One of the top comedic voices in the country, Tom Papa, will perform an unforgettable night of laughter on March 14 in celebration of the Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids program.
Currently on his Tom Papa: 2023 Comedy Tour!, the highly rated comedian, author, actor, and host of Breaking Bread with Tom Papa and What a Joke with Papa and Fortune is ready to steal the show with his wit and hilarious observations on everyday life.
What to expect
Held at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park (FMG), the Gala doors will open at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception. The Gilda’s Club program and dinner will be presented at 7 p.m., with comedic entertainment commencing at 8:30 p.m.
(Courtesy, Gilda’s Club)
Toast the transformative power and hope Gilda’s program creates through free emotional health support for those on a cancer or grief journey.
Prepare to be entertained!
As the Gala approaches, watch Tom Papa on his five highly-rated Netflix comedy specials or in his starring film roles. You can also read his books and listen to the monthly show, Come to Papa Live on Channel 93.
For more Red Door Gala event information, click here. Tickets can be purchased here.
To learn more about comedian Tom Papa, click here.
GRB is delighted to welcome the West Michigan community to the Summer Dance Festival. Individuals can enjoy two evenings of world-class dance, tasty food and beer tents outside Peter Martin Wege Theatre.
“Last year, our Summer Dance Festival was such a success that we knew we wanted to bring it back again this year,” said James Sofranko, Artistic Director at Grand Rapids Ballet. “This community-focused event showcases the art and talent that lives right here in Michigan, on one stage, celebrating our dance community.”
Performances in a variety of styles
The Summer Dance Festival features a variety of dance styles (Courtesy, Grand Rapids Ballet)
Audiences will enjoy performances in several styles each evening. Dance styles range from classical to contemporary, and ballroom to hip-hop. This specially curated, one-of-a-kind event begins at 5:30 p.m.
In addition to Grand Rapids Ballet dancers and Grand Rapids Ballet School students, attendees can enjoy performances by professional companies and dance ensembles from across Michigan.
A dancer performs onstage during Summer Dance Festival (Courtesy, Grand Rapids Ballet)
“This event is so special to me because it brings together dance enthusiasts, art lovers and people from all over Michigan to celebrate dance together,” said Sofranko. “There’s nothing else like it.”
A new addition to GRB’s Festival this year is a children’s tent featuring games, crafts, face painting, and Gracie the Clown. Attendees are encouraged to bring friends, family and a chair, and enjoy an evening of outdoor performance.
Frederik Meijer Gardens Performance
On Aug. 29, Grand Rapids Ballet returns to the outside amphitheater at Frederik Meijer Gardens. Performance tickets are free for Meijer Gardens members and included in general admission on performance day for guests.
A large crowd gathers to watch an outdoor ballet performance (Courtesy, Grand Rapids Ballet)
Featured works at Frederik Meijer Gardens include Elemental Brubeck with choreography by Lar Lubovitch, music by renowned jazz composer Dave Brubeck, and the return of Who Cares? from their 2022-23 season. With choreography by George Balanchine featuring the entire company and romantic pas de deux set to Gershwin tunes such as “I’ve Got Rhythm” and “The Man I Love,” the performance will surely be entertaining for attendees of all ages.
“I love providing new and unique experiences for our audiences by stepping outside the traditional theater, hopefully reaching new audiences along the way,” said Sofranko. “These events present the perfect opportunity for any member of our community to experience the ballet, and dance, in a new light.”
For a complete list of dance festival performers, performance times, and more information about the ballet’s Summer Series, visit grballet.com.
Alissa VanderKooi said that her grandfather, Henry Pestka, would not often speak of his past life as a Jew in Nazi-occupied Germany.
“On that rare occasion that he would speak of this dark period of his life, his focus was never on the darkness but always on the light. His ability to see the light through the darkness is something that we pass on from generation to generation,” VanderKooi said.
“Ways to Say Goodbye”by Ariel Schlesinger. (Photo by D.A. Reed)
One such story Henry chose to tell his granddaughter was of a paint store worker who would offer him a piece of bread when he was brought in by Nazi soldiers to buy paint. Even after a soldier threatened to kill her, the worker worked out a signal with Henry so she would know if, depending on who his guard was that day, it was safe to give him the bread.
“This memory that my grandfather chose to share with me was one of the kindness of a stranger during the darkest of times,” said VanderKooi.
In honor of Pestka and the millions of Jews who perished in the Holocaust the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park through a partnership with The Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids recently dedicated the Holocaust memorial Ways to Say Goodbye. The piece, which was made possible through a donation from Pestka family, was created by artist Ariel Schlesinger in 2019 and was originally on display in the United Kingdom.
“As time goes on and memories of the Holocaust fade, it is important to remember the barbarity human beings are capable of,” said Steve Pestka, son of Henry Pestka. “It is equally important to contemplate the strength of the survivors and their ability to continue and rebuild their lives. It is our hope that this work of art will promote an appreciation of our shared humanity and a reminder that hatred and intolerance continue to this day and the consequences of the ultimate dehumanization of human beings.”
Henry’s Story
During World War II, the Pestka family were prisoners of Auschwitz, a concentration camp in Poland. Both of Henry’s parents and all of his siblings perished during the Holocaust. Henry was the sole survivor of his family and attributed his survival to being given a job as a painter.
Henry Pestka’s son, Steve, speaks to the crowd during the June 30 dedication. (Photo by D.A. Reed)
After surviving the Holocaust, Henry lived for a short time in Paris before joining his only living relatives, an aunt and uncle who had moved to New York City before the war. He was not a fan of the big city and remembered one of his father’s friends, Sam Weissman, who had moved to America from Poland before the war and came to live in Grand Rapids. Henry wrote a letter to Weissman and asked if there would be any work for him in Grand Rapids. Weissman assured Henry he would be able to make a living in West Michigan.
It was in Grand Rapids that Henry found the family and community he previously lost.
“He felt embraced by the people here and the sense of community he so desired,” VanderKooi said. “He never spoke of the hardship of learning a new language or being an outsider. Instead, he always spoke of the warm embrace he received from his community and the opportunities made available to him.”
Henry married Weissman’s niece Beatrice Bergman and began a family. He built a very successful real estate development business becoming known as a pillar of the community. Henry passed away in 2013 at the age of 93, and the sense of belonging he found in Grand Rapids is what prompted the Pestka family to choose West Michigan as the place to honor his memory and those of the six million Jews lost in the Holocaust.
“We are deeply grateful for this gift adding such an important work of art to our permanent collection,” said David Hooker, President & CEO of Meijer Gardens in supplied material. “Our community will forever benefit from this extraordinary gift which serves to educate and promote peace.”
Saying Goodbye
Artist Ariel Schlesinger speaks to a guest after the June 30 dedication. (Photo by D.A. Reed)
Ways to Say Goodbye, a 20-foot-tall aluminum cast of a fig tree with shards of glass inserted among the branches, can be found in the Garden’s outdoor Sculpture Park and is considered an exceptional work of contemporary sculpture dealing with themes of profound loss and grief. Modeled after a living fig tree in northern Italy, Schlesinger chose this metaphor of the Jewish people and their history because of its symbolism of the Jewish struggle for survival both during and after the Holocaust. While appearing fragile and clinging to life, the fig tree is also representative of great endurance.
The shards of glass in the tree represent Kristallnack, or Night of Broken Glass, which took place on Nov. 9-10, 1938. On those nights, the Nazi regime encouraged Germans to riot against Jews and nearly 100 Jewish people died.
During the ceremony, Schlesinger, who is most known for his public sculpture outside the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt, posed the question: “How is it possible to relate to complete horror through artistic representation?” The artist admitted the weight of his task, “which is (to) acknowledge traumas, grief, and losses in the form of public remembrance.”
“While this is not an act of representation, but rather recognition…of an important aspect of our beings,” Schlesinger continued. “To celebrate humans’ resilience even after catastrophe. Here, people will come, look, and survey this dream. The images reflected in the viewer’s eyes will also include sky, clouds, the trees around. Everyone sees what their heart and soul see. With our past, imagining a better future for all.”
A place to remember, reflect
Frederik Meijer Gardens CEO David Hooker with Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids Executive Director Nicole Katzman (Photo by D.A. Reed)
Meijer Gardens and the Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids see Ways to Say Goodbye as a gathering place for the Jewish community of Grand Rapids, offering a place to reflect, pray, and remember, while also being a teaching tool for educators both locally and nationally to address the Holocaust and its legacy.
“For our generation, (the Holocaust) is unfathomable,” said Pestka family friend, Shannon Gales. “So it’s wonderful that they are doing this and honoring the memory to continue to remember.”
David Alfonso, MD and JFGR Board Chair said, “It is incumbent upon us, as well as the generations that will follow us, to tell their stories so that we may embody the saying, ‘Never Again.’ We hope that this sculpture will serve as a beacon of light, a means of inspiration and education, for future generations that will view it and carry on its message of hope and remembrance.”
VanderKooi agreed: “History, the good and the bad, has a way of repeating itself and it is our responsibility, not just as Jews, but as a society, to educate ourselves about the bad in order to prevent it from being repeated or denied.”
Cantor Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz ended the ceremony with these inspirational words: “Let the pain of our memories and the love of those lost spur us to educate and inspire, to mourn and to hope, and to do all that we can to ensure the voracity of our words when we say, ‘Never Again.’”
To learn the stories of Henry Pestka and other West Michigan Holocaust survivors, visit West Michigan Holocaust Memorial, a Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids website made possible by the Finkelstein Brothers Endowment.
I’ll be in the Traverse City area all weekend long for the National Cherry Festival, and I’m looking forward to meeting up with friends, checking out the local food scene and maybe hitting up a few breweries.
You can read my coverage if you go to my social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
What are you doing this weekend?
If you’re staying close to home, here is my Top 5 of things to do, which you can find exclusively on WKTV Journal.
Here we go!
Gonzo’s Top 5
“Starry Night Over the Rhone” is just one of the many Van Gogh paintings featured. (Photo by Thomas Hegewald)
5. “Beyond Van Gogh,” Grand Rapids
This immersive experience by the artist Vincent Van Gogh has been getting a lot of media attention. Opening night was canceled because of some technology issues. And on Wednesday a person felt faint and grabbed onto a pipe and drape that caused some art to fall on patrons? It did not cause the exhibition to close. The exhibition features the artist’s work on a larger-than-life scale as visitors see at least 300 of Van Gogh’s famous artworks through projection technology. It continues through July 9 at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids. Check ticket availability at vangoghexpo.com/grand-rapids/.
