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From the Editor

One of the things I love to learn most about the people we profile in Encore is what inspired them to do what they do, whether it be to take on a monumental task, create something amazing, or engage in efforts to improve the community they live in. The stories in this month's issue show how inspiration can take many forms and come to us in unexpected ways.

Our cover story this month is about how a family, after their 13-year-old committed suicide, found healing and understanding in some unlikely places. Those experiences were pivotal in inspiring them to develop an organization to help youth be courageous in life. The Koa Fund, named for the young girl who took her life, is a nonprofit that engages in activities that help youth learn to be more valiant and helps to fund other organizations' endeavors to do the same.

For Kalamazoo author Elyse Durham, a YouTube video of a woman dancing while washing dishes ignited a passion in her for ballet, although she had never danced a step of it in her life. Writer Zinta Aistars finds out how Durham's captivation with the dance form unexpectedly led to the writing of her debut novel, Maya & Natasha, which will be released this month.

We also talk with Kelly Doyle, the Executive Director at CARES of Southwest Michigan, health services nonprofit which has served the LGBTQ+ community with wellness services for 40 years. After a close friend died of AIDS in the 1990s, Kelly was inspired to become involved with CARES as a volunteer because she didn't want others to suffer the same fate. Now, under her leadership as its executive director, the organization has opened a new primary health clinic and sexual wellness center to provide for LGBTQ+-specific health care needs.

Also, if you need a little motivation to leave your cozy couches and get out, The Arts section in this issue provides a plethora of experiences and events to partake in. And, if those aren't enough to get you moving, we offer a full slate of things to do in our monthly events calendar.

Enjoy this issue of Encore and may we all find inspiration of our own this month.

Left to right: Morgan Rogalke-Scime, Charles S. Ofstein, Tyler J. Stewart, Olivia A. Kurajian, William B. Millard

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Encore Magazine is published 12 times yearly. Copyright 2025, Encore Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial, circulation and advertising correspondence should be sent to:

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The staff at Encore welcomes written comments from readers, and articles and poems for submission with no obligation to print or return them. To learn more about us or to comment, visit encorekalamazoo.com. Encore subscription rates: one year $36, two years $70. Back issues $6, $12 by mail. Advertising rates on request.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by those interviewed and published here do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Encore Magazine or the official policies, owners or employees of Encore Publications

Suárez-Starfeldt, Zaria Starfeldt-Dewar, AnneMarie Suárez-Davis and Gabi Suárez-Starfeldt.

Zinta Aistars

Zinta wrote about Elyse Durham and her debut novel in this issue. Zinta says she became "instantly engrossed" when reading Maya & Natasha, which is about ballet dancers in Leningrad during the Soviet era.

"With my own Latvian background, I had spent time in the Soviet Union as a teen, in Latvia as well as Moscow and St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad," says Zinta. "Having that experience, I was convinced the author had spent time there too. Her descriptions were so vivid, her understanding of the way that society operated, the way the Soviet government could support the arts while being simultaneously oppressive and cruel. Durham got it. I was stunned to learn that she got it from afar because Covid prevented her from visiting the country. And then there is her understanding of ballet. This is an author of note."

Zinta is creative director of Z Word LLC, a writing and editing service, and host of the weekly radio show Art Beat on WMUK 102.1 FM.

For this issue's Back Story, Katie interviewed KellyDoyle, executive director of CARES of Southwest Michigan, which has provided HIV services in Kalamazoo for 40 years. "With a gay son myself, one who can protect himself from HIV with 21st-century prevention medication, I have immense respect for this organization that's been defending and supporting a really vulnerable population from the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s," says Katie, who is a Michigan-born, Kalamazoobased writer and marketer with a focus on helping nonprofits.

Robert M. Weir

Sometimes Encore stories are sparked by a writer being in the right place at the right time. Robert met Dean Suárez-Starfeldt at a community event where they were both assigned to the same small breakout group. Suárez-Starfeldt spoke passionately about his work with the Koa Fund, a nonprofit named after his teenage daughter, who took her own life. After a few weeks, the two men met at a local café and talked for two hours. Robert then pitched the story idea to Encore's editor, and it blossomed from there. “It was a challenging article about a caring family and a sensitive subject,” Robert says. “It’s a story worth knowing.” Robert is a Kalamazoo-based freelance writer and editor and a frequent contributor to Encore

Katie Houston

First Things

Something Intriguing

Olympic gold medalist to speak

The woman named the greatest female athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated for Women will speak at 6 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Portage Zhang Senior Center.

