Fundraiser for North Kent Community Services

Tickets go on sale Monday, October 3, for the annual fundraiser that helps support North Kent Community Services, the main food pantry in northern Kent County. The event, titled North Kent Pastors Square Off, will take place at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on Wednesday, November 2, at 6 p.m.

For the last two years, North Kent Community Services (NKCS) had featured local pastors performing different talents to raise funds. This year the stakes are higher as pastors from around northern Kent County square off alongside local contestants to participate in NKCS’s own version of Hollywood Squares to see who can answer the most questions or provide the most convincing bluffs. It is expected to be the biggest year yet with 600 guests.

Local participating Pastors include: Jeff Amlotte, Mamrelund Lutheran; Paul Bradford, Rockford Reformed; Ken Bremer, Rockford United Methodist; Jeff DeRyke, Bridgeway Community; Robert Eckert, Courtland-Oakfield United Methodist; Fr. Darrel Kempf, Our Lady of Consolation; Steve Lindeman, Cedar Springs United Methodist; Mark Pietscher, Bella Vista; Kevin Reed, Grace Evangelical Free; Justin Rowland, Rockford Baptist; Bryan Schneider-Thomas, Peace Lutheran; Laurie TenHave-Chapman, First Congregational United Church of Christ; Nate Wagner, Sparta Baptist.

This year NKCS is also bringing together Pastors Darrin Compagner (Blythefield Christian Reformed Church) and Jon Huizenga (River Rock), former “Pastors Got Talent” rivals, who will open the show with a musical performance that is sure to be second to none.

Tickets for North Kent Pastors Square Off go on sale at 8:00 a.m., Monday, October 3. Seats are limited, so purchase your tickets quickly as they will sell out. Tickets are $50 and include dinner and entrance into Frederik Meijer Gardens.

All proceeds from North Kent Pastors Square Off will go back to NKCS to benefit its food pantry and educational programs. Through the development of these programs, North Kent will not only be able to provide resources for those in need, but will also be able to teach sustainability and self-sufficiency to those in its community.

To purchase tickets, contact Katie Hop at (616) 866-3478. This will be a night you won’t want to miss, so secure your seat now!

Hospice of Michigan will host a Rejoice and Remember memorial service to recognize lost loved ones on Tuesday, April 12.

During the service, participants will be invited to reflect on the many ways those who have died have touched their lives. The event will include special music, inspirational messages and a reading of names. Participants are invited to bring an item of remembrance to display and refreshments will be served.

The gathering will take place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE. This program is free and open to the community. Advance registration is requested.

The gardens, including the butterfly exhibit, will be available to tour free of charge from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information or to register, please call 616.356.5258.

Dean and Kristie Wall, owners of Dean’s Excavating in Sand Lake, attended a fundraiser at Frederik Meijer Gardens this past spring. At the auction there, they purchased a certificate allowing them the chance to go to the very top of the Mackinac Bridge. They said it’s an opportunity that only 100 people per year get to experience. They took a very small elevator most of the way up, then had to climb about 40 feet through a narrow tunnel, and came up through a hatch on the top of the bridge structure.

“The view from the top was breathtaking!” said Kristie.

Thanks so much, Dean and Kristie, for taking us with you!

Are you going on vacation? Take the Post with you and snap some photos. Then send them to us with some info to news@cedarspringspost.com or mail them to Post travels, PO Box 370, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. We will be looking for yours!

If you are going to ArtPrize, you might want to consider riding the trolley from Cedar Springs to Grand Rapids on Monday, September 26. The special ArtPrize Trolley tour, brought by Cedar Springs Area Parks and Recreation, costs $74 and includes:
•    a visit to the Grand Rapids Art Museum and special gift bag.
•    A guided tour of historic Heritage Hill and down town Grand Rapids with time to view the outdoor art exhibits downtown and along the Grand River
•    Lunch at the beautiful Covenant Village of the Great Lakes. Featuring more Art Prize exhibits
•    A visit to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Your visit includes the indoor gardens,

