Grand Rapids’ annual Festival revs up again for three days on Friday afternoon, with dozens of regional acts performing and the usual, tasty food-vending smorgasboard.
A Grand Rapids Tradition: Festival returns on Friday. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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Since 1970, Grand Rapids’ Festival of the Arts has showcased the region’s music, dance and visual arts in a volunteer-driven way unlike any other community celebration.
On Friday, it will once again take over downtown Grand Rapids with multiple stages hosting dozens of performances — from fledgling bands making their first Festival appearance to veteran outfits (such as Rev Charles’ PotatoeBabies) who’ve long made it an annual tradition.
We asked Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk, secretary of the board for Festival, to answer a few questions about this year’s event to help guide attendees.
The Official Festival Poster
Q: What makes this year’s Festival of the Arts stand out in your view?
A: For 55 years, Festival of Arts has been the annual start-of-summer street party in Grand Rapids. Visitors get to enjoy some of the best that Grand Rapids has to offer, and Festival still is a free event. We’re thrilled that Festival is a multi-generational celebration of summer in the city. Grandparents who once attended Festival as young adults now bring their own grandchildren to listen to live music, see art and make their own art as well.
Tradition is important but innovation is critical as well. New activities include a create-your-own comic book booth and glass blowing. We’re thrilled that both the Regional Art Exhibition and Youth Art Exhibition are in DeVos Place with work by over 300 artists.
Q: Any changes that performers and/or attendees will notice from past years?
A: The two-year shutdown due to Covid in 2020 and 2021 took some of the wind out of Festival’s sails, and some longtime partners and participants dropped out. For the last two Festivals, we’ve felt we’re spread a little too thin. So this year, Rosa Parks Circle won’t be part of Festival. One less stage and a smaller footprint allows us to group activities together better as well as to cut costs. You’ll get to see more and do more while walking less.
We’ll have 23 food vendors including plenty of food trucks across downtown with taste treats ranging from barbecue and burek to tamales and crepes. Artisan Village, with 46 artists displaying and selling their work, has been moved off Calder Plaza to Ottawa Avenue, which should increase foot traffic for them. (Scroll down for a map of food vendors.)
Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk (Courtesy Photo)
Q: How many performances overall are on the roster this year and on how many stages?
A: Festival 2024 will have about 150 performances on four stages plus classical music indoors at Uccello’s Ristorante on Monroe Center.
Q: Anything in particular you personally are looking forward to for this year’s Festival?
A: I’m looking forward to the very first “Festival After Dark Comedy Show” at The Atrium at Uccello’s with headliner Brianna Blackburn plus Rachael Strothers, Seamus Delvin and Joe Elder on Saturday evening. Same as Festival of the Arts, it’s entirely free, though we’re happy to accept donations. Once again, we’ve partnered with Lost Art Brewhouse to create a specialty beer just for Festival. You can sample Festival of the Arts Creativity Hazy IPA at several places downtown during Festival as well as for the rest of the month of June. It debuts Thursday at Uccello’s.
TOP FIVE CAN’T-MISS FESTIVAL ACTS
Local Spins writer Enrique Olmos has pored through the extensive schedule to come up with five can’t-miss picks for this year’s Festival. In addition, Local Spins on WYCE will spotlight a few more performers, including Big Rapids’ Hand of Giants, this week’s special guest on the show. Tune in at 11 a.m. Friday at 88.1 FM and online at wyce.org.
• Crooked Spires, Friday, 3 p.m. on the City Stage – Steeped in the intricate electric guitar compositions of Kristof Nikkel, Crooked Spires ignites stages with their spellbinding indie-rock.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcKF0vEdGSQ
• Pocket Watch, Sunday, noon on the Clocktower Stage – One of the busiest bands in town, Pocket Watch is a talented jazz-driven collective of top-tier musicians with a knack for fusing genres as well as time signatures.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl9IXTHCvy4
• PARALLELZ, Sunday, 3 p.m. on the DiSuvero Stage – Fronted by multi-instrumentalist and producer Sean Stynes, PARALLELZ crafts its own style of hypnotic indie-rock that catches the ear and tugs on the heart.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHXiYna7ArY
• Caitlin Cusack, Friday, 6 p.m. on the Clocktower Stage – A compelling songwriter with a powerful voice, Caitlin Cusack’s piano-driven catalog is simultaneously captivating and inspiring.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8aNIGSvvmM
• The American Hotel System, Saturday, noon on the City Stage – Known for its contemporary rock compositions and showmanship, The American Hotel System is capable of turning any stage into a spectacle with its wall of sweet sound.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z5virBflJE
Check out the full Festival schedule online at festivalgr.org.
Copyright 2024, Spins on Music LLC