The talk by Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the long jump, is being hosted by the city of Portage in celebration of Black History Month.

Joyner-Kersee will discuss how she grew up in a challenging environment but found solace and purpose in sports. She attended UCLA, where she competed in the heptathlon and long jump. She won a silver medal in the heptathlon at the 1984 Olympics, gold medals in the heptathlon and long jump in the 1988 Olympics, and a gold medal in the heptathlon and a bronze in the long jump in the 1992 Olympics.

A question-and-answer session will follow her presentation, as will a book signing for her 1997 autobiography, A Kind of Grace. For those who do not have a copy of the book, limited quantities will be available for purchase with cash at the event.

The event is free. For more information, visit portagemi.gov/calendar.

Something Solo

Joe Hertler to perform at Bell's

Joe Hertler, frontman for Michigan's hippie-pop band Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, will take the stage by himself for a Feb. 2 performance at Bell's Eccentric Cafe. Hertler is a songwriter who plays guitar and sings. He will perform many songs from the band's discography

The seated show begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Bell's General Store or at events.bellsbeer.com.

Something Interesting Museum offers new exhibits

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum has three new exhibits to enjoy this month:

Ray Harryhausen: Miniature Models of the Silver Screen opened Jan. 25 and features more than 100 artifacts from the collection of the filmmaker. Harryhausen used stop-motion animation by posing small, sculpted creatures with movable limbs and filming them against a miniature backdrop, shooting each position one frame at a time. Later he developed Dynamation, an animation technique that makes the live-action actors in a film appear to interact with stopmotion creatures. This exhibit will run through April 27.

The Art of Advertising , running Feb. 8–Aug. 31, will highlight nostalgic signs and advertising materials of area businesses, from thermometers, mirrors and cookbooks to corkscrews, matches and letter openers. The materials are from the 1800s to the present time.

ColorfulCollectionsoftheKalamazooValleyMuseum , running from Feb. 1–Aug. 31, features items in a rainbow of hues of from the museum's permanent collection.

The museum is open 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon–4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, visit kalamazoomuseum.org.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Joe Hertler

Ray Harryhausen

Something Icy

Vicksburg holds IceBURG Festival

Vicksburg will celebrate winter in all its frozen glory with an inaugural festival that includes professional ice carving, a snowsuit fashion show and winter-themed movies.

The IceBURG Festival, hosted by the Vicksburg Area Chamber of Commerce, will run from 2–6 p.m. Feb. 22 in downtown Vicksburg and will also include a grilled cheese contest and crafts.

Most of the festival activities are free. For a complete list, visit the festival's Facebook page at tinyurl.com/ iceBURGfest.

Two weeklong events happening this month provide an opportunity for folks to explore the dining and drinking options in the greater Kalamazoo area.

The first, Kalamazoo Craft Beverage Week 2025, is being held Feb. 1–8 and spotlights the area's thriving craft beverage industry by featuring local brewers, distillers and winemakers at events hosted by local restaurants and retail establishments. For more information, visit discoverkalamazoo.com/craft-beverage-week. Also, check out John Liberty's Five Faves feature in the January issue of Encore, online at encorekalamazoo.com/five-faves-6.

The second event, Greater Kalamazoo Restaurant Week, takes place Feb. 20–March 1 and will feature 16 participating restaurants that have created special fixed-price menus. There will also be a cocktail competition with bartenders vying for their concoctions to be crowned the Best Cocktail. To see participating venues and menus, visit kalamazoorestaurantweek.com.

Five Faves

Pivotal events in Kalamazoo's history

BY LYNN HOUGHTON

When people hear the word pivotal, they may think of something important that changed the trajectory of a person, an event, a community, an organization or a business. Sometimes we don’t know that this event will be pivotal until after a period of time. The following five events in Kalamazoo's history may not have been considered significant, critical or pivotal when they happened, but they became recognized years later for having molded Kalamazoo.

Village of Bronson becomes county seat

April 2, 1831

County's first courthouse

Being named a county seat was huge, as it brought people and prominence to the village of Bronson, which was Kalamazoo’s name until 1836.

