Concerts & Events in Kalamazoo

Although officially founded in 1930, the Grand Rapids Symphony's history stretches back to 1917 when an enterprising group of local musicians began practicing together and holding regular concerts. In the years since, the ensemble has retained this self-starter mentality while growing into one of the nation's preeminent regional orchestras. Always asserting its idiosyncratic individuality, the organization earned a 2007 Grammy nomination for its collaboration with flamboyant electric harpist Deborah Henson-Conant and the ire of conductors for its rule that all batons should be able to shoot sparks.

As the top AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, the Grand Rapids Griffins glide through Van Andel Arena on a quest to dominate the Western Conference. Bone-rattling checks and supersonic breakaways echo in the 10,000-seat venue as the Griffins take on Midwest Division rivals. Having sent 125 former players to the National Hockey League, the Griffins provide audiences with an opportunity to scope out future stars, whose autographed pucks can be added to memorabilia collections or given to mascots Griff and Finn to help build their nest in the arena’s rafters.

A mid-Michigan institution since 1929, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra performs for more than 20,000 visitors every year. Music director and conductor Timothy Muffitt currently leads its roster of professional musicians in concerts that explore a variety of musical styles, including classical masterworks, a pops and chamber series, and brassy big-band engagements.

From its beginnings as a plain dirt track in 1950, the Berlin Raceway has transformed in the intervening decades into one of the country’s most challenging and esteemed short tracks. A 7/16-mile paved oval, with 13-degree banking in the turns and 9-degree banking on the straightaways, the track regularly hosts races for various types of autos, ranging from four-cylinder vehicles to super and outlaw late models to Big Wheels with rocket engines attached. Drivers follow in the tire marks of renowned racers, including Tim Steele and Jack Sprague, some of who are chronicled in the track’s hall of fame.

West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science promotes creativity, responsibility, and academic achievement through the comprehensive study of science. Lessons are tailored for students in preschool through 12th grade, grounded in the hard sciences, and supported by a hands-on learning environment. The 62-acre campus maintains farmland, nature trails, wetlands, and forests as outdoor classrooms where students can explore during weekly environmental-science labs. Differentiated instruction allows students to grow in a diverse setting; one lesson asks that they build arbors from spare branches, and the next dictates that they write reports on handmade paper from the previous week’s lab. All the while, the school’s character-education programs build self-awareness and self-esteem. In addition to regular lessons, the academy offers science fairs to showcase kids' skills and summer camps to keep the fires of learning ablaze—like the traditional end-of-year burning of the times-table tests—in the off season.

Each year at the onset of summer, the costumed bards, knights, and royalty at Mayfaire Renaissance Festival welcome visitors to enjoy rollicking entertainment and peruse handcrafted wares throughout the wooded festival grounds. Attendees step into a world of jousters and jesters, replete with Renaissance-era songs and dances and smartphones fashioned from mutton. All-ages-appropriate comedians regale families with zany antics, and visitors can ask mystical tarot-card readers questions about the future.