Exploring the sunset side of the Mitten, West Michigan Weekly features travel information, news and giveaways.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Binder Park Zoo and Brigham Audubon are welcoming special guest speaker Yu Man Lee, on February 10th at 7:00 p.m. for a presentation about the conservation issues surrounding the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, a native species to Michigan. This is the fifth installment of Binder Park Zoo and the Brigham Audubon Chapter of Michigan Audubon Fall Speaker Series.
This month’s presentation will include a selection of live snakes, including an Eastern Massasauga and other look-alike snakes, giving participants a unique opportunity to take a close look at these native Michigan snakes on their own terms, rather than stumble across one in their backyard.
Yu Man Lee is a Conservation Scientist and Zoologist/Herpetologist with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI), a program of Michigan State University Extension. She has conducted surveys and research and has written species abstracts and reports on a number of rare amphibians and reptiles in Michigan including the federally threatened and state endangered Northern Copperbelly Snake, state threatened Blanchard's Cricket Frog, state threatened Eastern Fox Snake, and the federal candidate and state special concern Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake.
Yu Man has collaborated with state and federal agencies and other partners on research, education and outreach, and conservation efforts for the Eastern Massasauga for over 10 years. Most recently, Binder Park Zoo and MNFI have collaborated on providing education and outreach on the Eastern Massasauga and developing a volunteer snake responder network to provide assistance to landowners and the general public with massasauga and snake encounters.
A short Brigham Audubon business meeting will start promptly at 7:00 pm, with the presentation beginning immediately afterwards at 7:15 pm. The program will take place in the Cross Administration Building (Zoo Office). The event is free to the public. For more information, please contact Binder Park Zoo: 269-979-1351.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Girl's Afternoon Out at Fenn Valley Vineyards
Due to an overwhelming response to the Girl's Afternoon Out, Fenn Valley has added a SECOND date for this very popular event!
February 20th at 11am - 2pm
Chef Christine Ferris will present "A Chocolate Workshop", back by popular demand.
Join Fenn Valley for a fun and informative afternoon with the talented Chef Christine Ferris as she does a repeat performance of a "Chocolate workshop". The demonstration in followed by a lunch, complete with a selection of wines...
$30/ pp includes lunch, wine, tax, tip.
The first date filled up in 4 days, so be sure to reserve your seat quickly!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM CELEBRATES ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY WITH YEAR LONG FRIDAY NIGHT CONVERSATIONS AND LOCAL COLLABORATIONS
Monthly Themes Focus on Diverse Artistic Expression with a Call For Submissions for Multi-Media Event in November
The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2010. Special events, programs, and exhibitions recognizing the milestone are planned throughout the year. The Centennial provides an opportunity to look back at GRAM’s past century and envision its next 100 years.
Friday Nights at GRAM will celebrate the Centennial by introducing GRAM Conversations: 100 Years of Inspired Art Dialogue. Art inspires art, and the Grand Rapids Art Museum asks the question “What inspires you?” GRAM invites the community to join the conversation and contribute their voice, their creativity, and also their works of art inspired by the Art Museum’s permanent collection.
For centuries artists have found inspiration in those that came before, and each generation pushes the boundaries for the next. The Art Museum preserves that history and makes it accessible to the community. Throughout the coming year at GRAM, each month highlights a different mode of expression. Local organizers working in different mediums such as theater, jewelry design, and dance will collaborate with the Art Museum to create Friday Night events featuring performances, discussions, interactive workshops and more. The community is invited to join the conversation by finding the month and medium that suits them, meet with others during Friday Nights at GRAM to share ideas and information, stay connected with social networking forums and meet-up schedules, and participate in the organized events.
In collaboration with the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) during GRAM’s Centennial Year, the two arts organizations are calling for submissions in the categories represented each month. A Century of Inspiration at GRAM results in a Day of Inspired Works at UICA. Artists are invited to visit the Art Museum galleries to find inspiration among the permanent collection, and then create a new work based on the experience. Poetry, music, film, whatever their passion local artists are asked to create their work and submit it for the Inspired Works event scheduled for November 20, 2010 at the new location of UICA. Prizes will be awarded in each category. A selection of finalist in each will be decided by jury vote and invited to participate in the Inspired Works event. Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the event. Top prizewinner in each category receives: $200 cash, GRAM Friend of Art Membership for a Year, and UICA Film Passes. Submission forms, including rules and regulations, will become available online and on site at GRAM and UICA beginning in February 2010.
