Festival of the Arts 2014

Friday after work, Kyle and I met up at home and then headed downtown to one of our favorite Grand Rapids summer events, the Festival of the Arts!

Festival of the Arts is an awesome street fair with local music, art, and food. Admission, performances, and activities are all free. There are several stages with constant performances throughout the day, as well as art displayed at various downtown locations. And the food - there are food booths set up throughout with lots of delicious choices, and proceeds benefit local organizations. What could be better for a summer weekend?

Today is the last day of Festival this year, and you can't miss it! Festival is open from 10 AM-7 PM, so check out this handy-dandy map and get ready for an epic Grand Rapids Sunday. Live in the city and can't make it out? You can tune into performances on GRTV's Livewire Channel 24 on Comcast Cable. (GRTV is a service of the Community Media Center - so much love in this post!)

When we arrived Friday evening, we walked around and sampled some yummy food for dinner while enjoying a couple performances. That night, we volunteered with the GRTV video crew - see Kyle in the pic below? We had such a fun time and after visiting Festival most years since we've lived here, it was so cool to get more involved.

Mom asked for a Festival selfie, here's what we sent her. :)

Seriously, don't miss Festival. Events like this that bring our community together in celebration of our cultures and include activities for all people are exactly why I love Grand Rapids. So head down and enjoy!

More info can be found of the Festival of the Arts website. Consider volunteering next year - there's a job for everyone! :)

LaughFest's Bud Light Comedy Jam

On Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of attending the Bud Light Comedy Jam at the Orbit Room. It's part of LaughFest, a ten day comedy fest in Grand Rapids that benefits Gilda's Club. Check out their website - they are an awesome organization who provide cancer and grief support for kids and adults. LaughFest is Gilda's way of spreading the message of the importance of laughter for overall emotional health.

I attended the Bud Light Comedy Jam with my friend Amy Jo, who won tickets from WGRD. (Thanks guys!!) There were 4 comedians and we had a lot of fun hanging out, laughing, and of course enjoying a Bud Light! (Big thanks to my awesome hub for driving us.)

LaughFest at The Orbit Room

Of course we couldn't leave without getting some LaughFest swag. I recommend the High Five! These $5 buttons are being matched by the Wege Foundation - you pay $5 for the button, Gilda's Club gets $10! All proceeds from the sale of merchandise goes straight to Gilda's, so either way it's a winning situation, but why not double your donation with the High Five?! And you can pay for merch using cash or your credit card through the provided Square app. (Check out this post for more info on the Square app - I'm a fan.) So easy!

High Five!

The event runs through Sunday, so you can still make an event! Many are free - check out the list here. One of my favorite events is the Amateur Stand-up Competition that our friend Keith performs in. We saw him last year and it was so cool to see him on stage at the B.O.B.! He'll be performing again this year at the B.O.B. March 17th at 6 PM and it promises to be a hilarious time!