolls, Erector Sets, and Mr. Potato Head, Gen Xers preferred Holly Hobbie and Hot Wheels, and Millennials have never known a world without Super Mario or My Little Pony. Some toys, like Barbie and G.I. Joe, have adapted to appeal to different generations and remain popular today. Toys and games have changed over time, but the desire to imagine, compete, and create has not. The exhibit, designed and curated by the GRPM staff, features toys and games from the Museum’s Collections and on loan from community members. Visitors will imagine, compete and create, while going on a journey of toys through generations.
Bodies Revealed
Bodies Revealed features real, whole and partial body specimens that have been preserved through an innovative process, giving visitors the opportunity to view the complexity of their own organs and systems in a way that’s normally reserved for medical professionals. The exhibit will have 10 full body specimens on display as well as over 100 organs and partial specimens. Bodies Revealed allows visitors to learn about their own bodies and ultimately, teaches the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Advance ticket purchases are recommended as some time slots will sell out.
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is an invaluable, publicly-owned institution that is home to more than 250,000 unique artifacts that tell the history of Kent County and beyond, houses the only planetarium in the region, and is responsible for protecting The Mounds, a national historic landmark. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, with its main location in downtown Grand Rapids, MI at 272 Pearl Street, NW. For additional information including hours of operation, admission fees and exhibit/event listings, please visit www.grpm.org.
CatVideo Fest is a compilation of the latest and best cat videos pulled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and — of course — classic internet powerhouses. CatVideo Fest is a joyous communal experience only available in theaters.
UICA, in collaboration with the makers of CatVideo Fest, is committed to using the screening of this film to raise awareness for cats in need, right here in Grand Rapids. 10% of ticket sales will be donated to Carol’s Ferals for the work they do with cats in West Michigan.
What: CatVideo Fest; Run Time: 70 min.; MPAA Rating: NR; Origin: USA
Four-time Grammy Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees The Doobie Brothers are performing in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, at 7:30pm at Van Andel Arena® on their tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s founding. Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, Pat Simmons and John McFee will be back on tour together for the first time in nearly 25 years.
The 50th Anniversary Tour will feature special guest The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Tickets to The Doobie Brothers 50th Anniversary Tour will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Dec. 6 at 10am. Tickets will be available at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place® box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. See Ticketmaster.com for all current pricing and availability. A limited number of LaneOne Premium Packages will also be available, including amazing seats, transportation, preferred entrance and more. Check LINK for LaneOne details.
The Doobie Brothers have sold nearly 50 million albums worldwide, have had five top-10 singles, 16 top-40 hits, 3 multi-platinum albums, 7 platinum albums, 14 gold albums, and own a rare diamond record for their 1976 album, Best of the Doobies. The Doobie Brothers’ collection of timeless hits will once again be played by the artists who wrote them, providing fans the rare opportunity to see these Rock and Roll legends performing their full catalog of songs on stage.
The Doobie Brothers represent the best of a diverse range of American musical styles, incorporating elements of Rock n’ Roll, Blues, Soul, Folk, Country, Bluegrass, and R&B. Their sound has influenced artists across all genres of music and their impact on the industry can be seen across generations, from their start in 1970 through to today.
Fans who attend The Doobie Brothers 50th Anniversary Tour can expect to hear wide range of the band’s hit songs, including Listen To The Music, Takin’ It To The Streets, Long Train Running, Black Water, What A Fool Believes, China Grove, Minute By Minute, It Keeps You Runnin’, Jesus Is Just Alright With Me and many more.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Monday, Dec. 2 at 10am. Tickets will be available at the DeVos Place® and Van Andel Arena® box offices and online via Ticketmaster.com. See Ticketmaster for all current pricing and availability.
The Price Is Right Live™ is the hit interactive stage show that gives eligible individuals the chance to “Come On Down!” and play classic games from television’s most popular game show. Contestants can win cash, appliances, vacations and possibly even a new car by playing favorites like Plinko™, Cliffhangers™, The Big Wheel™, and the fabulous Showcase!