Our friends at Fans of Valley Fieldbring back their popular Ballpark Series with a show Saturday (July 2) at Sullivan (formerly Valley) Field, a Michigan landmark with a history that dates back to 1937. It is located on the West Side of Grand Rapids. Tickets are $10 at the door or $5 in advance. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. The lineup:
•12:00-12:45pm – Teddy Brewer
•1:00-2:00pm – Larry Mack Band
•2:15-3:15pm – Rochelle and The Spoilers
•3:30-4:30pm – Hannah Rose Graves Band
•4:45-6:15pm – Asamu Johnson and The Associates of Blues
Sheryl Crow’s Meijer Gardens show is sold out but there are plenty of other Meijer concert options. (Supplied)
3. Sheryl Crow, Meijer Gardens
The “All I Wanna Do” singer – better known as Sheryl Crow – performs a sold out show Sunday (July 3) at Meijer Gardens. But you can still see Corinne Bailey Rae with Michigan act War & Treaty on July 6. Tickets information for all remaining concerts as well as availability can be found at meijergardens.org/calendar/summer-concerts-at-meijer-gardens. By the way, if you still want to see Sheryl Crow, you can join me on Saturday (July 2) when she performs at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City. Ticket information at cherryfestival.org/.
Grand Rapids July 4th celebration will be July 2.
2. Grand Rapids Fireworks
Activities begin at 6 p.m. Saturday (July 2) with games, food, vendors and live entertainment, which will lead up to the fireworks at 10:30 p.m. at Ah-Nab-Awen Park in downtown Grand Rapids (next to the Ford Museum). The Stone Soul Rhythm Band performs at 8 p.m. More info at https://4thofjulygr.com.
Kentwood pulls out all the stops for its annual Fourth of July celebration set for July 4. (Supplied)
1.4th of July Celebration, Kentwood
Kentwood plans a full day of activities, including a pancake breakfast, 5K race, parade, carnival and fireworks show. The events will begin with a pancake breakfast at Kentwood Fire Station 1, 4775 Walma Ave SE. The $5-per-person breakfast will be served 7-9:30 a.m. and include pancakes, sausage, juice and coffee. It’s free for ages 5 and younger. The NN Mobile Solutions 5K Race & Fun Walk begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Kentwood City Hall parking lot, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. The parade is at 9:30 a.m. A carnival is planned from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. behind City Hall, which is also the site for the 4th of July celebration from 4-10 p.m. with community booths, a beer tent, food trucks and a fireworks show. More information about Independence Day activities in Kentwood can be found at kentwood.us/july4.
Gun Lake: Fireworks are scheduled for July 2 with a rain date of July 3. Fireworks began at dark.
July 2 and 3
LMCU Ballpark: The West Michigan Whitecaps will have fireworks for both games against the Fort Wayne Tin Caps. Game times are 6:35 p.m July 2 and 6 p.m. July 3. More details at whitecapsbaseball.com.
July 3
Caledonia: The Caledonia Independence Day Celebration will include a parade at 11 a.m. Fireworks will be at dusk and can be seen from Duncan Lake Middle School, CalPlex, or Holy Family Catholic Church.
July 4
Grandville: The Grandville July 4 Celebration will include a pancake breakfast, parade with flyover, life music and fireworks at dusk.
Dorr: As usual, the Dorr July 4th Celebration will be the entire weekend, July 2-4 with the parade and fireworks on July 4.
As always, I welcome your input and recommendations for events to include in my Top 5 list. If you have something for me to consider, just send me an email at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
Have a great, safe weekend.
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
“The Four Elements” by Jaume Plensa is now on the corner of Monroe Avenue and Lyon Street in downtown Grand Rapids. (Supplied)
Letters, characters, and elements seem to randomly come together creating a human form on Monroe Avenue and Lyon Street in Grand Rapids.
The piece, Jaume Plensa ‘s “The Four Elements” is just the last addition to the downtown landscape which features such works as Mark di Suvero’s “Motu Viget” (The Swing), Maya Lin’s “The Ecliptic,” Clement Meadmore’s “The Split Ring” and the first public funded art piece by the National Endowment for the Arts, Alexander Calder’s “La Grande Vitesse.”
“Grand Rapids’ reputation as an art destination has been growing for decades,” said Experience Grand Rapids President and CEO, Doug Small. “As community leaders help to bring the work of acclaimed international artists to our doorstep, it not only enhances the ‘quality of place’ for area residents – it enhances the draw for visitors from across the country and around the world.”
Plensa, who is from Barcelona, Spain, is world-renowned having public works in several cities including Chicago where he is the artist of the Crown Fountain featuring faces on large scale screens with water shooting out of their mouths.
The Grand Rapids piece, which was commissioned by the DeVos family, is a 16-foot-tall, 5,400-pound stainless steel sculpture that uses letter characters and element symbols representing air, water, fire and earth to create a human form, signifying the many different characteristics that bring people together to form a single human race. Pamella DeVos said the piece is meant to portray a welcoming message of unity and diversity.
The piece is one of three that the DeVos family has commissioned for the downtown area.
Gardens brings in third Plensa piece
The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park already is home to the Plensa piece, “I, you, she or he,” which are three steel sculptures similar to the downtown piece.
“Utopia” By Jaume Plensa (Photo by Laura Medina, courtesy Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park)
This week the Gardens unveiled a third piece by Plensa, “Utopia.” Housed in the Gardens’ new Welcome Center, which was designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, “‘Utopia” consists of four 90-foot carved marble portraits depicting the faces of Marianna, Julia, Laura, and Wilsis. Each of the floor-to-ceiling portraits utilizes the human form to symbolize the capacity for a shared humanity.
According to GRAY Gallery, which represents Plensa, the installation is crafted from white marble, a material chosen by the artist both to harmonize with the architecture and for its nuanced reactions to light and shadow.
“With ‘Utopia,’ I wanted to set out to transform an expansive space into a single piece,” Plensa said. “I wanted to do something unforgettable for the Gardens. I wanted to create something that seemed invisible, but with 400 tons of marble, which I know seems like a contradiction. I spend my life trying to work through that duality, that poetry.”
The Gardens dedicated and opened its 69,000-square-foot, LEED-certified Welcome Center this week. The Welcome Center is part of the $115 million “Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love” expansion project that includes an expanded and upgraded amphitheater, Frey Foundation Entry Plaza, a new Meijer-Shedleski Picnic Pavilion, the new Stuart and Barbara Padnos Rooftop Sculpture Garden and expanded and accessible parking and urban gardens. Still to be completed are the indoor sculpture galleries, a Volunteer Tribute Garden and the expanded Tassell-Wisner-Bottrall English Perennial Garden. The project is scheduled to be completed in June 2022.
Light shows have been a holiday tradition for many families during the season. From holiday train rides to Christmas carolers, West Michigan has much to offer.
The Gilmore Car Museum will be light up for the holidays. (Supplied)
Winter Wonderland at the Gilmore Car Museum
This holiday season the Gilmore Car Museum has teamed up with Bluewater technologies to present the first-ever “Winter Wonderland” at the Gilmore Car Museum.
“Winter Wonderland” is a drive-thru holiday tour that takes place on the museum’s campus. The drive is 1.5 miles long and guests can drive along the path as they view lighted historical barns, decorated vintage-era dealerships, and 25 individual light displays. Guests can also view artwork exhibits from automotive illustrators including Art Fitzpatrick, Van Kaufman, and Jeff Norwell.
“Dashing Through the Snow” is an additional opportunity for families to ride in vintage cars from the museum’s collection. Families can choose from Ford Model Ts, a Checkered Taxi Cab, a ’63 Cadillac convertible, and several other vintage cars. Tickets are limited for this opportunity and can be purchased for an additional $20 on-site.
Each ticket includes access to the museum on the same evening. Inside the museum, guests may view “Gilmore’s Festival of Trees” alongside classic cars and observe exhibits showing Christmas through the decades. There will be holiday food and beverages available for purchase along with opportunities for holiday gift shopping. Children can visit Santa or play reindeer games. On Friday and Saturday nights, there will be live music.
“Winter Wonderland” will run throughout the holiday season, from Nov. 24 to Jan. 9, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the museum will be open from 5 – 9 p.m., and on Fridays to Sundays and special holidays, the museum is open from 5 – 10 p.m. Gates close one hour before the end of each night.
The Gilmore Car Museum is located at 6865 W Hickory Rd, Hickory Corners, just outside Kalamazoo. Tickets are sold per person. For adults 18+ tickets purchased at the door cost $20 or $17.50 when purchased online in advance. For those ages, 5-17 tickets cost $12 at the door or $9.50 when purchased online in advance. Children 4 and under are free. Tickets are now available for purchase at GilmoreCarMuseum.org.
Scenes from Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World exhibition and events. (Supplied/Dean VanDis)
University of Michigan Health-West Christmas & Holiday Traditions
The annual University of Michigan Health-West Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition is back at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
This is the 27th year of their annual horticulture exhibition. Every year during the holiday season the Gardens transform into a winter wonderland. The exhibition features 46 international trees and displays showcasing different cultures and continents. This year the gardens will be illuminated by 300,000 lights. Inside guests can view the companion Railway Garden exhibition. This is a unique horticultural display that incorporates moving trains and trolleys alongside handcrafted replicas of Grand Rapids landmarks.
On specific dates, the Dickens Carolers will be roaming the Bissell and Gunberg corridors singing holiday favorites. They will be at the Gardens on Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14, and Dec. 21 from 6 – 8 p.m.
Outside guests can bundle up and enjoy an outdoor discovery walk. This year the walk themes are Birds and Their Senses, and Holiday Carols and Symbols. On Saturdays, until Dec. 18, the Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm will be hosting reindeer visits from 1 – 4 p.m.
The gardens are open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, and on Mondays – Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the holidays season, they have extended their late hours to 9 p.m on Dec. 20-23 and 27-30. They will be closed on Nov. 25, Dec. 25, and Jan. 1.
To enter the gardens tickets for adults are $14.50, students (with student ID) $11, children ages 5 to 13 are $7, children 3 to 4 are $4, and children 2 and under are free. The exhibition will run from Nov. 23 to Jan. 2.. For more information about the holiday exhibition, visit www.meijergardens.org
The Christmas Lite Show returns to the Whitecaps home, LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park. (courtesy Christmas Lite Show)
Christmas Lite Show
The Christmas Lite Show has become a holiday tradition for many families in West Michigan and this year the attraction is back to spread holiday cheer.
