Tag Archives: The B.O.B.

In town for Thanksgiving? Head to the bar for a possible job interview

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Grand Rapids’ The B.O.B. is one of six locations for the ReThink West Michigan event on Wednesday, Nov. 21.

By Elizabeth Voltz

WKTV Intern

 

Have a friend or relative coming back to West Michigan for turkey on Thanksgiving? Want to entice them to stay? Or are you looking to move to or back to West Michigan?

 

Well, 43 companies and non-profits want you to help with special interviews at several West Michigan bars on Wednesday, Nov. 21. The Right Place, Inc. and Hello West Michigan are once again hosting the annual event, titled ReThink West Michigan, which runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., in hopes of filling up job holes with young professionals.

 

“When someone wants to relocate here, they usually just have to apply online or try really hard to network virtually,” said Cindy Brown, executive director of Hello West Michigan and vice president of talent initiatives at The Right Place, Inc. “ReThink West Michigan gives interested candidates a chance to connect face-to-face. We’re highlighting the things people want to know about when they think about relocating: career opportunities and lifestyle in West Michigan.” 

 

The Michigan Department of Talent and Economic Development collaborated with West Michigan Development Collaborative to host events in Grand Rapids, Hastings, Ludington, Muskegon, Naugatuck and Fremont.

 

The event in Grand Rapids will be in Eve at The B.O.B., 20 Monroe Ave. NW. The other locations are:

 

Saugatuck Brewing Company, 2948 Blue Star Hwy., Douglas

 

Walldorff Brewpub & Bistro, 105 E. State St., Hastings

 

The Block (above Unruly Brewing), 360 W. Western Ave., Muskegon

 

Ludington Bay Brewing Co., 515 James St., Ludington

 

Lakes 23 Restaurant and Pub, 1100 Ramshorn Dr., Fremont

 

Saugatuck Brewing Company also is participating on Wednesday’s ReThink West Michigan event.

ReThink West Michigan aims to provide a casual environment to network and talk to many professionals in the area. The past six events had a turn out of more than 800 candidates, 65 of which were hired.

 

Amway, Haworth, Meijer, Spectrum Health, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Express Employment Professionals, Mercy Health, Northwestern Mutual, Ranir, Suburban Inns, Steelcase, West Michigan Works! and X Rite Inc. will be participating at the event in Grand Rapids.

 

“Companies in West Michigan are continuing to grow at a fast pace, but many face constraints when it comes to finding talent,” said Rachel Bartels, program manager at Hello West Michigan. “The labor market in the region remains tight, and there are hundreds of positions available. We know that in order to meet demand we will need to attract talent to the area, and who better to fill those jobs than former West Michiganders.”

 

Register for free at www.rethink.com. 

On Tap: Museum Beer Explorers, Ann Arbor brews and Valentine’s Day darks

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A sampling of beers at the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Beer Explorers program — yes there is glasses of what you like available for purchase. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The days are getting longer but we are still in the dark days of winter, despite Valentine’s Day looming. But there are plenty of events on tap on the local beer scene, including some tasty dark brews being poured all over the greater Grand Rapids area.

 

Starting with the next installment of the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Beer Explorers program, this time partnering with Brewery Vivant and Pilot Malt House, on Thursday, Feb. 8, when beer fans can take a closer look at malts, and how malt variations affect the flavors of beer.

 

Pilot Malt House is an artisan craft malt house who produces and supplies malts to local craft breweries and distilleries, including Brewery Vivant. (FYI: Malt is beer’s main fermentable ingredient, providing the sugars that yeast use to create alcohol and carbonation. Malt is converted barley or other grains that have been steeped, germinated, heated, kilned, cooled, dried and then rested. So we are told in supplied information.)

 

The Beer Explorers class begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be held on the first floor of the museum. Admission to class includes three beer samples, as well as access to the museum’s first two floors. A cash bar will be available; doors open at 6 p.m.

 

Tickets for the event are $10 for members and $20 for non-members. Participants must be 21 and older. For tickets and more information visit grpm.org/calendar .

 

Dark days, dark brews before and after Valentine’s Day

 

Brewery Vivant will celebrate Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14, for those of you not married/dating/smart) with the release of its Fat Packzi beer on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the  brewery in East Town area. This beer is available only for a limited time, according to the brewery. Also on tap is the return of Love Shadow, Brewery Vivant’s bourbon barrel aged Imperial stout — just in time for Valentine’s Day.

 

For more information visit breweryvivant.com .