Showing to near sold-out audiences for more than ten years, The Price Is Right Live™ has given away over $12 million in cash and prizes to lucky audience members all across North America.
The Price is Right™ is the longest-running game show in television history and loved by generations of viewers. This on-stage traveling version gives fans the chance to experience the same thrilling excitement of winning big, up close and in-person.
The Price Is Right is produced by Fremantle and licensed by Fremantle.
Event: The Price is Right Live!
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 17, 2020, at 7:30pm
Venue: DeVos Performance Hall
Tickets on sale: Monday, Dec. 2 at 10am
*No Purchase Necessary to register for chance to be a contestant. Open to legal US residents, 18 years or older. Ticket purchase will not increase your chances of being selected to play. For complete rules & regulations, including eligibility requirements, visit or call the venue box office. To enter theater to watch show, a ticket purchase is required.
A festive performance of songs of the holiday season concludes the 2019 Grand Valley State University Fall Arts Celebration.
The holiday celebration, “Beloved Songs of the Season,” is Monday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE. Performers from local school districts will join those from the university for the event.
The concert includes yuletide selections from British composers David Willcocks and John Rutter. Audiences will hear Willcocks’ brass choir settings of beloved carols as well as Rutter’s classical holiday masterpiece, “Gloria.”
The celebration is the perfect way to start the holiday season, said Danny Phipps, chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. The evening will also include a sing-along.
“Fountain Street Church, decorated for the holidays and coupled with both the visual and aural effect of massed choirs and instrumentalists, will be a feast for the eyes and ears to everyone who attends,” Phipps said. “This year the University Arts Chorale and Cantate will be joined in performance by the Hudsonville High School Varsity Voices, West Ottawa High School Vocalaires, and our special guests, the Jenison Elementary Honors Choir.”
All Fall Arts Celebration events are free and open to the public. For more information visit gvsu.edu/fallarts.
When it comes to supporting America’s military veterans, sometimes all you can do is listen to their stories. When you are as talented a singer/songwriter as Mary Gauthier, you can go one step further — listening and then retelling those stories in powerful and moving ways.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier will perform at Grand Rapids’ The Listening Room on Dec.13 in support of Rifles & Rosary Beads, an 11-song collection of songs co-written with U.S. veterans and their families that “reveal the untold stories and struggles that veterans and their spouses deal with abroad and after returning home.”
(A fairly new venue in town, The Listening Room is located at Studio Park, 123 Iona Ave. SW. Tickets are still available.)
Mary Gauthier. (Laura Partain)
“My job as a songwriter is to find that thing a soul needs to say,” Gauthier said in supplied material about her interactions with veterans through meetings of SongwritingWith:Soldiers. “Each retreat brings together a dozen or so soldiers and four songwriters, three songs each in two days. We don’t have a choice. We have to stay focused, listen carefully, and make sure every veteran gets their own song. And we always do.
“None of the veterans are artists. They don’t write songs, they don’t know that songs can be used to move trauma. Their understanding of song doesn’t include that. For me it’s been the whole damn deal. Songwriting saved me. It’s what I think the best songs do, help articulate the ineffable, make the invisible visible, creating resonance, so that people, (including the songwriter) don’t feel alone.”
SongwritingWith:Soldiers is a non-profit program that facilitates retreats bringing professional songwriters together with wounded veterans and active duty military.
Each song on Rifles & Rosary Beads is “deceptively simple and emotionally complex”. From the opening “Soldiering On”, with the line “What saves you in the battle/Can kill you at home”; to “Bullet Holes in the Sky” — “They thank me for my service/And wave their little flags/They genuflect on Sundays/And yes, they’d send us back”. And it is not just male veterans who have told her their story: the song “Iraq” depicts the “helpless horror of a female military mechanic being dehumanized and sexually harassed by fellow soldiers.”
With now 10 albums in her catalogue, Gauthier is no stranger to musical audiences, especially country music audiences — her classic track “Mercy Now” was included in Rolling Stone’s “Saddest Country Songs of all Time”. In her official biography, she states that “no stranger to pain or demons herself, Gauthier has used songwriting to work through addiction and childhood abandonment as an orphan, but this is the first album where she has focused solely on experiences other than her own.”
