As part of a countdown of events leading to the closure of the much-beloved, 22-year-old Diversions Nightclub on Fountain Street, the bar will host one last karaoke on Friday night.
On this festive night, Diversions will be featuring hosts past and present to help the crowd bid farewell to the bar's current location. Each host will have an hour of fun planned that will also include a very special drink, created to be a reflection of the host. The night will be programmed with surprises and special guests as well as one last time to sing your heart out for one of the most supportive and rambunctious audiences around.
This will also be the last appearance of longtime crowd favorite host Brian, who will be hanging up his karaoke dj'ing career. Scheduled to return is Luke & Sherry, Ethan, and Tony. Personally, I would hope to see one more power ballad by Robby-Bear or CNN's LZ Granderson who really L-O-V-E-S karaoke.
The staff and owner of Diversions Nightclub invite people to come spend one last special karaoke night together before they exit their space. (At this time no new location has been announced but it is clear from calls to the owner that they probably will not be back in downtown Grand Rapids due to cost concerns.)
In an open letter to the community, owner Robb Wiersum writes:
"A little over 22 years ago, discouraged by our local gay bars at that time, whom I felt were just taking and taking and not giving back to our community. I thought I can do better than this, we deserve better than this, so I acquired a partner and we opened Diversions. When we opened our doors, we made the promise that, if you (our community) supported us, we would also support the community that we serve.
Gay bars are closing across the nation and the world, as acceptance of our community widens and innovations in technology help keep us in touch without having to drive to a bar…
One way or the other, I am proud of what we have accomplished over the years, and am thankful of the support the community has given us, I have been blessed with an incredible staff that I have had a chance to work with over the years.
And… I hope we find a way to make it all continue in the future."
For the complete Wiersum letter, visit the
Diversions Nightclub's Facebook Page.
Admission: $5 ages 18 - 20, $3 ages 21+ or older.