The attraction typically takes half an hour to drive through. This year organizers have added several new animated displays along with new lights and tunnels. Another option is to take a ride on the Memory Lane Train to experience the show. To ride the train tickets are $30 per bench seat. Benches fit two adults comfortably and small children are allowed to sit on laps for free. The train has 10 benches and can fit 20 adults comfortably. Train tickets must be purchased online and are not available for purchase at the station.
Tickets for the drive-thru are available online or at the ticket window. Tickets start at $28 and vary depending on the size of the vehicle. Once purchased tickets are good for one-time use anytime from Nov. 24 to Jan. 1. The attraction is open on Sundays to Thursdays from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays, it will be open from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
The attraction is located at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park. Tickets and more information can be found at www.christmasliteshow.com.
From Kentwood’s Spring Break Club to the butterflies at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, there are plenty of things for area residents to do during next week’s spring break.
Below, I pulled together just some of the possibilities that could keep you and your family busier than if you had headed out.
Local students have fun during the Kentwood Spring Break Club which is offers April 1-5. (Supplied)
In Kentwood
The City of Kentwood will be offering its Spring Break Club April 1 – 5. The club will featured a week full of fun with gym games, arts and crafts, nature walks, gardening and much more. Students can participate the whole week or just for certain days. Registration is required, so make sure to visit the Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE, or call 616-656-5270.
“We are going to have kids six- to 12-years-olds here,” said Spencer McKellar, recreation program coordinator for the City of Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department. We will do a number of different programs, active games in the gym. Maybe some nature walks if the weather cooperates, working in our kitchen and a number of other things.”
In Wyoming
Depending on weather, many of the area parks will be open. Wyoming’s Pinery Park is the only park in the city where the restrooms are open year around. The park features a paved walking trail, a playground and recently updated fitness equipment.
The Annual Gem and Mineral Show will take place at Rogers Place April 4 – 7. (WKTV)
The Indian Mounds Rock & Mineral Club will be hosting its annual show April 4-6 at Rogers Plaza, 972 28th St. SW. The show is free and features a number of demonstrations, exhibits, rock and mineral identification and vendors. The event is from 9:30 a.m. – 9 p.m .Thursday and Friday and 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday.
Head to Camp
Get close to the animals at the John Ball Zoo which will be hosting its spring break day camps April 1-4. Slumber near the chimpanzees at the zoo’s spring break overnight on April 5. Registration is required for both events, so call 616-336-4300.
Blandford Nature Center‘s spring break camps are currently sold out but there is the Kitchen Dyeing Class April 6. This workshop will cover safety/clean up procedures and how to prepare materials for dyeing. Each participant will leave with enough dyed fiber samples to fill in a small dye journal. The program is for 13 and older with cost being $40/members and $45/non-members. Registration is required, so visit blandfordnaturecenter.org.
Dinosaurs and TOYS! will be the theme of the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s spring break activities. (Supplied)
Dinosaurs, oh my!!
The Grand Rapids Public Museum will have extended hours to 7 p.m. April 1 – 7. Activities will be dinosaur- and toy-inspired, celebrating the museum’s current exhibits “TOYS!” and “Expedition: Dinosaur.” Participates will be able to make their own dinosaur, sock monkey, headbands, dinosaur fossils and more. Join the GRPM on Saturday, March 30 and Saturday, April 6 for a special dinosaur science in the Saturday Curiosity Labs. Play over-sized games including Chess and Connect Four.
Spring break activities are included with general admission/ For more, visit grpm.org.
“A Decade at the Center: Recent gifts and Acquisitions” is at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. (Supplied)
It’s Free
Or head over to the Grand Rapids Art Museum, which, for spring break, is free for all youth ages 17 and under. Admission includes free entry to the museum’s current exhibitions which include “A Decade at the Center: Recent Gifts and Acquisitions” and “A Legacy of Love: Selections from the Mable Perkins Collection.” The museum also has extended its drop-in studio hours for the week. The drop-in studio will be from 1 to 4 p.m. March 30, April 2 and 6. For more information, visit artmuseumgr.org.
Blue Colombia butterfly, (Supplied)
Butterfly Effect
When the butterflies take over the Fredrick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, you know its spring. The Fred & Dorothy Pitcher Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition will be open with Gardens hosting extended hours during spring break. Outdoor children’s activities will be taking place at the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden such as a giant butterfly puzzle, butterfly-themed puppet show, the butterfly maze and story time. Activities vary daily, so check the Information center for what is happening or visit meijergardens.org.
Movie Night
The popular Flick’s Family Film Fest runs through April 11. Films are free to children 12 and under and $5 for anyone 13 and older. For the week of spring break, the Fest will feature Warner’s “Smallfoot” and the 2019 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Check with local theaters for showtimes.
A Monster and Peas
The Grand Rapids Ballet will present another kid-friendly ballet for the entire family by bringing to life the beloved children’s book “The Monster Who Ate My Peas.” The performances features the apprentices and trainees of the Grand Rapids Ballet and choreographed by the Grand Rapids Ballet School Junior Company Director Attila Mosolygo. Showtimes are 11 a.m. April 1-5. Tickets are $7 and available through grballet.com.
Booking It
The Kent District Library is always a source for spring break fun and KDL has the week “booked” with activities for all ages. Author and puppeteer Kevin Kammeraad along with Wimee and friends will be presenting a show on wordplay, puppet, music and movement. Kammeraad and company stop at the KDL Wyoming branch April 5. Other KDL programs include an Escape Room, Coding Camp for Kids, Family Movie, and a Disney Movie Marathon. For a complete list of spring break activities, visit kdl.org.
Crash, the river rascal, is ready for his favorite team to return to Fifth Third Park. Whitecaps season opener is April 6. (Supplied)
Play Ball!
Have a third through sixth grader looking to improve their throwing arm? Grand Valley State University will be hosting its Little Throws clinic April 1 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Registration is required. Contact Coach Denard at denards@gvsu.edu for more information.
Speaking of baseball, the Detroit Tigers opener is April 4 against the Kansas City Royals and our own beloved Whitecaps’ opening day is April 6. The Whitecaps will face off against the South Bend Cubs. For the full schedule, visit the Whitecaps website.
The Huizenga Grand Room will be filled with beautiful orchids, competing for ribbons and the coveted American Orchid Society Awards. Purchase an orchid to take home, as well as hard-to-find orchid growing supplies.
1pm — Orchid Growing 101: Learn how to care for your orchid once you get it home: where to place it, how often to water it, when to fertilize, and what to do when it’s through blooming. Presented by: Dawn Durkee, Grand Valley Orchid Society
2pm — Growing Slipper Orchids: Slipper orchids are not just fascinating, they’re easy to grow! Receive tips on growing these lovely orchids in the home. Presented by: Rob Halgren, Little Frog Farm
3pm — Orchid Repotting Demonstration: Learn about how to properly repot an orchid during this demonstration. Presented by: Don Kelley, Grand Valley Orchid Society
Sunday, Jan. 27
1pm — Best Orchids for Beginners: Learn which orchids are the easiest to grow in the home. Presented by: Mei Ling Clemens, Grand Valley Orchid Society
2pm — Miniature Orchids: Discover the subtle beauty and charm of miniature orchids and learn how to successfully grow them in your home. Presented by: Kevin Usted, New World Orchids
3pm — Orchid Repotting Demonstration: Learn about how to properly repot an orchid during this demonstration. Presented by: Tara Rietberg, Grand Valley Orchid Society
ArtPrize 10 is here which means for the next two and half weeks much of the community will be focused on and discussing art.
WKTV will be joining the conversation with WKTV VOICES. Introduced at ArtPrize Nine last year, VOICES is housed in a 1958 Airstream trailer and collects stories. Last year, it focused on collecting the stories of artists. This year, the trailer will again return to the corner of Lyon and Monroe, across from the Amway Grand Plaza, collecting stories of artists but also hosting a Voters Feedback Booth, where voters are encouraged to share what they voted on and why.
And what should participants expect to see at this year’s ArtPrize? Well, a few of the venues reached out to us with information about who will be at their venue.
“1934,” by Amiri Farris
Gerald R. Ford International Airport
5500 44th St. SE
Visitors and passengers coming through the airport will be see 14 exhibits on display at the
Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Art at the airport is on display upstairs along the mezzanine, in the indoors observation deck area, and in the east end of the terminal building near the valet ticket counter and exit to rental cars.
“We are thrilled to once again serve as a gathering place for ArtPrize –as a venue, a sponsor, and as a way to welcome artists and visitors into our great city,” said GFIA President & CEO Jim Gill. “The Ford Airport strives to be reflective of the people and events in West Michigan, and we have a chance to brighten up our space with local and national artwork that showcases many different types of art. We hope people take advantage of the art on display here and visit us during the competition whether as a traveler or just a general visitor.”
Among the feature pieces is “1934,” by Amiri Farris, a portrait of a young President Gerald R. Ford and teammate Willis Ward. This large size painting depicts how President Ford overcame mounting adversity and racial discrimination to hep a friend. Artist Tom Howing, who is battling cancer, worked with his autistic son, Matthew, to put his views of the world into a 3-D format display titled “Matthew’s View.” Also artist Elizabeth Paul Healey fled her home in North Carolina this past weekend as Hurricane Florence approached and is here with her piece “Fear Less.”
Petra Kuppers, Salamander by The Olimpias. (Courtesy of the artist)
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
1000 E Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park will host 16 contemporary sculptors in an innovative exhibition jointly organized by DisArt, a Grand Rapids based arts and cultural organization promoting the full participation of disabled people in and through the arts. The exhibition is titled “Process and Presence: Contemporary Disability Sculpture”.
Through examples of three-dimensional practice including sculpture, performance, installation and video art, this exhibition emphasizes the relationship between disability and the fundamental human experiences of change and embodiment. The exhibition offers audiences a survey of contemporary disability sculpture through artists whose work represents local, national and global perspectives on the experiences of living with disability.
“Process and Presence: Contemporary Disability Sculpture” will be free of charge during ArtPrize (Sept. 19 – Oct. 7). The exhibition areas will be open to the public during Meijer Gardens’ regular business hours. All other areas of Meijer Gardens observe regular hours and standard admission fees.