Mary Gauthier, with special guest Jaimee Harris, is Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m.. Tickets are $27. For more information on this show and the venue, visit listeningroomGR.com.
Muskegon Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees. (Supplied/LaShelle Mikesell)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
Looking to get an early start on the Christmas festivities? How about taking an easy and beautiful way decorate your own home for the holidays?
The Muskegon Museum of Art is jumping into the holiday spirit early with its 15th annual Festival of Trees, running Nov. 20 through Dec. 1, highlighted by a silent auction of the display trees, as well as a special concert and cocktail hour Friday, Nov. 29.
The Festival of Trees includes professionally designed themed trees and décor which will be available for purchase through silent auction over the 11 days of the festival. Raffles, music, holiday shopping, and other special events will also be available.
The festival runs Wednesday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Dec. 1, daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays 12-5 p.m, but closed Thanksgiving Day. Festival admission is $10 for adult, $5 for MMA members, $3 for children 3-17 yrs. (under 3 free), and $15 for an All Festival Pass.
Among the special events are a First Day Food Drive, Nov. 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., when attendees receive half-off Festival of Trees admission with your donation to Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry.
Other special events are a Deck Your Halls Decorating Demo Event on Nov. 24 — when floral designers Deb Moon from Le Fleur Shoppe and Skeeter Parkhouse from Wasserman’s Flowers and Gifts will demonstrate how to create unique holiday décor , with items created during the demo raffled to the audience.
Other special events are Senior Day, Family Day, , a Teddy Bear Breakfast, and a special Cocktail Hour for Muskegon Civic Theatre “The Christmas Carol” ticket holders.
The Teddy Bear Breakfast, on Saturday, Nov. 30, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., is a family-favorite especially fun for kids 3-8 years old. Tickets includes festive breakfast with fruit, sausage, muffins, quiche, juice, and coffee; Teddy bear checkup by a certified teddy bear nurse; a visit with Santa; Teddy Bear Parade and Story Time; and Make-and-Take craft.
The special Nov. 29 concert and cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m. and is $12 per person ($10 MMA members) and tickets may be purchased by calling 231-720-2580.
Muskegon Museum of Art is located at 296 W. Webster Ave., Muskegon. For more information visit muskegonmuseum.org .
In Act II of “The Nutcracker Ballet,” the Prince whisks the slumbering Clara away to the Land of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy holds court in a magical land of make believe.
Guests at the Grand Rapids Symphony and Grand Rapids Ballet holiday programs in December will discover a Land of Sweets as soon as the walk through the doors of DeVos Performance hall.
To celebrate the season, culinary students at Grand Rapids Community College’sSecchia Institute for Culinary Education are creating a sugary wonderland filled with ballerinas in stained-glass sugar and bells made from blown sugar in DeVos Performance Hall in December.
The Land of Sweets created by baking and pastry students at GRCC will be on unveiled on Thursday, Dec. 5 for the opening of the Wolverine Worldwide Holiday Pops. It will remain on view through the final performance of “The Nutcracker” on Sunday, Dec. 22.
Led by their professor Chef Gilles Renusson, a certified master pastry chef and renowned sugar artist, students already are at work building the elaborate display that will be installed in the outer lobby.
A student builds her design. The Land of Sweets will be on display Dec. 5 – 22. (Supplied)
Passersby will be able to see portions of it through the window, but only concert goers will be able to see the entire display up close from every angle.
Such elements as sugar ribbons, royal icing and marzipan will be used to create figures including the Sugar Plum Fairy, Nutcracker and a symphony orchestra conductor as well as musical motifs and depictions of dancers in the display that will include a 6-foot-tall croquembouche.
Some 14 students enrolled in the Pastry Centerpiece and Wedding Cake class, a capstone course in the Secchia Institute, are working on the project. The class teaches the major aspects of artistic decorations in pastry arts such as creating wedding cakes and centerpieces for tables and buffet presentations.