Those making the decision looked at factors such as location, population and incentives. Bronson had the first two, and it was Titus Bronson and his brother-in-law Stephen Richardson who offered land for a courthouse, jail, academy and the first four churches, in addition to a public burying ground. Two other sites under consideration were Comstock and Prairie Ronde. The Kalamazoo County commissioners, appointed by Michigan’s Territorial Governor Lewis Cass, submitted their report to him in January 1831, recommending the village of Bronson for this distinction, and he approved it on April 2.

First train rolls into Kalamazoo

Feb. 1, 1846

Feb. 1, 1846, seemed like a typical Sunday, with local churches, especially those on Church Square (the area now known as Bronson Park and its surroundings), filled with worshippers — until a whistle could be heard in the distance. An 1880 history of Kalamazoo County recorded that people left their pews to witness the arrival of the locomotive St. Joseph, which was pulling one car and signaling the beginning of regular rail travel to Kalamazoo. Previously goods were transported down the Kalamazoo River on flatboats to Lake Michigan, which was expensive and sometimes unpredictable due to the time of year. The railroad was a more dependable mode of transportation, and the Michigan Central Railroad, the first line in Kalamazoo, traveled east to west. By 1870, more railroads came to Kalamazoo, opening up the area to more development.

Kalamazoo Paper Co. is created

Oct. 1, 1866

On the evening of Oct. 1, 1866, a group of Kalamazoo businessmen gathered to discuss opening a paper mill. The area had what was needed, including raw materials, transportation (namely railroads) and capital from local residents. Most importantly, Kalamazoo had a river and numerous tributaries to serve as power sources and places for waste disposal. So, the businessmen decided that evening to launch the Kalamazoo Paper Co. The first mill was located on Portage Creek near Cork Street and became one of the many mills that would exist in the city and surrounding communities of Vicksburg, Plainwell and Parchment. These mills were among the largest employers in the area. Many of them are gone now, but local communities continue to deal with the residual problems created by the mills, including their negative impact on the environment.

Kalamazoo

Portage beats Kalamazoo to the punch

Feb. 28, 1962

A few interesting events led to the creation of the city of Portage. First, Kalamazoo, like many cities, would increase its tax base and provide services to other jurisdictions by annexing land outside the city's boundaries. In 1945, The Upjohn Co. purchased land in Portage Township, which had grown tremendously between 1940 and 1950. On Feb. 28, 1962, Portage Township officials found out Kalamazoo citizens were collecting signatures on a petition to try to annex the Upjohn plant, in addition to other land in Kalamazoo Township. Portage Township immediately started its own petition to become a city and completed signature collection the same day. That petition beat the Kalamazoo annexation petition to the Kalamazoo County clerk’s office by 45 minutes that day, eventually leading to a vote that approved the creation of the city of Portage in 1963. (Photo courtesy Portage District Library).

Kalamazoo chosen for Western State Normal School

Aug. 28, 1903

For many years, normal schools in Michigan prepared students primarily to be teachers. By 1900, there were three such schools in Michigan, located in Ypsilanti, Mount Pleasant and Marquette. The state created a fourth normal school in May 1903, to be called Western State Normal School. More than 30 cities and towns vied to become the home of this new school, and the incentives were important. Kalamazoo’s bid included 20 acres of land, public utilities, graded streets, and sidewalks. Kalamazoo Public Schools would allow use of its buildings and offered to pay some of the training school's teachers’ salaries. The state accepted Kalamazoo’s offer, announcing on Aug. 28, 1903, that Kalamazoo would become the home of an institution, now Western Michigan University, that has shaped this community ever since.

What is the di erence between estate and inheritance taxes?

Estate and inheritance taxes are generally referred to as “death taxes.” ey di er in how they are applied and who is responsible for paying them. e estate tax is based on the overall net value of a decedent’s estate. It is imposed at the federal level regardless of one’s state of residence, and the decedent’s estate is responsible for paying the estate tax before assets are distributed to bene ciaries. e District of Columbia and 12 states also impose an estate tax: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Vermont.

e inheritance tax is based on the amount of assets distributed to a speci c bene ciary by death. It is imposed on the state level only and paid by the person who receives assets from a decedent’s estate. Only six states impose an inheritance tax: Iowa, Maryland, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

e State of Michigan does not impose an estate or inheritance tax. If you have further questions about your status as a bene ciary, please contact your estate planning attorney.

Please send your questions to Michael J. Willis, J.D., C.P.A.

