Things to Do in East Grand Rapids

The Grand Rapids Wedding Affair sets brides-to-be and their fiancés loose to explore, meet, and bounce ideas off some of west Michigan's most sought-after wedding experts. Dozens of exhibitors converge to create a buffet of possibilities that range from bridal fashions, cakes, and catering to gift registries and photographers. Couples can also scope out postceremony services, including reception halls and honeymoon destinations.

Since opening in 1930, Kent County Conservation League has sheltered shooting fields and courses dispersed among more than 170 acres of wooded and open land. Sharpshooters of all experience levels can mill about a sporting clay course's 13 shooting stations as they shatter targets flung from abundant angles or nestle into a five-stand course's covered range before eliminating 25 clays. The League's rifle range distributes targets at intervals between 50 and 300 yards and their pistol range remains lit for nighttime sessions. As they draw back a tightly strung bow on the archery course, patrons can finally live out their childhood Robin Hood fantasies without donning green tights in an effort to frighten neighborhood kings.

Certified instructor Tim Wiley gives pupils the benefit of more than 15 years' skeet shooting experience during group or private lessons on five fields huddled behind Kent County Conservation League's clubhouse. Visitors can find additional instruction at defensive shooting sessions or a shooting program for youngsters that covers trap, sporting clays, and skeet. Delectable bites await famished gunslingers at Shooter's Grill, and a pro shop equips patrons with gun-toting apparel and silver bullets for clays that transform into werewolves. Kent County Conservation League hosts private and public events annually, and their grounds have welcomed major shooting outings such as the 2010 Michigan Sporting Clays Championship.

Inside Expressions of Grace Yoga's studio, wall-spanning windows grant views of the glistening Versluis Lake and its surrounding trees, echoing yogis balancing peacefully in tree pose. The studio's signature method is the Anusara style, which focuses on building strength and flexibility through postures that emphasize proper bodily alignment, broken up by difficulty levels to accommodate practitioners of all abilities.

Seven diligent professionals—enough to also field a baseball team with two catchers playing at once—comprise Expressions' staff of yoga instructors, all bringing to the table their own various certifications and areas of expertise. Collectively, the staffers put to practice a belief in a supportive teaching philosophy, and individually they are also available for private sessions to help students obtain a deeper understanding of their practice.

UICA fills 4,000 square feet of gallery space with innovative exhibitions by contemporary artists, screens films in a 198-seat movie theater, and organizes creative classes for youths and adults. The institute is going into its 35th year of sharing and inspiring innovative, challenging forms of visual arts, and it continues to engage the public with events such as a speaker series.

For more than three decades, AAA Canoe has rented canoes, kayaks, and tube floats to explorers bound for the scenic, tranquil Rogue River. The rental center accommodates both individuals and group outings, outfitting each trip with paddles and life jackets or flotation cushions before chauffeuring boaters and their vessels to their trip’s starting point. Each trip ends at the Rockford Dam in downtown Rockford, where passengers can explore the city sights and regain their land legs from unscrupulous alleyway leg merchants.

Boasting more than 60 midway games in stock, Fun Services of Grand Rapids proffers traditional fairground entertainment for festivals, picnics, and school events. Games such as a bean-bag toss and duck pond thrill young competitors, and bottle ring tosses and shooting games challenge older players' coordination and distract them from the latest fad of underwater tweeting.

On a larger scale, Fun Services' staffers inflate obstacle courses, slides, and bounce houses, and set up sports-related games of skill such as dunk tanks and putting. They also organize pony rides, elephant rides, and trackless train rides to let guests experience the way people traveled before railroad tracks were invented. Staffers can hand-deliver the games and help helm concession stands such as cotton candy wheels and sno-cone makers.