•    a tram ride and seeing the ArtPrize exhibits located at the Gardens
•    Transportation via Grand Rapids Trolley
•    Services of a Countryside Tour Director
The trolley will depart from Cedar Springs Public Schools District Office (in the lower parking lot near Northern Physical Therapy) at 8 a.m. For more information call Amanda Gerhardt at 696-7320 or email her at director@csaparksandrec.com.
If you haven’t yet registered to vote at ArtPrize, it can be done online at artprize.org. Anyone ages 16 and up can register to vote. If you voted in 2010 or 2009, your email will still be on file. Just log back in to re-register. Once registered, accounts must be activated in-person. Participants are required to present a valid government-issued identification in order to ensure the validity of the vote, and so outsiders can’t “game” the system. Your valid ID MUST be presented at any ArtPrize registration and be in the form of a driver’s license, state ID or passport. This can be done beginning Sept. 17 at The Hub at 41 Sheldon, or at any of the eight ArtPrize Exhibition Centers starting Sept. 21 and through the duration of the event.
Voting during week one of ArtPrize 2011 begins Sept. 21 at 6:00 p.m. and runs through 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 28. Voters can vote up or down for any of the 1,582 artists. One vote per person is allowed for each work of art. Voting results will continually be posted online at artprize.org. The Top 10 finalists will be announced Sept. 29; 6:00 p.m. at Rosa Parks Circle, in downtown Grand Rapids.
Voting during week two begins after the Top 10 announcement. Voters can cast only one vote for one of the 10 finalists. Votes can be changed until the close of voting on October 5 at 11:59 p.m. In week two, voting results will not be posted online. The winners will be announced on October 6.

A kindergartner enjoys a butterfly on her shoulder during a field trip to FMG last week. Photo by S. Read

By Sarah Read

Seventy-five homeschoolers filled Frederik Meijer Gardens last week during a field trip organized by Greenville Michigan Inclusive Connection for Home Learners to visit the popular Butterflies are Blooming exhibit. As the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibit in the nation, the FMG exhibit is open from March 1–April 30 and features more than 6,000 tropical butterflies flying free in the 15,000-square-foot Lena Meijer Conservatory.

More than 6,000 tropical butterflies are flying free in the Lena Meijer Conservatory until April 30. Photo by S. Read

This is the second annual trip for G-MICH to this exhibit, where students of all ages could enjoy an up close look at butterflies, their eating habits, living chrysalis in various stages and more. “[Our] family had a great time,” shared homeschool mother, Kristin Harrison. “[There was] fantastic weather.”
Prior to the field trip, G-MICH hosted a 3-hour unit study on butterflies at their weekly learning cooperative. Students created the butterfly life cycle with dried pasta, read various butterfly books, made butterfly feeders and experimented with rope to measure the length and strength of a cocoon thread.
To learn more about this home learning support group, please visit www.greenvillemichiganhomeschoolers.com

Homeschoolers take field trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens

By Sarah Read

Homeschooler Mark Dugan was lucky enough to have a butterfly land on his head.

Forget the typical stereotypes of homeschooling. Over two dozen area families, nearly 90 children total, gathered at Frederik Meijer Gardens this week to—gasp!—socialize and explore the world beyond their kitchen tables. “Believe it or not, we do get out and do things, all the time,” laughed Lori Gwilt, a homeschooling mom from Sunfield, who joined other families from Greenville, Rockford, Ionia, Lowell, Stanton and Sand Lake for Monday’s field trip.

Organized by the Greenville Michigan Homeschoolers group, the tour included exploring the seasonal butterfly exhibit, along with their sculpture park and elaborate outdoor children’s garden. The weather cooperated nicely for the event, allowing families to enjoy a picnic lunch around the pavilion with clear skies. “The weather was perfect,” shared Barb Kaaikala, of Greenville, “which helped make this a wonderful experience.”

“[We] loved it,” added Candice Fleszar, of Lowell. “Our family had a fantastic time and got to meet many new, wonderful people.”

Post photo by S. Read

Post photo by S. Read

In addition to their own home studies, members of Greenville Michigan Homeschoolers followed up the field trip two days later with butterfly-related activities and lessons at the Greenville Area Community Center on April 14.

Greenville Michigan Homeschoolers is an inclusive group providing connection, support, group activities, field trips, mom meet-ups and more to area homeschoolers. To learn more information, visit www.greenvillemichiganhomeschoolers.com.

Post photo by S. Read