I attended the World of Winter Silent Disco (for my 2nd year) and it did not disappoint. I parked…read moreat the Amy Grand and walked over. It was a cold Michigan winter but the vibe was warm and welcoming. Lots of smiles, colors, lights, and people. More than expected especially due to the cold. The sponsors had extra headphones so the line to wait for headphones went quick and the process of turning them on and tuning in was seamless. The DJs were spinning beats making the crowds excited and the dance party never ending. Loved the food trucks surrounding the areas, the festival dancers interacting with the crowds, the aesthetically pleasing platform of artistic display, and the fire pits. Lots of security presence so I felt extra safe and we danced into the night. 11pm comes quick. Wish this would be every Saturday night downtown. Looking forward to next year!

Grand Rapids is home to the largest winter festival in the United States - World of Winter! The…read morefestival features lots of free events and activations and amazing outdoor art installations that get people out and about in the city during the coldest winter months. World of Winter takes place January 12 through March 10, 2024. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a big fan of winter, but I've really enjoyed all the events I've participated in through the past couple of years of World of Winter. Popular events include the silent disco, ice sculptures downtown and walking tours, human hungry hungry hippos, and a drag show at Calder Plaza. This year we got to check out the ice arcade, with foosball, connect four, cornhole, and more - all made from solid blocks of ice! The art installations are usually interactive and especially stunning at night with colorful lights and other features. For 2024 the giant inflated frogs at Ah Nab Awen Park are super popular and make for great photos. It's disappointing to see that some of the art installations have been damaged by people standing on them (when signs clearly posted tell you to not do this) and throwing huge ice chunks on them :( I hope that World of Winter can continue for years to come and we can avoid this type of vandalism.

I had a great time at the Donut and Beer Festival! My boyfriend and I both had VIP tickets so we…read morewere able to get in an hour early. I would highly recommend this route as it got pretty crowded on the concourse during the regular hours of the festival. The booths were set up all over the main concourse as well as on some of the other seating areas throughout the ballpark. Everything was set up well and the maps provided were accurate and helpful. I was able to make notes of the items I wanted to try. The VIP area was a little lackluster but it was nice to have a place inside to sit down. The band was fun and there were people playing the games. I also loved the inflatable props for photo opportunities! Everyone at the event seemed so happy and having a great time.

ArtPrize is a yearly event that brings thousands of visitors to the downtown Grand Rapids area each…read morefall. The event has changed throughout the past 15 years it's been around, but it typically entails hundreds of art entries that are displayed downtown. Some are inside businesses, some are out on the street, and some are a bit hidden. There is a contest element to the event, with public vote winners as well as juried vote winners. I've always taken a very laid back approach to ArtPrize, preferring to just stumble upon installations as I make my normal way around the city. But there are venues that have large concentrations of art, including DeVos Place, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, and more. I think it would be impossible to see every single piece! ArtPrize maps are not really a "thing" - there was a web based map in 2024 but I found it super clunky and not at all user friendly. The event brings tons of people into the downtown area, making it really congested with traffic as well as a lot of foot traffic - I typically try to avoid driving downtown during this time. Overall it's an interesting event that has a lot of discourse around it (both positive and negative), but something to check out if you're interested in art.

ArtPrize--or BoobyPrize??? Navigating around ArtPrize is an…read moreAbsolute nightmare. We wanted to take Our bikes around downtown and were told- no bikes allowed- seriously? We rode bikes all Over DC and Loved it! The QR system was an epic fail. The "interactive link" only linked me To the personal information of the creator Of said failed map. We wandered looking around for the art. No physical maps were available -- the concierge at the Amway Hotel didn't even have a map- nor did the assistant at the Devoss center. I never saw an Art Prize volunteer the entire day. If you're having out-of-area visitors it would be nice to offer some guidance: such as Where to park, information that you can only use city bikes. It would have been nice to click on the QR codes and have more information about the piece or the artist available. Scanning the QR did not work for voting, even after I registered. It kept saying it needed to change my locations setting.( which was set correctly ) And for an art exhibit, the signage stunk!!! Do you want people to actually read what you wrote? Then how about printing in a decent size font and posting the information higher than 2 feet off the ground! Ugh. Fun Day? More like frustrating.

