Things to Do in East Grand Rapids

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.

Hockey pucks clack from stick to stick and soccer balls soar past goalkeepers inside Cedar Rock Skating Academy, where athletes are welcome to showcase competition spirits year-round. A full-size hockey rink—outfitted with NHL–style dasher boards and glass—hosts games throughout the year, including youth leagues and 40-and-over leagues. During summer months, inline hockey pits wheeled warriors against each other, and during winter, soccer players can show off fancy footwork on the academy’s indoor field.

In addition to its game spaces, the facility also boasts eight locker rooms, a concession stand, and a pro shop, as well as full-length bleachers, which seat spectators and scouts hoping to discover the next star zamboni operator.

In the curtained-off confines of a photo booth, revelers adjust a digital screen’s controls, then mug for the camera wrapped in feather boas, eyes obscured behind sunglasses. The props and the booth come courtesy of Switek Entertainment, whose photo booths and chief disc jockey—who spins under the name DJ Switek—energize crowds at Michigan wedding receptions and parties. The company also draws on connections to Comfort Limo, Tramontana Photography, and other area businesses, matching hosts with party essentials, such as guests who can put their hands in the air for the entire duration of an event.

Wood Menders' staff of furniture specialists refurbishes the woodworked gems of homes and offices through enhancement, refinishing, and restoration services. The crew of wood rehabilitators performs furniture fixes on location or in the shop, applying darker sealants to chairs or removing gouges in conference tables caused by too much jostling for free bagels. Wood Menders’ technicians have compiled an online repository of care tips that detail what to do when furniture begins to warp or sealant begins to peel; these tips offer a taste of the expertise the specialists dole out during wood-refurnishing workshops.