About the Author

Lynn Houghton is the regional history curator at the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, located in the Zhang Legacy Collection Center, where she works with researchers and students of all ages. She is the co-author of Kalamazoo Lost and Found, a book on Kalamazoo history and architecture, and has written a number of Five Faves features for Encore. She also participated in the PBS series 10 That Changed America, about the history of architecture and urban planning, and has led a series of walking tours in Kalamazoo and other parts of Kalamazoo County. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in history from WMU and a master’s in library and information science from Wayne State University.

Members of the first Portage City Council

Inspired by Grief, Founded in Gratitude

Family creates Koa Fund to help youth to be 'valiant'

BY ROBERT M. WEIR

This story contains content about suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to Gryphon Place at 2-1-1 or 381-HELP (4357), the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. These services are free and confidential.

In mid-afternoon on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, Gabriela (Gabi) SuárezStarfeldt entered the bedroom of her 13-year-old daughter, Koa, and found her dead, apparently by her own hand.

EMTs resuscitated the girl and rushed her to Bronson Hospital, where she lay unconscious for 13 days until Gabi, her husband, Dean, and their family decided to remove her from life support systems. Koa died, for what Gabi says was a second time, on Nov. 21, one week before her 14th birthday.

The girl’s death was shocking, as any suicide is. Naturally, the family struggled with the question “Why did she do it?”

About Koa

Koa, a Hawaiian word, means brave, bold, fierce, valiant, warrior.

Her family describes her as vibrant and outgoing, expressive and artistic. “We have a lot of treasures — Koa’s writings, art, collections, videos, experiences, stories — in our house and homes and businesses," says Koa’s older sister, Zaria.

Among her videos, Gabi says, “are treasures of Koa doing silly things, often with cousins.”

The teen was steps away from being accepted to appear on the television series MasterChef Junior, having participated in five auditions and submitted three 20-minute cooking videos.

Yet, Gabi says, “that kind of creativity doesn’t come without a price — not fitting in, not resonating with expectations, experiencing dissonance living in this world.”

In the months before her death, Koa told her family that she was pansexual, a term that describes people who have the potential to be romantically, emotionally or sexually attracted to people of any gender identity.

For Koa’s 13th birthday, Gabi took her on a special “Girl to Goddess” weekend at Gilchrist Retreat Center, near Three Rivers. Gabi outfitted their hermitage cabin with festive décor, including a tree with a

secret “goddess game” of envelopes and gifts that would inspire Koa’s female rite of passage. She also brought a deck of illustrated Soul Cards, and from these Koa discerned and defined the ways of being for her life: “free, play, joy.”

“Most people would not have seen ‘free, play, joy’ in those cards, but she truly saw beauty in everything," says Gabi. "Her outlook encouraged us and many others to find beauty in anything.”

Koa's father adds, “People were very attracted and magnetized to Koa.”

“Or they were repelled,” Gabi interjects.

Dean continues, “Where does this come from? This insight, this depth in a 13-year-old, this creativity to see ‘free, play, joy’ in images that other people might say project fear of the unknown and uncertainty?” Then Dean answers his own question. “She had a different lens on the world than most people.”

"She was a pained personality," Zaria says. "In this world, Koa was often conflicted, which caused her pain, both emotional and physical.”

Koa had vision problems and debilitating vertigo, sometimes needing a cane to walk. This condition led to struggles at school when other students thought she was faking. In response, she created a presentation with photographic slides, diagrams and drawings. She demonstrated the special eyeglasses and sound and mobility devices she used to manage her condition. She informed her classmates about her physical therapy regimen and sought their understanding of what it felt like to be in her body.

In her eighth-grade year, Koa's family began what they refer to as an unschooling approach to her education, giving her educational experiences outside of a traditional classroom. Curious about Latino culture, Koa asked Gabi to take her to Mexico to experience Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). There, in a pool under a waterfall in Yelapa, the mother and daughter swam like dolphins, sang like mermaids and danced. Gabi says, “We were just silly. Koa told me, ‘I’m so happy, Mamá.’”

Top right: KOA co-founders and volunteers prepare for the 2024 Sunrise Gathering. Clockwise from left: Antonio Lennon, Grace Marshall, Gabriela Suárez-Starfeldt, Dean Suárez-Starfeldt, Alexandra Nash, AnneMarie Suárez-Davis with arms around Zaria Starfeldt Dewar, Madeline Murphy-Bartolome and Salma Vardell. Bottom: Koa Suárez-Starfeldt. (Courtesy photo).

