Tag Archives: Fifth Third Ballpark

Opera GR at Fifth Third Ballpark

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment,

By Faith Morgan
WKTV Intern

It will be opera at the baseball field on Oct. 23. (Supplied)

Opera GR will be showing a live performance of Mozart’s comedy Così fan tutte on the jumbotron at Fifth Third Ballpark Friday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m. The event will allow people to enjoy the performance while safely distancing from one another.

Così fan tutte is a comedic piece about a bachelor and a maid working together to unite two couples at a school for lovers. The cast includes Grand Rapids natives Christine Amon playing the role of Dorabella and Corie Auger playing the maid Despina.

“Whether you’ve never been to the opera, you’re looking for something different to do on a Friday evening or you just need some laughter in your life, you don’t want to miss this,” said Executive Director of Opera Grand Rapids Emilee Syrewicze.

General Admission for the event is $25 and for Metro Health frontline workers tickets are only $5.

Attendees at the event will be required to wear face coverings and will have their temperature checked at the door .

“The arts and a sense of community are so important to our health and well-being, particularly when so much has changed in our daily lives,” said Metro Health President and CEO Peter Hahn.

This event is apart of Opera GR’s second annual Opera week from Oct. 19-25.

Family friendly ‘Moovies’ coming to Fifth-Third Ballpark in September

3-bottom, Kids Activities, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Recreation, Upcoming Events, ,

By Luke Schrock, WKTV Intern

ken@wktv.org

The West Michigan Whitecaps and Milk Means More are bringing fans family friendly fun from Fifth-Third Ballpark once again, this time with a month full of ‘Moovies from the Mound” — all with safety at the forefront.

“Once our baseball season was cancelled on June 30th, we began working on ways to energize the event side of our business,” and came up with the idea of showing movies, Steve VanWagoner, Whitecaps director of marketing and media relations, said to WKTV.

Movies from the Mound will continue throughout September starting Friday, Sept. 11, with the first of two films starting at 6 p.m. There will also be films continuing on select Fridays and Saturdays, at various times. Fifth Third Ballpark is located at 4500 West River Dr., Comstock Park.

“We put together a safety plan and got advice from local health officials,” he said. “The plan included painted 120 12-foot by 12-foot plots in the outfield, distanced and will hold six people with lots of room. We check temperatures of everyone entering the ballpark and everyone (even children) wear masks when around in the park and take them off when in their plots.”

During the month of September showings will include “Pets 2”, “Remember the Titans”, “Frozen 2”, “Onward”, “The Mighty Ducks”, “Incredibles 2”, “Aladdin”, “The Greatest Showman”, “Harry Potter”, and “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Each screening will begin with a 10-minute presentation from Milk Means More to educate viewers on the importance of dairy farmers and dairy products.

Plots are $35 per plot, but to see both movies in a night a plot must be purchased for each movie. Each plot is socially distanced and includes six tickets per plot in the outfield.

Outfield restrooms will be open. Standard Fifth Third Ballpark Policy for prohibited items will apply — no outside food and beverage, glass bottles/containers, coolers, alcoholic drinks, smoking including E-Cigs, backpacks, bug spray, pets/animals (except certified assistance dogs) or weapons.
 

To reserve a plot and to learn more visit fifththirdballpark.com or check out the West Michigan Whitecaps Facebook page.

Honoring America’s veterans, Gold Star ceremony & Freedom Cruise at 5/3 ballpark Sunday

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Going Local, Non-Profits, Upcoming Events, Veterans, ,

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By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org


The 2019 West Michigan Freedom Cruise and Gold Star Family Honor Ride — an event intended to to “Remember Gold Star Families, Support All Veterans and Never Forget!” — will return to Fifth Third Ball Park in Comstock Park Sunday, Sept. 22.


This year, the annual event will honor fallen soldier U.S. Army Sgt. Chad J. Vollmer, of Grand Rapids, who while serving with the Army 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry, was killed in action in Iraq on Dec. 23, 2006.


Each year, the event, this year co-sponsored by West Michigan Veterans Coalition, honors a family with a ceremony unveiling a specially commissioned portrait of “their fallen hero” and then escorts the Gold Star Family (the family of a military man or woman killed in defense of the United States) and the portrait on an honor cruise.


The free-to-the-public Freedom Cruise and Gold Star Family Honor Ride event will begin at the ball park, 4500 West River Drive NE, with gates opening at 11 a.m., the Fallen Soldier Ceremony beginning at 2 p.m., and the Freedom Cruise beginning at 3 (to 3:15) p.m. and ending back at the ball park after a 25-mile motorcycle and classic car ride to Sparta.


The Stars & Stripes Cars & Bikes Freedom Cruise Honor Ride online pre-registration closes Friday, Sept. 20, at 8 a.m., with on-site Honor Ride registration at Fifth Third Ball Park on Sunday, Sept. 22, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.


According to event organizers, including principal organizer Tom Antor and Capt. Paul J. Ryan, US Navy Reserve (Retired) and board member of the West Michigan Veterans Coalition, there will be many activities in addition to the ceremony and the ride.


There is a classic car and motorcycle show with 1,000 plus vehicles anticipated. An additional feature this year will be a “Veterans and Family Resource Fair” sponsored by the West Michigan Veterans’ Coalition.  The resource fair providers will include organizations that assist veterans and their families in areas including housing, barriers to employment, legal issues, issues affecting female veterans, mental health, spiritual well-being/social support and transportation.


