Good morning, Grand Rapids. I’m Jenny and this is Calder News.
I’m looking forward to being back in time for the GR Asian-Pacific Festival—so much good food and fun entertainment! Read about it and more in today’s newsletter.
p.s I’m on vacation next week, so LeQwane will be steering the ship for me.
- Jenny F.
GRAPF Returns Next Week
Photo courtesy of Experience GR
One week from today, the Grand Rapids Asian Pacific Festival returns for its 9th year at Calder Plaza.
The festival is known for its beautiful traditional dance performances and impressive martial arts demonstrations, but this year it also features a K-Pop Dance Competition and a fashion show.
In between all the fun happening on stage, enjoy the offerings of many food and business vendors. Or participate in some of the festival activities, like games, workshops, and karaoke.
And the best part is this event is free! See more details.
The Digest
A briefing of local news that matters
Housing
Apartment Complex Honors History
Offering 45 new apartments with affordable pricing, the Tate and Thomas Apartments sit at the site of the first Black-owned grocery store in the area. The name honors the two businessmen behind the store: Frank Thomas and Wilson Tate. See more details.
Development
New Life For Tommy’s Boats
The Tommy Boat’s complex, which has been sitting vacant in Comstock Park, may be converting to an entertainment hub with multiple restaurants. Read more here.
Parks
Canal Park Coming Along
Work is moving along nicely on the Canal Park renovation, which will offer improved trails, a new playground, and protection against flooding. Check it out.
Have news to report? Click here.
Business News
✅ New
Fried chicken lovers will rejoice as Raising Cane’s announced a second location in the works on Alpine in Walker.
❌ Closing
With a surplus of branches, now that Fifth Third Bank has merged with Comerica, 7 locations will close in Kent County.
❗ Updates
Getting psyched for GR soccer? Fuel the fire by watching the World Cup. From June 11th to July 19th, Westside’s Brauhaus is extending its hours so it can show all the matches.
Mark Rieth, a previous owner of Atwater Brewing, is buying the brand back. The GR taproom is located on the corner of Michigan and Monroe.
Talk Of The Town
⚽ 2,000 Soccer Season Tickets Sold
When season ticket sales opened for AC Grand Rapids, the city’s first professional soccer team, 2,000 tickets were claimed in less than 24 hours. Seems like GR is ready for some soccer.
✔ Explore Uptown with Passport Game
Uptown is encouraging people to discover something new in the neighborhood. Get a passport at a district hub, visit a participating business, and get a stamp. The more stamps you collect, the more prizes you win.
🥽 Cool Off in Pools and Splash Pads
Starting Saturday, visit one of three city pools or 15 splash pads to beat the summer heat. See more details.
👛 Creston Neighborhood Holds Yard Sale
Get your thrifting and grocery shopping done at the same time this Saturday. The Creston area is kicking off the start of its farmers’ market with a giant neighborhood yard sale.
Introducing: Calder News Job Board
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After seeing one too many Facebook and Reddit posts of folks asking about job opportunities, I figured I’d launch The Calder News Board!
The idea is that we can provide a centralized place to help locals find professional opportunities as they open up. And feature a few of them in Friday’s issues.
So without further ado…
Production Manager @ Bluewater Hayes This role is for a proven leader who thrives in fast-paced production settings, builds strong teams, and drives operational excellence across safety, quality, and performance. ~$75k/ year. |
Water Systems Manager @ City of Grand Rapids This role will oversee the various divisions responsible for long-range planning, drinking water treatment, operations, and capital and operating budgets for the potable Water Utility. It starts at $127k a year. |
Package Center Manager @ UPS In this role, you’d monitor the daily performance of a UPS facility that processes tens of thousands of packages per shift, manages 80 to 300 hourly associates and supervisors. Pay ranges from $45/hr to $65/hr. |
Is your company hiring? Post a Job
Hunting for a new career? View 86 new roles added this week.
What’s Happening?