The class has been working on this project since the start of the semester, brainstorming, designing and then creating all the components. Soon they’ll begin the painstaking process of transporting the delicate confectionary artwork from the GRCC bakeshop to DeVos Performance Hall.
The project is a practical application of the skills the students are learning in class, with the added bonus of having their work on display for thousands of people to see and add to the excitement of the holiday.
A GRCC student puts the final touches on her piece for the Land of Sweets. (Supplied)
Chef Gilles Renusson, who recently was awarded the Chevalier du Merite Agricole – The Order of Agricultural Merit – from the French Minister of Agriculture for his decades of outstanding service in the culinary arts, is directing the project.
“For the students, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to gain practical skills and really master them and also to have their work be seen and appreciated,” Renusson said. “And we get to work with our partners in the city and tell people about the programs we have and work we do at the college.”
For tickets for the Fox Motors Pops and the Old National Bank Cirque de Noel, contact the Grand Rapids Symphony office, (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online toGRSymphony.org. For tickets for “The Nutcracker” call the Grand Rapids Ballet at (616) 454-4771 or go online toGRBallet.com
Pinkfong and Round Room Live are proud to announce that Baby Shark Live!, the brand-new, fully immersive concert experience, will continue to make a splash across North America and play over 70 cities this Spring. The live tour of the viral sensation will continue its run starting March 3, 2020, in Paducah, KY. The hit show will swim to new markets including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Toronto, as well as a stop in Grand Rapids on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 6pm in DeVos Performance Hall.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Nov. 22 at 11am. Tickets will be available at the DeVos Place® and Van Andel Arena® box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. See Ticketmaster.com for all current pricing and availability. A purchase limit of eight (8) tickets will apply to every order.
The Fall tour leg of Baby Shark Live! began in Spartanburg, SC and played to excited families across the country. The smash hit show sold out performances across the country during the 6-week run and was seen by nearly 100,000 fans.
The live show is based on Pinkfong’s viral earworm and global dance phenomenon, Baby Shark. Fans of all ages will delight as Baby Shark joins up with his friend Pinkfong to take an adventure into the sea, singing and dancing through new and classic songs including Five Little Monkeys, Wheels on the Bus, Jungle Boogie, Monkey Banana Dance and, of course, Baby Shark.
Baby Shark, Pinkfong’s global hit song about a family of sharks, has climbed the charts and connected with fans around the globe. After entering the Billboard Hot 100 at #32, the song has had a 17-week streak in the Top 50 while topping the Kids Digital Song Sales Chart. The Baby Shark dance video has over 3.8 billion views, making it the 5th most-viewed video in the history of YouTube.
Tickets for Baby Shark Live’s Spring tour go on sale to the general public onFriday, Nov. 22. Fans can visit babysharklive.com now for tour dates, ticket information and one-of-a-kind meet and greet packages. Follow Baby Shark Live! social media for pre-sale access and exclusive tour content.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Metro Health Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition. (Supplied/Johnny Quirin)
By Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Experience the wonder of the holidays at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park with the annual Metro Health Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition, on display from Nov. 26 through Jan. 5, 2020.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Metro Health Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition. (Supplied/Johnny Quirin)
Guests from all over the world visit Meijer Gardens to experience 46 trees and displays representing countries and cultures from across the globe. The adored and enchanting Railway Garden, and the holiday wonderland that encompasses it, will once again loop through three lush indoor garden spaces, including the Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse.
Guests are invited to ring in the holiday season with our most beloved winter exhibition.
This year, Meijer Gardens celebrates the signs of the season and highlights iconic symbols that are used in holiday festivities. Winter is a season rich with symbolism. On display are icons that evoke a deeper meaning and represent holiday cheer. Guests will celebrate both fact and folklore, past and present.
Each winter, Meijer Gardens transforms into a botanic wonderland with fresh poinsettias, orchids and amaryllis. The smell of evergreens as visitors enter the building and the sounds of carolers make it a place to reflect and enjoy the holiday season. Indoors and out, our grounds sparkle with 300,000 lights. 500 volunteers lovingly decorate the trees and displays.
