Festival of the Arts
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- For the festival in Detroit, see Detroit Festival of the Arts
The Festival of the Arts, or simply Festival is a three day arts festival in Grand Rapids held on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of June. First held in 1970, after the 1969 installation of Alexander Calder's La Grande Vitesse, known as "The Calder" locally, Festival was quite small with only two stages and a few food booths. Since then, Festival has exploded. For three days, nearly 20,000 community volunteers play host to over half a million people[1] that enjoy food, art, music, dance, poetry, film, and more. The 2007 Festival featured 25 food booths, five stages, several hands-on art involvement activities, and several art exhibitions.
According to the Library of Congress, Festival is the largest all volunteer arts festival in the United States.[2]
[edit] Food
Various local non-profit organizations run food booths at Festival, each offering a unique taste. Souvlaki, elephant ears, egg rolls, and barbecue are all staples.