They arrived in Mexico on Oct. 20, 2019, and returned to Kalamazoo Nov. 5. Three days later, Koa took her life. And her family wondered, “Why did she do it that day?”

Acceptance

“It has become clear to us that it was her time," her mother says now. She says this realization and deep acceptance come not only from intense personal meditation and introspection, but through signs and events of synchronicity the family say they've experienced.

Looking back, Koa's life had nearly ended two other times. “I had to do a Heimlich maneuver on Koa in the spring before she died because she was choking on food," recalls Gabi. "Then we had a carbon monoxide

leak from the gas oven in our kitchen that affected both me and Koa. ”

Other answers came in unexpected ways. For the 2019 Christmas holidays, the family had been planning to travel with Gabi’s sister, AnneMarie Suárez-Davis and her husband and sons to visit Argentina, from which the sisters' parents had emigrated in the early 1960s. After Koa’s death, the grieving family debated making the trip, but Zaria said to her parents, “Even though we don’t want to go now, I think we will regret not going.”

The entourage had made reservations well in advance at the one bed-and-breakfast that met the needs of their large group, but that reservation suddenly fell through. In search of new accommodations, they found a listing

Teenage Artist Captures Essence of Koa Cafés

At the Koa Fund’s Koa Cafés, where young people have a chance to express their feelings and build on their strengths, participants’ comments are captured not by a scribe taking notes but via graphic recording.

With graphic recording, an artist standing at a large paper-covered tackboard with multiple nonerasable colored markers in hand listens, synthesizes and translates the words spoken by others into drawn images, bringing the conversation to life visually in real time.

For the Koa Fund, the idea of graphic recording stemmed from weekly sessions with the organization’s Youth Connection Cultivators (YCC) in which everyone in attendance doodles, draws or takes notes on a whitepaper table covering.

“These become like the minutes from a meeting,” says Gabi Suárez-Starfeldt, whose family created the Koa Fund after losing their daughter to suicide. “Dean (Gabi's husband) takes photos of these sheets and puts the images on our Google Drive. Twice a year, we have a bonfire and burn all the papers to release the emotional energy. The smoke signals deep grief and deep gratitude, always entwined.”

For their first Koa Café, the Koa Fund hired a professional graphic recorder, which they say was “quite expensive.” Following that café, a young woman on the YCC, 15-year-old Alexandra Nash, showed a talent for this craft. The founders supported her online graphic recording courses and Nash practiced her skill at less formal Koa Fund meetings, using a 4-foot by 9-foot tackboard and three or four markers made specifically for graphic recording.

Nash was the graphic recorder for the second Koa Café, in 2023. “She has grown exponentially in her capacity for doing this, and she’s grown in confidence in herself,” Gabi says.

For AOK Day in 2024, Nash set up her tackboard on the porch of the SuárezStarfeldt home, in the Stuart Avenue neighborhood. As Koa Fund volunteers were out distributing heart-shaped fidget pillows in the community, they posed a question to the recipients: “What is the most meaningful gift you’ve ever given or received?" They called or texted the results of these encounters to Nash, whose graphic recording of the day-long event was livestreamed through the Koa Fund’s Instagram channel.

“Everything from that day is on that board. Everything illustrated is from conversations we had out in the community, where people shared in the most vulnerable ways,” says Gabi.

Nash’s involvement was not just a one-and-done contribution. She drew the “Heart Balloon Girl” art that is featured in event graphics and brought to life as 3D-printed figures attached to the AOK Day fidget pillows, and she made the crown Koa wore for the Honor Walk to donate her organs at Bronson Hospital.

Now 19, Nash is taking art classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, supporting her education through graphic recording and “creative gig work” to help organizations and other artists with their work.

“The chance through which I was able to become associated with the Koa Fund has become an amazing opportunity to express myself as an artist, and to create in new, different ways that give me possibilities outside of the Koa Fund to further myself as an artist," Nash says.

they had not seen before, a bed-and-breakfastin the Mendoza region overlooking the Mendoza River and the Andes.

The proprietor, Walther, had been told of Koa’s death before the family's arrival. He set a place for Koa at the dinner table, a well-received gesture, and he made himself available to the family, sharing meals with them and engaging in conversation about Koa.

One evening Walther told the family, “You need to understand that she didn’t come here for long. Whether it was a car accident a year ago or a year from now, she was going to leave early.”

