Tag Archives: Ford Museum

Ford Museum to bring experience of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to Grand Rapids this fall

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  • Scenes form “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, coming to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum this fall. (SEE Attractions)
  • Scenes form “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, coming to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum this fall. (SEE Attractions)
  • Scenes form “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, coming to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum this fall. (SEE Attractions)
  • Scenes form “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, coming to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum this fall. (SEE Attractions)
  • Scenes form “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, coming to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum this fall. (SEE Attractions)
  • Scenes form “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, coming to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum this fall. (SEE Attractions)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Anybody who has stood inside the Sistine Chapel in Rome and witnessed the power and the glory of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, you know the feeling of heavenly art if not an actual connection with God.

For those of us who haven’t, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum will bring to Grand Rapids the feeling of being in the chapel when it hosts “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” this fall. (The museum is currently open but with limited capacity.)

The immersive visual experience that is “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel”, presented by Los Angeles-based SEE  Attractions, “recreates one of the world’s greatest artistic achievements through photographic reproduction displayed in its original size,” according to an exhibition announcement.

The exhibition opens on Oct. 22 and runs through Feb. 20, 2022.

“Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” will be the museum’s feature exhibit in 2021, and Brooke Clement, acting director of the Ford Museum, said in supplied material that the support from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation was pivotal in the exhibit’s scheduling.
 

“This is an epic exhibit, and we are proud to partner with our friends at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum to bring Michelangelo’s iconic images to West Michigan,” Gleaves Whitney, executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, said in supplied material. “There is something in these timeless paintings to delight and teach every visitor — from students who are learning about how art tells our most important stories to seasoned travelers who have toured the Sistine Chapel in person and seek to deepen their knowledge.”

Local ties by exhibit producer

The path for a Los Angeles-born entertainment exhibit, by a German-born producer, to make its way to Grand Rapids, is really a story of local ties.
 

 “I first came to Grand Rapids as an exchange student from Germany in 1975 and graduated from Forest Hills Northern High School,” Martin Biallas, CEO of SEE Attractions, said in supplied material. “That experience inspired me to stay in the US and start my entertainment business, so it’s a special honor for me to be able to bring one of my productions to Grand Rapids.”

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum entrance. (Supplied)

“Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, in addition images of timeless masterpieces including the “Creation of Adam” and “The Last Judgment”, includes the ceiling paintings from the Sistine Chapel, all of which have been reproduced in a truly unique way using licensed high-definition photos.

“Brought to life using a special printing technique that emulates the look and feel of the original paintings, visitors are given a chance to engage with the artwork in ways that were never before possible: seeing every detail, every brushstroke, and every color of the artist’s 34 frescoes,” according to supplied material.

Each image is accompanied by informative signage, and audio guides are available to rent for an even more in-depth experience.

For more information about “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition”, visit chapelsistine.com/

The Ford Museum is currently open on Wednesday-Friday, 2-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m,. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, non to 5 p.m. Tickets are limited to a 50-person capacity and available for purchase online at buy.acmeticketing.com/events/277/list.

For more information on the Ford Museum, visit fordlibrarymuseum.gov.

Ford Presidential Museum co-hosts virtual events including Gen. Jim Mattis talking ‘Call Sign Chaos’

Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Upcoming Events, Veterans, WKTV Projects, ,
Gen. James Mattis, shown in this undated photo, knows the lessons of leading troops into battle. (U.S. Marine Corps/Zachery Dyer)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Grand Rapids’ Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, along with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University, continue to offer virtual programs this month.

The next program, available via Zoom meeting, will be “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead”, a virtual book talk with Gen. James M. Mattis (Ret.) —  a retired U.S. Marine officer, U.S. Secretary of State, and now book author — on Wednesday, April 21, starting at 7 p.m.

To register for this free event, including on the day of, visit here.

Following the talk by Gen. Mattis, on Thursday, April 22, Prof. H.W. Brands will offer a virtual talk “John Brown and Abraham Lincoln and the Struggle for Freedom”, based on Brands’ recent book “The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown and Abraham Lincoln and the Struggle for Freedom”. The talk will begin at 7 p.m.

To register for this free event, including on the day of, visit here.

