Grand Rapids Official Visitor Guide 2009 - Bonus Section

Did you enjoy reading our stories in the 2009 Grand Rapids Visitor Guide? Still thirsty for more? We have some more information to tickle your taste buds. If you didn't get a chance to read the stories in the Visitors Guide check back soon and we'll have the new 2009 Visitors Guide available online!

Claim Your Spot on the Shore

Get driving directions and check costs at Michigan’s West Coast beaches.

Rent boards or kites, book lessons, and learn more about kiteboarding. Rent boats in Muskegon, Grand Haven, Holland, or Saugatuck.

Gather at the River

Meeting professionals at the Grand Rapids Convention & Visitors Bureau will help you every step of the way, just as they did for the 2008 gatherings of National Association of Secretaries of State and National Stereoscopic Association and the 2009 Religious Conference Management Association conference.

Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson said this after his first few days in Grand Rapids: “When we told people we were going to Grand Rapids, they seemed surprised, because Grand Rapids doesn’t have the cachet of New Orleans or Portland, Oregon. Now we’ll go back and say, ‘We did this and this and this…’ We’ll become messengers for the experience.”

You might like to check out testimonials from others who’ve had conventions here, see who else is meeting in Grand Rapids, and look at ways our CVB staff can help you plan your conference.

Hip, Urban, Downtown and Face Paced

Downtown Grand Rapids

Read an interview with author Richard Florida on Grand Rapids in the context of his recent book, author of Who’s Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.

Plan your downtown schedule according to the weekly e-newsletter Rapid Growth.  Stay up on which movies are being filmed in West Michigan and what film lovers are saying on Spout.

Meet up with likeminded young medical researchers or social activists. Discuss your favorite media with artists at Division Avenue Arts Cooperative or Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts.

You may have seen furniture designed by nationally known sculptor Cameron Van Dyke in The Artful Home catalog. His wife, Rachael Van Dyke, is a painter. Together they operate Capsule Modern Furniture and Art, a live/work space on the Avenue for the Arts ((136 S. Division Avenue, (616) 540-5324). The Van Dykes are included in a Grand Rapids Magazine feature about downtown artists.

Want to join a group bike ride in Grand Rapids? You’re welcome to ride along in bike events arranged by

• 26 Portsmouth Bike Shop, run by Daniel Koert and Evan Simula
• PedalGR, slow- to moderate-paced rides that end at Founders Brewing

Positive Cycling, which also sells bike caps and bike T-shirts

Local art and bicycling come together at Teamwork Bags, where you can buy customized messenger-style bags made of recycled sailcloth. Buy the bags online or at Space Craft, (100 S. Division Avenue, #125, (616) 706-9546).

The same restaurants, bars, and coffee shops keep coming up in conversations with people quoted in this story.

Downtown

• Bar Divani. Interesting food and wine flights.
• Bite. Great soup, popovers, Cajun wraps, “way more vegetarian options than grilled cheese.”
• Grand Central Market. Get the Olympian (goat cheese, basil, tomato, bell peppers, rosemary balsamic vinaigrette on your choice of wrap or bread) or customize your own sandwich at the deli counter.
• Rockwell’s Kitchen and Tap and Republic. Twin restaurants share a kitchen and two-tiered outdoor deck.
• San Chez Bistro. Tasty tapas, blue cheese fritters, seared tuna, pitchers of sangria, helpful staff.
• XO Asian Cuisine. Delightfully hot Pad Thai and Panang Beef.

Uptown and Eastown (southeast neighborhoods near downtown)

• Bombay Cuisine. Popular lunch buffet.
• Green Well Gastro Pub. Starring local foods and local brews.
• Marie Catrib’s. The entire Spout staff vouches for the chicken cranberry on challah.
• Wealthy Street Bakery. Fresh-from-the-oven bread, pastry, pizza.

Use VisitGrandRapids to connect with Grand Rapids nightlife spots, restaurants and other venues.  Or search for events, exhibits and performances that match your interests with the Grand Rapids CVB’s comprehensive events calendar. Consult user reviews or the GRNow Hot List to narrow your choices. Find Grand Rapids wi-fi hot spots. Browse events from your cell phone or PDA.

