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Dyer-Ives founder John R. Hunting reflects on 50 years of Kent County poetry

Submitted 05-31-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

The former Dyer-Ives Foundation offices no longer bustle with staff, but the space continues to thrum with an energy engendered by decades of dynamic philanthropic activity. A large conference table still holds court in the central meeting room, and...

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Rhiannon Giddens mesmerized sold out audience at St. Cecilia Music Center

Submitted 05-18-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

Rhiannon Giddens performed at the St. Cecilia Music Center’s Royce Auditorium, a concert venue that allows for an unusually personal experience with a performer.  A sold-out audience of 650 got up close and personal as she lit up the...

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Palatte Coffee and Art: A new twist on the classic art gallery

Submitted 04-25-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

Just down the street from the Grand Rapids Art Museum is the café, Palatte Coffee and Art. As customers step into the coffee shop their eyes will be drawn to the artwork that hangs on the walls, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, and...

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Eighth annual Grand Rapids Latin American Film Festival held at Wealthy Theatre

Submitted 04-09-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

The eighth annual Grand Rapids Latin American Film Festival (GRLAFF) kicked off on Friday, April 6 at the Wealthy Theatre in SE Grand Rapids with prominent guests including Gustavo Rondon. Rondon is a screenplay writer and director from Venezuela,...

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Hockey is a community

Submitted 04-04-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

It started with one tournament of four teams. At the Silver Puck Challenge this June, there will be north of 40 teams playing. What Brent Belanger found out over the years of running hockey tournaments in Grand Rapids is that hockey is much more...

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Crash's Landing & Big Sid's Sanctuary - An organization with a heart

Submitted 03-29-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

“It means everything to me.” These were the resounding words that were expressed by Sara Youngman, Sharon Wylie, and Sarah Klawiter. Three out of over 200 volunteers at Crash’s Landing & Big Sid’s Sanctuary. They were...

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Comedy, community and baseball: A tale by Rhea Butcher

Submitted 03-28-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

Rhea Butcher grew up a fellow midwesterner in Akron, Ohio. They are a standup comic, writer and actor, who now resides in Los Angeles. They have appeared on CONAN, released their own solo album, Butcher, and created the show Take My Wife alongside...

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David Cope's latest 'American Elegy': The Invisible Keys

Submitted 03-28-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

So, what’s in a retrospective collection of poems spanning 1975 to 2017? “My whole life,” says David Cope, former G.R. Poet Laureate and Grand Rapids Community College Professor. There are poems about workers and the union, protest...

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Get to Know: Mercy Supply Co.

Submitted 03-28-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

“It started when I was a kid. Every kid wants their pants to fit tighter, at least I did.” Rusty Zylstra says, leaning over the sturdy, wooden counter of his apparel and leatherwork store, Mercy Supply Company. Its storefront, run by...

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Local nonprofit helps small businesses thrive at Indie Flea Market

Submitted 03-20-2018 under LOCAL LIFE

Each month Grand Rapids artists, designers, and entrepreneurs gather in the lobby of the Wealthy Theatre to celebrate local business and creatives at the Indie Flea Market. The market, which takes place the first Saturday of each month, is put on by...

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