 

And speaking of dark days … B.O.B.’s Brewery downtown will host its Dark Days events during Grand Rapids Beer Week highlighted by a Stout Out on Friday, Feb. 16, featuring 12 Michigan-made stouts on tap, including The B.O.B.’s own Tiramisu Stout, Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout and New Holland’s Dragons Milk Mexican Spice Cake — me, I’d go for Dark Horse Brewing’s Plead The 5th, before and after the dark day.

 

The Stout Out will include live music and smoked meats in addition to a tap takeover of the Michigan-made stouts. Beer sample tickets are $3 each, with $1 of each ticket sold being donated to Grand Rapids White Water.

 

For more information, visit thebobsbrewery.thebob.com .

 

And for those of you needing to make up for a bad Valentine’s Day …

 

Ann Arbor’s Wolverine State Brewing will be the featured beer selections at a special beer dinner at Blue Water Grill, located on Northland Drive, on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

 

The four-course dinner, with each course paired with a beer, includes: first two courses paired with Wolverine’s Pastoral Winter Lager and Tundra King West Coast IPL, a main course paired with a brew called Massacre 2015, and a desert course of an espresso chocolate torte paired with a brew called, of course, Barista.

 

The cost of the beer dinner is $45 per person.

 

For more information on the dinner and Blue Water Grill, visit thegilmorecollection.com .

 

 

For more information on Wolverine State Brewing, visit wolverinebeer.com .

 

Local partners hope career event connects former West Michiganders with career opportunities in region

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On Nov. 22, The Right Place, Inc. and Hello West Michigan will partner to attract talent back to West Michigan. The two organizations, regional partners, and several local businesses will host the sixth annual ReThink West Michigan event, an evening gathering to attract former West Michiganders back to the region. The Thanksgiving Eve tradition has expanded for 2017 to a multilocation event.

 

With support from Pure Michigan Talent Connect and in collaboration with the West Michigan Economic Development Collaborative, the event is from 5:30 – 8  p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, at five West Michigan venues:

 

  • Eve at The B.O.B., 20 Monroe Ave. NW
  • Walldorff Brewpub & Bistro, 105 E. State St., Hastings
  • The Stearns Hotel, 212 E. Ludington Ave., Ludington
  • The Block, above Unruly Brewing, 360 Western Ave., Muskegon
  • Brew Merchant, 442 Washington Ave., Holland.

 

On a day when many former West Michigan students and professionals are back in the area for the Thanksgiving holiday, 31 area companies and several nonprofit organizations are coming together to convince them that it is time to “rethink” West Michigan.

 

Designed not as a traditional career fair, ReThink West Michigan provides a casual, professional environment to network and discover many of the great career possibilities and growing companies in the region.

 

“This event is truly unique because it is solely for former West Michigan residents that have moved away. We’re highlighting the things people want to know about when they think about relocating: career opportunities and lifestyle in West Michigan,” said Cindy Brown, Executive Director of Hello West Michigan.

 

“Through collaboration, we’re able to bring the ReThink event to Barry County,” said Travis Alden, President of the Barry County Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Alliance, a member of the group collaborating to make the expansion of ReThink West Michigan possible. “We’re able to showcase regional employers that have openings all over West Michigan like Spectrum Health, as well as local employers headquartered in Barry County like Hastings City Bank and FlexFab.”

 

The event is free to attend, only requiring interested attendees to register online at: www.rethinkwm.com. The last four annual events attracted over 550 professionals in total, resulting in over 53 hires.

 

“West Michigan companies are growing at an unprecedented rate,” said Tim Mroz, vice president, Marketing and Communications of The Right Place, Inc. “But their growth is limited by access to talent. We have hundreds of positions available, with a specific need in the areas of engineering and technology, and we would love to see former Michiganders come home to these jobs.”

6th Annual GRandJazzFest announces 2017 dates

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By Molly Klimas

 

GRandJazzFest presented by DTE Energy Foundation returns to Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., this Aug. 19 and 20, for the sixth annual festival. The popular family-friendly festival is West Michigan’s only free, weekend-long jazz festival.

 

At the 2017 festival in August, 11 diverse jazz artists and bands will perform, including a student jazz band and two major headline acts. Free face painting by Fancy Faces will be available for kids and, if lines aren’t too long, for “kids at heart.”

 

The two-day festival will again be free thanks to Presenting Sponsor DTE Energy Foundation, the City of Grand Rapids and other sponsoring organizations, individuals and volunteers.

 

“There’s something special about jazz that brings people together like no other art form. It’s because jazz is so diverse – it has so many styles, from Big Band to Latin to Contemporary, and I’m just naming a few,” GRandJazzFest Founder Audrey Sundstrom said. “GRandJazzFest is what community is all about.”

