There is no shortage of folks asking me these days where the best place to dance in the city. And while the list is getting longer each year, there is one group in town that has the best track record for packed and hot, sweaty dance floor fun: Grand Rapids Soul Club. Keeping with their mission to invite DJ’s from out of town to take over the decks, Grand Rapids Soul Club welcomes this Friday special guest DJ Shazam Bangles (Boogie Munsters and Cutz on Cutz). DJ Shazam Bangles’ roots come from an era of Chicago’s underground DJ culture where a future style of mixing would take ...

There is something really cool about a growing gala in our city that encourages you to ride your bike, take a bus, or even walk to attend. And that is one of the joys of the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks annual Green Gala which moves this year across the river from its previous location to the Sixth Street Bridge Park on Monroe. Each year since it started, this event helps the organization made up of community volunteers to further its mission to protect, enhance, and expand our city’s parks, public spaces, and urban forest. This year, they change the format and move to different ...

If 50 years ago was the Summer of Love, then this year in Grand Rapids it is the Season of Drag as everything from festivals, arts centers, and even the recent RuPaul’s Drag Race stage tour has been a colorful and creative addition to the city’s entertainment landscape. On Tuesday night, eleven girls will battle it out over the next few weeks in pursuit of the crowning title at this year’s Grand Rapids Drag Race (GRDR). Celebrating their third season at Rumors Nightclub on South Division Avenue, each Tuesday the contestants perform a special theme or task as they compete in ...

It is not uncommon to hear of a new event popping up in the center of the city, but festivals in neighborhoods are a bit rarer. So you can imagine my excitement when I learned of the Creston neighborhood’s brand spanking new “Best of Creston” event. This new Best of Creston is a hybrid street fair and music festival inviting neighbors and the Creston-curious to tour these area businesses and eateries that have been popping up here at a very organic, healthy pace. I have personally enjoyed how they handle growth up here on the north side because it does not overwhelm the ...

For those seeking a most chill time in the center of downtown, we can’t think of a more fitting festival in the city than the sixth annual GRandJazzFest presented by DTE Energy Foundation. This annual event seamlessly blends groups of all ages, races, and even musical ability in the audience to line the line Rosa Parks Circle’s bowl with blankets, chairs, and even long boards for a two-day festival devoted to live jazz music. This year, they welcome 11 acts over the weekend, ranging from the local to international as a diverse lineup of musicians perform at this free event. The ...

Each August, the folks at Yassou! begin to tempt the salivary glands of our hungry citizens when their blue and white signs start to pop up all over the city promoting their annual northeast neighborhood-based Greek Festival. Not only is this a chance to experience delicious and flavorful Greek cuisine, but each year offers an opportunity to join others in dance or just the chance to witness Greek dancing live under the summer sun. But honestly, a lot come just for the food, which includes freshly made Moussaka, Galaktobourikou, Spanakopita, and a host of other traditional dishes. The festival ...

In keeping with Rapid Growth’s theme this week of focusing on those locals who are creating an impact on our illustration/art culture of West Michigan and beyond, we are happy to see former Grand Rapidian Charles Soule of Team Curse Words ending their Wizard Van Tour in Grand Rapids. Soule is traveling with fellow Team Curse Words artist Ryan Browne and will arrive with their special van at downtown Grand Rapids’ Vault of Midnight for a chance for fans to hang with the artists and have them autograph your favorite memorabilia from this popular literary series. This summer of 2017 ...

If you have not been to a library in the last decade, then you have missed how libraries all over the world are shifting our views of what a library can be in a very digital world.  And who would have guessed back then that the place known for “shhhh” noises is becoming so much more lively. (It is a good thing.)   The Kent District Library invites locals to join them on a journey beyond books and the walls of their institution to very special SuperPartyWonderDay. This special event features so much of what we love about our region as good beer, tasty BBQ, local bands, and bikes are ...

