Tag Archives: Division Arts Festival

A neighborhood party: Division Arts Festival celebrates diversity through international cuisine

May 28, 20243-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Entertainment, Food, Going Local, Kent County, Kids Activities, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Local Food, Our Cities, Recreation, Restaurants, Upcoming Events, Voices, West MichiganCafe Boba, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community, Diversity, Division Arts Festival, El Ganadero Mexican Grille, The StrayDeborah Reed

The Stray’s Cheddar Apple Bacon Flatbread can be ordered as a full (8 pieces) or half (4 pieces) platter (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

The Division Arts Festival on Saturday, June 1 will feature more than family-friendly activities, live music and vendors. Attendees will also be within walking distance of 11 brick and mortar restaurants serving a diverse array of dining and to-go options.

“This area of the community is incredibly diverse, and there are a lot of creative, cool things going on here that go under the radar,” said Hunter Van Klompenberg, one of the owners of The Stray art café.

One of those “cool things” includes a variety of international food choices.

International cuisine at your fingertips

The Stray art café offers far more than just coffee (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

Two food trucks and 11 brick and mortar restaurants will be within 1-2 minutes walking distance of Festival activities.

The Honeybees Kitchen and Catering food truck specializing in Caribbean and soul food will be available, as well as gourmet burgers and loaded fries from Dune Buggy food truck.

Brick and mortar restaurants include several international options for diners:

Café Boba – Taiwanese Style Boba Drinks, Coffee, & Ice Cream

Arias SuperMarket – Mexican

El Ganadero – Mexican

Wei Wei Palace – Cantonese

B&N Sandwiches – Bahn MI Sub Sandwiches and other Vietnamese Specialties

Saigon Garden – Vietnamese

Pho Soc Trang – Vietnamese Soup Restaurant

Fat Man’s Fish Fry – Seafood

Brann’s Steakhouse – Classic American

The Stray – Café, New American Cuisine

Joe’s Pizza King – Pizza & Subs

Diversity, comfort and creativity

The Stray art café menu offers more than just coffee for those who walk in the door. A variety of choices include delicious flatbreads, soups, salads, desserts and more. Drink options include tea, soda, beer, wine and – of course – coffee.

Coffee enthusiasts can also peruse the works of various local artists showcased at The Stray as they enjoy their beverages. To-go orders are accepted during Festival hours, as well as indoor dining.

Owned by the Van Klompenberg family, The Stray works to bring diversity and community to a place of comfort and creativity.

Though officially hosted by the Division Avenue Business Association (DABA), The Stray has stepped in to help with Festival logistics each year.

“I already work here at The Stray doing the music booking and that kind of thing for our Friday and Saturday evenings. It led naturally to artists I’d already developed a relationship with that I could invite back for this,” said Van Klompenberg.

His mother, Karen Van Klompenberg, is Creative Director at The Stray and manages the consignment art. Her connections with local artists also help with the inner workings of the Festival.

Van Klompenberg said they have continued to make the Division Arts Festival an annual event because they truly enjoy it.

“It’s a lot of fun to throw a party for the neighborhood,” said Van Klompenberg with a smile.

Connection and support

Concepción (left) and Manuel Cardiel (Courtesy, Deborah Reed)

“It’s the simple things,” said Van Klompenberg, gesturing around the dining area of El Ganadero Mexican Grille where he stood.

“I come to lunch here occasionally, just chat with them, that sort of thing. That’s the easy way to say hello and support each other.”

Relationships with other business owners and patrons is important to Van Klompenberg. Those connections are formed through small actions.

That connection was evident as El Ganadero owner Manuel Cardiel met Van Klompenberg with a wide smile.

El Ganadero chicken and shrimp tacos (Courtesy, Deborah Reed)

El Ganadero steak tacos (Courtesy, Deborah Reed)

With efficient movements, combined with several smiles and upbeat conversation, Cardiel promptly created two fresh plates of tacos for Van Klompenberg and this reporter.

Cardiel, his wife Concepción and their children can be found at El Ganadero daily, serving fresh and authentic Mexican cuisine.

Nurturing cultural diversity

Café Boba, a Taiwanese boba café owned by Ted & Yili Bonarski, will also be welcoming patrons during the Festival – and offering a 10% discount on all orders.

A wide variety of boba drinks, coffee and ice cream are available, and can be customized to the patron’s preferences. A parade featuring a 20-foot dragon will also be part of the festivities as a way to honor Yili’s Chinese heritage.