A retired horticulturist and landscaper, Walther took the family to see a young acacia koa tree growing on his property.

“Koa trees grow only in Hawaii, which means this seed got here by wind or by bird,” Walther told them. "And the only way koa seeds grow is if they are scorched or scarred."

“Look at the synchronicities," says Gabi. "We weren’t supposed to be at that B&B. Koa trees aren’t supposed to be in Argentina. Yet, there we were; there it was. This was a powerful message for us.”

Intentional healing

At the end of their planned trip, Gabi and Dean decided to stay longer in Argentina at Walther's B&B in Mendoza for “a time for intentional healing.”

One day while walking a few miles to a bakery and coffee shop, Dean and Gabi were drawn to pass through an automobile junkyard, a place that they knew Koa would have insisted on venturing into. There they happened upon an abundant number of vintage Plymouth Valiant cars from

Koa's legacy

"Gracias, Koa" became a mantra for the family and a theme in their current endeavor: the Koa Fund.

The catalyst for the Koa Fund occurred three weeks after Koa’s death and four days before the families' trip to Argentina, at a celebration-of-life ceremony for Koa held at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

The event, scheduled in the evening, was called a Sunrise Gathering, says Koa's mother, “in defiance of the darkness of Koa’s passing and the long winter to come” and inspired by Koa’s gentle advice to "look at the sky." "Every morning and every evening it does this," Koa said, according to Gabi. "Isn’t that amazing? And most of the world doesn’t even notice."

The gathering was attended by about 500 people who, per the word-of-mouth invitation, wore clothing, costumes and/or jewelry to represent the sunrise.

“People came up and told us about encounters they had had with Koa that we didn’t know about," Gabi says, "encounters with their kids that monumentally affected their kid’s life in some way. We heard stories we had not heard before.”

Guests engaged with Koa’s story, playing with her treasures, folding paper cranes and sampling Koa’s recipes. Then, in a room full of people — and grief — Koa’s parents, sister, family and friends shared stories and sang and performed original music. Through tears, they read Koa’s favorite poems as well as some she had written. And they danced.

Amid this emotional blend of sudden change, turbulent emotion and desire to be of service to youth, the family sought to define their new direction, asking, says Dean, “What should we do with this legacy that Koa had established in her short life?”

the 1960s and early 1970s. Dean saw this as a sign, telling Gabi, “We will be valiant together.”

They determined that their new purpose in life should be “to help youth be valiant.”

“Kids are already valiant. They have that inside their being," Dean says. "We decided that we can help them bring it to the surface and make it part of their way of being and who they are.”

Dean says they saw at this time that life is not quite so black and white, good and bad, alive and dead as they had thought and began exploring these ideas of grief, gratitude and bravery, inspired by words of wisdom from Walther.

“When you return home, people will have a lot to say to you about Koa’s passing and how she passed," Dean says Walther told them. "They will have perspectives on what you should do and how you should be and what it all means. But the only thing you need to do is say, ‘Gracias, Koa. Thank you, Koa,’ for she has given you an opportunity to experience life differently.”

“We knew that we had to be willing to see the pain as well as see what’s beautiful and actually see that the pain is beautiful itself,” Gabi says, pausing to wipe a tear from her cheek. “Yet sometimes I say ‘Gracias, Koa’ through gritted teeth.”

“While still in her physical body, Koa had made connections. She was part of a big community and made a powerful impact in all her circles,” says her aunt, AnneMarie.

“We knew we would create some kind of organization that was going to be about how Koa lived in her body," he says, "neither a memorial nor would we focus on the manner by which she left her body."

Top and bottom left: Graphic recorder Alexandra Nash and the graphic recording she created at one of the organization's Koa Cafés. Above: An interactive artistic installation titled "Mischief’s Wreath” built by the community of gatherers at the Koa Fund's 2024 Sunrise Gathering. (Courtesy photo).

“We wanted to move in ways that are important and in line with Koa’s core values, like social justice and identity acceptance, and to use creative arts as the vehicle," explains Zaria. "We wanted to build on Koa’s ideals of 'free, play, joy.' And to help youth be valiant.”

Having received donations made in memory of Koa at the Sunrise Gathering, the family had a modest financial base for the organization they envisioned but no idea how to create it.

They turned to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and on Dec. 4, 2020, the family officially established the Koa Fund as a donor-advised component fund, a status that enables them to provide grants to organizations of their choice.