Friday, June 5th
EGR Fine Art Fair | Gaslight Vilage | (Fri - Sun) Various times | Free
Legally Blonde | GR Civic Theatre | (6/5 - 6/28) Various times | $31+
Farmers Market | Fulton St. | 8 AM - 2 PM | Free
Stars and Stripes Makers Market | Michigan Vet. Home (2950 Monroe) | 3 PM | Free
Open house | GR Makerspace | 4 PM | Free
Blackport Bazaar | Rock Paper Scissors | 5 PM | Free
Opening night for "Up North": Abstract Michigan by Tedd Smith | Cocoon Art Space | 6 PM – 9 PM | Free
Taylor Swift Yoga! | Rebel Nell | 6:15 PM | Pay what you can
Shrek Rave | Elevation | 9 PM | $25
Saturday, June 6th
Cars and Coffee | Grand Prix GR | 9 AM - 11 AM | Free
Explore Eastown’s Past: Walking Tour 300 BCE-1900 | Eastown Community Association | 10 AM | $25
Heritage Hill Yard Sale | 9 AM - 2 PM | Free
Group Breathwork | Somatic Wisdom Institute | 10 AM | $20
Pride Over Fear - Pride Festival | Lowell Riverwalk | 10:30 AM | Free
The Mitten Vintage Market | Calder Plaza | 11 AM - 5 PM | Free
Forks without Borders | Riverside Park | 11 AM - 9 PM | Free
Out Loud Comedy Fest | The Comedy Project | 12 PM - 3 PM | $40
Block Party | City Built | 3 PM | Free
Grand Rapids Queer Prom | Fountain St. Church | 7 PM | $20+
Sunset Cinema: A Goofy Movie | Celeberation Cinema | 8 PM | Free
Sunday, June 7th
Wyoming Farmers Market | Godwin Mercado | 9 AM - 2 PM | Free
BAMFEST26: RECLAMATION | Wealthy Theatre | 10 AM | Free
Monday, June 8th
Electronics Meetup | Grand River Makerspace | 6 PM | $0
Live Music
Friday, June 5th
Oxymorons Duo | The Score | 12 PM | Free
LaJoye Quartet | Horrocks Market | 5 PM | Free
Arankai | The Stache | 6 PM | $28
Lynn Thompson | The BOB (Sky Deck) | 6 PM | Free
Erica Soto with Adrian Wright & the Great Let Gos | The Stray | 7 PM | $13
EPCYA, Genetic Drift, Hillbilly Nightmare | Tip Top | 8 PM | $12
Nathan Walton and the Remedy | Rapid River Stillhouse | 9 PM | $5
Astral Void | Garage Bar and Grill | 9 PM | Freee
The Bores / Izak / Reckless Rhythms | Mulligan’s Pub | 10 PM | Free
Saturday, June 6th
Big Beef Electronic Music Fest | Chicago Beef Joint | 12 PM | $25
Weezil Malone Band | Horrocks Market | 5 PM | ?Free
Darin Larner Jr. Music | Kent Country Club | 6 PM | ?
The Soul Syndicate Live | Wildwood Farms | 7 PM | $10
Parker McCollum | Acrisure Amphitheater | 7:30 PM | $36
DangerVille | Tip Top | 8 PM | $10
Solya + Tele Novella | Pyramid Scheme | 8 PM | $27
Silvis with Emma Bieniewicz | Speciation Cellars | 9 PM | Free
Emo Nite | Elevation | 9 PM | $17
Gutter Swamp, Hyporium, He Who Dwells | Mulligan’s Pub | 10 PM | Free
Sunday, June 7th
Matt Welch | The Score | 12 PM | Free
World Music by Macy | Kusterer Brauhaus | 4 PM | Free
Iration | Elevation | 5 PM | $45
The Wallflowers w/ Early James | Frederik Meijer Gardens | 7 PM | ?
Fatal Femmes Cabaret | Fulton St. Pub | 7 PM | Free
Surfer Girl | The Intersecton | 7 PM | $45
Monday, June 8th
West Michigan Jazz Society Jazz in the Park | Millennium Park | 6:30 PM | Free
*Shows are subject to change, but that’s show biz.
Contribute To The Crew
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Your contributions go toward keeping this thing going so I can have more fun, build more community, and support our team. I appreciate any support, my friends!
That’s All For Today…
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📧 Get your business in an upcoming issue of Calder News. Let’s talk about how we can put your business in front of thousands of GR locals.
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