The polished wood table made by Ted Bonarski from reclaimed barn wood (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

Established in 2003 as Boba Latte under previous owners, the boba café closed in summer of 2013. Having moved his financial services office into the second-floor rooms of the building in 2006, Ted Bonarski bought the café in December 2013, renaming it Café Boba.

And Bonarski is committed to allowing diversity to flourish in their neighborhood.

“We are embedded in this neighborhood, which is multicultural, and we want to keep it that way,” said Bonarski.

Bonarski also ensures every item they offer is high-quality.

Bubble waffle cone with chocolate ice cream and jasmine boba pearls (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

“We saw bubble waffles as street food in Shanghai,” said Bonarski. “We bought a waffle machine and brought it back to the U.S. Friends own China City over on Eastern [and] they helped us perfect the recipe for the waffle.

“All of the coffee that we serve comes from Herman’s Boy, and nowhere else. We make the Vietnamese iced coffee, Café Sua Da, fresh. A lot of Vietnamese have given us input into the right strengths and the right tastes, so our Vietnamese iced coffee is very good.”

All coffee ordered is fresh, ground at the time of order with an AeroPress, then served to the customer.

More than a just boba and ice cream

Customers who walk into Café Boba will find a welcoming atmosphere designed by Bonarski’s daughter. A popular feature is the long, polished wood counter made from reclaimed barn wood from Michigan barns – and built by Bonarski himself.

But what Bonarski is most proud of is the family-friendly environment that brings in residents of all ages.

“We get the latchkey kids [from Kelloggsville and Godwin] that will come and hang out here after school until their parents can pick them up,” said Bonarski.

“We have one or two social workers that will bring kids in here to sit and talk to them. We had a group come in a week or so ago Thursday and take over the whole table and play Dungeons and Dragons for 4 to 5 hours.”

Bonarski extends that nurturing atmosphere to his employees as well, ensuring they have a healthy work environment.

“We’ve had so many kids come through, work for us as a first job, come out of a shell, and become outgoing people who could handle the world outside because they’re facing customers and taking orders every day,” said Bonarski. “It is very important to us that it be a healthy environment.”

And that, Bonarski added, is something we should do all the time. “You take what you find and make it better.”

Be in the know: additional festival details

Set at the intersection of 43rd Street and Division Avenue, the Division Arts Festival runs Saturday, June 1 from 2 – 9 p.m.

The Festival will feature live music, with a social drinking zone nearby for those who would like a beverage while enjoying the music. There will also be 50+ vendors with art, handmade goods and crafts, and an interactive narrative art walk for children.

Attendees may also be periodically surprised by a sudden monologue from strategically placed local theater artists.

“The overall reason for the Festival is to bring recognition and excitement to the [Division Avenue] neighborhood, the businessest there, and the people,” said Van Klompenberg.

Safety Notes

Division Avenue will close down to two lanes of traffic, and 43rd Street will be shut down on both sides of Division.

Give ‘Em a Break Safety will help with traffic control. A crosswalk will also be put in for safety.

Vendors with tents will line each side of Division Avenue.

“It will be really easy to walk across the street [and] up and down the neighborhood,” said Van Klompenberg.

Updates and Event Lineups

The Division Arts Festival is organized by the Division Avenue Business Association and generously sponsored by LMCU, Godwin Plumbing & Hardware, Rivertown Credit Union, Marge’s Donut Den, Brann’s Restaurant, Gordon Food Service, The King Family, The Stray and the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming.

For the lineup and more information, click here. Follow @division.fest on All Events in Grand Rapids for updates!

Division Arts Festival to feature new interactive art walk for children

May 26, 20243-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Entertainment, Going Local, Kent County, Kids Activities, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Faces, Local Food, Our Cities, Recreation, Upcoming Events, West Michiganart-walk, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community, Diversity, Division Arts Festival, stories, The StrayDeborah Reed

The annual Division Arts Festival is set at the intersection of 43rd Street and Division Avenue (Courtesy photo)

By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

A new attraction for children will be available at the annual Division Arts Festival scheduled for Saturday, June 1.

All ages of children are invited to join in at the interactive kids art walk that will be set up in The Stray parking lot during the Division Arts Festival. Consisting of 8-10 stations, the art walk will feature a narrative called Ava and Leo’s Delightfully Different Day, written by local authors Lynn W. Francis, Elizabeth Meyette and Karen Van Klompenberg.

An interactive storybook

Author Lynn W. Francis (Courtesy, Lynn Francis)

“It’s almost like walking through a storybook,” said author Lynn Francis.