The West Michigan Veterans Coalition, according to supplied information, is a collaboration among local military-friendly organizations that provide support, information, and resources to veterans and their families, employers, and other organizations throughout West Michigan. It’s mission “is to improve the lives of veterans, their families, and anyone who served in the Armed Forces by connecting them to all available services and resources throughout West Michigan.

 
For more information and registration information visit the Freedom Cruise website at freedomcruisegr.com.

Snapshots: Wyoming, Kentwood news you want to know

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, , , , ,

WKTV Staff

joanne@wktv.org

 

Quote of the Day

"At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished…it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.”
                                        - Actor Denzel Washington

 

Wyoming Gives Back

 

Mayor Jack Poll near the truck during a previous Wyoming Gives Back event.

You have just over a week to purchase a toy and help the City of Wyoming stuff a truck with donations for the Salvation Army Angel Tree. The 8th annual Wyoming Gives Back is set for Thursday, Dec. 6, from 6 – 8 p.m. at Rogers Plaza Mall. Residents are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the event and every person who does, will receive raffle tickets for prizes provided by local businesses. There will be holiday cookies, music and the biggest gift-giver, Santa, is planning to attend.

 

Pretty Lights

The Christmas Lite Show returns for its 21st year at Fifth/Third Ballpark, 4500 W. River Drive, Comstock Park. Billed as West Michigan’s largest, animated, drive-through light show, the attraction maintains almost two miles of lights, tunnels, and animated displays and entertained more than 70,000 visitors last year. The popular Memory Lane Train will returns this year giving visitors a choice to drive through the display or ride the train. The display is open every day from 5:30 – 9:30 p.m. through Dec. 31.

 

And in case you haven’t heard…

NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport — or InSight for short — landed on Mars yesterday. It took seven months for InSight to travel the 300-million miles to reach the Red Planet. InSight’s two-year mission will be to study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all celestial bodies with rocky surfaces, including Earth and the Moon, formed.  You can always check out the latest on NASA on WKTV’s Channel 26 or visit  Grand Valley State University’s “Mars: Astronomy and Culture.”

 

Fun Fact:

The 48th Tuesday

Today is actually the 48th Tuesday of 2018. It is the 48th Tuesday of the 48th week. There are only 34 days left to 2018 and, despite yesterday's storm, 24 days until winter, which officially begins on the Winter Solstice, which is Dec. 21. (Source)

Second day of annual Winter Beer Festival sold out

Beer, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Upcoming Events, , , ,

WKTV Staff

 

If you are thinking about attending the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival, held each year at the Grand Rapids area’s Fifth Third Ballpark, you might want to stop thinking about it and do it.

 

According to the event’s website, the second day of the two-day event scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, is sold out. But tickets to the Friday night event, running from 5-9 p.m., are still available.

 

Tickets are only available online and, according to supplied information, once online tickets are sold out, no additional tickets will be released.

 

The 2017 Winter Beer Festival, the 10th anniversary of the festival, will feature more than 100 Michigan breweries and approximately 1,000 different craft beers. There will also be music from local bands and a selection of food available for purchase. Friday night’s music will be The Concussions’ surf-instrumental-rock-n-roll sound, as well Big Dudee Roo self-described “oft-psychedelic, Neil Young-styled folk rock” sounds.

 

Fifth Third Ballpark is located at 4500 West River Road NR in Comstock Park. For more information visit mibeer.com/winter-festival .

 

Experience Grand Rapids has announced it will partner with the GR Hopper to offer a $10 shuttle service to and from the festival from participating hotels. (Email staff@GRHopper.com or call 616-606-0467.)

 

Craft Beer Clubhouse a Grand Slam in Early Season

Local Business, Local Food, Sports, ,

Fifth Third Ballparkmike_dewittOpening day at Fifth Third Ballpark not only marked the start of a new baseball season for the West Michigan Whitecaps, but also a grand opening for the ballpark’s Craft Beer Clubhouse.

The new Beer Clubhouse is located along the third base concourse and offers a unique experience from the rest of the ballpark. While the stadium is built to “play ball,” and escaping the weather is near impossible, the Craft Beer Clubhouse offers a different atmosphere completely.

Inside the bar is an atmosphere set up much like Founder’s Brewery, a rustic feel with dim lighting to enhance a raw, relaxed environment. The bar is heated and air conditioned so it is always open for business, no matter the weather! That’s a huge bonus in Michigan where it can snow at a moments notice, even in April.

The Craft Beer Clubhouse is located along the third base line
The Craft Beer Clubhouse is located along the third base concourse

Now, the most important question, what does the Craft Beer Clubhouse have on tap? The bar currently has 16 local beers on tap from Perrin’s, Bell’s, Founders, Brewery Vivant, The Mitten Brewing Co., and Arcadia.

“The response has been extremely positive, it’s super busy all the time,” explained Katie Johnson, Food and Beverage Manager for the WhiteCaps, “The Craft Clubhouse has been busier than all the other beer stands in the stadium combined.”

Craft beer isn’t the only thing new inside the stadium. The ballpark has added a couple new dishes to the menu. The Hot-to-Tot! is a dish with buffalo chicken and bleu cheese dish covered in tater tots. There was also a new desert item added, the Beer-a-Misu, a desert with a craft beer and ice cream.

The early part of the season has seen the creation of another menu item with some inspiration from current WhiteCap Joey Pancake. The Joey Pancake is a sandwich with pulled pork and bacon drizzled with maple syrup and placed between two pancakes. Talk about a treat!

Be sure to catch a WhiteCaps game this season, try the new eats, and a craft beer… or two!