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Local author publishes first novel focusing on good, bad in everyone

Submitted 07-24-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

Adam Schuitema, an English professor at Kendall College, just published “Haymaker,” his second book but his first novel.  Set in the small Upper Peninsula town of Haymaker, Michigan, “Haymaker” follows what happens when...

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Craft House creates place for opportunity, community, conversations about art

Submitted 07-24-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

In many ways, Craft House is not your average art gallery. It’s a blank canvas just waiting for new artists to come and color it with their own vision. The 300 square-foot gallery space has 50 linear feet of bare white walls which transform...

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Disc golf popularity continues to grow in Grand Rapids community

Submitted 07-24-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

Casual Riverside Park-goers walking through the park a few weekends back might have encountered dozens of Frisbees- or "discs," as they're called in the sport of disc golf- flying through the air. Competitive disc golfers at the...

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Artist Jeff Kraus explores ambiguity, symbolism in large scale paintings

Submitted 07-22-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

Large-scale abstract paintings of imaginative symbols hiding beneath sweeping brush strokes portray hazy planes of emotion. Jeff Kraus’ work is all but defined by ambiguity. Kraus, a Grand Rapids-based painter and printmaker, creates...

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Local market creates access to fresh food in urban neighborhood

Submitted 07-21-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

Blending groceries with a cause, the Southeast Area Farmer’s Market brings together local vendors and produce to help make natural food more accessible to the area. Located at Garfield Park (2111 Madison SE) on Fridays and the Gerald R. Ford...

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Past the gallery doors: Alternative spaces to find art

Submitted 07-21-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

Whether it be stopping at the stand of a jewelry maker at the farmers market, taking a minute to check out the name of the artists whose painting is hanging on your local coffee shop’s wall, or heading downtown for First Fridays for an entire...

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Annual dog wash benefits grief organization

Submitted 07-17-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

The smell of wet dog wafted over the stands of Fifth Third Ballpark on Sunday, adding to the ambiance of its own Dog Days game. That was thanks to Gilda’s Club’s “World’s Largest Dog Wash,” a benefit for its youth...

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Local writer battling brain cancer seeks help to write his story with Kickstarter campaign

Submitted 07-09-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

A Grand Rapids man with an inoperable brain tumor turned to Kickstarter, an online fundraising service, to help write his life story. David Wenzel, a 33-year-old writer, wants his story to serve as an advisory narrative for the millennial generation...

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Grandwich 2015 sampled: First eight contestants bring few highlights

Submitted 07-09-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

Once again this year, four Rapidian reporters are trying every Grandwich they can in the first week of the competition. The Grandwich competition runs from July 7-24. Top 10 sandwiches are determined by public vote online, with the...

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New pastry shop brings taste of France to Cherry Street

Submitted 07-07-2015 under LOCAL LIFE

East Lansing-based Le Bon Macaron has recently opened its second location in East Hills (951 Cherry Street SE). Macarons, not to be confused with coconut and almond based macaroons, are colorful French pastries (picture a gourmet Oreo-shaped...

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