People may vote and sway opinion about who is best in "_____" but most critics like me can agree that one of the most interesting people in our city is Hugo Claudin, who has continued to evolve our city’s counterculture street cred one invite at a time. And given that he has a couple decades of practice now, the acts just keep coming with such ease. This Friday, Claudin welcomes musician Diane Patterson to his Avenue for the Arts Mexicains Sans Frontieres. Patterson is on the last leg of her third nationwide tour with a stop in Grand Rapids to play at this intimate performance ...

Looking to explore the depths of our city’s illustration community? Then head to Madcap this Friday as they welcome artist and illustrator Todd Freeman to this popular downtown coffee shop. Freeman is known for his inquisitive just off of center design approach to common imagery that under his hand becomes alive with intrigue. With his latest art exhibition of watercolor drawings, “Ends of the Earth,” Freeman guides us through a sort of time travel via a series of new images that evoke the joys of exploration. Freeman remains one of the most interesting artists of our city ...

There seems to be no shortage of events that happen in our more developed areas of the city like East Hills or the new westside district. However, don’t discount many of our tiny neighborhoods who are hosting an array of small-ish events with big impact on their communities. One such event is the annual Midtown on Tap held each year since 2013 on the expansive Midtown Green park, which often has the feel of a sheep’s pasture given its natural rolling landscape. At this years 5th annual event, you are invite to try the hand crafted goodness of many of our state’s craft ...

While many visiting the city will want to visit places like the Grand Rapids Art Museum for a concert or an art exhibition, or maybe sit along the banks of the Grand River for a movie in the park, but for others, they seek a different path that is to many, hidden. Rapid Growth recognizes that there are hidden gems all over the city and on Friday, downtown’s Dwelling Place invites you to tour four hidden gardens of downtown at this special one night only event. This free event (that you must RSVP to attend) starts at the Avenue for the Arts office at 120 South Division and features a ...

No plans this Friday night but are itching to get outside?  Then head north of downtown to Riverside Park on Friday night for their ongoing summer series, Food Truck Fridays at Riverside. This midsummer series that runs until September 1 brings the best of the area food truck culture to this wooded park set on the mighty Grand River. Each week, you can expect a slightly different lineup with August 4 including Blue Spoon, Pizza Parliament, Do Your Wurst, Dalty Raes Great Lakes Ohana, Grand Food Truck, Nordic Grille, Ananda Ice, Mooches Dream Cream, Underground Cookie Club, and LuLaRoe Kaylee ...

This is something really intriguing about the Grand Rapids Public Library’s after hours screening of the 1968 classic film “Night of the Living Dead” at Stonesthrow in the Creston Neighborhood. Personally, I cannot recall another time in our history when a local furniture showroom in the city has hosted a film like this, which makes this event very intriguing. But most importantly, it is the selection of Director George Romero’s classic horror film that should have folks lining up out the back door at Stonesthrow to see this original zombie picture. The story is quite ...

Emerging out of the Punk movement of the 1970s came the radio-friendly music of artists performing under the genre of New Wave. Unlike the music that it owes its legacy, New Wave became a catch-all for everything that was not Post-Punk making this a genre that was often filled with fun pop hooks, cutting edge synthesizers, and often a lyrical style that was left of center and refreshing to the era it was born into.  On Tuesday night, those who are fans are in for a treat as six of the best 80's New Wave stars will perform at a special concert, 105.3 HotFM presents Retro Futura: HOT ...

It says a lot about the nature of our evolving culture when a show devoted to drag queens competing are in the running for seven Emmy’s this year! But if you are one of the millions who have been enjoying RuPaul and the queens on any one of the past 11 seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, then you are in luck. he touring show, War on the Catwalk, will soon strut onto Grand Rapids’ DeVos Performance Hall’s stage. War On The Catwalk features the contestants from Season 9 of VH-1’s RuPaul’s reality show performing live on stage and rocking the catwalk with glitz, ...