 

GRandJazzFest typically draws thousands to the heart of downtown Grand Rapids for the two-day, outdoor event always held the third weekend in August.

 

Holding the festival in the center city is by design, to enable festival-goers to take in all that downtown has to offer: restaurants, clubs, museums, microbreweries and shops. The festival typically occurs during Restaurant Week in Grand Rapids. The festival’s location provides easy access to those who ride the bus, walk or bike, and is also close to parking.

 

The 2017 festival lineup will be announced on April 26 at the House of Entertainment and Music (H.O.M.E.) at The B.O.B.

 

 

Feelin’ Groovy: ‘Give Peace a Chance’ Fundraiser is Oct. 15

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give peace a chance John LennonIf you grew up in the ’60s or ’70s, you’ll be very familiar with the phrase, “Give Peace a Chance.” Even if you’re a tad younger, chances are you’ve heard the phrase or even the famous song written by John Lennon while he was still one of the Beatles. The words became an anthem for anti-Vietnam War protesters, but this year the phrase has been revived as the theme of the Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan‘s (DRCWM) second annual fundraiser celebrating International Conflict Resolution Day.

 

The “Give Peace a Chance” event is slated for Thursday, October 15 from 7-9 pm at the B.O.B.-EVE, 20 Monroe Ave. NW, Rapids, MI 49503. Tickets are $35. The Main Street Dueling Pianos will provide a flashback to freer times with ’60s music, and you’ll want to dress to match the theme for extra fun. Two local peacemakers–Judge William Kelly and Peter Letzmann–will be honored at the event for their outstanding service to the community.

 

If you’re not involved in a lawsuit or major conflict at the moment, you may not see the relevance to your GPAC-Poster-791x1024life. However, perhaps it’s time to ponder another old saying, “Into each life a few (or many) raindrops fall,” which has nothing to do with the weather. Rather, the phrase is our cultural shorthand for a simple fact: No one escapes conflicts in life. The question we all ask ourselves at some point is, “How do I deal with it?”

 

Chris Gilman, the nonprofit’s Executive Director, says, “Conflict is unavoidable, but we can use it as an opportunity for growth.”

 

Every year about a thousand people experiencing conflict visit the DRCWM. They sit down with a trained mediator and talk about the problem(s) they face. They don’t just talk, they also listen. Then they create a solution that works for the parties involved, whether the conflicts involve marriage, divorce, employment, a neighbor, or just about anything else. The DRCWM reaches out to a seven-county area, providing low- or no-cost mediation services to people of modest means. Some cases are referred to the center by the court.

 

The process is cheaper than hiring an attorney, because you do the work yourself; but this is one DIY project where a trained coach is vital, and that takes money; the investment in creating peace is significant. So rummage around for your old fur vest, rose-tinted glasses, love beads, and maybe old army fatigues. Hang out at the B.O.B., practice your peace sign and “Give Peace a Chance.” It’s hip to feel groovy.

hippies

For more information, visit the DRCWM’s website or call 616.774.0121.

Wyoming, Michigan Artist’s ArtPrize Entry Shines Light on Peers

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996027_249415478538872_1008400190_nBorn with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), 25-year-old Ty Dykema uses an electric wheelchair to get around. His activities may be restricted, but that doesn’t stop him from creating bold, colorful portraits. Physically unable to use a paintbrush, Dykema uses a Wacom tablet and ArtRage Studios painting and drawing software to create his works of art.

“Art is my purpose in life, and I have been actively creating for as long as I can remember,” Dykema said.

Dykema’s ArtPrize entry, “We Can’t Walk; So What!?” comprises three portraits printed on high-quality photo paper from ProLab Express and custom-framed for ArtPrize by Merizon Studios. Each framed piece measures 16″W x 20″H.

Born and raised in Wyoming, Michigan, Dykema thought the most appropriate project to enter would be a series of stylized portrait paintings of some of his peers.

“Each subject of the paintings uses a wheelchair in everyday life because they have SMA,” Dykema said. “They are important members of their communities and are exceptional in their respective crafts.”

Adam Davis is a hip-hop DJ from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tess Hazenberg is 1509307_505310736282677_6639163039909796673_nan MSU graduate currently doing social work in North Carolina. And Shane Burcaw is the CEO of the non-profit organization, Laughing At My Nightmare based out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

“The theme of this project is simple—pay respects to and shine some much-deserved light on my people while showing the world what we CAN do, not just what we’re limited to,” said Dykema.

See Dykema’s ArtPrize entry at The B.O.B.  Here are the links to his ArtPrize page and Facebook page.