Arizona-based artist duo Lauren Strohacker and Kendra Sollars shed light on the displacement, reintroduction, and loss of wildlife in urban areas, and have collaborated with Blandford Nature Center to create their time-based entry, Animal Land.
Grand Rapids Art Museum
101 Monroe Center St. NW
The Grand Rapids Art Museum’s ArtPrize 10 exhibition will showcase a broad range of contemporary art by local, regional, national and international artists—competing in every ArtPrize category: 2D, 3D, Time-based and Installation. The total number of artists/artist pairs is 10. The exhibition includes outdoor installations and large-scale nighttime projections on the building’s exterior, and also contains sculpture, painting and interactive performance works.
“Visitors to ArtPrize 10 at GRAM will find the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s most ambitious presentation yet—dazzling installations adapted to interior and exterior public spaces, technology-based interactive experiences, monumental sculpture and more,” commented GRAM Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen.
Several themes can be found within the artwork on view—Venezuelan artist, Saskia Jordá, uses her work as a call to action to end violence and hunger. Michigan-based artist John Gutsokey addresses loss, grief, and the aftermath of hate crimes, as well as gun violence, homophobia, violence against people of color and the transgender community, and LGBTQ rights. Arizona-based artist duo Lauren Strohacker and Kendra Sollars shed light on the displacement, reintroduction, and loss of wildlife in urban areas, and have collaborated with Blandford Nature Center to create their time-based entry, Animal Land.
“Geode” by Carlson Garcia
Grand Rapids Public Museum
272 Pearl St. NW
The Grand Rapids Public Museum will once again host an outdoor exhibition in which the work of 17 artists will visually lend itself to the setting of the Museum grounds. Each year the GRPM curates a rewarding experience with approachable art that is intriguing, distinctive and engages the viewer’s capacity for awe and curiosity. Located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids along the busy river walkway, the GRPM is able to offer a not-to-be-missed immersive, 24-hour experience.
During ArtPrize Ten the GRPM will be open with regular Museum hours and half off general admission fees. The GRPM will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays of ArtPrize. For more information about artists, exhibitions, special programming and tickets visit grpm.org.
There’s nothing better than being outside and hearing music in the distance. As you get closer, the music gets louder, and soon you find yourself at one of the many outdoor concerts right here in West Michigan. Performances in West Michigan range from local acts in the park to national headliners performing on some of the area’s biggest stages. No matter your taste, there’s an outdoor music event for you to check out this summer and into the fall.
Music Series Throughout the Summer
Music Series in Southern West Michigan
With a stacked music schedule throughout the summer, Vineyard 2121 in Benton Harbor has everything you need to enjoy your summer evenings. Couple this with their food and drink specials and you have the epitome of relaxation. For a full schedule of music, visit Vineyard 2121’s website.
The Dockside Bar at the Inn at Harbor Shores in St. Joseph is hosting live music on their Dockside Bar all summer long. Running through Labor Day, these three-hour concerts will be held every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
As part of their First Thursdays Market, Virtue Cider in Fennville features live local music the first Thursday of each month from now through October. In addition to these monthly performances, they’ll also have music throughout the summer. Visit Virtue Cider’s website for a full schedule of events.
The City of Hastings has partnered with the local arts council to create the free, 12-week Hastings Live! Summer Concert Series, starting Wednesday, June 6th. These Wednesday and Friday evening concerts feature the very best local and regional musical talent
Dablon Vineyards in Baroda hosts music throughout the year. While you’re sipping their world-class wine, enjoy the music that fills the air during your visit. For a schedule of performances, visit Dablon Vineyard’s website.
The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven is hosting their summer concert series.
Each month this summer, the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven is hosting their summer concert series. These performances take place on the Michigan Maritime Museum Campus, with a beautiful Lake Michigan backdrop. For more information, including dates and who’s performing, visit the Michigan Maritime Museum’s website.
Make the most of summer at Round Barn Winery in Baroda and their concert series, Jammin’ in the Vineyard! Round Barn’s annual jamfest features 26 weekends of the best live regional music, paired with world-class wines, hand-crafted spirits, and fresh craft beers. For a full lineup, visit Round Barn’s website.
Summer music atBell’s Brewery’s Beer Garden starts in June and continues until September. Enjoy a Bell’s beer surrounded by sculptures, beautiful trees, flowers, and hops in a lush garden in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo. To see who’s performing this summer, visit Bell’s website.
Arcadia Brewing Company is hosting their Summer Music Series each month, with local music, tasty food, and frothy beers aplenty!
St. Joseph has two weekly concert series, both of which are free. Their Wednesday Brown Bag Concerts run through August 22nd while the Friday Night Concerts go through August 31st. For a full schedule, including who’s performing, visit St. Joseph Today’s website.
Downtown Coldwater is once again hosting their Entertainment Under the Star series of free outdoor concerts every Tuesday from June 19th to July 31st. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the sounds of folk, bluegrass, classic country, and rock.
Music Series in Central West Michigan
Located in Montague, the Trailway Campground is the perfect place to stay if you want to enjoy the free concerts held at the nearby Montague Bandshell each Tuesday this summer. Starting on June 19th, these live performances bring a wide range of music to the White Lake area.
Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant in Holland hosts live music every evening this summer! Enjoy the performance while you eat some of the area’s finest food on their spacious deck overlooking Lake Macatawa. To see who will be performing, visit Boatwerks’ website.
LowellArts in Lowell has concerts that promote the best of the region’s talented musicians, featuring music groups exclusively from Michigan. The concerts range from blues and world music to rock, swing, big band, and jazz. Shows are every Thursday evening starting on June 14th and running through August 23rd.
The Fox Barn Market & Winery in Shelby has live outdoor music now through Labor Day Weekend. The series is called “Fridays @ Fox’s” and brings together regional talent in a farm setting. Pair the music with a wine or their specialty food to enhance your summer evenings.
Grand Rapids Symphony heads to Cannonsburg Ski Area for the Picnic Pops.
The Grand Haven Musical Fountain is a synchronized water and light show accompanied by music of all varieties. Each 25-minute show features a variety of well-known music and plays daily at dusk through Labor Day, as well as Fridays and Saturdays in September.
Enjoy relaxing summer evenings with the Grand Rapids Pops performances by the Grand Rapids Symphony. This unique outdoor concert experience at Cannonsburg Ski Area is a sure way to create lasting memories with friends and family. For a schedule these events, visit the Grand Rapids Pops’ website.
The annual Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Frederik Meijer Gardens continue to bring the finest national and international musicians to Grand Rapids, thrilling music lovers across all genres and all generations. For tickets and information on their lineup, visit Frederik Meijer Gardens’ website.
The Mecosta area has a variety of live music during the summer months. Your choices include the Bandshell Concert Series on Wednesdays, Pocket Park Music Series on Friday afternoons, and Music on the River on Fridays. For more information on all the music in Mecosta County, visit the Mecosta County CVB’s website.
Mt. Pleasant’s wide variety of live entertainment will have you out and about all summer long. The local concert series is celebrating 10 years, bringing family fun to downtown Mt. Pleasant. Nearby Soaring Eagle Casino is also hosting outdoor shows, including Chris Young, Little Big Town, Nickelback, and more. For a full calendar of outdoor music, visit Mt. Pleasant’s website.
Music Series in Northern West Michigan
Indigo Bluffs in Empire is surrounded by outdoor music that you can enjoy this summer. One of the fan-favorites is Friday Night LIVE in Traverse City, hosted each Friday in August. The streets are closed for a fun-filled block party featuring live music.
The Village at Bay Harbor in Bay Harbor hosts live music every Thursday this summer, through August 30th. They’re also hosting a Fourth of July event on Tuesday, July 3rd, with a performance by the Petoskey Steel Drum Band. For a full schedule of events, including who’s performing this summer, visit Bay Harbor’s website.
Visit Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville to ride the Crystal Clipper chairlift and enjoy panoramic views of three counties and top-of-the-mountain attractions, including live musical entertainment, a family sandbox, snack bar, cash bar, and more. Rides are offered on select summer evenings on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
TheMackinac State Historic Parks is hosting Music in the Park on Mackinac Island every Thursday evening starting on June 21st and running through August 16th. Music in the Park takes place in Marquette Park in the heart of Mackinac Island and is free to the public.
TheTraverse Tall Ship Company in Traverse City will be featuring the folk band Song of the Lakes on their evening sails every Wednesday in July and August. The band will be playing lively jigs, chanteys, and ballads of sailing and life on the sea!
Every Thursday from June 28th to August 30th, Washington Park in Cheboygan will be filled with a wide variety of music. Each week is something different, with genres ranging from rock and blues to country and folk. This is a great summertime family tradition in northern Michigan.
Music in the Park is hosted every Wednesday at the Soo Locks Park in Sault Ste. Marie. Each week features a new performer, and best of all, these outdoor performances are completely free!
Each summer, the Music in Mackinaw Concert Series offers live entertainment in the Mackinaw area. With performances taking place at the Roth Performance Shell in Conklin Heritage Park throughout the summer, you won’t have trouble finding outdoor music to enjoy. For a schedule of all events, including outdoor music, visit their website.
Based out of Traverse City, MyNorth is dedicated to sharing stories and photos about vacations, restaurants, wineries, the outdoors and more from Traverse City to Sleeping Bear Dunes and up to Mackinac Island. They have a calendar of events, featuring music, art, and more, on their website.
Ionia Free Fair is July 12-21.
Festivals & Events
Festivals & Events in July
Located near Hotel Walloon in Walloon Lake, Village Green Park is hosting live music as part of their Independence Day celebration. Stop by on Wednesday, July 4th to enjoy all the live entertainment, before heading back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.
With nine days of family-fun entertainment, theIonia Free Fair returns to the Ionia Fairgrounds from July 12th to 21st. Enjoy the music, rodeo, rides, monster trucks, camping, and more at this fun annual event.
Idlewild Festival, held in Idlewild on July 14th and 15th, commemorates and celebrates the history of well known African-American entertainers and professionals who owned property and performed at the Historic Resort prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Known as the “Black Eden,” this location was one of the few resorts in the United States where African Americans could vacation and purchase property.
Located in Suttons Bay, the Inland Seas Education Association is hosting their two-hour music sail, Music with a Purpose, on Thursday, July 19th. Once you leave the dock, participants will have the opportunity to help raise the sails. Then, Dan Hall will entertain guests with lively sea chanties and stories.