The Inspired Works categories and monthly themes are listed in the schedule that follows.
The schedule is (interested participants are encouraged to check the GRAM website regularly and become a GRAM Facebook fan to stay up to date as scheduling announcements are made):
January ArtPrize: Continue the Conversation
Get the creative juices flowing with the ultimate conversation about art: ArtPrize! Matthew Kluber’s massive video plays on the lobby screen, the Nessie and Grand Dance teams will be here, and Ran Ortner, winner of ArtPrize 2009, visits GRAM to speak about Open Water no. 24 while his work is on view at the Art Museum.
January 8: The Nessie Team
January 15: Ran Ortner, Open Water no. 24
January 29: David Lubbers and the Grand Dance Team
February Conversation: Theater
Calling all playwrights to the Art Museum for the month of February. Enjoy the performance created for Calder Jewelry exhibition; meet other scribes partial to the stage, and head up to the galleries to get ideas going. GVSU writing professor Austin Bunn collaborates with Malinda Peterson of MP Talent and many others in the theater community to organize a full month of Friday Night events.
February 5: Considering Calder, short plays and essays by GRAM Theater Group, playwright Randy Wyatt, and writer Tommy Allen celebrating the new exhibition Calder Jewelry and GR’s connection to the artist (Part of “Party of the Century”).
February 12: The Art Plays, site-specific (performed in galleries) short plays written by local playwrights based on favorite artwork choices by GRAM guests randomly selected the week before.
February 19: Works in Progress, excerpt readings of plays from Stephanie Sandberg, Austin Bunn and others.
February 26: Panel: Theater in Grand Rapids. Founders and managing directors of local theater—from Actors’ to Super Happy Funtime—participate in a panel discussion about the state of theater in our community today and where it might be heading.
March Conversation: Jewelry Design
Jewelry makers will delight in discovering Calder’s extraordinary exhibition. Gather at GRAM in the month of March for a fun and informative performance about “The History of Jewelry” on the 5th, plus additional Friday Night discussions, gallery walks, and demonstrations with materials and technique. Further scheduling details to be announced.
April Conversation: Poetry
Poetry floats through the open spaces of the Art Museum in the month of April. Meet up with fellow poets and share ideas and inspiration every Friday Night, where poetry readings and activities abound. Finish up on Friday the 30th with a night of live music and poetry slams from the diverse voices of West Michigan. Poets unite at GRAM, get connected and join the conversation. Scheduling details to be announced.
May Conversation: Music
If music is your mode of expression, then this month is for you. Music makers have long been a muse for painters over the years, and certainly visual art has inspired musicians as well. The Art Museum will take a look at this interesting combination through images, films, discussions and presentations during Friday Nights at GRAM. Scheduling details to be announced.
June Conversation: 2D & 3D
Paintings, prints, photographs, and sculpture are the focus of this month’s attention. From Festival of the Arts to the artists of Ox-Bow, regional art is celebrated at GRAM. Join in on the panel discussions and idea sharing for maintaining a strong voice in the community. With many regional works in the collection, from Matthias Alten to Stephen Duren, artists’ inspiration for the November show can focus on the local if they choose. Scheduling details to be announced.
July Conversation: Dance
For those whose medium is the body, whose work of art is the movement from that medium, this is your time to express yourself at the Art Museum. Join others during the month of July to discuss topics such as the influence between Martha Graham and Andy Warhol, different ideas about modern and traditional dance, and enjoy performances in the Cook Auditorium. Scheduling details to be announced.
August Conversation: Film
The Art of Cinema returns to GRAM celebrating all things film related. Meet up with other cinephiles on Friday Nights to talk film, discuss opportunities, and network. Late night movies in the park keep the party going in to the evening. Stroll through the galleries and discover just how much composition translates from canvas to film frame. Scheduling details to be announced.
