As kids, we were always taught to keep it down in the library or risk being hushed by the stern librarian keeping watch in the corner.
Fear not fellow bookworms/music nerds: The Grand Rapids Public Library is breaking the “shh!” stereotype with its Music in the Stacks, a free and all-ages concert series.
The Grand Rapids Public Library is hosting a month packed with good reads and free, educational events. Travel the Lakes, cook up some good food with the family, celebrate the Day of the Dead — and plenty of others. For complete details, visit grpl.org.
Adam Schuitema, a Grand Rapids-based author and English professor at Kendall College of Art and Design, released his second novel, Haymaker, back in April via Switchgrass Books.
hroughout the years superheroes and movies have gone together like, well, Batman and Robin. If you need proof of this, just step into any major theater and you’re pretty much guaranteed to have at least one character from DC or Marvel gracing the screens. Or, if you want to nerd out extra hard, just head to the Grand Rapids Comic-Con Film Festival.
Whenever people talk about Vincent Price, it’s easy to conjure up images of mad scientists, vengeful murderers and doomed protagonists stuck in creepy haunted houses. But what about Vincent Price the gourmet chef? Well it turns out he and his wife Mary were quite the gourmets and even wrote a bestselling cookbook in 1965, A Treasury of Great Recipes. The book would eventually go on to inspire many chefs and become a highly sought-after (and expensive) out-of-print book.
Over the years, Bill Burr has become known for his edgy stand-up bits — he’ll rant about how stay-at-home moms are taking it easy and “living the dream” and then smoothly segue into the positive aspects of population control. Monday, Oct. 26, he brings some of that heat to DeVos Performance Hall.
With all of the commotion caused by ArtPrize, and the constant flow of other arts-related events in the area, it’s impossible to tell every story. Nonetheless, Revue’s Arts Issue, at the very least, offers a sample of what our side of the state has to offer.
For 26 years Classic Stereo was a hi-fi fixture in West Michigan. Then, following the economic recession, the retail outlet closed in 2008 – but the story doesn’t end there. The audio/visual electronics retailer, which previously had locations in both Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, is now prepping for a comeback in Grand Rapids.
The West Michigan Film and Video Alliance teamed up with the UICA for its new project, the Visiting Film Artists Series. The series focuses on bringing film-industry professionals to Grand Rapids to host workshops and presentations about the art of film. From directors and writers to actors and costume designers, the idea is to have working experts in the biz.
When Lydia VanHoven and her colleagues at the Bandit Zine set out to create Grand Rapids’ first-ever feminist film festival last year they weren’t exactly sure what kind of response they would get. As it turns out, roughly 400 people showed up for the event, far exceeding expectations. “We were initially going to just do Grand Rapids Feminist Film Festival as a one-time event,” VanHoven said. “But since the response was so positive we wanted to make it an annual thing."
Aside from several decades of tired Murder City clichés, if Detroit has a reputation for anything, it’s for being on the cultural vanguard. From proto-punk to techno, Detroit is the place where cool things happen a decade before anybody else thinks of them. That reputation transcends the musical realm. Long before The Onion – or even Grand Rapids’ own Recoil – took a biting and satirical look at arts and culture, there was a monthly Detroit magazine called Orbit.
Local cinephiles were likely bummed about the cancelation of this past summer’s Waterfront Film Festival. Since 1999 the acclaimed South Haven event has unequivocally celebrated independent filmmakers while showcasing hundreds of Midwestern and world premieres, from Man on a Wire to Napoleon Dynamite.
Unlike many stand-up comedians, superstar Brian Regan doesn’t fear the infinite space of the great outdoors. “Most comedians I think are a little hesitant to play outdoors, but I don’t have a problem with it,” Regan told Revue. “I was doing a show one place outdoors and I was doing a joke about the moon. I looked up and I literally saw the moon up there and I was like, ‘Wow, I guess I’m a prop comedian. Take a look! It’s the biggest prop in comedy history.’”
It’s that time of year again where awkward youth flock to ramshackle cabins in the woods and brave mosquitoes, campfire ghost stories and Mystery Meat Tuesdays in hopes of forging friendships and embarking on unforgettable adventures. Wealthy Theatre’s summer camp is the alternative, designed for the creative, less outdoorsy individuals.