The story follows two young best friends and their dog Spot. They go through a day of trying different experiences, finding out what each of them does and does not like, and trying to find something they can do together.

As the story unfolds, there are different stations.

Each station contains a block of text that is part of the narrative, and a piece of art depicting the happenings of that scene. The station will also have actions for kids to complete that correlate to the story, such as spinning, dancing, or pretending to fly like birds.

“It will be this full story trail, and you can follow Ava and Leo’s journey as they go from here to there, try out the swing set and splash through a brook,” said Francis. “You just follow them through and reenact the story as you’re going along.”

A sketch of Ava and Leo from participating artist Brae Hoff (Courtesy, Karen Van Klompenberg)

The art walk narrative provides thought-provoking questions for children and parents to talk through while emphasizing the value of friends with different backgrounds than your own.

Though directed toward ages 5-13, the art walk is something all ages can enjoy.

“Personally, I’m planning on walking through myself as a grownup just because I think it’ll be fun,” said Francis. “It could appeal to real littles who are just listening, and then the more active ages where they want to be a part of the story, or even a little older who would just enjoy reading it.”

From inspiration to reality

The idea for the art walk came from Van Klompenberg, one of the narrative authors and part-owner of The Stray art cafe.

Notes from an art walk storyline meeting (Courtesy, Karen Van Klompenberg)

Wanting an activity specifically geared toward children, Van Klompenberg began brainstorming ideas.

“She had this vision in her mind beforehand of getting as many people involved as possible,” said Francis. “She brought myself, a couple other writers, and several artists who have work featured at The Stray together to work on this project collaboratively, which has been really cool,” said Francis.

Artists have been working together using shared color palettes and predetermined physical traits for the story’s characters and clothing. Character composites were formed and sketched by a sub group of artists. The pictured work in progress is by participating artist Alexis Hannah (Courtesy, Karen Van Klompenberg)

Van Klompenberg sat down with the group she had pulled together and said, “The sky’s the limit.”

“We got the storyline figured out, and then she took that to the artists,” said Francis.

A local chalk artist had the idea of kids completing motions at each station to help them stay engaged in the story.

“[Karen] really wanted this to be an immersive artistic experience,” said Francis. “This is a way to get [kids] involved, see the different art styles, and see the different mediums that these artists can use.

“And the story itself too, about how everybody likes and enjoys doing different things. Some people make art, and some people receive art. Both of those things are valuable. Without each person, nothing would happen.”

Overall, there are 11 contributors to the art walk project. Artists include Rebecca Rodriguez, Rebecca Senior, Juan Pimentel, Brae Hoff, Alexis Hannah, Amanda Fairbanks, Karen Van Klompenberg, Yohan Daza, and local woodworker John Stutzman.

“It’s been a really collaborative effort, and I’ve been very lucky to be a part of it,” said Francis. “I’m very excited to see it all together, honestly. I haven’t seen all of the art yet, so I’m quite excited to walk through and see everybody’s contribution.”

Experience all artistic walks

Francis urges the community to come out and enjoy the Division Arts Festival.

Set at the intersection of 43rd Street and Division Avenue, the event runs Saturday, June 1 from 2-9 p.m.

The Festival will feature over 50 art and craft vendors, engaging games, creative art activities, a dedicated kids’ area, a variety of food trucks, delicious dishes from nearby international restaurants and live performances by local bands.

“All artistic walks are there,” said Francis. “It’s a really incredible experience. You can meet a lot of really cool local authors, artists, artisans and musicians.”

Beauty in diversity

A painting holder prototype by local woodworker John Stutzman (Courtesy, Karen Van Klompenberg)

More than just a fun event, the Festival brings the community together to celebrate differences, support local entrepreneurs, and envision a neighborhood where diversity thrives, businesses flourish, families feel welcomed, and everyone can enjoy the vibrant culture and spirit of the community.

And art, Francis believes, is a big part of bringing a community together.

“Art has that thing where it brings people together,” said Francis. “Where you can look at it and say, I feel that too. I live in that same world too, and I’m not alone.

“You can find such a community in appreciation of art or in the creation of art. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”

Francis went on to say that art is important to both artists and to those who enjoy the art.

“I think the biggest thing [art] does – because it does a lot – is it shows the beauty in our world,” Francis said. “It reflects the world that we live in – beauty, and pain, and sadness, and anger, and joy. It has everything broken down to this piece that you can look at and reflect on, and see a piece of the world, and a piece of yourself in it.”