It’s easiest to understand it with three things: Gifts, growth and grants. So, the Community Foundation accepts gifts from people. Gifts come in and we grow them through the market. Most of our money is invested.
More than half a century after its original debut, West Side Story returns, ready to dazzle audiences anew with the plight of star-crossed lovers trapped within a ranging feud. Directed by David Saint, the Miller Auditorium performance is based on the 2009-2011 revival.
Brian Regan doesn't have to lace his comedy with obscenities to be funny. In fact, to do so would be counterintuitive. "I have no problem with blue comedy from a fan perspective," Regan said. "But it's not natural for me as a performer."
Engine House No. 9 has been a fixture of Leonard Street in Grand Rapids since 1890. It has housed many businesses since being decommissioned as a fire station in 1966. Currently residing within its walls is the newest addition to the West Michigan beer scene.
Friends since kindergarten, co-founders and brewers Chris Andrus and Max Trierweiler went into their separate careers, but wanted to find something they could do together.
As the second installment of a three-year, three-exhibition partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art, the GRAM opened its doors to Real/Surreal Oct. 19.
Deadwood Stone opened for Slash last month. Yeah, that's right. The same Slash you're thinking of. The one with the top-hat and the crazy hair. The one who played during last year's Super Bowl Halftime Show. You know – he used to be in a little band called Guns 'n' Roses.
Matt Braunger has been all over the place. He grew up in Portland, Ore., studied theater at Manhattanville College in New York, did improv and stand-up in Chicago, and finally, moved to Los Angeles to solidify his career in comedy.
Braunger has had a solid career in standup for a few years now, with appearances on "The Late Show with David Letterman," a Comedy Central hour-long special and his digital album Soak Up the Night. But even with all of this standup success, Braunger is still probably most often recognized for his acting career.
If James Young could tell his younger self anything, it would be to have a little more discretion with promotional photos. Well, that and when things get tough, to just hang in there.
Luckily for us, hang in there he did because about 13 years and a lot of hard work later, the Eli Young Band has released five albums, two chart-topping singles, and one recently named "Song of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music Awards.
The growler is having a moment. The 64-ounce vessel reminiscent of a moonshine jug can often be seen lining the shelves of brewpubs, ready to be filled with a beer geek's favorite beer and toted home to enjoy. Though they are undoubtedly trendy, growlers offer far more than artisanal accessorization.
"I think any brewery should offer growlers," says Kris Spaulding, the co-owner and sustainability director of Brewery Vivant. "Not because growlers are unique, but because being very community-focused, a growler makes sense."
What was once a basement hobby for a dedicated few now has many in the state viewing craft brewing as an economic engine for the state.
The growth of the craft beer industry is outpacing that of the rest of beer industry. Craft beer sales grew 13 percent in 2011 compared to an overall 1.9-percent decline within the beer industry as a whole, according to data from the U.S. Brewers Association. Michigan’s craft beer industry generates $133 million in economic activity, and the state ranks fifth in the nation in the number of breweries, according to the Michigan Brewers Guild.