The unique horticultural artistry of the Railway Garden complements the trolleys, trains and handcrafted buildings replicating 37 Grand Rapids landmarks. Visitors will find familiarity in the Fifth Third Ballpark replica building, with its light posts made of willow, as well as Royal Poinciana pods, Pomegranate, Japanese Fantail Willow and Bamboo that make up the iconic architecture of the Van Andel Institute replica building. Five landmarks from Grand Rapids sister cities around the world are also represented in the Railway Garden.
“This winter, Meijer Gardens is highlighting iconic symbols from around the world,” said Steve LaWarre, Director of Horticulture at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. “Guests will have the opportunity to explore the signs of the season with deeper meaning and find the commonalities shared within diverse cultures.”
Mainstays of the exhibition include the Germany tree, adorned with handmade glass ornaments and homemade springerle cookies, the England tree—with antique Christmas cards and mistletoe—and the beautiful Eid ul-Fitr display, which celebrates the end of Ramadan.
In many cultures, the holidays bring people together in distinct and memorable ways that are difficult to capture in a display. Meijer Gardens is once again presenting the wonderous original film, joy, that explores the diverse festive fabric that is holiday life across our local communities. This film will be shown continuously in the Hoffman Family Auditorium and is also available on the Meijer Gardens YouTube channel.
(Supplied/Dean VanDis)
A variety of family-friendly activities are offered throughout the exhibition. Exhibition activities include:
Extended Holiday Hours: Open until 9 p.m. on Dec. 17-21, 23, 26-28 and 30. (Please note Meijer Gardens is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day).
The Original Dickens Carolers: Tuesdays: Nov. 26, Dec. 3, 10, 17 from 6-8 p.m.
Santa Visits: Tuesdays: Nov. 26, Dec. 3, 10, 17 from 5-8 p.m.
Winter-Time Walks: (Dec. 3-Jan. 4, 2020), with preschoolers Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11:15 a.m., and family and friends Saturdays at 11:15 a.m., with fee included with admission. Winter in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden can be chilly, but fun! Bundle up and join us on an outdoor interactive discovery walk to investigate the Children’s Garden in new ways. We’ll explore different winter themes and gather in a cozy spot to learn about winter with stories, kid-friendly conversation and other activities.
Christmas and Holiday Themed Classes: Enjoy festive learning opportunities for adults and families. Fees apply.
Metro Health Christmas & Holiday Traditions is made possible by made possible by Metro Health — University of Michigan Health, the Meijer Foundation, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Foundation, the Botanic and Sculpture Societies of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Star 105.7. The Railway Garden is sponsored by Warner Norcross + Judd, Inc.
Country icon Reba McEntire is coming to Grand Rapids for a performance at Van Andel Arenaon Saturday, May 9, 2020, at 7pm.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Nov. 22 at 12pm. Tickets will be available at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. See Ticketmaster.com for all current pricing and availability.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced today an exciting lineup for the upcoming holiday season. Visitors to the Museum can enjoy the upcoming Bodies Revealed exhibit, new Design Zone exhibit, popular TOYS! exhibition and a variety of interactive holiday displays and events that are sure to be favorites.
The Museum will host two Classic Melodies organ concerts as part of the Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ Concert Series to kick off the Thanksgiving week on Friday Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23. Hear classic melodies on the GRPM’s 1928 Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ by Andrew Rogers. Many will be recognizable to all ages including Cinderella’s Waltz, Chicago, Bye Bye Blues, The Carousel Waltz and more. The final concerts in the 2019 series, Holiday Classics, will take place on Dec. 20 and 21, featuring Dave Wickerham. For tickets and additional information, visit grpm.org/organ.
On Black Friday, Nov. 29, the GRPM will host a Light Show Double Feature in the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium. Catch a double feature of The Queen Light Show and Dark Side: The Light Show! Music enthusiasts will rock out to the music of Queen and Pink Floyd paired with stunning visuals on the planetarium dome. The Museum’s doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first show, The Queen Light Show, starting at 7 p.m. A cash bar will be available before the first show and during a short intermission. Tickets include both light shows, and are $8 for non-members, $4 for members.
