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Holiday traditions to celebrate the winter solstice are common
to every culture around the world. The transition from the shortest,
darkest day in mid-winter to the longest day of light at the beginning
of summer are a common theme to our world.
Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids
celebrates the light by showing the traditions of many countries
and cultures around the world. Besides the forty one gorgeous
Christmas Trees that are decorated as they would be in their native
regions, they also display Kwanza, Jewish, and Buddhist traditional
decorations. New this year is Tet Nguyen Dan, the Vietnamese
celebration of the lunar New Year; pronounced day wen don,
it literally means, “the first morning of the first day.”
Meijer Gardens is celebrating the completion of a $7.6 million
renovation and expansion that was awarded a silver level LEED
certificate in energy and environmental design. The renovation
and expansion was centered around the cafe, visitor areas, office
and storage spaces. The new cafe has a stunning Dale Chihuly
blown glass sculpture of colored glass flowers hanging from
the ceiling.
We have put together a few photos we took at the gardens
recently, so you can see some of the holiday decorations from
near and far. The gorgeous Christmas trees are all 12-15 feet tall
and loaded with beautiful ornaments. This is just a sampling of the
Christmas Traditions displayed here:
Our Holiday Wishes for Peace & Goodwill to all of you!
We invite you to visit our world famous Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We will share our recent snowy winter scenes with you. It usually doesn’t look like this until January or February, but it certainly is getting us in the Holiday mood. This is just a sampling of the 200+ sculptures that are here at the park permanently.
If you get a chance to visit Grand Rapids, don’t miss the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Former President Jimmy Carter called it a "National Treasure." We would love to have you come for a visit and see for yourself.
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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate, the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan
area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services, numerous universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.
We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Roselle Park in Ada Michigan along the Grand River is 247 acre park that is
a dedicated Natural Habitat Refuge. On a rainy Saturday a few weeks
ago, we stopped and took a few photos. It was cold and windy but
the fall colors were great. We walked on one of the trails along the Grand
River. A very peaceful place to visit. Dogs on leashes are welcome.
These silos were left from the previous owner of the property. The one with
the stars on top has been made into a 9 story observation tower.
View from the observation tower toward the Grand River
On the walking trail along the river.
The Grand River, the longest river in Michigan. It starts near Hillsdale MI and
winds it’s way north then west, eventually emptying into Lake Michigan.
This spot is just north of the confluence of the Thornapple River at Ada MI.
Additional information on Roselle Park:
Roselle Park Nature Preserve on the Grand River
Roselle Park Flood Stage Spring 2009 Video
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If you are looking for a home in the Grand Rapids Area, we service the following areas: Metro Grand Rapids, Ada-Cascade, East Grand Rapids, Caledonia, Kentwood, Lowell, and Rockford. We have assisted Grand Rapids buy & sell homes for the last 35+ years. Call 1-616-292-7263 to talk with Terry or email him at: terry@terrywestbrook.com.
For MLS access to the homes for sale in the West Michigan Area,visit: Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate for a free search. Your search can be saved and modified as you view homes, with no obligation.
Thinking of selling your home? We offer one of the most extensive marketing campaigns in Grand Rapids with a major online presence for your home. With over 85% of buyers looking for homes online, this is where we concentrate our efforts. Click here to view Terry’s Realtor profile.
Subscribe to our Grand Rapids Michigan Real Estate Blog
Westbrook Realty – Giving You Our Personal Best
Autumn is a picturesque time of year here in West Michigan. We
have lots of rivers, lakes, fall color, and lots of wildlife. This series
of photos lets you see a few residents of the Thornapple River at
their daily routine. The Thornapple River flows into the Grand River,
the longest in the state at Ada Michigan. Needless to say, a haven for wildlife year round. This gaggle of geese was just off the
Thornapple Pointe Golf Club in southeastern Kent County a few
weekends ago.
If you are looking for a home in the Grand Rapids Area, we service the following areas: Metro Grand Rapids, Ada-Cascade, East Grand Rapids, Caledonia, Kentwood, Lowell, and Rockford. We have assisted Grand Rapids buy & sell homes for the last 35+ years. Call 1-616-292-7263 to talk with Terry or email him at: terry@terrywestbrook.com.