A general talks leadership, in war and peace

“Call Sign Chaos”, according to supplied material, is the account of Gen. Mattis’s storied career, from wide­-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East.

James H. Mattis (Ford Presidential Museum)

Along the way, Mattis recounts his “foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of war-fighting and peacemaking,” the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas and short-sighted thinking now facing our nation.

“He makes it clear why America must return to a strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars,” the supplied material states.

Call Sign Chaos is a memoir of a life of war-fighting and lifelong learning, following along as Mattis rises from Marine recruit to four-star general. It is a journey about learning to lead and a story about how he, through constant study and action, developed a unique leadership philosophy, one relevant to us all.

‘The Zealot and the Emancipator’

“The Zealot and the Emancipator” is acclaimed historian H. W. Brands’s account of “how two American giants shaped the war for freedom,” according to supplied material.

 

John Brown was a charismatic and deeply religious man who heard the God of the Old Testament speaking to him, telling him to destroy slavery by any means. When Congress opened Kansas territory to slavery in 1854, Brown raised a band of followers to wage war. Three years later, Brown and his men assaulted the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping to arm slaves with weapons for a race war that would cleanse the nation of slavery.

Brown’s violence pointed ambitious Illinois lawyer and former officeholder Abraham Lincoln toward a different solution to slavery: politics.

Lincoln spoke cautiously and dreamed big, plotting his path back to Washington and perhaps to the White House. Yet his caution could not protect him from the vortex of violence Brown had set in motion. After Brown’s arrest, his righteous dignity on the way to the gallows led many in the North to see him as a martyr to liberty. Southerners responded with anger and horror to a terrorist being made into a saint.

Lincoln, Brands argues, “shrewdly threaded the needle between the opposing voices of the fractured nation and won election as president. But the time for moderation had passed, and Lincoln’s fervent belief that democracy could resolve its moral crises peacefully faced its ultimate test” — the Civil War.

For more information on the Ford Museum’s scheduled of events, visit here. For more information on the museum, visit here.

Ford Presidential Museum co-hosts virtual events, including Thomas Jefferson talking, in February

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Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Bill Barker of Monticello, speaks during a 2019 event at the U.S. Chamber Foundation in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Chamber Foundation YouTube)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Grand Rapids’ Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, along with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University, continue to offer virtual programs this month.

The next program, available via Zoom meeting, will be “Bill Barker: President’s Day Celebration — Man and Legacy”, with Barker talking as Thomas Jefferson, on Thursday, Feb. 18, starting at 7:15 p.m.

To register for the free event, including on the day of, visit here.

In a description of Barker/Jefferson event, it is stated:

“In times of great strife, Americans have often looked to our nation’s founding fathers for guidance. In doing so, we inevitably address the paradoxes they posed. The same Thomas Jefferson who penned the idea that ‘all men are created equal’ in our Declaration of Independence, is the same founder who owned hundreds of slaves through the course of his life. How could this be, and what are the lessons to us today?

“To help us unpack these and other historically loaded questions, the Hauenstein Center, along with our partners at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library, welcomes Monticello’s William Barker back to Grand Rapids. Widely regarded as the nation’s foremost Thomas Jefferson interpreter, Barker joins us for a celebration of Presidents’ Day and for a conversation that plumbs our difficult past.”

Timely topic webinar coming later in February

Next up on the schedule will be a live webinar virtual event — “The Constitution, Elections, and Democracy” on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m.

In a description of this event, it is stated:

“January 6, 2021, served as the culmination of a series of issues left to fester: a global pandemic, racial injustice, and social and political divisions that continue to grow. Across the country, citizens continue to wonder how the world’s leading democracy can move forward and how, as a nation, we can begin to heal the pain and wounds created that fateful afternoon.”

In the first installment of the Presidential Roundtable series, with support from the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and other groups, Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, joins GVSU president Philomena V. Mantella and past GVSU presidents for a discussion that “probes our nation’s most revered document, the Constitution.”

For a list of more events hosted or co-hosted by the Ford Museum, visit here. For more information on the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, visit fordlibrarymuseum.gov.

World War II ‘Greatest Generation’ to be honored with local remembrance, flyover, book discussion

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Marion Charles Gray, an Army Medic who was with the first waves of invasion forces to hit Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944, passed away in 2015. (U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II — coming this week on Sept. 2 — will be commemorated locally with virtual ceremonies and a socially distant Grand Rapids area flyover of war-era military aircraft.
 