It is inspiring to see so many movements at work in our society, and one locally that is garnering attention is the Grand Rapids Area Black Business (GRABB) organization’s annual Sankofa Mix & Pop-up Marketplace at East Hills’ Richard App Gallery. Sankofa is from the Twi language of Ghana and has been described as a method through which we must venture back to our roots in order to move forward. And like so many other ancient cultures, this Akan belief provides a rooted vision of the steps necessary for us to advance as we harness our past to help us plan the future. To the ...

German beers are an art. And the folks at Midtown’s 7 Monks Taproom on Michigan Street have a special night devoted to this delicious craft of brewing these unique beers. For starters, it is summer, which makes many of the six different styles on tap at German Beer Night that much more inviting, since many of these beers taste (in my opinion) best on a hot summer night. Jumping on tap at 7 Monks Taproom this Thursday will be German lagers, Weiss bier, and Kolsch served alongside a special night of German menu items. The published tap list includes: Schneider Aventinus, Sunner Kolsch, ...

Summer is the best time to wander about the city. And since many of you are probably looking to venture not too far on a Tuesday night (saving your big adventures for the weekend) head to the westside’s newest brew pub, New Holland's Knickerbocker Beer Garden, for the 5x5 Night Hits The Road Tour. If you have never attended a pitch night event for 5x5 Night then you are in for a treat as five creators (previously selected before this event) share with an audience their ideas in the hopes of winning $5,000…with no strings attached. While 5x5 has no limit on the scope of an ...

Nearly everyone who has grown up in the last four decades has experienced the evolution of the music video. But what is more impressive is having a chance to see a former music video director make the leap to full length feature or documentary films. On Saturday night the documentary film “Swagger” will be screened in town for one showing only and will include a UICA-led Q&A with director Olivier Babinet. Director Babinet’s film follows 11 kids from the Parisian neighborhood of Aulnay-sous-Bois and takes place in the streets, projects, and schools where these students ...

Summer is the best time to roam because the days are long, offering lots of opportunities to stay outside and enjoy the weather. As an added bonus to the blue skies and fluffy clouds comes the return of the 4th Annual Grand Rapids Balloon Festival held on the Hudsonville Fairgrounds. On both days, Friday and Saturday evening (and depending on the weather) the balloon launch of 20 hot air balloons will take place at approximately 8 p.m. If your goal is to see the balloons filled with air but also have an opportunity to see them up close, then organizers recommend arriving by 6 p.m. to ensure ...

Nite Jewel, an alias of Los Angeles musician and multimedia artist Ramona Gonzalez, will be in Grand Rapids to support her latest release, “Real High.” Known for her lush mix of lo-fi, synth-based compositions with a nod to freestyle and electronic disco, Nite Jewel’s latest earned from Pitchfork an impressive 7.5 rating citing this work (her fifth) as her “most focused work yet with many nods to new jack swing and Janet Jackson.” Nite Jewel’s charm is her DIY approach to music that she has embraced in more and more of her releases as she moves to a more ...

You only have six opportunities this summer to take in the ninth annual GRAM on the Green summer concert series at downtown Grand Rapids’ Rosa Parks Circle amphitheater. Kicking off this popular live music series that includes everything from indie rock kids to hip hop to jazz is our local folk rock band, The Crane Wives. Held outside at this rain or shine event, you will be enticed to sing along and dance with one of the area’s top performing acts amidst a sea of tasty food trucks and a cash bar for adult beverages served in this beautiful setting. As reported recently in Local ...

I come from an era of Grand Rapids where bootstrapping wasn’t just an idea tossed around in business classes but a way of getting things done in the arts during a pre-digital age. So it is exciting to see the legacy of making “stuff” happen here has been mirrored within Grand Rapids’ DJ culture, where area producers are attempting to replicate but also innovate new models to serve this growing audience of dance music lovers. And unlike the “let’s party” mode of the last big era of dance that emerged out of GR’s MySpace years, this new era of ...