For MLS access to the homes for sale in the West Michigan Area,visit: Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate for a free search. Your search can be saved and modified as you view homes, with no obligation.
Thinking of selling your home? We offer one of the most extensive marketing campaigns in Grand Rapids with a major online presence for your home. With over 85% of buyers looking for homes online, this is where we concentrate our efforts. Click here to view Terry’s Realtor profile.
Subscribe to our Grand Rapids Michigan Real Estate Blog
Westbrook Realty – Giving You Our Personal Best
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With the Grand Rapids Art Prize voting finally totaled last night, we know that most of 1262 entries didn’t win, any money, that is. The Top Ten will now compete for:
- 1st Place – $250K
- 2nd Place – $100K
- 3rd Place – $ 50K
- 4th-10th - $ 7K
Not exactly small change when it comes to art. I imagine most of us don’t have anything close to a $7000 piece of artwork in our homes.
The Top Ten Entries are all worthy and I will have to check them all out before I cast my final vote for the winner. I really enjoyed the thumbs up, thumbs down voting for all the artists. It was really great to be included in something this big and this important to our community.
But I digress, I want to talk about one of the Art Prize entries that didn’t win:
The Red Ball Project:Grand Rapids. We have friends in Heritage Hill who have served as hosts for 2 artists in this event. They provide housing and a home base while the artist puts up, installs, paints, or whatever they have to do to enter their art work. We were fortunate enough to meet the young artist of the Red Ball Project, Kurt Perschke and his wife Kate, while we were touring Art Prize.
This Art Prize entry is a large (15 ft diameter) red inflatable ball that is placed in strategic and well known places to tickle the senses and make you look again. Did I just see a large red ball there? Kids love to punch it and jump into it…..have fun with it. The Red Ball has been all over the world since 2001, Sydney Australia, Portland OR, Chicago IL, Korea, Rome Italy and Barcelona Spain, just to name a few of the spots it has visited.
Kurt and Kate are newlyweds and they are experiencing the Grand Rapids Art Prize together. They have been in Grand Rapids for at least 12 days and yet I doubt they have had time to see much beyond the venues of their Red Ball placement in major downtown venues.
They noted that the citizens of Grand Rapids seemed to take their voting responsibilities quite seriously, carrying notebooks and colored markers to note their reactions to different Art Prize entries.
So even though Red Ball didn’t win the art prize Grand Rapids was a winner. We got exposure to art work that never would have found our city without sponsors or a paid venue. So, thanks Kurt and Kate. It was a fun experience for all of us in Grand Rapids!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
We took a few hours to browse the Art Prize venues yesterday, Thursday, Sept 24th, 2009 in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. We saw some fabulous pieces of artwork and we also some we just didn’t get. I am sure it is the same for everyone, as we all see the world through our own private filter.
We took a few photos to share with those who won’t get a chance to see this art extravaganza in person. Some of the artworks have to be seen in person to appreciate the scale and subtleties. some are in-your-face, some are really, really out there, and others are really just for fun.
We registered to vote, toured the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Blue Bridge, Cathedral Square, Rosa Parks Circle and the Waters Building. We had a wonderful lunch at the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s Terrace Restaurant overlooking Rosa Parks Circle. What a great spot to people watch and even had a few art prize entries stroll past.
We hope to get back to see a lot more artwork. With 159 venues and over 1200 artists, it is quite a task to see them all. Hope you enjoy our tour!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
That library card is worth a free pass to a state park this year in Michigan
until September 25. Check with your local library to see if they have signed
up for this free state park program. There are also free hammocks as long
as supply lasts.
I would love to take a good book to the beach and read for a few hours
with the waves lapping, and my hammock swaying in the breeze. In fact,
I have a new mystery thriller that probably need to be read in the open air,
a lot less scary. When my imagination and the plot thickens, I can look up
and see a serene scene to bring me back to reality.
Or you could just wander the beach and soak up the beautiful
Michigan scenery. Either way, it is a great offer !