The Grand Rapids Greatest Day Celebration Committee and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and Museum will host two days of celebration and remembrance of the “Greatest Generation” — Americans who grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, or whose labor helped win the war — starting today, Tuesday, Sept. 1 and continuing Wednesday, Sept. 2.

On Sept. 2, 1945, with the Japanese and American signing of the Instrument of Surrender aboard the U.S. Navy battleship the USS Missouri, World War II was officially over.
    

The local events will begin today, Sept. 1, however, when there will be an “In Memoriam Remembrance and Bell Ringing”, at the Ford Museum, with guest speaker Jim DeFelice, beginning at 6 p.m. The event will be live-streamed on the museum’s Facebook Live page.

Promotional material for the event states: “Hear master storyteller (and) NY Times Bestselling author Jim DeFelice, known for his vivid, raw, and powerful portrayals of modern American military heroes, as he honors those who gave their life during the Second World War.”

The celebration will continue Sept. 2, at about 6 p.m., with the Grand Rapids area portion of a planned flyover of a three restored military aircraft: a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain military transport, and a North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. (See map below for approximate times and route.)

The planes, traveling to Grand Rapids from the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville, are set to make a pass along the Grand River, from north to south, near downtown Grand Rapids, and are expected then make at least one pass over the Wyoming and Kentwood area by flying over the Grand Rapids Veterans Outpatient Clinic in Wyoming before exiting the area.

The celebration will conclude with a another virtual event, “Countdown to 1945 with Chris Wallace” on Sept. 2, at 7 p.m., and also live-streamed on the museum’s Facebook Live page.

A veteran journalist and Fox News Sunday anchor, Wallace will be the keynote speaker of the Greatest Generation Day Celebration. According to supplied material, he will discuss his recently published book, “Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World.”

“Countdown 1945” delivers a behind-the-scenes account of the 116 days leading to the bombing on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and “goes beyond just the atomic bomb and shares accounts of ordinary American and Japanese civilians in wartime.”

During his journalism career, Wallace has covered almost every major political event, and interviewed U.S. and world leaders, including seven American presidents. Throughout his 50-plus years in broadcasting, Wallace has won every major broadcast news award, including three Emmy Awards and the Peabody Award.

The route of the planned B-17, C-47 and B-25 Military Plane Flyover on Wednesday, Sept. 2. (Greatest Generation Day Committee)

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters to hold Grand Rapids Community Meeting

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S.S. Sen. Peters will be in Grand Rapids on Saturday, June 30, at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. (Supplied)

Micah Cho, WKTV Intern

ken@wktv.org

 

U.S. Sen. Gary Petters (D-Michigan) has announced that he will be traveling to four Michigan cities this summer for community meetings.

 

Peters will be in Grand Rapids on Saturday, June 30, for a 10 a.m. meeting at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, 303 Pearl St NW.

 

The other meetings will be held in Southfield and Flint.  Peters has already started his summer tour in Ypsilanti.

 

Peters’ visit is meant to encourage Michigan residents to help their communities by voicing their opinions.

 

“I am proud to represent Michigan in the United States Senate, but I know the best ideas don’t come from Washington,” Peters said in supplied material. “As I travel across our state, I always look forward to hearing from Michiganders about what can be done in Washington to make Michigan the best place to live, work and raise a family.”

 

Peters also hosts “Coffee With Gary”, where Michigan residents traveling to the Washington area can talk with the senator on Tuesdays when the U.S. Senate is in session.

 

If you would like to attend any of the meetings listed, click here to be redirected to Peters’ website.

 

If you are in the D.C. area, you can request a “Coffee With Gary” meeting by clicking here.

 

Ford Museum’s new political music exhibit speaks ‘Louder Than Words’

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(Supplied graphic)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

President Richard Nixon had his Elvis sighting; George W. Bush had his bond with Bono; Bill Clinton and Barak Obama had a ton of encounters with the politics of rock ’n’ roll music.

 

The constant is that since the 1960s, the songs and songwriters of rock have been a consistent voice on the political and social scene, and even presidents are not immune to the influence.