Also kicking off on Thanksgiving weekend is the ever popular Let it Snow Planetarium Show. Let it Snow features a new variety of festive classics from Frank Sinatra and Chuck Berry to Burl Ives and Brenda Lee, and includes a stunning multimedia finale by the Trans Siberian Orchestra. The soundtrack is visually enhanced with thematic animation, laser imagery and special effects. Tickets are $4 each with general admission to the Museum, free to Museum members and $5 each for planetarium only tickets. Let it Snow will run from Nov. 29 through Jan. 5.
The Museum’s Curiosity Shop will participate in Museum Store Sunday on Sunday, Dec. 1. Get a jump on holiday shopping! Discounts up to 50-percent and additional discounts for Museum members. The Curiosity Shop features a variety of eclectic gifts, Michigan souvenirs, apparel, children’s gifts and more and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All proceeds support exhibits and programs at the GRPM. Admission is not required to shop in the Curiosity Shop.
Details about everything the GRPM has happening can be found online at grpm.org. Slip the lines and purchase your tickets online in advance. Tickets can easily be purchased on the GRPM’s website, including special discounts for Kent County residents.
Holiday Displays
Historic LEGO Display
See historic Grand Rapids built from LEGO® bricks, showcasing what the city looked like during the early 20th century. The 1925-era display, complete with operating trams, will be on display in the Streets of Old Grand Rapids exhibition now through Jan. 11, and is included with general admission. Built by the Western Michigan LEGO Train Club.
Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Christie Bender stands next to the Herpolsheimer’s Child Passenger Train. (Photo by WKTV)
Herpolsheimer’s Child Passenger Train
As an annual tradition, visitors to the Museum can enjoy a community favorite on display, the Herpolsheimer’s Child Passenger Train. Recognizable to any baby-boomer, the train chugged along the ceiling of the toy department at the Herpolsheimer’s Department Store. Seeing and taking photos with the train is included with general admission to the Museum and will be on display through Jan. 13.
Santa and Elf Hunt
Find 15 historic Santas from around the World in the Streets of Old Grand Rapids, and 12 elves hidden throughout the three floors of the Museum. The Santa & Elf Hunt is included with general admission.
The Museum will host the following activities and events throughout the holiday season:
Breakfast with Santa
Visitors are welcome to join the GRPM for a special morning with Santa & Mrs. Claus for pictures, breakfast, Let it Snow in the Planetarium, a holiday gift and endless exploration of the Museum all day. This holiday fundraiser supports exhibitions and programming at the Museum. Breakfast with Santa has one session remaining at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are limited and can be purchased at grpm.org.
Mark Your Calendars – Snowflake Break!
Looking ahead to the December holiday break, the Museum will again host Snowflake Break that includes a variety of family-friendly programs and activities themed around special exhibits Design Zone and TOYS! Snowflake Break runs from Dec. 21 through Jan. 5. General admission includes hands–on activities for Snowflake Break, special holiday displays and admission to TOYS! and Design Zone. Bodies Revealed is an additional fee. More information can one be found at grpm.org.
The Street of Old Grand Rapids will feature nostalgic holiday decorations. (Supplied
Exhibitions
Bodies Revealed Bodies Revealed features real, whole and partial body specimens that have been preserved through an innovative process, giving visitors the opportunity to view the complexity of their own organs and systems in a way that’s normally reserved for medical professionals. The exhibit will have 10 full body specimens on display as well as over 100 organs and partial specimens. Bodies Revealed allows visitors to learn about their own bodies and ultimately, teaches the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Advance ticket purchases are recommended as some time slots will sell out.
Design Zone In Design Zone, visitors of all ages can explore a variety of concepts to learn the processes and tools needed to create a successful design. Organized into three thematic zones, the activities featured in Design Zone highlight the importance of science and mathematical thinking in areas critical to building creativity and innovation in art, music and engineering. More specifically, visitors will discover the secrets behind how video game developers, music producers, roller coaster designers and other creative problem solvers do what they do in this new exhibition.
TOYS!