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Taste of Downtown, Family Festival (w kids activities), & Fireworks
Labor Day weekend has a lot in store for families here in Grand Rapids.
Celebration on the Grand is hosting free outdoor concerts, Sept 10-12.
Free Performances by:
Thursday, September 10th, 2009 – Rosa Parks Circle
- Emerson Drive
- Union Guns
- Bill Kirchen of Commander Cody
- Love & Theft
Friday, September 11, 2009 – Rosa Parks Circle
- Spencer Mulder
- Hank Mowry
- R.B. & Company
- Esparza Blues Experience
- Lynn Thompson Band
- 9:30 Fireworks
- 10:00 PM Jimmie Stagger
Ah-Nab-Awen Park
- 5 pm Ralston Bowls
- 5:45-6:30 Nomad Willy
- 6:45 – 7:45 pm Glean Infusion (Jason Wheeler)
- 8:00-9:30 pm – Organissimo
Saturday September 12, 2009
Monroe Center – Grand Valley Corvette Club Car Show
Rosa Parks Circle
- Taste of Downtown
- School of Rock
- Left Hand Daisy
- Rockit King
- Midlife Crisis
- Concussions
- Edgar Winter
- KC & The Sunshine Band
Ah-Nab-Awen Park
3pm – Family Festival includes Face Painting,
Temporary Tattoos, Crafts Games
Dusk – Feature Film on an outdoor big screen ( weather permitting)
On a beautiful day in April, we went on a day road trip
to Grand Haven Michigan, which is about 30 miles from
Grand Rapids. Grand Haven is on Lake Michigan, it has a
great beach. If you won’t take my word for it, it was
named one of the Top 5 Beaches in the United States by
Good Morning America-Travel Mom and has hosted the AVP
Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament throughout the summer
months, due to the quality of its sand beaches.
It also has 2 lighthouses, connected by a lighted catwalk
which runs along the pier to the shore. Grand Haven is a
Great Lakes port, home to a large charter fishing fleet, the
US Coast Guard Lake Michigan Group, which coordinates all
Lake Michigan Coast Guard activities. In fact, Grand Haven
is officially nicknamed, Coast Guard City USA.
Grand Haven State Park is also a popular destination for tourists,
because it is on fabulous Lake Michigan. We are so fortunate to
live so close to a natural wonder, Lake Michigan, one of the
largest fresh water lakes in the world. On a balmy day in
April, it is so serene. The same scene in stormy November
or January can look totally different. We get warnings on our
weather channels about wave heights and swimming in
dangerous rip tide conditions all summer.
But on a day trip to Grand Haven in April, all we have to
concern ourselves with was lunch. Which we had on the channel
at the Snug Harbor Restaurant while we watched the boats
going up and down the channel out to the big lake.
Grand Haven has lots to offer, whether you come for a vacation,
the Annual US Coast Guard Festival, or just a day tripper, like us.
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Wearing o’ the green would be appropriate for attending the
Great Lakes Irish Music Festival held at Fifth Third Ball Park,
this Saturday August 22, 2009 11:00 am – 9:20 pm.
Gates open at 11:00 am and the first entertainment hits the
stage at noon.
Of course there will be Irish food available for purchase, bangers
and beer, for starters, plus other delectable Irish delights.
The musical entertainment will be performed by international acts:
Quinn’s School of Irish Dance, Stephen’s Green, The Elders,
Brendan Nolan and the Screaming Orphans. Michigan’s Fenian’s
Players will once again take the stage to regale the crowd with
ballads and the spoken word.
There will also be Irish markets and workshops devoted to Irish music,
history and it’s language that will be available for participants. A
Children’s Area will be provided by the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum
from 12:00pm-4pm for the wee ones entertainment.
An added attraction at Fifth Third Ballpark this year is Art in the Park,
an non-juried art fair running from noon until 6 pm, where you can buy
artwork to take home.
Admission for this one day event is $12 for adults, children 3-12 $1, and
those babes under 3 get free admission. Parking is $5 per car, $10 for
buses and RVs.
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate – Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