 

So, after opening at Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and then spending early this year at the prestigious Newseum in Washington, D.C., the exhibit, “Louder Than Words: Rock, Power & Politics” — which explores the power of rock music to change attitudes about patriotism, peace, equality and freedom — will open at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum next week.

 

The exhibit will open Tuesday, Nov. 7 and run through Feb. 11, 2018. (It will then travel to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in 2018, and then the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in 2020.)

 

Photo of exhibit with clothing related to war protest songs. (Supplied)

Using video, multimedia, photographs, periodicals and artifacts, “Louder Than Words” showcases the intersection between rock and politics. According to supplied information, the exhibit “explores how artists exercise their First Amendment rights, challenge assumptions and beliefs, stimulate thought and effect change.

 

“Beyond music’s influence on the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and gender equality, the exhibit also features other significant moments and figures, such as Bob Dylan, who rallied people against social inequality, the hip-hop music of the 80s that discussed police brutality in poverty stricken neighborhoods, and Pussy Riot, who utilized their music as an outlet for social activism in Russia.”

 

A supplied description of the exhibit goes on to say: “Whether you identify as red or blue, we all bleed rock and roll. Voicing political beliefs mixes its way into conversation and lyrics all the same. Whether you’re a fan of Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner” reinvention or Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ” insightful ballad, many musical artists have broached the subject of politics or have reacted to the current political and cultural climate through note and song. Inside of a song or performance, artists feel safe expressing their opinions and inviting fans to connect with their message regardless of party affiliation.

 

“Do those same established boundaries exist today? The stage has recently come under fire for openly expressing political critique, which prompts the question — is free speech still protected inside of a performance or song? Regardless of recent and future criticisms, artists will continue to fold political sentiments into their work, and we will continue to support those rock and rollers, unafraid of controversy, letting their music play louder than words.”

 

Photo of exhibit with clothing related to war protest songs. (Supplied)

The original exhibit included exclusive video interviews with Bono, David Byrne, Dee Snider, Tom Morello, Lars Ulrich, Gloria Estefan, Gregg Allman, Jimmy Carter and others to examine how music has both shaped and reflected our culture norms on eight political topics: civil rights, LGBT issues, feminism, war and peace, censorship, political campaigns, political causes and international politics.

 

Artifacts in the original exhibit include Joe Strummer’s Fender Telecaster, correspondence between the FBI and Priority Records regarding N.W.A’s “F*** the Police” song, original handwritten lyrics from Neil Young’s “Ohio” and artifacts related to the Vietnam war and the May 4, 1970 shooting at Kent State.

 

As part of the exhibition run, the Ford Museum will also present several special events:

 

A lecture, “The Meaning of the Vietnam War”, will be presented by Fredrik Logevall on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. at the museum. Logevall is the winner the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for his book, “Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam.”

 

In his lecture, he will trace the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Logevall is the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and an author of numerous books on the Vietnam War.

 

A discussion, “Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”, will be presented by Tom Tudor on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at the museum.

 

Tudor will actually give a two part talk in one event. The first part focuses on Mr. Tudor’s personal connection with the historic cemetery as he recalls his time standing watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The second part gives the history of Arlington National Cemetery and discusses some of America’s finest who are laid to rest within the gates.

 

(An aside: remember that the museum will present its annual Outdoor Tree Lighting Ceremony on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. Always a grand kickoff to the holiday season.)

 

The Vietnam War Lecture Series will also continue on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. with Dr. Edward J. Marolda presenting “Admirals Under Fire: U.S. Naval Leaders and the Vietnam War”.

 

Marolda, before his retirement in 2008, served as the Director of Naval History and Senior Historian of the Navy at the Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C. He has authored and coauthored numerous books with an emphasis on the U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War.

 

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is located at 303 Pearl St. NW, Grand Rapids. For more information visit fordlibrarymuseum.gov .

 

(Supplied graphic)

For a YouTube video related to the exhibit, visit here.

 

The Weekend Edition: Things to do Dec. 1 – 4

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wyominggivesbackWyoming Gives Back

The Sixth Annual Wyoming Gives Back event is set for tonight, Dec. 1, from 6 – 8 p.m .at Rogers Plaza Mall, 972 28th St. SW.