As the sun sets over West Michigan, the dancers and band members of this month’s Shimmy Shack Burlesque Troupe have something truly remarkable in store for those who will venture out into the city’s westside. Like a full solar eclipse, it is really very rare that we have an alignment of burlesque and live genre music in an alt-music venue of our city devoted to all things rockabilly. What makes this style of music so intriguing and fun is because rockabilly is one of the earlier musical genre styles of rock and roll music. Our local Shimmy Shack Burlesque Troupe, who has been, as ...

Are you running out of things to do with the kids this summer? How about a walk on the wild side as The Highlands,a new parkland space in Grand Rapids. It is open for the first time on Thursday and they are inviting the public to come walk the property. Earlier this year the 121-acre Highlands Golf Club was acquired by our local Blandford Nature Center, in partnership with the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, with a loan from The Conservation Fund, enabling this unique collaboration to add to their already spacious property devoted to all things nature. The Land Conservancy of West ...

Fans of lyrics that appear to have been inspired by Miguel de Cervantes, William Burroughs, Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Anton Wilson and delivered via a voice that has been called Tom Waits-meets-Frank Zappa black comedy are in for a real treat when The Mike Dillon Band  arrives at Founder’s Taproom for a night of music that evokes New Orleans’ debauchery with a heft mix of age-old themes of travel, love, self-destruction and greed. But if you want to pigeonhole this unique artist’s work, then good luck since, after listening to “Band of Outsiders,” you will be ...

For more than eighty years, Grand Rapids has been home to the state’s oldest Fourth of July parade: the Hollyhock Lane Parade located on the edge of Grand Rapids’ Ottawa Hills neighborhood. What started as an unsanctioned bike parade for kids in 1934 that was actually shut down their first year for not pulling a permit has become one of the most beloved neighborhood events in the city. Created as a little-to-no cost event birthed during the Great Depression, this annual parade attracts not only politicians seeking office. It is also most importantly an event where neighborhood ...

If you are into crowds of folks packed onto the rolling green hills of Ah-Nab-Awen Park, then head early to this river bank park on Saturday, July 1 for the best seating options at the annual Amway Family Fireworks. This annual event kicks off at 5:00 p.m. at this city park located in front of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in downtown Grand Rapids and will feature a program from Townsquare Media who welcome their on-air personalities for a night of live bands before the 10:30 p.m. fireworks display. In addition to this live entertainment show, there will be food trucks as well as a ...

How about kicking off your Fourth of July Weekend this year with a little soulful dancing? If you have not been able to make any of the Grand Rapids Soul Club Parties over the past years, then this night of music will have something for everyone as they welcome DJ Makossa and a repertoire of funk, soul, reggae, hip-hop and world music. With more than 16 years experience, DJ Makossa brings a style of urban music of the same name, makossa, which was made popular in Cameroon. In fact, within its native language, makossa translates as "dance." The artist was influenced at an early age ...

If you have waited until today to get tickets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP), who are stopping in Grand Rapids for a concert performance at the Van Andel Arena on Sunday, June 25, then your options are pretty slim, since at press time there were only a handful of tickets available for this soon to be sold-out show. What makes this concert special is that Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the RHCP, was born here in Grand Rapids. In fact, nearly every time in modern history that the band and Kiedis arrive back here to perform songs from their collection of 11 studio records, it is as if the ...

If you live in the state of Michigan then it is pretty clear that at some point along your journey you will encounter a body of water. In fact, it is has been widely shared within groups who serve to protect this life-giving source, that in Michigan you are never more than six miles from a source of fresh water. Michigan is not just home to the Great Lakes but is filled with more than 65,000 inland lakes, making our state truly a water wonderland. But with this comes great responsibility to honor this gift, and so it is time to gather on the banks of Grand Rapids’ mighty and majestic ...

There have always been many challenges to doing business on South Division’s Avenue for the Arts, but if the current crop of new and established businesses have their way, this will soon be a thing of the past, as you will see via a special tour hosted by Dwelling Place on the successful women-owned businesses of this corridor. This annual tour features ten of the numerous women-owned businesses that make up this important street in the city’s Heartside neighborhood. This tour, which only has a few space openings left, will enable those attending a chance to hear first-person ...

