Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (DGRI) at two separate events this week will 1) announce the slate of films for the 2015 Movies in the Park series and 2) launch several new start-up summer programs all designed to continue energizing the Downtown experience for residents, workers and visitors.

Taken together and weather permitting, DGRI this summer will produce 138 days of large and small public events and programs that aspire to keep building up Downtown Grand Rapids as a dynamic urban destination full of people enjoying the city. All events and activities are free and open to the public.

“Our goal is to provide more and more opportunities for spontaneous and playful experiences in the public realm of Downtown,” said Kris Larson, president and CEO of DGRI. “We have a number of great partners such as ArtPrize, LaughFest, the Local First Street Party, numerous festivals and others who organize events that bring the fun and excitement for a couple days or weeks at a time. But what we’re all really working together to achieve is a Downtown that’s active, engaging and loveable around the clock every single day.”

Toward that end, DGRI will make two separate announcements later this week:

  • Reveal the 2015 Movies in the Parks series lineup Thursday, April 30 at 5:30 PM.
  • Launch four new start-up experiential programs Friday, May 1 at 11:30 AM.

Movies in the Park 2015 Lineup

DGRI, in partnership with event co-sponsors Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and Franklin Partners, will announce the 2015 roster of films at 5:30PM on April 30, 2015 at 25 Ottawa Street SW.

Stemming from a community idea in 2013, Movies in the Park has quickly become a signature event in Downtown Grand Rapids. The 2014 series of six events attracted approximately 19,000 people and stimulated an estimated $440,000 in total consumer spending. Overall DGRI leveraged approximately $13.00 in economic return to downtown and participating businesses for every $1.00 invested to produce the events.

Movies are selected from a running, community-generated list of favorite films. Weather permitting, the scheduled 2015 movie nights, all hosted at Ah-Nab-Awen Park, are as follows:

  • June 5
  • June 19
  • July 10
  • July 24
  • August 7
  • August 21 (Double feature including the community-selected Voters’ Choice film)

Four Start-Up Summer Experience Programs

DGRI will officially launch four new summer experience programs at 11:30 AM on May 1, 2015 at Rosa Parks Circle, 135 Monroe Center NW. The start-up initiatives, designed to continue expanding the range of convivial and meaningful ways people engage and enjoy downtown, include the following:

  • Play Downtown. An outdoor games program that will deploy throughout Downtown an oversized Connect Four board, large yard dice, cornhole boards, and other activities. The program builds on the well-received deployment last summer of the oversized public chess board on Monroe Center.
  • Relax at Rosa. A free weekly lunchtime series that will feature local music talent, food trucks and carts, and outdoor games at Rosa Parks Circle from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM every Thursday from May 7 through September 17.
  • Picnic in the Parks. A free monthly lunchtime series that invites the community to come together in various parks, grab lunch from a food truck, enjoy music, and/or take part in pick-up sporting activities or professionally-led exercise classes.
    • May 26 at Rosa Parks Circle
    • June 30 at Sixth Street Park
    • July 28 at Ah-Nab-Awen Park
    • August 5 at Heartside Park
  • Pop-Up Performers Program will showcase dancers, musicians, hula-hoopers and other “buskers” or street performers who add an element of fun and entertainment to public places. Performance schedules will evolve throughout the summer but performers will deploy often to compliment other Downtown events and activities.