 

Event attendees who bring a new wrapped toy as a donation to the Salvation Army Angel Tree will receive a raffle ticket in exchange for a chance to win prizes from Wyoming businesses. The Wyoming Public Safety Department and the Wyoming Fire Department will be on hand as well the big guy himself, Santa Claus.

 

Local choirs and bands will be performing during the event. Musical performances include the Salvation Army Band, Tri-Unity Christian School Cherub Choir, Godwin Heights High School Chorale, Godwin Heights School Treble Choir, San Juan Diego Choir and the Wyoming Public Schools Jazz Band.

 

For more information, visit www.wyomingmi.gov.

 

santaparadeHere Comes Santa Claus

 

The Ninth Annual Santa Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 3. The parade, which is sponsored by the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce, kicks of at 10 a.m. on S. Division Avenue from 33rd Street heading southbound to Murray Street.

 

After the event, residents are invited to stop by Brann’s Sizzling’ Steaks & Sports Grill, 4132 S. Division for pictures with Santa.

 

Holiday Open House

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum will host its annual holiday open house Sunday, Dec. 4, from 1 – 4 p.m.

During the open house, there is no charge at the Ford Museum. The event also features a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus and a few of their reindeer along with holiday music.

 

Kentwood’s Got Talent

Talented or know someone who is? Then the City of Kentwood is looking for you.

 

As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the city is hosting a talent show, Kentwood’s Got Talent. Singers, dancers, comedians, magicians, and instrumentalists of all ages are welcome, as long as they are six-years-old or older. Guidelines and applications are now available at www.yourkprd.org. If you are interested, get those applications in soon as the Deadline is Dec. 30. First round of auditions takes place Jan. 12 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the KDL Kentwood Branch Library, 4650 Breton Rd. SE, and the final competition takes place Aug. 11 from 7 – 9 p.m. on an outdoor state behind Kentwood City Hall, 490 Breton Rd. SE.

 

For more information, visit yourkprd.org.

 

Shopping for Others

 

This holiday season, spend sometime shopping for those in need. The Kentwood Senior Center has two special projects that area residents can participate in.

 

There is the Holiday Food Drive and Mitten Tree hosted by the Kentwood Seniors. Donations of hats, scarves and mittens can be hung on a special tree in the lobby of the Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE. Canned goods and non-perishable food items maybe placed under the tree.

 

Also the Kentwood Senior Enrichment program is hosting the Santa to a Senior program. A Senior Santa Tree with items for area seniors also is located in the Kentwood Activities Center’s lobby. Residents are invited to take a tag and bring the item, wrapped, back to the center.

 

The deadline for items both the Senior Santa Tree and Mitten Tree is Dec. 16. For more information, visit www.yourkprd.org.

The Weekend Edition – Things to do Nov. 17 – 20

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fordTree Lighting at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

 

Once again the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum will get the holiday festivities kicked off with its annual tree lighting ceremony set for Thursday, Nov. 17, at the museum, 303 Pearl St. NW, downtown Grand Rapids.

 

The event is at 7 p.m. with the outdoor tree being lighted followed by some activities which will include the announcement of the 2016 Community Tree Awards.

 

All outdoor activities are free. For more, visit www.fordmuseumlibrary.gov.

 

beauty

Visions of dancing dishes and flatware

 

The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre opens its production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” with director Allyson Paris promising the show will be full of all the magic one has come to expect with the story.

 

For more about how Civic recreated some of that movie magic, check out our story. 

 

The show opens Nov. 18 at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, 30 N. Division Ave., downtown Grand Rapids, and runs through Dec. 18. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $18 – $34 and are going fast, according to Grand Rapids Civic Theatre officials. Visit www.grct.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

newtunnel

Pretty lights

 

Get a preview of the Christmas Lite Show at Fifth Third Ballpark, 4500 W. River Dr. NE, by participating in either the bike ride Friday, Nov. 18, or the run/walk Saturday, Nov. 19.

 

Marking its 20th year, the Christmas Lite Show is one of the largest in Michigan. It has more than 40 animated light displays that cover about two miles.

 

This family-oriented event was started by Bill Schrader, who a veteran himself having served 28 years in the army, is a supporter of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. A portion of the light show proceeds are donated to the Home.