TOYS! is an interactive, multi-generation exhibition of toys and games to rekindle childhood memories and spark the creation of new ones. Baby Boomers loved Paper Dolls, Erector Sets, and Mr. Potato Head, Gen Xers preferred Holly Hobbie and Hot Wheels, and Millennials have never known a world without Super Mario or My Little Pony. Some toys, like Barbie and G.I. Joe, have adapted to appeal to different generations and remain popular today. Toys and games have changed over time, but the desire to imagine, compete, and create has not. The exhibit, designed and curated by the GRPM staff, features toys and games from the Museum’s Collections and on loan from community members. Visitors will imagine, compete and create, while going on a journey of toys through generations.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) is hosting Classical Melodies Organ Concerts on November 22 and 23, as part of the 2019 Mighty Wurlitzer Organ Concert Series. The November concerts will feature Andrew Rogers playing popular classical melodies including Cinderella’s Waltz, Chicago, Bye Bye Blues, The Carousel Waltz and more.
The November concerts will be taking the Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ back to its roots. The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ spent two decades entertaining customers at the Roaring 20’s Pizza Parlor on 28th Street in Grand Rapids, before it was moved to its current location at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
Rogers is a professional organist who travels worldwide conducting theater organ concerts that accompany silent films. His musical studies began when he sought out the late Fr. James Miller while working at the Wurlitzer factory store in Dearborn, MI. He studied theater organ techniques with Miller and accompanied him on his tour of Australia and Norfolk Island, where Rogers appeared in joint concerts and solo engagements. He furthered his studies with Dr. Marilyn Mason through a Church Organ Studies program and traveled on two historic organ tours led by Dr. Mason covering France, Italy and Switzerland, where he played 58 instruments and participated in 10 public concerts. Currently, Rogers serves on the staff at the Michigan theater in Ann Arbor.
Concerts will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, in the Meijer Theater at the GRPM.
Tickets for individual concerts are $8 for Museum member adults, $4 for Museum member children, $10 for non-member adults and $5 for non-member children. Tickets are available by visiting www.grpm.org/Organ or by calling 616-929-1700.
The third and final concert of the 2019 series will feature Dave Wickerman performing holiday songs on Friday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m.
This holiday season, the Holland Area Arts Council is reprising their partnership with Grand Rapids Ballet in two special performances for children ages 4 to 10 and their adult guests on Sunday, Nov. 17th. The gallery will be filled with the enchanting giggles of children as they experience the magic of music, dance and storytelling. Performances will be held at 12:30 and 2:30pm.
The Nutcracker Ballet Tea is a story-time brunch in a winter fairy-tale land of ballerinas, nutcrackers and toy soldiers. Members of Grand Rapids Ballet Junior Company will dance vignettes from The Nutcracker as Attila Mosolygo, Junior Company Artistic Director reads The Nutcracker story. The performance includes tea, delicious snacks and a box of treats for each child to enjoy.
Children live in a world of imagination and play. The line between reality and pretend has not yet been drawn. They involve themselves in performance physically, mentally and emotionally, and so the Arts Council is excited to expose the very young to live performance featuring other young performers.
Partnership with Grand Rapids Ballet, who provides the dancers in costume, makes this event truly special.
Tickets for the Nutcracker Ballet Tea are on sale now. Admission is $35 per ticket. Children 10 and under get in for $15 each.
Tickets to Grand Rapids Ballet’s The Nutcracker Dec. 13-15 and 20-22 performances at DeVos Performance Hall may be purchased online at grballet.com or by calling (616) 454-4771 x10.
Trevor Noah is traveling the globe and expanding his Loud & Clear Tourto 2020 due to popular demand! With over 75 sold-out North American shows this year, including his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden with an expected 14,000 in attendance, Trevor is bringing his wildly successful tour to new cities, including Grand Rapids on Friday, May 8, 2020, at 8pm at Van Andel Arena.
The 2020 shows kick off January 10th in Buffalo New York, and will now visit arenas across the U.S., Europe, Ireland, Germany, India, and many more. With already one sold out show at the iconic O2 Arena in London selling over 15,000 tickets, this announcement includes a newly added second show on April 3rd.
