The Grand Rapids Water Festival will return to town Sunday on the banks of the Grand River in the city's beautiful Riverside Park. Inspired by the annual touring festival that blew through our region many years ago, it lands back where it all began and is produced by a group of local environmentalists and artists. This day-long event is devoted to celebrating the power of water and the opportunity we have to organize and protect our fresh water.
Throughout the day local and visiting folk acts will take to the stage with breaks in between for a true powerhouse line-up of guest speakers addressing the importance for our region to address matters threatening our water.
And while many of these acts are ones that we have featured for years in Rapid Growth, it is worth pointing out that we had hoped to see the same level of diversity as we see within the speakers and the topics they will be covering. If not, then the momentum I believe they wish to inspire will never leave the choir loft. And that would be a shame since issues of water are headline news in other markets and do impact all of us and cross all boundaries.
Most importantly, this is a great event produced by a wonderful volunteer team who I know labor long hours to make it happen. Evident by their programming schedule, this event should grow. But in order for this to happen, they will need to attract the financial backing a festival of this size deserves.
In short, this is a vital festival committed not to generating commerce, as many often are, but to asking all of us to think about how we interact with water. (It is a hard ask to raise money for simply trying to raise awareness.)
If water will be to the future what oil was to the last century, then 2015 needs to be the year we take critical steps to ensure its flow over the centuries is preserved for the generations of people to come.
Admission: Free
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