September
October ArtPrize Returns
The Art Museum partners with ArtPrize and reserves space in the main galleries for the event, much is planned before, during, and after to celebrate this art phenomenon. Remember, art created for Inspired Works isn’t exclusive, go ahead and submit it to ArtPrize too if you wish. Scheduling details to be announced.
November Inspired Works at UICA
From one generation to the next, Art Inspires Art and Inspired Works is created! Informed by the great works of the past in the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s collection, new works from the variety of mediums listed above will be presented in the newly opened space of the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts on November 20, 2010.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
It's Chili In January
Annual Chili Cook-off and Wine Lover’s Potluck
During the bitter cold of winter, on January 23rd, the chill is going to thaw at Fenn Valley’s eleventh annual Chili Cook-off. Last year over 350 people gathered to enjoy some fine wine and taste the chilies and other great appetizers. This year we are again challenging you to dust-off your soup pot, and bring your secret recipe out to compete for the awards of Best Chili in each category. For those of you who do not wish to participate in the cookoff, we invite you to bring an appetizer to be included in our “wine lover’s potluck”.
We have changed the categories - they are based on the type of meat, if any, used in the recipe. Instead of Red, White, and Vegetarian, we have "Four Legs", "Two Legs", and "No Legs" as the categories. The color does not matter. Hopefully this new system will make the judging easier and more consistent.
Contestants must register their chilies between 1:00 and 2:00 pm. The judging will begin at 2:00 sharp and should be concluded by 3:00 pm. We are fortunate to have been able to secure the talents of some local chefs and instructors from the culinary arts school of Grand Rapids Community College to serve as our panel of judges.
For those non-contestants, the “wine lover’s potluck” will begin at 2:00 pm. During the potluck, everyone will be able to enjoy the chilies from the cook-off, the appetizers provided by the noncontestants, and a selection of new wines from the past vintage.
We are also pleased to include the musical talents of Natchez Trace for your enjoyment. They play classic popular favorites and have performed at a number of our Summer Evening Cookouts and Open House events during the past three or four years. The cost of admission will be either a chili entry per family, or a favorite appetizer for the potluck.
We will be making some of our newest wines available for your enjoyment: Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Meritage 2008, and the Vignoles Reserve 2008.
1:00 - 2:00 Register chili entries
2:00 - 5:00 "Wine Lovers Potluck"
2:00 - 4:30 Natchez Trace plays
Monday, January 4, 2010
Michigan Distillery launches Vodka with
“Spirited Life Tour”
(Holland, MI, January 4, 2010) – New Holland Artisan Spirits announces the introduction of Dutchess Vodka to Northern Michigan as part of Speakeasy Night at The Loading Dock in Traverse City on January 23, 2010
Cocktails featuring New Holland Artisan Spirits, as well as six of New Holland’s finest draft beers will be featured. The hosts encourage prohibition-era outfits, with prizes going to the “best dressed.” New Holland’s Spirited Advisor, Rich Blair and Beer Ambassador, Isaac Hartman will be available for an evening of tasting, conversation and libation and no cover charge! DJ Psycho will be spinning prohibition era jazz infusions!
New Holland Artisan Spirits has distilled spirits since 2005, and distributed them since December, 2008. They bring their 12 years of brewing expertise to the emerging world of craft-distilling. They are one of the few Michigan distilleries and will be pouring the following spirits at the Loading Dock:
· Dutchess Vodka is distilled from organic wheat, neutral in flavor and aroma with a hint of sweetness in the finish. Dutchess is the perfect companion to boundless ingredients.
· Knickerbocker Gin is infused with more than a dozen herbs and spices. Not your grandfather’s dry gin, Knickerbocker is a celebration of modern exploration in the historic realm of distilling. Try it with tonic or in an amazing classic martini.
· Michigan Amber Rum is distilled from a wash of fermented cane-sugar molasses, and aged in American oak, reflected in its caramel color and deep body. Michigan Amber makes delicious rum cocktails.
Join the New Holland crew in celebrating victory over prohibition with the finest spirits and beer our great state has to offer! The party starts at 7:00 and ends at closing time, with special industry hours scheduled 7:00-9:00.
“The Spirited Life Deserves a Spirited Drink”.
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