Ludington Petunia Parade
During the summer is the Petunia Parade in Ludington featuring 30,000 petunias lining Ludington Avenue and the marina.
Photo by ArtPrize
Each year, Downtown Grand Rapids plays host to perhaps the world’s largest art competition- ArtPrize. It generally takes place from mid-September to October with many West Michigan artists submitting pieces which are displayed throughout Grand Rapids, Michigan, at public parks, museums, galleries, restaurants, etc.
A study by researchers at Grand Valley State University reveals that ArtPrize 2024 brought a remarkable $71 million economic boost to the Grand Rapids community. This represents a 30% increase from the $54.7 million impact reported in 2023, highlighting the expanding influence of the annual art competition on the local economy.
Visit artprize.org to register!
From it’s origins, it’s a city-wide art competition within a 3-square mile district in downtown Grand Rapids. It was open to any artist age 18 and up. During the first 11 days, visitors could view the entries and take note of the ones they wanted to vote for.
This was not to be a run-of-the-mill art competition. Some very creative minds back in 2009 invented ArtPrize, where any artist in the world could compete with no limitations. The venue would not be contained to one place- if a property owner in Grand Rapids wanted their storefront to become a “canvas,” it became one. And the public would vote to decide who would win the cash prizes.
So on September 23rd, 2009- 1,262 artists from 14 countries and 41 states entered their pieces for ArtPrize, and Grand Rapids wasn’t quite prepared for the 200,000 people that arrived for the two-week event. Over the past years, ArtPrize has featured thousands of artists artists, over $1.5 million prizes and brought over one million visitors to Grand Rapids.
In 2018, ArtPrize organizers announced that the event would occur every other year with a smaller, scaled-back event known as Project 1 held during the off years.
In 2022, the original organizers decided to turn all creative, technological, and communications platforms over to a new partnership between Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the city of Grand Rapids, and Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University.
During the summer is the Petunia Parade in Ludington featuring 30,000 petunias lining Ludington Avenue and the marina.
The Caswell Horse Park at the Mason County Fairgrounds in Ludington is a busy place from May-October, with many horse shows.
Motorcycles of all varieties and sizes make their way to Baldwin every May for the annual Blessing of the Bikes.
Take one of the most scenic drives in the nation as you travel across M-22 in West Michigan. A long winding road of adventure awaits!
Manistee National Forest together with the Huron National Forest occupies almost a million acres of land in Michigan’s lower peninsula.
The park remains open year-round for hiking, snowshoeing, activities to give those who love winter something fun to look forward to!
The historical Vogue Theatre in Manistee, renovated as a modern-day movie theater, shows current movies, classic films, and family movies.
The Grand Traverse Lighthouse is situated at the end of the Leelanau Peninsula within, about eight miles north of the town of Northport.
West Michigan is home to wineries galore! Enjoy a wine tasting tour and sample award winning wines.