Storm chasing is a big deal. And not just in the traditional sense of hopping in a car with a skilled guide in the hopes that that ominous bank of storm clouds one is chasing will become a potential tornado that you can video or possibly take a selfie beside from a safe distance. I’m talking big as in TV shows, special editions of magazines, and movies like “Twister.” There is even a minor league baseball team called the The Omaha Storm Chasers in Nebraska. People just love the act. People just love storm chasing and it is a growing passion for many. But have you ever ...

Juneteenth celebrations have been happening across America since 1865 and are held each year in various cities to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States and this weekend you have an opportunity to attend a special commemoration open house event at the Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives (GRAAMA). Starting at noon at their home on Monroe Center in the heart of downtown, GRAAMA will present a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation as well as read this historical document for the public. Also on the occasion of this historic event, Author Jackie James be in attendance ...

This Friday is a great time to pack the picnic blanket and head to the banks of the Grand River for a double feature as a part of Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.’s Movies in the Park. And unlike in years’ past where you had to wait until sunset to begin the first film, thanks to new brighter screen technology provided by LiveSpace of Grand Rapids, this season’s double features can begin earlier so that you are not wandering home in the wee hours of the early Saturday morning. What makes this lineup so delicious is not just supremely wonderful film choices. Rather, it is their ...

Nearly thirty years ago when I attend our first Gay Pride, it was a lonely affair in many ways since it was typically the only event that took place to commemorate our community’s LGBTQ.  Now the entire month is packed full of events happening all over the city including this weekend’s Third Annual White Party kick off event at Rumors on Friday, June 16 to a festive Pride Block Party / Family Gathering hosted by the Apartment Lounge and the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum with special musical guest Betty on Sunday, June 18. Even at Actors' Theatre of Grand Rapids a play ...

If you are frustrated with the lack of imagination as it relates to language under our current President, then maybe it is time to take a trip back to a time when kings roamed the land in battle and in the pursuit of love. If so, then “Henry V” by William Shakespeare is just the ticket. Produced by our region’s Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company (PCSC), “Henry V” is part of Shakespeare’s canon of plays devoted to the English Monarchs and is one of my favorites. What I have always enjoyed about this particular play is the heroic warrior-king language that ...

What began as a one-day event, the Loving Day Celebration, an open and affirming event for multicultural, multiracial families, and their supporters, will expand to three days of unique programming this weekend. The expanded programming arrives right as the nation is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), which invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Starting at the Ladies Literary Club on Friday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m., a staged program from the Ebony Road Players (ERP), "Giving Voice to Love,” will ...

After last year’s historic Native American protest at Standing Rock (and numerous supportive events and marches locally) against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), this year is the perfect time to visit the annual Three Fires Pow Wow held at Grand Rapids’ Riverside Park. Situated on the banks of the mighty Grand River, the 38th Annual Homecoming of the Three Fires Traditional Pow Wow provides an opportunity to experience and learn about the heritage of our first people's lives at this social gathering that attracts hundreds of visitors each year. In addition to providing booth ...

The power to change our world has many roads one can consider taking, but the most powerful tend to be the sharing of our personal stories from the journey. On Saturday night a new theatrical work “As We Go On,” which originated from Ann Arbor’s LGBTQ community, will be on stage at Wealthy Theatre. This evening of live storytelling delivered via performers on stage and those projected onto the screen is a presentation of the real life passages one goes through as a LGBTQ individual. The performers on stage—from young to old—tell the stories of coming and being ...

If last weekend was about celebrating downtown Grand Rapids with events like Festival for the Arts and the Local First Street Party, then this one presents an opportunity to shift your path to one of our neighborhoods as Rock The Block returns to the Southtown community. This is the 7th year of Rock The Block—an annual celebration where neighbors and visitors intersect with good food, plenty of local talent, and a variety of community-focused vendors looking to connect you and your entire family to the goodness of our region. New this year is a chance to pitch your business idea in the ...

