Neighbors flock to last year's Bizarre Bazaar in Eastown /Courtesy of the Eastown Community Association
Example of an herb pot to be created at the Dig Into Spring Event /Courtesy of the Eastown Community Association
Rain barrels are an excellent way to repurpose rainwater in your home /Courtesy of the Eastown Community Association
Community organizing means nothing without an incredibly active and responsive network of residents. At the Eastown Community Association (ECA), we are blessed with a neighborhood of people who not only express their passion for Eastown but also enact their attitudes through volunteer work, business sponsorship, and celebration of all things Eastown.
At the ECA, we seek to facilitate opportunities for people to step up and take ownership of their community. We foster a number of committees where residents can take leadership in creating meaningful events. For example, the Eastown Greenspace committee has been carefully planning Dig into Spring, while the Special Events committee has been helping us coordinate Bizarre Bazaar. In addition to these committees, we are grateful for our block captains and their work in engaging residents on their streets.
Therefore, thanks to the hard work of our many Eastown volunteers, we are excited to present a full lineup of spring events. There is sure to be something for everyone to get involved with in Eastown this season!
To celebrate Earth Day, we will host Dig into Spring on Saturday, April 23rd in Wilcox Park. This is an all-ages day of green workshops, hosted by local businesses. These classes will teach you how to make an herb pot, a planter box with reclaimed wood and a rain barrel. You can also learn principles of creating your own garden and learn the process of planting a tree through the addition of a new tree to Wilcox Park.
Picnic in the Park will bring whole parts of the neighborhood together to care for our beloved Sigsbee Park. The first half of the event will feature a community cleanup of the park, beautifying the space and providing necessary maintenance works. Then, we invite neighbors and friends to join us in celebrating our community with a picnic. We will provide free food (donated by Yesterdog, Costco, and Connie’s Cakes), as well as family-friendly entertainment and activities, including a bounce house. Thanks also to Smitty’s Specialty Beverage for sponsoring Picnic in the Park. This event will be held on Saturday, May 14 from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m..
Eastown’s annual Bizarre Bazaar invites the Grand Rapids community to spend the day exploring the original, creative and diverse community that is Eastown. It will be held on Saturday, June 25 from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.. We will feature 80+ artists, a full lineup of local musicians, and plenty of food. It is a chance for people to enjoy the business district and the incredible amount of creativity in and around Eastown, Grand Rapids. Bizarre Bazaar is made possible each year thanks to our business owners who invest in the community, bands who love performing in their town, and residents who volunteer their time.
The ECA will also host another Mobile Food Truck on Thursday, May 12th from 4-6pm in the Sigsbee parking lot. Every three months, we partner with Feeding America West Michigan to provide fresh, seasonal produce free of charge to our community. These food trucks are made possible because our community is generous enough to sponsor them.
We at the ECA are so proud of our vibrant community, and we cannot wait to celebrate with you at these events this spring.
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