Battle Creek’s Leilapalooza is Saturday, July 28th. This all-day music festival features over 60 acts on multiple stages. Rounding out the summer is the Michigan Metal Fest on Saturday, August 11th at the Leila Arboretum. Listen to metal music as 40 acts perform on four stages.
Kalamazoo Ribfest is Aug. 2-4.
Festivals & Events in August
AtKalamazoo Ribfest, the ribs may be the star of the show, but national entertainment and local bands will provide plenty of entertainment as you feast. Kalamazoo’s largest annual downtown festival brings plenty of ribs and even more live entertainment when it takes over Arcadia Creek Festival Place from August 2nd to 4th.
Come to Heritage Landing in Muskegon from August 8th to 11th for the biggest Christian music festival in Michigan:Unity Christian Music Festival! There’ll be three stages featuring more than 45 acts. Unity Christian Music Festival has quickly become one of the country’s premier events for live Christian music.
GRandJazzFest in Grand Rapids is West Michigan’s only free, weekend-long jazz festival! This year’s festival is August 18th and 19th, at Rosa Parks Circle, a central location in the heart of downtown. The festival brings to the stage notable jazz performers as well as up-and-coming artists for diverse audiences.
Originally started in Columbus, Ohio,Breakaway Music Festival expanded to Grand Rapids last year for a new music experience, with this year’s festival on August 24th and 25th. Featuring a well-curated musical lineup of national and local artists, local vendors and food trucks, and more, Breakaway is your release from the everyday life.
Muskegon’s Pere Marquette Beach will ignite on Saturday, August 28th, for the 4th AnnualBurning Foot Beer Festival. Serving as Michigan’s only barefoot beer festival on the sand, festival goers can enjoy some of the finest craft beer found in the Great Lakes region, revel in local art and food, groove to local and national music acts, and take in the beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan.
The Allegan County Fair Sept. 7-15.
Festivals & Events in September
TheAllegan County Fair is home to many live entertainment events throughout its September 7th to 15th runtime, including musical and stage acts! The event includes performances by 5 Seconds of Summer, Pentatonix, Travis Tritt, the Charlie Daniels Band, and the Marshall Tucker Band. Tickets are available now for the fair’s many entertainment events.
Held from September 13th to 16th in Muskegon, theMichigan Irish Festival features live Irish entertainment daily under five large covered stages, from traditional Irish and folk music and contemporary Celtic rock to storytelling and Irish dance. The Pub will be serving traditional Irish beverages and food, adding to the cultural experience.
PRIME Music Festival returns to Lansing on September 14th and 15th. The multi-genre festival brings local and national performers together for a fantastic weekend of live music. Keep an eye out for their much-anticipated lineup coming soon!
Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson (with Anderson from yesteryear on video) made a stop at Meijer Gardens on Friday, Aug. 18, and did not disappoint the sellout crowd. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson, Aug. 18, at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Mi.
60-second Review
Two preface points: First, when I say the Jethro Tull concert was rock ’n’ roll theater by a good ol’ dude for good ol’ dudes, I count myself as one of those dudes. (Empirical evidence of the audience’s majority was the fact that the line for the men’s restroom was longer than the for the women’s.)
Second, despite Tull’s heart and soul, Ian Anderson, having turned 70 earlier this month, we will avoid the easy review road by ignoring the band’s 1976 release “Too Old to Rock ’n’ Roll; Too Young to Die”. (Didn’t like the song the year I graduated from high school, and I now avoid cliches whenever possible.)
As to Friday night’s sold-out concert at Meijer Gardens, Anderson and his band — the current line-up includes not a single other member of the original band, but now includes standout keyboardist John O’Hara and lead guitarist Florian Ophale — breezed through a 18-song, 2-hour and 45-minute set that was just what the audience came for.
The current line-up of Jethro Tull, with Ian Anderson center. (Supplied)
Most of the songs were from the band’s very-late 1960s and ‘70s heyday, most mainstays of the “Classic Vinyl” music radio channels and record store record racks. From the opening song, “Living in the Past”, to the set-closing pre-and post-encore break offerings of “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath”, Anderson/Tull played the hits.
Having heard Tull’s hits almost ad infinitum, my favorite songs were lesser-known to me and maybe unknown to the casual fan: “Heavy Horses”; the more-modern social commentary of “Banker Best, Banker Wins” and “Farm on the Freeway” as well as the purely instrumental “Bourrée” and “Toccata and Fugue in D Major” (both Johann Sebastian Bach covers).
Aside from the songs, however, the two real pleasures of the night were experiencing what was, really, a video-driven rock show — with a large screen behind the band showing song-by-song videos apparently synched to the live music, or visa versa — and spending a great evening with Anderson, whose singing voice may have, ah, “mellowed” over the years but who can still make his flute whisper and scream as desired.
It was good to see, as Anderson sang in “Locomotive Breath”, with slightly changed lyrics: “You know I couldn’t slow down …” — even if many of the audience had, clearly, slowed down a little.
May I have more, please?
Having been in the pop-music biz for coming on half a century now, Ian Anderson undoubtedly has new music and new stories that few interviewers want to hear or ever ask about. But being the polite, proper Englishman that he is, Anderson provides perfectly acceptable answers to stale answers on his website.
Under the heading of “All Too Frequently Asked Questions” he talks about the origin of the band’s name, the changing line-up over the years, and his on-again, off-again retirement and distance from his Tull.
But the most interesting pat answer, I think, is his response to the question “Do you listen to new bands and who are your favourites?” (Spelled in the English way, of course!) His answer:
“I receive rather a lot of unsolicited demo tapes and CD’s from would-be musicians as well as from more professional performers, so I listen to a lot of “new” stuff that way. The car radio and music television keep me as informed as I want to be. But I have never been a great listener of other people’s work. Even when I first started, I listened only to a few things which really caught my attention. My favourite music to listen to these days is that of Muddy Waters, Beethoven and Indian Classical and pop music.”
Quite an eclectic guy, in music and life, I would say. Would love to share a pint with him sometime.
Elvis Costello & the Imposters will be one of a dynamite run of four great shows in five days, July 16-20. (Supplied)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
July is the peak of summer and often the high-point of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park summer concert series — and there are three takeaways from those facts: a ton of top-notch talent is coming to town; they are mostly sold out but available for a price; and you better make some party plans before fall rolls in.
There will be 10 shows in 19 days this month starting with Sheryl Crow on Wednesday, July 12, and ending with Lifehouse and Switchfoot on Monday, July 31. In between is dynamite run of four great shows in five days, July 16-20 — Huey Lewis & the News, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Barenaked Ladies, and Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers with the Wood Brothers.
The Shins (a great alt-pop project of James Mercer) may well be the show of the season. (Supplied)
All four shows are sold out, as are all but one of the July shows, including the highly anticipated July 27 visit by The Shins (a great alt-pop project of James Mercer) — at least it is my most anticipated show. But still not sold out, so at regular Meijer Gardens price, is what should be a great show of relatively new-to-the-scene talents of Andrew Bird with Esperanza Spaulding on July 24.
And, of course, Lyle Lovett will be in town. (Supplied)
And speaking of not being sold out … of the remaining 11 shows in August, seven of them still have tickets available, including Lyle Lovett’s annual visit, Garrison Keillor’s latest Prairie Home tour, the Punch Brothers, Tegan and Sara, John Butler Trio, and the improv/jam-band sounds of moe. with Railroad Earth.
Don’t know much about Railroad Earth but like a lot what mandolin/bouzouki player John Skehan said, in supplied material, about the band’s live performances.
“Our M.O. has always been that we can improvise all day long, but we only do it in service to the song,” Skehan said. “There are a lot of songs that, when we play them live, we adhere to the arrangement from the record. And other songs, in the nature and the spirit of the song, everyone knows we can kind of take flight on them.”
After a busy July and August, the Meijer Gardens Summer Concert season will come to an end on Sept. 1 with the season-closing concert by English reggae and pop band UB40 — also not sold out.
Also this month, Meijer Gardens’ amphitheater will host its Tuesday Evening Concert Series, with general admission to the Gardens getting people in for some great local and regional musical acts. The diverse two-month program features live bands with music ranging from jazz to indie rock to folk, all starting at 7 p.m. Two of the more interesting musical explorations will be the mid August visits of Kalamazoo’s Michigander on Aug. 8 and Slim Gypsy Baggage on Aug. 15.
For complete information on the concert series tickets and admission prices, visit meijergardens.org .
A probably sold-out crowd at a previous Meijer Gardens Summer Concert series concert. (Supplied Meijer Gardens/Tony Norkus)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
St. Paul & The Broken Bones. (Supplied Meijer Gardens/David McClister)
The first concerts of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park summer concert series hit the stage this week, and most years aftermarket tickets are all that is available for the majority of the shows — and late comers pay the price: this week’s St. Paul and the Broken Bones show, original ticket price of $35, is sold out but available on StubHub for $102.35.
But this season, at last count, 16 of the 28 remaining concerts were not sold out. But, admittedly, many have only a few tickets remaining, with some of them having been returned for sale by the band.
Some of this month’s concerts with tickets available from Meijer Gardens include this week’s Diana Krall show, on Wednesday, June 7, as well as Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot! on June 18, Boz Scaggs on June 21, Daughtry on June 25 and Trombone Shorty on June 29.
Elvis Costello (Supplied Meijer Gardens)
For my money, the most surprising shows with original price tickets still available include Elvis Costello & The Attractions on July 17 — come on, Elvis will be in the building! — as well as the unique pairing and unique music of Andrew Bird and Esperanza Spaulding on July 24, and the always-great summer night with Lyle Lovett (with his large band) on Aug. 2.
Alas, possibly the show of the Meijer Gardens season, the July 27 visit by The Shins (aka James Mercer) and their inventive, modern alt-pop sounds, is sold out, with originally-priced $57 tickets now priced on StubHub at $111. At that price, you may as well head over to Chicago for the Sunday, Aug. 6, Lollapalooza day of concerts and catch The Shins with a ton of other great bands — StubHub tickets are currently $126.
The Meijer Gardens Summer Concert season will come to an end on Sept. 1 with the season-closing concert by English reggae and pop band UB40.
Michigander (Supplied Meijer Gardens/Adam Podboy)
Starting in July, Meijer Gardens’ amphitheater will also host its Tuesday Evening Concert Series, with general admission to the Gardens getting people in for some great local and regional musical acts. Starting Tuesday, July 4, with Green On Blue and The Red Sea Pedestrians, the diverse two-month program features live bands with music ranging from jazz to indie rock to folk, all starting at 7 p.m. Two of the more interesting musical explorations will be the mid August visits of Kalamazoo’s Michigander on Aug. 8 and Slim Gypsy Baggage on Aug. 15.
