Summer in West Michigan wouldn’t be complete without the events, exhibitions, and shows put on by Saugatuck Center for the Arts. It’s a time for celebration, for community, and for sharing experiences, all of which the center offers in spades.
Jump Into Summer 2025 kicks off the season on Friday, June 6th. The free event takes place on the last day of school and features music, food, and a bar, all on a beautiful campus. Chicago’s DJ Alexander Great will perform, followed by the headliner, indie/soul musician Rudy De Anda. Food options will be plenty, and the bar will offer cocktails, craft beer, and non-alcoholic drinks. More than a thousand people are expected to attend.
Whitney Valentine, Director of Education & Exhibitions, sees it as a backyard barbecue party. “It’s this free community gathering designed for all ages. It’s a space to connect and to celebrate the summer season. And it’s bigger and bigger every year.” It’s something to look forward to, she said, and something to take pride in. “It’s inclusive. Everybody’s welcome.”
John Caleb Pendleton’s exhibition sōw [in sorrow] runs June 2nd - September 5th. In a digital age, Pendleton works with his hands. At first, woodworking and floral arrangement were hobbies; now, they’ve become a craft, and a career. sōw [in sorrow] is to be his first solo exhibition.
It will be a mixed media exhibition, including multiple installations featuring photographs as well as floral arrangements, dried florals, sculpture work, and site-specific installations. “The premise is investigating, and really coming to terms with, his own grief. How can we learn to thrive in the midst of sorrow?” The focus has roots in Pendleton’s own grief; his sister died when twenty-two years ago, when she was twenty-two years old. “She has been dead for the same amount of time she was alive,” Pendleton’s written.
Floral arrangements are something we tend to associate with events, whether congratulatory, romantic, or funereal. Seeing them in an exhibition space will allow viewers to consider ritual outside of their own lives, in a broader human context.
“Floral arrangements are for everyone,” Valentine said. “He’s trying to offer himself up.” John’s work is straight from his heart. It’s very emotionally driven. He’s so passionate about creating spaces and opportunities for collective conversation around grief. The beauty of his installations continue to inspire me.”
Apart from its own high merit, the exhibition represents a commitment on the center’s part to showcase artists who work in non-traditional materials. Oil paintings are inarguably art; that’s clear. Floral arrangements are, too. By showcasing them, the center’s hoping to demystify art, and to remind the community that all of us are artists.
Two upcoming musicals will be staged at the Center. The first is Come From Away, the award-winning 2013 dramatization of a small Newfoundland town made sudden host to seven thousand stranded people in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Funny and moving, it’s a show about how difficult times can reveal the best in humanity.
“There aren’t a lot of musicals like this,” said Maribeth Van Hecke, Producing Director of Theater and Performance. “It’s an ensemble cast, and the actors are constantly changing roles.” That’s part of the joy of the show, seeing actors don an accent only to discard it in the next scene, moving from distinct character to distinct character.
Stranded somewhere none of the passengers intended to visit, they react in different ways. For some, it’s an unexpected opportunity; romance blossoms for one couple, while another realizes they can no longer be together. A Muslim passenger, subject to suspicion and fear, is strip-searched, a reminder that community isn’t always an embrace. Sometimes, it’s a stranglehold. Nevertheless, the overwhelming feeling evoked by the musical is joy. It’s a life-affirming show. And this is its first production in Michigan.
Later this summer (August 8-31), Waitress will take to the stage. Based on the 2007 film and featuring original music by Sara Bareilles, the much-loved musical is about a woman who makes her way out of an abusive relationship and into a better life.
“There’s some heaviness in terms of content,” Van Hecke said, “but what you’re left with is a warm hug of a story. There’s heartbreak and trauma, but ultimately this is a feel-good show. There’s some heartbreakingly beautiful music. Any time you dive into the sticky human life situations, just like musicals do, it pulls you right back up with an incredible soundtrack.”
The center seeks out shows that are smart. “We want shows that aren’t throwaway, that aren’t just silly or dumb. They have to say something. But at the same time, it’s the summer. We want shows that are approachable, welcoming. It’s so great to see people leave with huge smiles, holding onto each other, laughing as they go. Staying to tell the actors how much they loved it. It’s the best time.”
Whether eating, drinking, and dancing with friends and neighbors; meditating on the beauty and fragility of life through a powerful exhibition; or sitting in the cool dark with others, shivering with anticipation as the show begins, summer memories will be made at Saugatuck Center for the Arts.