For more information about the Christmas Lite Show, which opens up to vehicular traffic Nov. 23, visit www.christmasliteshow.com.

wineshow-bg

Wine, food, fun

The Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer, and Food Festival returns to DeVos Hall Thursday, Nov. 17, for its ninth year.

 

The event, which runs through Saturday, will feature about 1,600 wines, beers, ciders and spirits from various local, regional and national organizations. The event is broken down into three sections. The Vineyard will feature more than 1,200 wines from dry to sweet red, white, rose or sparkling varieties. The Beer City Station feature a variety of brew masters along with craft beers, imported and domestic brews, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages and food that pairs with both. One of the fastest growing craft beverages is hard cider. Cider Row will feature more than a dozen cider producers from Michigan and nationally-known brands.

 

Individual tickets are $15/Thursday, $20/Saturday and Sunday and $40 for a 3-Day Pass. Sampling tickets are 50 cents per ticket and sold on site. Attendees must be 21 or older to enter the Festival. For more information, visit showspan.com.

 

U.S. Senator Peters helps launch Ford Museum’s newest exhibit

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U.S. Senator Gary Peters
U.S. Senator Gary Peters

U.S. Senator Gary Peters will join the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum for the opening of its new interactive exhibit, “Space: A Journey to Our Future” on Thursday, Nov. 10.

 

At noon Peters will hold a forum with Grand Rapids-area students, who are focused on science, technology, engineering and math to discuss future career and education opportunities related to the space program. At 7 p.m., Peters will deliver the opening lecture for the exhibit, where he will discuss the future of NASA and Michigan’s role in its missions.

 

Peters serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness, which oversees agencies such as NASA, the National Science Foundation and is responsible for science, technology, engineering and math research and development. In his role as Ranking Member, he is working to pass bipartisan legislation to increase investments in basic science and research; expand opportunities for science, technology, engineering, and math education; and further NASA’s missions in science, space technology, aeronautics, exploration and education.

 

The new exhibit focuses on the past, present and future of the U.S. space program and will be on display at the Museum until May 29. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is located at 303 Pearl St. NW.

The Weekend Edition: Things to do Nov. 3 – 6

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , , , , , ,

et-elliot-hug-in-grand-rapids-pops-e-t-the-extra-terrestrial-nov-4-6-2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phone home…

The Grand Rapids Symphony will perform the score to Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming masterpiece “E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial” as the film is projected on a huge HD screen.

 

The classic story follows the friendship of a lost alien and a 10-year-old boy named Elliott who end up on a series of adventures to help E.T. go home.

 

The movie magic happens at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 4 and 5, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 at DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW. Tickets start at $18 with student tickets $5. For more information, click here.

jeffmusial
Jeff Musial

Kid Zone

 

Kidabaloo takes over DeVos Place Saturday, Nov 5. From a 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. there will be a host of activities for children along with special guests stopping by.

 

One of those guests is animal expert extraordinaire Jeff Musial. Musial has appeared on a number of shows including “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Today,” and most recently “Steve Harvey” for the Harvey’s Halloween special. Musial has made a name for himself as an animal educator along with helping his animal sanctuary. He will be presenting at 2 p.m. Other stars scheduled to come include several from popular television shows on Nickelodeon and Disney.

 

Tickets are $7/children 3 – 11 and $5/for those 12 and older. There are family four packs for $20. For more information, click here.

 

sih1e4bt-720-480_581_325_90_int_c1Holiday Shows

 

Get a jump start on that holiday shopping by attending the Holiday Gift Show at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline NE.

 

The show is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, and features items from more than three dozen regional artists and vendors. There will be items from home décor, gardening gear, jewelry, culinary wares, logo items, books, music and toys for all ages, wine and wine accessories.

 

The Holiday Gift Show is free admission. For more information on the show, meijergardens.org. For information on other upcoming arts and crafts show, click here.

 

 

spaceajourneyLost in Space

 

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum will open its newest exhibit, “SPACE: A Journey to Our Future,” Friday, Nov. 5.

 

The exhibition, which runs through May 29, is designed to immerse visitors in the discoveries of the past and introduces them to today’s explorers. Visitors will have the opportunity to ride a lunar module simulator on a journey to the surface of the moon and visit a simulated scientific base camp on Mars.