“As a fund, we are the hands and feet and heart of Koa moving in this world,” Zaria says. “Our focus is on Koa’s passions and ‘free, play, joy’ ways of being, rooted in her essence as a brave, bold, fierce, valiant warrioress.”

Dedicated to young people

At the time of Koa’s death, Dean had been employed for more than 20 years by Biggs|Gilmore, a local marketing firm that was acquired by VML, a global creative agency. In early 2020, he joined Seven Generations Architecture & Engineering, in Kalamazoo, as a creative director. The firm is part of the Bodwé Group, wholly owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in Dowagiac. Dean gave up that position in January 2024 to dedicate

himself to expanding the work and impact of the Koa Fund.

The Sunrise Gathering has become an annual event hosted at the Dormouse Theatre in the past two years.

“It’s our biggest annual fundraising event,” Gabi says, “but not what you might expect. Similar to the original Sunrise Gathering, it’s an immersive, creative, tactile, storytelling experience, with a theme important to youth and the Koa Fund mission.”

“People are really moved by the Sunrise Gathering," says Zaria. "The response to our invitation to engage as a community in entertaining, fun and meaningful ways has been tremendous and so true to my sister.”

They’ve also created Koa Cafés, annual forums at which young people learn from and build on their communal voice. The first Koa Café, in February 2022, provided an opportunity for Koa’s friends, classmates and cousins to talk and grieve and heal in a way that Gabi says was “fun and beautiful."

“We let the young people take over and let them build on each other’s words and each other's activities with Koa,” AnneMarie says. “This helped us put words and a voice to what we wanted the Koa Fund to do. It gave us, as adults, an insight and an experience of how young people integrate the paradox of dualities such as joy and pain, forever and never, happiness and sadness, struggle and strength.”

When it matters.

Subsequent Koa Café events have been facilitated by a Koa Fund subgroup called the Youth Connection Cultivators (YCC), a set of four or five older teens and several ad hoc participants who meet and share weekly meals with the founders. The most recent Koa Café, held in April at the offices of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Southwest Michigan, was created for “Bigs and Littles” from Big Pride, a BBBS program through which LGBTQIA+ youth ages 6 to 16 are paired with supportive LGBTQIA+ mentors.

Perhaps the Koa Fund’s greatest community impact happens through its “AOK Day,” an annual summer event with a theme of gratitude and acts of kindness. Its name was inspired by Koa's campaign motto, “K-O-A is A-O-K,” when she ran for school president in fifth grade.

Locations in Portage and Kalamazoo pinerest.org

Clockwise from left: Zaria StarfeldtDewar, Gabi Suárez-Starfeldt, Alexandra Nash, and Dean Suárez-Starfeldt on AOK Day.

AOK Day debuted on the summer solstice in 2022 as the first official fundraiser of the Koa Fund. Because of the Covid pandemic, it was a virtual event to communicate to participants about investment opportunities with the fund’s grantee partners, including Area Youth Climate Coalition, Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative, Kids Food Basket, Gay Straight Alliance, Outfront Kalamazoo, Girls Build Kalamazoo, Speak It Forward, and J.A.B.S. (Justice Against Bullying @ School). The Koa Fund website emphasizes that 100% of donations go through the Koa Fund to these partners. As of October, the Koa Fund has made 36 grants to 17 organizations.

Changes in focus

But as much as the family seeks to create positive change for youth through the Koa Fund, their endeavors have also led to positive change for themselves. Like Dean, Koa's aunt, AnneMarie, made a significant shift in her career path. She had left a 20-plus-year career as a marketing executive at Kellogg’s a few months before Koa died. “After Koa’s passing, I didn’t go back to work

for some time. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I knew my previous career focus just didn’t feel right anymore. So I started to have the courage to think about doing something completely different.”

AnneMarie returned to school at the University of Michigan, where she will earn a master’s degree in social work in May. She is currently doing her field practicum at GenderNexus, a nonprofit organization in Indianapolis that, according to its website, “empowers gender-diverse people and their loved ones to live healthy, authentic, joyful lives.”

“Nothing has felt so good for me in a really long time," she says. "Sometimes I feel like sh-- for having anything good come out of Koa’s passing, and at the same time I feel like I’m on the right path.”