Grand Rapids Foodie Fest was a couple weekends ago, and I was so pumped to go!…read more We unfortunately waited until the last day of the fest, and the rain seemed to scare people away :/ There were still quite a few vendors (but not all that had been there I don't think) and the crowd was pretty small (which was probably to our benefit!) We had some delicious tacos, as well as deep fried oreos, so it wasn't completely a bust, but next time I will definitely go earlier on! (And hopefully it doesn't rain!) Also, don't get me started on the porta potty situation because it was BAD. Like, I refused to buy any drinks because I was not about to submit myself to that, kind of bad. Hopefully that was just a last-day thing because WOOF

I really had high hopes for this fest. The reason we wanted to come was for the seafood truck;…read moreguess who wasn't there... so I ended up getting Jamaican food. Very disappointed. The rib tips were tough and the sauce was watery. This spot only gave about 1/2 cup of each side (no exaggeration) for $25. No way was it worth it. We also wanted lemonade but it was a wait for more ice. After about 10+ mins, we said "forget it". The egg roll guy was by himself and we weren't up for a longer wait. Not to mention, it was starting to rain. The port a potty's had to be full from day 1 because... no. On the upside, the fried Oreos, the salsa and guacamole vendor and all the taco spots were a hit with my family! I heard it was better last year. Hopefully it will be better next year.

The Comedy Project is a gem of Grand Rapids. If you live here or you're just visiting, it's worth a…read morestop. The improv is genuinely funny and it's different every single time, so you can go back and never see the same show twice. Good drinks, too. If you're looking for something to do downtown, put this on the list.

I wanted something fun to do on my birthday weekend, so Nate and I got tickets to the Best of the…read moreBest improv show at The Comedy Project. I think it was $17 per ticket and you just check in at the podium near the bar when you arrive. They explained they system to us - give them a credit card to start a tab, then you can write your drink/food order on a paper and they'll come around throughout the show to grab your paper. Then they cash you out at your table right after the show. It was a quick and efficient system! They have canned beverage (alcohol and N/A) and some snacks - we enjoyed the Pop Corners and "Taste of Italy," which is a small plate of pizza rolls and mozzarella sticks. The show itself was SO funny! They did several fun skits, many of which involved audience suggestions. There were only a couple that didn't make me laugh as hard, but I was cracking up most of the show. It's incredible how the cast members can come up with things on the spot like that. One note, if you're a couple or group smaller than six people, you'll likely be seated at a table with others. We had fun chatting with our table mates but it would be a great group outing. I'm so glad we finally went back to The Comedy Project and am looking forward to seeing more shows! We went to the 7 pm show and they told us if we wanted to stay for the 9 pm show, you can get tickets for half off.

As a 49 year old tradition in Grand Rapids, I feel that tug to return every year. I agree with…read moresome of the comments I have seen regarding the level of the arts presentations the last few years. The live performance art is well covered but I wonder if because of Art Prize we won't see the amount of art exhibits that we were used to in the past. I do miss that. The food this year was good. Seems to be a lot of the crowd favorites and that is good. Maybe a little more variety and maybe more food booths could be added? I don't think that the food is overpriced since some the organizations make this their largest fund raiser during the year. Cannot wait until next year to celebrate the 50th!

I will be honest, I am completely biased about Festival. I love it. It's family; some of my…read moreearliest memories are volunteering at Festival and my family's involvement had a monumental impact on my life. I've lived away from GR for a number of years now and wasn't able to attend a few Festivals - being away has made me appreciate it even more. The accessibility to art is unprecedented (this includes performance and visual art) and all of the food booths are run by local non-profits. This thing we simply call, "Festival" is no doubt part of what puts GR and West MI on the map. Oh, and if you were the least bit curious... this is one of the largest all-volunteer run events in the country and occurs the first full weekend of every June.

Chaotic lack of organization. Growing pains from moving to DeVos, hopefully this gets sorted moving…read moreforward. Staff seems inept, though from the conversations I've had its due to not being given any information by organizers. Great selection of vendors.

Horrible lack of organization. Staff has not had proper information provided by organizers for…read morevendors, game-masters, or even players. Long-established companies left out of the even catalogue even after their events were submitted before the deadlines; increased price on badges from the advertised prices; will not give credit to game-masters running multiple tables if one table has less than five players (not listed in the requirements anywhere). VERY disappointed in the organizers, yet haven't seen any of them to voice complaints.