For complete information on the concert series tickets and admission prices, visit meijergardens.org .
Slim Gypsy Baggage will be one of the “must hear” regional bands at the Meijer Gardens free Tuesday concert series this summer. (Supplied Meijer Gardens/John Rothwell)
While many big-name musical acts come through town as part of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Summer Concert Series, one of the true pleasures of a West Michigan summer is an evening at the Garden’s amphitheater exploring local and regional acts as part of the Tuesday Evening Music Club concert series.
Red Sea Pedestrians (Supplied Meijer Gardens/Brian Powers)
Starting Tuesday, July 4, with one band known for jazzy explorations and another for musical journeys just about everywhere else — Green On Blue and The Red Sea Pedestrians — the diverse two-month program features live bands with music ranging from jazz to indie rock to folk, all in the 1,900-(mostly grass)seat venue and all starting at 7 p.m.
Oh, and did I mention the concerts are free with Gardens’ admission?
Two of the more interesting musical explorations will be the mid August visits of Kalamazoo’s Michigander on Aug. 8 and Slim Gypsy Baggage on Aug. 15.
Michigander (Supplied Meijer Gardens/Adam Podboy)
Playing that night with singer-songwriter Benjaman James, Michigander is described as “emotive indie-rock, delivered through powerful vocals and cerebral lyrics.” The hook for me is the description of the band from its Facebook page: “Michigander has been the toil and passion of Jason Singer since 2013. It’s being built in basements and churches and vans without mufflers. It’s living on stages, floors, and in studios — sounding big and packing light.”
The next week, playing that night with the “downhome, psychedelic jam band” Bigfoot Buffalo, Slim Gypsy Baggage is led by lead singer Morgan Ingle who, accord to the bank’s website, “grew up in a musical family learning guitar from her father and honed her skills as a gifted singer/songwriter. … Morgan signatures the Slim Gypsy Baggage vibe with her unique voice and thoughtful lyrics, as she covers the eclectic rock, funk and soulful sounds of the band.”
The hook, though, is checking out lead guitarist Cam Mammina. As the website states: “Cam shreds! … Mixing crunchy indie triphop licks, blues, funk, and surf rock sustains. Needless to say, Cam brings a energized life and a driving shreddiness to SGBs sound.”
Two possible new words in the same sentence: “triphop” and “shreddiness”. Oh ya.
The rest of the concert series includes:
Miss Atomic and The Zannies, on July 11. Miss Atomic is described as “a melodic blend of modern soul and pop-rock, fresh to the local scene,” while The Zannies is “an antic mishmash of alt-rock, punk, and blues.”
Rollie Tussing & The Midwest Territory Band and The Muteflutes, on July 18. The first is “an old-timey, unique balance of country, early swing, and blues, backed by vaudevillian percussion,” while second is “lilting, thought-provoking, lyric-driven indie folk rock.”
The Moxie Strings and The Dave Sharp World’s Trio, on July 25. Well known to local audiences,
Moxie Strings (Supplied)
The Moxie Strings is “a foot-stomping, rock-influenced, progressive spin on traditional Celtic and Americana classics and originals. While Dave Sharp World’s Trio is “a collaboration between renowned bassist Dave Sharp, Igor Houwat on the ‘oud’ (a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped stringer instrument), and percussionist Carolyn Koebel, featuring Arabic-based, impromptu adventures into jazz and folk.”
The Moonrays and 6-Pak, on Aug. 1. Two bands also well known locally, The Moonrays offer “vintage, instrumental surf-rock,” while 6-Pak is “an all-girl band, originally formed in 1967, performing the grooviest hits from that era.”
Amy Andrews (Supplied)
Amy Andrews and Taylor Taylor, on Aug. 22. Amy is “a modern day torch singer and award-winning vocalist, once referred to as a female Elvis” — not my words. Taylor offers “a fresh, young blend of pop and R&B, performing acoustic guitar-driven originals.”
Finishing up the series, as usual, is local music icon Ralston Bowles, as Ralston & Friends will his the stage Aug. 29. Describing Ralston’s music, let alone that of his always changing cast of “friends” is impossible. Start at “folk” and just enjoy the ride from there.
The crowds that come to Meijer Gardens, shown here for a summer concert, pump money into the local economy, according to a GVSU Study. (Supplied Meijer Gardens/Tony Norkus)
By Dottie Barnes
Grand Valley State University
The overall economic impact of Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park on Kent County is $75.2 million, which supports 804 jobs, according to a study by Grand Valley State University researchers.
The entrance to Meijer Gardens. (Supplied)
Economics professors Paul Isely and Christian Glupker, who conducted the study, reported that the annual economic impact of Meijer Gardens came from three components: the impact of visitor spending outside of the venue, the operations of the venue (including what visitors spend inside the venue) and construction spending.
Isely said one way Meijer Gardens adds to the regional economy is by bringing visitors to Kent County.
“As these individuals come to the county to visit, they spend money on food, lodging, entertainment, transportation and other items,” Isely said. “The combined dollar value of this spending translates into greater earnings for area employers and employees, as well as greater job creation.”
Glupker said direct spending by all visitors outside of Meijer Gardens is $22.7 million, with more than 86 percent of this coming from people outside of Kent County.
“The result is a lot of new dollars into Kent County,” Glupker said. “This happens because the venue draws 445,000 visitors from outside Kent County and each of these individuals spends more as a result of a visit to Meijer Gardens than a comparable local visitor.”
David Hooker, president and CEO of Meijer Gardens, commented on the study by saying: “Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has been embraced and supported by our wonderful community. It is with the community’s support that we can further our unique mission of horticulture and sculpture and bring joy to so many people. The Grand Valley study clearly shows the importance and support of the great cultural community that we have.”
Details of the study shows The Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park supports or contributes:
• 804 jobs in Kent County annually
• A $75.2 million economic output annually
• Visitors from outside the county who directly spend $19.6 million at businesses around Kent County annually
• Construction that created 39 jobs during the last year
• 86 percent of visitor spending is the result of spending by individuals who do not live in Kent County
• Nonresidents spent an average $129 per group outside the venue during their visit to Meijer Gardens while in Kent County.
Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson, shown, will be one of Meijer Gardens summer concert series. (Supplied/Nick Harrison)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park summer concert series, announced this morning, certainly offers something for every musical taste — from the classic rock favorite Jethro Tull (by Ian Anderson) to the college crowd favorite The Shins. It also offers ticket prices ranging from a Huey Lewis high of $95 to a surprising St. Paul low of $35.
Starting June 4 with the teaming of Billy Ocean and Starship in a 1970s and ’80 concert concept called “Replay America”, the Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens will bring 30 shows to the park’s terraced lawn, 1,900-seat amphitheater.
The Meijer Gardens members pre-sale period will be April 29 through May 12 this season, with general public sale starting May 13. The annual caffeine-driven members rush, or should we say wait in line, starts at 7 a.m. on April 29 at the park.
Huey Lewis and the News will be the most expensive concert ticket the summer. (Supplied)
The most expensive shows this season will be familiar favorites Huey Lewis & The News on Sunday, July 16, at $95 for the public (member pre-sale prices are $5 cheaper); followed by the return of Sheryl Crow there days earlier, on July 12, at $94; and Elvis Costello & The Imposters a day after Huey Lewis, on Monday, July 17, at $90.
The least expensive shows will be emerging “gospel-tinged, retro-soul garage band” sound of St. Paul & The Broken Bones on June 9, at $35, followed by the combination of under-the-radar East Coast jam ban “moe.” and the newgrass sounds of Railroad Earth, on Aug. 21, at $43.
Falling into the “always a great show/always worth the money” category is the annual (usually) perfect summer night with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, on Aug. 2, coming in at $68 to the public.
For the avant-garde (modern alt-jazz?) music crowd, the teaming of Andrew Bird with special guest Esperanza Spalding, on July 24, will be worth the $45 and worth the time to get out of one’s music comfort zone.
James Mercer’s project The Shins may well be the concert with the most buzz. (Supplied)
But the must see concert for the cool crowd, and anybody who appreciates inventive, modern alt-pop music, is the The Shins, July 27, at the very reasonable small venue price of $57. The Shins, fronted by James Mercer, will be on the summer festival circuit this year including Lollapalooza 2017 in Chicago.
Some of the other highlights of the concert series will be the sweet sounds of Four Voices: Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter and the Indigo Girls, on June 12; e Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot!, Boz Scaggs, Barenaked Ladies and Bruce Hornsby — the killer Bs — each having a night on the stage; and Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home tour return with “Love and Comedy”.
The summer unofficially comes to an end on Sept. 1 with the season-closing concert by English reggae and pop band UB40.
For complete information on the concert series, and the various ticket purchase/price options, visit meijergardens.org
Architectural drawings for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s new Covenant Learning Center, which will be topped by the new Padnos Families Rooftop Sculpture Garden.
The multi-phased building expansion plans of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park announced last week will include an expansion the institution’s learning center, already a favorite of several Wyoming and Kentwood community organizations including Kentwood Public Schools A.R.C.H. after school program.
The expansion plans include a new 60,000 square foot welcome center, a new transportation center, expansion and upgrades to the concert amphitheater, a new sculpture garden entry plaza and a “reimagined” scenic indoor corridor, and expanded parking and urban garden areas. Overall, project construction is scheduled to begin this fall and continue for approximately four years.
After the new welcome center, however, and most important expansion may be the 20,000 square foot Covenant Learning Center, which will be topped by the new Padnos Families Rooftop Sculpture Garden.
Architectural drawings for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s new Covenant Learning Center, which will be topped by the new Padnos Families Rooftop Sculpture Garden.
“Today we have two approximately 1,100 square foot classrooms devoted to education,” Meijer Gardens President and CEO David Hooker said when asked by WKTV about the Covenant Learning Center. “Since 1999, our educational programming has grown 305 percent. While our education programming has grown … our space dedicated to education has remained the same. The new Covenant Learning Center will have four approximately 1,200 square foot classrooms, two 1,600 square foot classrooms and one 2,200 square foot Interactive Education Area. The opportunity for additional educational programming is nearly unlimited.”