The Emmy-winning The Daily Show host and celebrated comedian is known around the world for his insightful and authentic take on politics and current events. Trevor has written, produced, and starred in 8 comedy specials, most recently including Son of Patricia on Netflix.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Nov. 8 at 10am. Tickets will be available at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. A purchase limit of eight (8) tickets will apply to every order. See Ticketmaster.com for all current pricing and availability.
Join the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) for the Planetarium Double Feature showing of The Queen Light Show and Dark Side: The Light Show in the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium on Friday, Nov. 29.
Music enthusiasts will rock out to the music of Queen and Pink Floyd paired with stunning visuals on the planetarium dome. The Museum’s doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first show, The Queen Light Show, starting at 7 p.m. A cash bar will be available before the first show and during a short intermission.
Tickets to the Planetarium Double Feature will include both light shows. Tickets are $8 for non-members and $4 for members. Tickets may be purchased at grpm.org or by calling 616-929-1700.
The Queen Light Show
New life is brought to the wildly popular classic rock light show format with an original production set to the music of Queen. Experience 10 of Queen’s greatest hits, including favorite like Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust and You’re My Best Friend. The Queen Light Show: From Mercury with Love! is brought to the Chaffee Planetarium from Longway Planetarium in Flint, MI.
Dark Side: The Light Show
Experience Pink Floyd’s iconic album as never before in this one-of-a-kind light show, featuring stunning 4k visuals, brilliant LED sequences, and incredibly clear 5.1 surround sound. Dark Side: The Light Show is a GRPM original production, first launched at the Chaffee Planetarium in Spring 2015.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center begins their eight season at St. Cecilia Music Center on Thursday, Nov. 21, in a program entitled: Great Innovators, featuring the powerful works of brilliant composers Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn and Smetana.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center artists who will perform include Anne Marie McDermott, piano; Ida Klavafian, violin; Gary Hoffman, cello; and José Franch-Ballester, clarinet.
The program features Beethoven’s innovative Trio in B-flat major for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op. 11, the first of its kind to include the clarinet in a trio; Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du sold (The Soldier’s Tale), Trio Version for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, a piece that introduced the composer’s wildly controversial music extremism to the chamber music stage in the early 1920’s; Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words for Piano, an invention all his own; and Smetana’s Trio in G minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 15, the first major chamber work from the Bohemian region.
“It is truly a special experience to see the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center perform at St. Cecilia Music Center,” said Executive Director Cathy Holbrook. “These artists are amazing to watch with incredible artistry that is flawless. To hear the works of four powerful and brilliant composers — Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn and Smetana — with these incredible artists in our world-class hall will be a memorable experience.”
Tickets for the Nov. 21 CMS of Lincoln Center concert are $45 and $40 and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org.
A pre-concert reception for $15 will take place at 6:30 p.m. with wine and dos d’oeuvres, is available by reservation in advance (by Friday, Nov.15). A post-concert reception with dessert, coffee and wine is open to all ticket-holders to meet the artists and to obtain signed CDs of their releases.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Series will return on Jan. 23, 2020 with a program entitled French Enchantment where the audience will experience the grace, wit, and charm of French music. The program begins and ends with early works by Saint-Saëns and Fauré that recreate the elegant atmosphere of 19-century Parisian salons. In between the two works will be Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello, written soon after World War I, where he used just two string instruments to produce a composition of unique, austere beauty. CMS artists performing include pianist and Co-Artistic Director Wu Han, violinist Paul Huang, violist Matthew Lipman, and cellist Clive Greensmith.
On April 30, 2020, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Co-Artistic Directors Wu Han (piano) and David Finckel (cello) will perform with violinist Arnaud Sussman and violist Paul Neubauer on a program entitled From Prague to Vienna. This concert celebrates friendship and family with three composers who mentored and inspired each other: Brahms, Dvořák and Suk. Brahms discovered Dvořák through a composition competition and helped him rise to international stardom, and became his lifelong friend and mentor. In turn, Suk was one of Dvořák’s favorite students and eventually became his son-in-law.
