Picnic Pops returns to Cannonsburg this week, plus WSNX hosts Party in the Park, The Grand Rapids Urban Adventure Race is back, Fiona Apple visits Meijer Gardens, Circle Theatre presents 'Hair' and Lowell and Sparta host annual festivals.
The lush greenery of the Meijer Gardens and the blue sky overhead provided startling contrast between the fecundity of the natural world and the image of a wiry, almost spectral Fiona Apple. The singer looked frail clad in all black form-fitting attire; large pale bead necklaces draped around her neck; a fuchsia and white flowered scarf around her shoulders (quickly discarded); still long hair pulled severely away from her face; facial skin barely masking the contours of her skull.
A Guide to Bangin' Beaches & Cool Pools
by Steve Ralph
Hot summer sun making you sweat? Need to cool down? Wanna work on - or show off - that tan? Looking for a much-needed diversion for bored and restless kids? With more than 11,000 inland lakes in Michigan - not to mention that big one to the west - and more than 3,800 public swimming pools in the state, hot spots to take a cool dip aren't exactly in short supply. But where are the best ones? Here's a sampling of some of the area's banging-est beaches and coolest pools for your splashin' summer soirees, with detailed descriptions of a few favorites.
ROTHBURY -- As the budding step-child of the Rothbury music festival of a few years back, Electric Forest may have come into its own last weekend as one of West Michigan’s premier summertime destinations.
With more than 20,000 jam-band and electronic music fans, hippies, people-watchers, volunteers and national media types descending on the sprawling fields and woods of Double JJ Resort in the tiny hamlet of Rothbury north of Muskegon, the four-day festival proved its mettle by drawing bigger crowds and sustaining the feel-good vibe of the original groovy and artistic Rothbury event.
So did Grand Rapids folk-rock phenoms The Crane Wives, who earned their wings on Sunday.
