Each generation must, at the height of its power, step aside and invite the young to share the day. You have laid claim to our world and I believe the future, in your hands, will be bright and prosperous.
Teddy Roosevelt in “Newsies the Musical”
By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org
Extra, Extra
If you haven’t heard, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s production of Disney’s “Newsies the Musical” is currently running at its theater, located at 30 N. Division Ave. The story follows the 1899 newsboy or “newsies” strike that pitted the young, poor against the establishment such as publisher Joseph Pulitzer. Who wins? Well you will just have to go to find out. The show runs through June 23.
Celebrating Diversity
According to The Right Place, about 35,400 people from Asia and the Pacific Islands (including Hawaii) live in the West Michigan area in 2018. Spend some time this weekend exploring the culture and heritages of Asia and the islands at the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival which is at Rosa Parks Circle, located in front of the Grand Rapids Art Museum in downtown Grand Rapids. The event, which runs through Sunday, June 16, includes a variety of entertainment from classical to Korean hip-hop. There will be workshops on origami, weapons, Quigong-alternative healing, modern-Japanese martial art Aikido, yoga, and Haka dance. Food will be available from the Philippines, Thailand, Bhutan, Korea, China, and Vietnam along with rolled ice cream. For more information, visit grasianfestival,com.
On the Road Again
The Wyoming City Council is packing up and hitting the road with plans to host three of its summer meetings in local neighborhoods. The first is Monday, June 17, at the Wyoming Junior High School, 2125 Wrenwood St. SW. There will be a meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. with council members and city staff with the meeting starting at 7 p.m. The July “on the road” meeting will be July 15 at St. John Vianney Church, 4101 Clyde Park Ave. SW, and the August meeting is Aug. 19 at Aurora Pond Senior Living & Retirement Community, 2380 Aurora Pond Dr. SW.
That’s a Big Horse
Grand Rapids is not only known for having the first public outdoor sculpture funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is Alexander Calder’s La Grand Vitesse, but also for the largest equestrian bronze sculpture in the Western Hemisphere, which is the 24-foot Leonardo da Vinci horse called “Il Gavallo,” located at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE. Check it out along with the Meijer Gardens’ recently opened Stuart and Barbara Padnos Rooftop Sculpture Garden.