In 1983, Neil Simon, one of America’s most prolific and funniest playwrights/screenwriters debuted his semi-biographical play about his childhood in “Brighton Beach Memoirs.” What made this production stand-out, beyond the obvious of art imitating life, was the various devices Simon used to break down the theatrical fourth wall with the character speaking at times to the audience as if to let them in on the various secret backstories and thoughts of Eugene Morris Jerome, the main character. Circle Theatre's second production of their 2017 season is set in the the early ...

Judy Wicks who is credited as one of the pioneers of the “shop local” movement wrote, “Not long after I opened the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia in 1983, I hung a sign in my bedroom closet in my home above the business—right where I would see it each morning. ‘Good morning, beautiful business,’ it read, reminding me daily of just how beautiful business can be when we put our creativity, care, and energy into producing a product or service that our community needs. I was just beginning my journey. I didn't know then what I do now: that when you connect ...

For those staying in the city this Memorial Day weekend, you don’t have to feel like there is nothing going on. Despite your friends’ updates showcase some heading to the lakeshore or jetting off to some far-off destination, adventure indeed awaits here on Saturday with the return of She Rides Her Own Way’s YOLO (You Only Live Once) ride in Riverside Park. Unlike last year’s event, this year’s YOLO ride is focussed on the Creston so you’ll get to experience the White Pine Trail but also get a tour of the neighborhood via your trail hosts. This year’s ...

For those who have ever wondered if their idea was big enough to launch, High Growth Happy Hour is just the shot of inspiration you might need to get started. Rapid Growth’s first High Growth Happy Hour welcomes Elliott Rader, one half of the team of brothers who created the snack sensation the Gluten Free Bar. Thursday night you will have a chance to hear firsthand from a local entrepreneur who recognized a need in society and through a steady vision and testing of their idea became something tasty and new. The Gluten Free Bar is not just enjoyed in 230 Meijer stores, but according ...

If you have lived long enough then you know that right after a long election season comes a period of reflection which eventually it leads to greater dialogue within our communities about how to move forward. And while Donald Trump’s presidency is unique in so many ways, one unique aspect of this presidential cycle is the amount of news consumption and related dialogue that this new President has stirred in our society. On Monday night at Celebration! Cinema North Michigan Radio’s senior political analyst Jack Lessenberry, along with a panel of political experts, invite the public ...

Who hasn’t as a kid wandered into Spencer’s and marveled at the simple joys of staring at a black light poster as the colors vibrated with life on this two dimensional surface? If you have not experienced this feeling or you are aching for the tug of nostalgia for this hold-over gimmick from the 1960s, then you must attend Fluorescent Black—the first big part of the summer of 2017 at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. The black light is actually a very dark purple, drawing its light from the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, and is invisible to the human eye. However, when you place ...

It has been a long road to get to our city’s food truck ordinance, but now that we have cleared the way, it is time to celebrate the joys of having more options to dine in the city (even if your favorite restaurant is housed on four wheels and is on the go). To mark this occasion, Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc. (DGRI) in partnership with our Grand Rapids Food Truck Association (and many other community partners) want to invite you to attend the Roll'n Out Food Truck Fest to taste the best of your city in one location this Sunday. Roll'n Out Food Truck Fest showcases the diverse ...

Film fans are in luck this month once again as yet another exciting connection to the industry will be appearing in West Michigan. This time is the chance to see Antwone Fisher speak at the Every Child is a Star to be Cherished/Michigan CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) event at the Grand Rapids Downtown Market on Tuesday, May 23 at 5:30 p.m. Antwone Fisher is the subject of the 2002 film directed by and starring Denzel Washington. But the film is rooted in Fisher’s bestselling autobiography, “Finding Fish,” that the author would adapt for the big screen. Born in an ...