Grand Rapids: Recreation

Grand Rapids: Recreation

Sightseeing

The Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids honors the 38th President of the United States; permanent exhibits, including a replica of the Oval Office, highlight the significant events of the Ford presidency, such as the Bicentennial celebration, President Nixon's resignation, and the Cambodian conflict. The contributions of Betty Ford as First Lady are also represented.

The Public Museum of Grand Rapids concentrates on the furniture industry, Michigan mammals, archeology, costumes, an 1890s gaslight village and Native American artifacts.

Heritage Hill is one of the largest urban historic districts in the country. Located near downtown, it contains more than 1,300 structures built in 60 different architectural styles, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Meyer May house.

A Grand Rapids highlight is Alexander Calder's La Grande Vitesse (The Grand Rapids), a large-scale outdoor sculpture located in the center of the city. Another Calder work, an abstract painting, has been installed atop the County Building adjacent to the sculpture. Joseph Kinnebrew's Fish Ladder sculpture has been placed on the Sixth Street dam. Noted architect and artist Maya Lin (designer of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.) designed Rosa Parks Circle, a park and amphitheater located in the downtown Monroe Center.

The 150-passenger sternwheeler Grand Lady offers a narrated river cruise pointing out the river landings and town sites of the 1800s.

The John Ball Zoo features more than 237 species and 1,183 specimens. Recent additions include a komodo dragon and a chimpanzee exhibit.

Arts and Culture

The Arts Council coordinates the Festival of the Arts, the largest volunteer-run festival in the nation and a showcase of the arts. The arts in Grand Rapids are celebrated for three days each June with more than one-half million attendees. During the regular season, the Grand Rapids Symphony, an award-winning orchestra recognized for its innovative programming, presents a program of classical, pops, and family concerts. Opera Grand Rapids is the oldest opera theater in Michigan and stages both classical operas and musical theater productions. The Grand Rapids Ballet presents The Nutcracker in December plus several other productions each year. Founded in 1883 and designated as a Landmark of American Music, the St. Cecilia Music Society presents public programs and educational opportunities for youth and adults at Royce Auditorium. Other organizations perform at DeVos Hall and the Van Andel Arena.

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, the second largest community theater in the country and Michigan's oldest community theater, presents six main stage productions and two children's plays annually. Its School of Theater Arts offers a complete range of theatrical training courses as well as one-day workshops and summer programs. Circle Theatre, one of the country's largest summer community theaters, is housed at Aquinas College and features children's theater and a cabaret series in addition to its standard summer offerings. Spectrum Theatre, located downtown at Grand Rapids Community College, features innovative and local plays and is the performance home for Actors' Theatre, GRCC Players, the Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids, and Heritage Theatre Group.

The Grand Rapids Art Museum, opened in 1913 and renovated in 1981, houses a permanent collection of paintings, sculpture, and graphic and decorative arts in ten galleries and hosts traveling art exhibits. The furniture-design wing features period furniture from the Renaissance to the present. The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts provides exhibition and performance space for concerts, performance art, lectures, and readings. The 125-acre Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park hosts the largest tropical conservatory in Michigan, in addition to indoor and outdoor plant and butterfly gardens, nature trails, a boardwalk, three indoor art galleries, and the three-story-tall Leonardo da Vinci's Horse, plus 100 other world-class sculptures from classical and contemporary artists.

Arts and Culture Information: Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids, 532 Ottawa NW, PO Box 2265, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 telephone: (616)459-2787 fax: (616)459-7160

Festivals and Holidays

The major festival in Grand Rapids is a three-day arts celebration in June that initiates the summer season. Ethnic festivals take place nearly every summer weekend: Irish, Italian, Polish, German, Native American, Mexican, Latino, and African American celebrations of cultural heritage feature song, food, art, and costumes. The Covered Bridge Bike Tour lets cyclists explore Kent County by bicycle in mid-July. The summer season concludes with the Celebration on the Grand during the second weekend in September. Pulaski Days celebrate Polish heritage in October. One of the state's original nighttime parades starts off the Christmas festivities in early December in nearby downtown Coopersville.

Sports for the Spectator

The Grand Rapids Hoops team competes in the semi-professional Continental Basketball League. The Grand Rapids Griffins belong to the International Hockey League, and the Grand Rapids Rampage to the Arena Football League. All three teams play at Van Andel Arena. The West Michigan Whitecaps, a Class A minor affiliate of the Detroit Tigers baseball team, play at Fifth Third Park. Berlin Race-way features stock car racing, and Gratton Raceway presents auto, motorcycle, and go-cart races.

Sports for the Participant

Sports enthusiasts are provided numerous opportunities to enjoy the outdoors in Grand Rapids and the vicinity. Cross-county ski trails wind through scenic apple orchards and across golf courses. The Winter Sports Complex in nearby Muskegon provides the longest lighted ski trail in the Midwest; the center also maintains a 600-meter chute for luge, one of only four in the nation. Three local resorts feature downhill skiing. Year-round fishing is another popular sport, especially trout and perch fishing.

Charter boats on Lake Michigan are available for salmon and lake trout fishing. Swimmers and sunbathers populate the miles of sandy beaches of Lake Michigan and the many inland lakes during the summer. Rowers are often seen on the Grand River, as are salmon fishers in October and November. The Fifth Third River Bank Run, a 25K event attracts runners from around the country. The Gus Macker three-on-three basketball tournament began in Kent County and happens each summer in downtown Grand Rapids.

Recreational facilities within a 60-mile drive include 11 public and several private golf courses, 21 inland lakes, and dozens of tennis courts and baseball fields. Also under development is Millennium Park, a 10-year project launched in 2004, which will return approximately 1,500 acres of industrial land along the Grand River to publicly-owned green space. Once completed, the park will be nearly two and a half times larger than New York's Central Park, making it one of the largest urban parks in the country. Millennium Park currently features a beach house, playground, picnic areas, and fishing ponds. The Grand Rapids recreation department sponsors hundreds of softball teams in league competition, as well as programs in swimming, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, scuba diving, and social dancing.

Shopping and Dining

While Grand Rapids doesn't have a true downtown shopping district, it does offer several smaller neighborhood shopping areas in addition to several malls and a strip on 28th Street off of I-96, with many restaurants, larger shops, and strip malls. Woodland Mall offers three major department stores and 120 smaller shops. Breton Village Shopping Center features 40 stores, many locally-owned. RiverTown Crossings contains 120 stores, including six anchor stores, as well as a movie theater. Small shopping districts located throughout the city and surrounding towns include the quaint Squire Street Square in Rockford and the Gaslight Village district in East Grand Rapids, a residential district where fine shops are located in period homes.

The city's best restaurants are clustered downtown. The 1913 Room in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is Michigan's only five-diamond restaurant. The award-winning Sierra Room serves Southwestern cuisine in an old warehouse. The B.O.B. features five restaurants, a micro-brewery, night club, comedy club, 2,500 bottle cellar, and billiards.

Visitor Information: Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 171 Monroe Ave NW, Suite 700, 49503; telephone (616)459-8287; toll-free (800)678-9859; fax (616)459-7291. Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce Building, 111 Peal St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503; telephone (616)771-0300; fax (616) 771-0318