Wyoming and Kentwood programs at the gardens
Kentwood’s A.R.C.H. after school program is just one of the many programs currently using the Garden’s educational programing.
“The after-school programs from both Kentwood (A.R.C.H.) and Wyoming (T.E.A.M. 21), in particular, have made frequent visits to Meijer Gardens in the past,” said Jessica Hart, Meijer Gardens indoor education manager. “We’re delighted that these groups have been able to enjoy our seasonal exhibitions, Sculpture Park, and Children’s Garden. I expect that the new Covenant Learning Center will allow us additional opportunities to offer educational programs school groups and after-school groups alike in the future.”
A.R.C.H. is a collaboration between Kentwood Public Schools and the Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department. Program activities focus on academics, health, wellness, and recreation/leisure education. These activities will be offered to children, family, and community members throughout the year.
But the Kentwood program is just one of many groups availing themselves of local cultural educational opportunities. And that is just the way Meijer Garden’s wants it.
Following recent educational additions to other Grand Rapids area institutions, including The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Meijer Garden’s Covenant Learning Center “will engage learners in new ways and reinforce our commitment as the go-to place for cultural education,” according to supplied information.
Part of Meijer Garden’s mission
“Since our beginning, education has been a hallmark of the Meijer Gardens mission — reaching more than 89,000 guests last year alone. In fact, the action word in our mission statement is ‘promote.’ Education is the primary method by which we put life into the word ‘promote.’ The dramatic growth of participation in our educational programming not only underscores the quality and diversity of our classes, camps and events, but also demonstrates a need for more classroom space.”
A key aspect of the new classrooms will be that they will provide outdoor learning areas, with five of the six having direct access from within the classroom. The outdoor learning area will be located east of the building and will include seating areas for students, teaching areas for instructors, and partial shade/cover from the elements.
The expansion plans are the result of a nearly complete $115 million capital campaign titled “Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love”. The campaign currently has raised about $102 million of its goal, according to supplied information.
“If we are successful in our ‘Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love’ fundraising efforts, we will begin construction in September of this year,” Hooker said. “We do not have a precise date at this time for the completion of the Covenant Learning Center or the Padnos Families Rooftop Sculpture Garden.”
The New York firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects Partners has been chosen “to re-envision and expand” the Meijer Gardens facilities, according to supplied information. The firm is known for their design of the iconic Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and, most recently, chosen to design the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
For more information about Meijer Gardens visit meijergardens.org. For more information about the “Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love” fundraising efforts visit meijergardens.org/legacyoflove .
The Creative Arts Repertoire Ensemble continues its holiday tradition with the annual presentation of the “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” ballet Thanksgiving weekend.
The original ballet, based on Clement C. Moore’s familiar poem and set to traditional holiday music, features mischievous mice, dancing stockings, magical toys and Santa with his prancing reindeer, all combining to create a wonderful hour of family entertainment.
Because the show is about an hour long, it is great for any age and a nice way to introduce younger children to the arts. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25; 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, at East Grand Rapids Performing Arts Center, 2211 Lake Drive SE.
Tickets are $15/adults and $10/students. This show does sell out quickly. For tickets, go to careballet.org.
A nativity scene from Italy is part of the Meijer Gardens holiday display. (supplied)
Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World
So you ate a lot of turkey over Thanksgiving and now are looking for a place to walk it off that does not necessarily involve shopping. Head over to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline NE, which has opened its annual Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World.
The exhibit features more than 40 international trees and displays as well as the railway garden that meanders through four indoor garden spaces and features recreated Grand Rapids landmarks. There will be narratives and special displays from Iceland, Ghana, Germany and the countries and other counties and cultures.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 8. For more information, visit meijergardens.org.
Have Another
The popular a cappella group Straight No Chaser returns to DeVos hall Friday, Nov. 25, for its “I’ll Have Another…World Tour.”
The North American leg — which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the cappella group’s foundation in 1996 and the first show at Indiana University — will be at 8 p.m. at DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW.
The group became pYouTube sensation with is holiday performances. They have been touring since 2008 and in the past several years and in the past several years have made a departure from holiday music. This year, the group has returned to the holiday classics with its latest recording “I’ll have Another…Christmas Album.” The new album features a number of holiday classics, such as “All I Want for Christmas is You” and “Winter Wonderland,” along with such songs as “Run, Run Rudolph” and “To Christmas” (The Drinking Song).
Tickets for the Straight No Chaser concert are $34.50 – $64.50. The concert does sell out quickly. for more information or for tickets, visit devosperformancehall.com.
A walk in the wintry woods
Blandford Nature Center, 1715 Hillburn Ave. NW, is open year around and offers lots of seasonal opportunities.
Complete a self-guided hike using one of the center’s free, themed-trail day packs located at its Visitor Center or rent snowshoes for a different way to explore the nature center’s trails. There are also Blandford’s Heritage Buildings that allows visitors to take a trip back in time along with an opportunity to visit with the songbirds, birds of prey and mammals in the observation area.
Cost is $3 per person. Blandford Nature Center is open 9 a.m. — 5 p.m. Monday — Friday and noon — 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information about upcoming events and activities, visit blandfordnaturecenter.org.
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.
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.
Holiday 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.
Lost 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.
“Ditch Lily Drawing,” by Nathan Lareau, is in the ArtPrize 8 Top 20. It is under the installation category. (Supplied photo.)
ArtPrize can often seem overwhelming, with 170 venues and almost 1,500 entries, sometimes it seems as though viewers can only run a quick hand over individual works as so many more beckon during the three-week run.
But the Frederik Meijer Garden & Sculpture Park’s always unique, often astounding, contribution to Grand Rapids’ annual explosion of art is not only a “must see” venue of the event, but it also has a longevity not offered by many of the venues – the show will continue through the end of the year, making it a “must see again, at leisure” opportunity.
Meijer Gardens’ exhibition, “Almost Home: Grand Rapids in Focus,” continues free to the public through the run of ArtPrize 8, Sunday, Oct. 9. It will then continue on display through Dec. 31, available with admission.
In recent years, the Gardens have offered an international snapshot of the modern art world brought home to Grand Rapids. This year’s exhibit still offers a closely curated spectrum – 13 artists and artistic visions – but there is a consistent theme of homemade, homegrown familiarity in the milieu.
“Each artist has a special connection to the city and has offered an original reflection on it,” Joseph Becherer, chief curator and vice president of exhibitions and collections, said in supplied material. “All sculptures and installations were created specifically for this exhibition, reflecting the social and historical, industries and enterprises, the natural and the creative forces that helped shape Grand Rapids.”
The artists in the exhibit include married couples, fathers and sons, longtime local artistic forces and relatively newcomers to Grand Rapids’ artistic home front.
Two that attracted my attention in my first – all too rushed – sweep through the gallery were Nathan Lareau’s simple yet exquisitely complex “Ditch Lily Drawing” and Anna Campbell’s complex yet exquisitely simple “Chosen Family, Chosen Name, Separatist, Safe Space, Ex-Pat, Invert, Homophile, Homestead”.
For “Ditch Lily Drawing,” Lareau uses the clean, simple lines of dried daylily stalks in all-white mosaic that, when carefully illuminated by shadow-inducing spotlights, ceases to be individual objects from nature and becomes a single, textured objets d’art which somehow reminds one of both Michigan’s cornfields in winter and some distant, cold, almost barren, otherworld.
Lareau, born and raised in rural Michigan where the lifecycle of daylilies are familiar, studied and now teaches at Aquinas College. In his artist’s statement he says: “My background in percussion has cultivated a fascination for rhythm and pattern and leads me to seek out examples of such in the physical world. The daylily possesses these elements not only through its time-measuring name, but also the visual rhythm of its growth.”
Campbell’s mixed media installation “Chosen Family, Chosen Name, Separatist, Safe Space, Ex-Pat, Invert, Homophile, Homestead,” in contrast, uses a variety of seemingly incongruent if not conflicting objects – a polished tabletop with a seemingly random spread of small glasses, a piece of children’s clothing hanging lifeless, roped gateways usually associated with entry or rejection at a nightclub.
Campbell, who is new to Grand Rapids and teaches art and design at Grand Valley State University, says in her artist’s statement that “this work is an assemblage of diverse strategies and terms that LGBT and other marginalized people have used over generations to mark the labor of making and naming home.”
My first impression, at first glance, sees the focal point as the glasses: most are grouped together or at least in some pattern (a family, or group, at home?), while several are separate, either seeking entry to the whole or willingly accepting a different path.
I look forward to spending more time with the work, at leisure, after ArtPrize’s run and finding other nuances.
— K.D. Norris
What’s Next:
Artist in Conversation talks on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. with Ron Pederson and Campbell; Sunday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. with Darlene Kaczmarczyk and Lareau; and Sunday, Oct. 30 at p.m. with Norwood Viviano and Joyce Recker. There will be a gallery walk and talk Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. with Becherer.
After being postponed as the June 6 opener of the Meijer Gardens concert season, Tears for Fears’ sold-out show, is back on the schedule with a new Sept. 26. If you already have tickets for the original show, you already are in. If not, there is still a chance.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park announced last week that tickets purchased for the June 6 concert will be honored for the new date. Refunds of those June 6 tickets will be available at point-of-purchase until August 1 – when all tickets for the original June 6 date become non-refundable. Tickets purchased for the Sept. 26 date are all non-refundable. Ticket prices are $75 during the members-only presale, and $78 for members and $80 for the public.
Tears for Fears comes to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Sept. 26.
Meijer Gardens members may buy tickets for the rescheduled date during a members-only presale beginning at 9 a.m., Friday, June 24 through midnight, July 1. Tickets can be purchased in-person at Meijer Gardens Admission Desk during normal business hours with no handling fees, by phone at 800-585-3737 with a handling fee of $8 per order, or online at StarTickets.com with a handling fee of $8 per order.
If tickets remain available after the members-only presale, sales to the public will begin at 9 a.m., July 2, the same three ways.
Tears for Fears’ Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith previously announced they had postpone some shows due to “family” matters.
The UK band formed in 1981 and have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide to date. They have released four albums as a group. Their platinum-selling 1983 debut “The Hurting” and 1985’s “Songs from the Big Chair” produced two massive hits, “Shout” and “Everybody Wants To Rule The World.” Orzabal and Smith released “The Seeds of Love” in 1989, and after a break, reunited to release “Everybody Loves a Happy Ending” in 2004. They are currently working on material for a new release scheduled for 2017.