Faith and Philanthropy

Learn more about Frey Foundation, Grand Action, and Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

Grand Finds

Read more about Israels’ Kindel Masterworks Line and the Updyke Rhode Island Desk and Bookcase in Kindel Furniture specs and in The New York Times. Israels Designs for Living carries Kindel furniture in both its 28th Street SE location and 28th Street SW (Klingman’s) location.

Buy Grand Rapids Griffins gear at their store, The Zone.

Order directly from k studio to get pillows, wall art, or bags customized to your specifications.
SunStick is available online at gosunstick.com or by calling (800) 605-3769. You may also find SunStick at local stores and greenhouses (scroll down for addresses).
You can shop for Ford presidential items online.
For more books about Grand Rapids, including fiction set in the region, check out book lists from Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau and Grand Rapids Public Library.
Besides buying specialty wines directly from Cascade Winery, you may find some of its products at:

• Kingma's Market, 2225 Plainfield Ave. NE, (616) 363-7575
• Grand Central Market, 57 Monroe Center NW, (616) 454-5300
• Cherry Hill Market, 721 Cherry St. SE., (616)776-0266

Local Foods

Michigan Grown Blueberries
Krupka's in Fennville

Learn more about places mentioned in this story.

Meat and fruit: Sobie Meats, The Blueberry People, Blueberry Heritage Farm, The Blueberry Store, Crane’s Pie Pantry, and Crane Orchards.

Hear butcher Tim Sobie play sax for Mid Life Crisis, voted best Grand Rapids band in the annual Townies Awards.

Other sure bets for local food include Sweetwater Local Foods Market, Grand Rapids Fulton Street Farmers Market, Grand River Grocery, and D&W Fresh Market and Meijer.

Check out West Michigan Fresh, a fantastic online guide to local farm markets, U-pick and already-picked produce, and more. Another excellent source is Local Harvest.

Chocolate, gelato, and wine: Chocolate Cubed, Martha’s Vineyard, Palazzolo’s Artisan Gelato & Sorbetto, and Cascade Winery.

Read about chocolate styles from world’s great “chocolate houses.” Discover how Cascade Winery began and how it ranks with other Michigan wines.

Michigan microbrews: Find details on and links to all the West Michigan breweries and brewpubs at the KalamaBrew blog. Download this microbrew rater to help you decide which Michigan beers you like best and why.  Keep on top of the latest happenings in “The Great Beer State” with the Michigan Brewers Guild, which works to unify the state’s beer community. 

Find many labels in one place at HopCat bar and restaurant. Discuss home brewing with members of Primetime Brewers.

Outdoor Recreation

John Ball Zoo is open year round. During the summer, however, you can do extra activities: feed budgies (Australian parakeets), touch stingrays, pet farm animals, ride a camel, pedal a swan boat, ride a zip line through the treetops, or challenge yourself on a ropes course. Except for petting farm animals, these activities cost extra.

If you’re intrigued by the history of John Ball Zoo, then you’ll enjoy reading Born to Wander: Autobiography of John Ball.

Kent Trails starts just outside John Ball Zoo. You can bike this easy paved path to Millennium Park, a fine place to fish, swim, or picnic. From Riverside Park, three miles north of downtown Grand Rapids, you can bike a connector trail to Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park.

All persons 17 years and older need a fishing license to fish in Michigan. You can order an annual or 24-hour fishing license online from Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). If you’re not a Michigan resident, you’ll also have to buy an MDNR Sportcard for a one-time fee of $1. You may also buy a fishing in the sporting goods department at local Meijer stores. Check the weekly Michigan DNR fishing report (look under Southwest Lower Peninsula heading).

Explore even more fishing or other outdoor recreation options in Grand Rapids.

Outdoor Sculpture

Discover what sculptors and curators from around the world saw at the 2008 International Sculpture Center conference in Grand Rapids.

The best websites for finding almost 200 downtown and metro-area sculptures are www.sculpturesitesgr.org and www.grsculpture.com. Read about or download downtown walking tours of sculptures and architecture.

The most famous outdoor sculpture in Grand Rapids—“La Grande Vitesse” by Alexander Calder—was installed on Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids in 1969. Help celebrate the sculpture’s 40th birthday by seeing the Alexander Calder exhibition, June 5 to September 7, 2009 at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

Enjoy indoor and outdoor art at The Rapid, headquarters for bus routes throughout metro Grand Rapids.