The F4CE Guide To Grand Rapids Festival Of The Arts

Grand Rapids, Mich - It’s that time of the year again! Time for the annual Grand Rapids Festival Of The Arts , West Michigan’s premier community arts event, featuring the area’s best performers and artists, along with kids’ art activities, fun for families, and of course, a virtual “United Nations” of food booths, operated by area nonprofit organizations. This FREE three-day celebration of everything art will be held this weekend, Friday June 3rd to Sunday June 5th, in the heart of Downtown Grand Rapids. There is something for everyone at the nationally recognized Festival Of The Arts and I’m helping you decide what do to with my F4CE guide to festival!

Art On The Spot

Art On The Spot features talented artists from all over West Michigan creating great art while you wait. You can head over to Monroe Center or the Federal Building Lawn to purchase unique custom jewelry, get an all natural Henna Art or air brush tattoo, experience Green Screen Photography, and let one of the amazing artists create a personal Caricature of you or the whole family! Who wouldn’t want a funny caricature portrait made by last year’s Art Prize winner Chris La Porte? I know that will certainly be at the top of my list! Check out the festival website for a complete list of Art On The Spot activities.

Entertainment

If you are looking for some great entertainment at Festival, you’re in luck! Entertainment is endless at Festival Of The Arts with films, music, poetry, dances, theatre and more! The festival will feature local West Michigan talent at a variety of locations in Downtown Grand Rapids. You can stop by the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) for their 24-hour Film Festival, get down with the Beltline Big Band at the Calder Stage, or enjoy several styles of dance by Expressions Dance Academy at the Circle Stage. For the complete list of performance locations and times visit the Festival Of The Arts Website. http://www.festivalgr.org/guide/entertainment

Food

What can possibly make the Festival Of The Arts even better? Food, Food and more food! This year over thirty-three non-profit organizations will be serving food from all over the world right here in West Michigan. Personally I am a huge fan of desserts, so I’ll be stopping by the Central Christian Church booth for some Chocolate Waffle Sundaes and Root Beer Floats! If dessert isn’t your thing, you can enjoy Greek cuisine like Souvlaki, delicious BBQ Ribs and many more tasty options. Proceeds of food sales benefit the non-profits and Festival Of The Arts so be sure to support your local West Michigan organizations! You can find a complete list of food vendors at the Festival website.

Activities

The Festival Of The Arts strives to display all forms of art from local West Michigan artists, but who says we can't be the artists? There are plenty of hands on art activities you can be involved in during Festival. You can create your own sidewalk chalk art at Chalk The Walk at the Federal Building Lawn, and participate in the Adult Paint In creative painting environment for the young at heart. There are even fun hands on kids activities like face painting at the Federal Building Lawn and KidzArtZone at several downtown locations. There are plenty of activities to keep you busy for hours at the Festival Of The Arts so visit the Festival website for a complete list of activities and fun!