While there are plenty of goodies in their catalogue, with a fair share of audience “sing-a-longs” to their eighties hits, last year at Bonnaroo they mixed the old with the new and even reportedly preformed a great cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.”
The Monkees are now the openers to the Frederik Meijer Gardens Summer Concert series. The group performs June 8.
With the postponement, and probable cancellation, of Tears for Fears’ June 5 opener of the Meijer Gardens concert season, The Monkees will be the popular outdoor venue’s opening act on Wednesday June 8 – and contrary to Grand Rapids-area urban legend, the show is one of nine concerts that still have at least a few tickets available.
While many of the concerts routinely sell out on the first day, several initially listed as sold out are actually not yet so, said John VanderHaagen, public relations manager for Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
“We had a few shows that were sold out (but) have tickets returned to us by the bands, so many of the shows listed have just a few tickets available,” VanderHaagen said this week.
Grace Potter performs Aug. 3 at the Frederik Meijer Gardens.
The shows with tickets available, according to Meijer Gardens’ website, are the rock/blues powerhouse Tedeschi Trucks Band on June 17, alt rock’s Fitz and the Tantrums on June 26, Afro-pop favorite Femi Kuti & The Positive Force Band and Bombino on July 20, the always-worth-the-money Lyle Lovett – which just sold out today – and His Large Band on July 24, the comedy of Jay Leno on July 28, the indefinable Grace Potter on Aug. 3, the great pairing of War and Los Lonely Boys on Aug. 10, and the sweet sounds of Seal on Aug. 26.
The Leno comedy show may be the most surprisingly “not sold out” show, with Lovett’s annual visit is close behind. Maybe the best concert still available is Potter – who put out some great music with the Nocturnals but whose latest release, 2015’s “Midnight” is billed debut solo release.
The highlights of the Meijer Garden’s summer season, for me, are divided into new school and old school: Of Monsters and Men coming up on June 13 and The Decemberists on July 11 are favs of the new millennium crowd, while Jackson Browne on June 27 and the aforementioned Lyle Lovett may have – shall we say – a more seasoned audience. And, you know, Seal and his lovely love songs, on a late August night, is going to be hard to resist.
By the way, tickets are still available for sold-out shows if you’re willing to pay the price. I won’t tell you where because I hate scalpers, but if you search the web tickets for the Decemberists are available for between $150 and $170 each.
Remember, get their early for good general admission seating, you’ll need special low chairs, and don’t forget the cool sunglasses.
For more information on the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Summer Concert series, including tickets and up-to-the-last-minute info, visit www.meijergardens.org.
Complicated Animals performs at the Frederik Meijer Gardens July 19.
Along with its annual Summer Concert Series, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park also hosts the Tuesday Evening Music Club during the summer and announced the line-up to that series earlier this week.
The Tuesday Evening Music Club brings talented local and regional musicians to the Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater stage Tuesday evenings—free to Meijer Gardens members and included in admission for other guests—throughout July and August. The 1,900-seat Amphitheater Garden is one of the most unique and intimate venues in Michigan.
Show times are listed.
Tracing The Roots, July 5 at 7 p.m.
Various artists perform a musical montage that traces the evolution of hip-hop, jazz and blues from their African roots.
G-RAPS, July 12 at 7 p.m.
La Famiglia front man Mike G performs with and hosts this gathering of the most talented hip-hop artists in the city, backed by his band and R&B vocalists.
Camille and Complicated Animals, July 19 at 7 p.m.
Camille: A multi-instrumentalist and songstress that brings a modern flare to classic crooning.
Complicated Animals:: A fusion of indie-pop and Brazilian Bossa Nova, or “Indie-Nova.”
Zion Lion and The Mark Lavengood Bluegrass Bonanza, July 26 at 7 p.m.
Zion Lion: A mixture of reggae, calypso, soca, and zoukous.
The Mark Lavengood Bluegrass Bonanza: High-energy, toe-tappin’, traditional bluegrass.
Dave Hardin and Brother Adams, Aug. 2 at 7 p.m.
Dave Hardin: Veteran singer-songwriter of the West Michigan scene, specializing in vintage country ballads.
Brother Adams: A mixture of folk, alt-country, and psychedelic rock.
Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe and Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys, August 9 at 7 p.m.
Olivia Mainville & The Aquatic Troupe: A gypsy swing folk band.
Delilah DeWylde & The Lost Boys: Rockabilly and 1950s style rock and roll.
Deep Greens & Blues and Nicholas James & The Band Wagon, August 16 at 7 p.m.
Deep Greens & Blues: A mixture of modern and alt-country, 70’s folk, and southern blues.
Nicholas James & The Band Wagon: Country-folk, with a hint of zydeco, and story-driven lyrics.
Cultivating Peace, August 23 at 7 p.m.
Cultivating Peace: An evening of sacred world music traditions, featuring various artists.
Ralston & Friends, August 30 at 7 p.m.
Ralston & Friends: Local music icon Ralston Bowles shares the stage with friends and collaborators from the community and beyond.
Complicated Animals performs at the Frederik Meijer Gardens.
The Greater Grand Rapids area was all a buzz last week. Not only did Garth Brooks tickets go on sale – with 60,000 tickets sold for six-concerts in one day – but the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park released its 2016 summer concert series line-up as well.
And it is quite the line-up with a mixture of returning favorites, Grace Potter, Gavin DeGraw, and The Beach Boys, and some who have never performed at the Gardens’ outdoor amphitheater such as opener Tears for Fears and Motown’s darling Diana Ross.
“We brought back some such as Jackson Browne because his show sold out so quickly last year and so now those who didn’t get to see him might have the chance to do so,” said Andrea Wolschleger, whose last task as public relations manager for the Frederik Meijer Gardens was promoting the summer concert series. “It really is a nice mix of returning favorites and new faces.”
While tickets are a hot item, with the Gardens at about 95 percent sold for the 2015 summer series, Wolschleger said there is a misnomer that all the concerts sellout right away during the members-only preview sale.
“Actually during the member sale, we might have five or six of the concerts sellout,” Wolschleger said. There are around 30 concerts in the series starting with Tears for Fears on June 6 and ending with Gavin DeGraw and Andy Grammar on Sept. 7.
Of course, If you are really hoping to snag those tickets for Diana Ross, the best chance is to be a member of the Gardens since the member-only sale starts at 9 a.m. April 30.
“I would recommend becoming a member before April 30,” Wolschleger said. “You are going to want to be able to get online right away at 9 a.m. If you try to get your membership done that same day you might have problems getting online for the members’ sale.”
Becoming a Gardens member – which starts at $50 for an individual ($30 for a student) – now or even a few days before means any problems can be resolved before the sale starts, Wolschleger said. Members also save $2 a ticket. There is an $8 per order handling fee through StarTickets. For the general public, there is a $3.50 handling fee per order plus a $5.25 convenience fee per ticket. There are no fees for tickets purchased through the Meijer Gardens Admission desk during normal business hours.
Members have until midnight May 13 to order tickets. Starting at 9 a.m. May 14, tickets are released to the general public. For a complete list of performers, dates and times, click here.
The amphitheater seats 1,900 and is general admission. Blankets and low-rise chairs that are 32 inches maximum from ground to highest position of the chair are allowed. A limited number of standard-height chairs will be available to rent for $5 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Concertgoers may bring their own food, bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages. For complete guidelines, click here.
For Laurel Scholten her favorite part of seeing the butterflies is watching them emerge from their chrysalis.
“If it goes just perfectly, they will slide right out and then there they are,” said Scholten, who this year is overseeing the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies are Blooming exhibition, which officially opens March 1.
In its 21st year, the exhibition will feature about 60 different species flying freely in the Gardens’ Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory. The balmy environment, which is 85 degrees and 70 percent humidity, is a perfect setting for the butterflies, according to Scholten.
“They tend to emerge more in the morning and especially when it is bright and sunny,” Scholten said. “This is because it signals to them that they are going to have better conditions to survive in.”
Approximately 7,000 – 8,000 butterflies will be released in the conservatory during the two-month exhibit with anywhere from 500 to 800 in the conservatory on any given day. The life cycle of a butterfly is about two to three weeks.
The Butterflies are Blooming remains one of the Gardens largest exhibitions with more than 150,000 visitors expected to come through, said the Gardens Public Relations Manager Andrea Wolschleger
“I think it is because of the timing,” Wolschleger said. “It’s a warm, sunny exhibition, a good reason to escape the cold and it signals spring.
“Also, I think it appeals to just about anyone. Whether you are 5-years-old or 55-years-old, you can appreciate it.”
A “Crocodile” by Mimmo Paladino is on display in the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory.
New this year is the addition of more than 900 nectar plants that will add vivid blooms along with providing nectar for the butterflies. Also make sure to explore the conservatory for two crocodiles sculptures that have “wandered” over from the “Mimmo Paladino: Present Into Past” exhibition that opens Friday, Feb. 26, in the Gardens’ gallery space. The exhibition will feature iconic sculptures from across the artist’s repertoire and new, never before seen work.
“The butterflies really educate people on a variety of topics,” Scholten said, such as pollution since butterflies are the first to be impacted by pollutes. The exhibit also showcases the life span of the butterflies emerge from chrysalides and cocoons in the Butterfly Bungalow, spread their wings for the first time, and are released into the conservatory. Also there is a Caterpillar Room located within The Seasonal Display Greenhouse featuring Monarch caterpillars.
“In fact, one of the number one questions I have is when are the butterflies going to be released,” Scholten said, adding that a sign will be on the Butterfly Bungalow with release times.
A butterfly spreads its wings in Butterfly Bungalow.
The Gardens also hosts a number of family events in conjunction with the exhibit. Various Children’s Activities take place daily during daylight hours in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden, Tuesday Night Lights allow visitors to bring flashlights until 9 p.m to see the nightlife in the conservatory, and “Who am I” A Butterfly Ballet, presented by the Grand Rapids Ballet, is March 12 and 19 at 12:30 p.m. Tickets for the ballet are $5/members, $8/non-members, and free/children 2 and under.
Butterflies are Blooming will be up through April 31. The “Mimmo Paladino: Present Into Past” runs through Aug. 14. For more information on either exhibit or on the Meijer Gardens, visit the Gardens’ website or call 616-957-1580.
After being postponed as the June 6 opener of the Meijer Gardens concert season, Tears for Fears’ sold-out show, is back on the schedule with a new Sept. 26. If you already have tickets for the original show, you already are in. If not, there is still a chance.
