The ‘hyper-local’ celebration at Sullivan Field will feature sets by Ficus, Common Molly, Squatch, Clipboards and four other bands, with art vendors, food trucks and more on tap. Details, schedule at Local Spins.
Green Grass, Local Music and Art: Small Foreign Festival heats up Sullivan Field on Saturday. (Photos/Local Spins/Courtesy Photo)
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With a hope to curate a hyper-local environment for the arts, Small Foreign Festival ramps up Saturday (Aug. 23) at Sullivan Field on Grand Rapids’ West Side.
Boasting a lineup that includes eight bands, over 40 artist vendors, food trucks and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, organizers of the first-year festival are eager to bring awareness and attendees into the DIY scene that it was built on.
“It’s inspired by all of the really good art that happens in Michigan. We’ve really emphasized sourcing artists in your neighborhood, by your neighbors for your neighbors just celebrating the arts,” said lead event organizer Lili Bulkowski.
“Everyone that’s putting this event together has a background in the DIY community. We have poured ourselves into this group of people that have you know come together to put on shows to offer their homes, to offer their time to organize these events, to let bands crash with them, or even pile into a van and take their music elsewhere.”
The free-admission festival starring Ficus, Clipboards, Common Molly, Squatch and several other West Michigan acts takes place at Sullivan Field, 650 Valley Ave. NW, with gates opening at 1:45 p.m. and festivities running until 10 p.m. Saturday.
Art vendors will feature visual art, handmade goods, jewelry, apparel and home goods. A few notable vendors include Daughter of the Mountain, Ring of Bees and Mossybead. Food trucks will include Tacos Mexico and Tropical Friends.
“I am most looking forward to the music and seeing all of the people that make up the local music scene together,” said fellow event organizer Donovan Estep, who’ll play bass Saturday with Supo to open the festival. “We are expecting around 500 attendees throughout the day.”
The festival has worked closely with Fans of Valley Field, an organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the ballpark first built in 1937. With its jersey green stands, nestled in a neighborhood on Grand Rapids’ West Side, the timeless field has been home to a number of concerts and events in recent years, including bands such as Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, The Hacky Turtles and Troll for Trout.
“It’s just an honor, all the work that we’ve been able to see and we’ve had poured into us over that time and it’s sort of like a large give back to the community,” Bulkowski said. “Another platform among friends, among community members to help highlight the arts, big and small and make sure everybody feels that level of support and collaboration.”
Money Soup, a riveting Grand Rapid-areas funk/soul band, makes its Sullivan Field debut for Small Foreign Festival at 2:50 p.m. Saturday. With a pristine sound, eclectic stage presence and undeniable chemistry, the collective is poised for a hot summer set at the ballfield.
Common Molly (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
“We’re looking forward to engaging with the crowd and creating a memorable music experience for everyone at Small Foreign Festival. People can expect funky, soulful original songs, tight vocal harmonies and music that makes you move,” said keyboardist Robert Greene.
As an “ode to the local scene,” Small Foreign Festival hopes to foster connections and build community through like-minded artists and art appreciators in the city of Grand Rapids amid uncertain times.
“I want it to be a reminder to everyone that art is the perfect outlet in this absolute tumultuous time that we live in. We can turn to ourselves and we can turn to our communities and we can create something new and from that create new life for ourselves. I’m looking forward to a day in the sun with like-minded people,” Bulkowski said.
“The best part about these DIY communities is you can literally just talk to anybody and you have found a kindred spirit, somebody that you know without provocation is out there working as hard as they can in order to achieve art at either a level of mastery or maybe just a level of understanding. I’m just looking to pack this field full of young, hungry, passionate people and to learn their stories.”
Get more information about the festival here.
Save the image of this schedule on your smartphone to take along to the festival.
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