Zaria, who recently married and now lives near Columbus, Ohio, has also grown in unexpected ways. “I have found healing in the practice of yoga,” Zaria says, “and have become a certified yoga teacher.” With the Koa Fund, she creates and leads Koa Yoga, inspired by stories of Koa and her identity.

Her Koa Yoga sessions have drawn several dozen people.

Seeing the dualities

Throughout these Koa Fund activities and endeavors runs the theme of duality, the family says. Pain and joy. Fear and courage. Hurt and healing. Grief and gratitude. An unbearable wound and tremendous growth.

“It takes courage to be valiant and be willing to go into that space where you’re going to grow,” says Gabi.

“I’ve learned that it’s OK for seemingly opposite emotions to coexist,” says Zaria.

“Our story will always include the tension of mystery and unknowing,” says Dean. “But Koa has given us insight into this reality of the world we live in — the culture, the society, the stories, the expectations, the human programming.

"When she was here, she struggled with the reality of the world versus what the world could be. With her life and with her passing, I’ve seen how two things that are seemingly tensions can pull against each other or they can come together to create beautiful new things.”

Dancing into a Debut

Kalamazoo

writer releases ballet-themed first novel

BY ZINTA AISTARS

When Elyse Durham watched a YouTube video of a woman washing dishes, then breaking into dance in that everyday circumstance, she had no idea it would propel her into the world of ballet. Or that it would become the inspiration for her debut novel, Maya & Natasha, which will be released this month by Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

“I have an unconventional path to ballet,” Durham, 36, says about her choice of topic. “Most people, if they have a background in dance, started when they were 6 years old, did The Nutcracker when they were 12, danced through high school, but that was not me. I was a tomboy. I didn’t want anything to do with ballet. I discovered ballet as an adult.”

Watching that YouTube video, Durham, who was living in Boston at the time, was moved. She saw the grace of the woman’s movements. She felt the magic in her own body blossom. She saw ballet in a new light, and she signed up for adult ballet classes. Then, wanting to learn more, she began to research the world of ballet.

“I did so much research into ballet that a couple years later I realized I was writing a book,” Durham says, laughing. “It wasn’t a hobby anymore. This had become an obsession.”

While dance was new to Durham, writing was not. She says she can’t remember a time when she didn’t see herself as a writer, even as a child, but it was the encouragement of a college professor that prompted her to consider writing as a serious career choice.

She is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, in North Carolina. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Cincinnati Review, Wigleaf, Image and elsewhere, and she has received support from The Elizabeth George Foundation, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Glen Arbor Arts Center.

Maya & Natasha takes place in 1958 in Leningrad, Russia, during the Soviet regime, and opens with a young Russian woman dying — by her own hand — moments after

Kalamazoo writer Elyse Durham's debut novel, Maya & Natasha, will be released this month. (Photo: Elemental Media).

giving birth to twin girls. The prima ballerina had learned she would never dance again and chose to end her own life rather than remain alive to raise her daughters.

Following in their absent mother’s dance steps, the twins have their own dreams of dancing in the Kirov Ballet, perhaps even touring with the company in America. The Kremlin, however, did not allow more than one family member to travel abroad due to fears that Russians would seek asylum in other countries. Keeping family members in Russia would usually ensure that travelers would not defect.

The conflict is set up between the 17-yearold sisters, since only one can be chosen to achieve her dance dreams. Their love for each other is infected by this harsh competition that could lead to a better life abroad.

In Maya & Natasha, Durham’s descriptions of Soviet Russia are so detailed and vivid that the reader might suspect the author spent time in that country. In fact, she did not.

Initially, when she decided she was indeed writing a novel set in Russia, she set up funding and worked out an itinerary with a travel agency to spend time there. “And then the pandemic happened,” Durham says with a sigh. “I kept waiting for that opportunity to come, and it never did. It never got to the point that it felt safe enough to travel abroad.

Book Release Celebration

What: Elyse Durham will be joined by Kalamazoo College professor and author Andy Mozina to discuss the writing and development of her novel Maya & Natasha. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A, a brief reading, and an author signing.

When: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18.

Where: this is a bookstore, 3019 Oakland Drive.

How much: The event is free.

To register: Go to tinyurl.com/ durhamreading.

"I had already been researching for several years, but it was terrifying to write about life in Russia without spending any time there. I spent a lot of time reading memoirs — especially by Russian dancers who had lived under these circumstances — and academic works about the Cold War by people who have lived in Soviet Russia. I did a lot of interviews and talked to historians. That was as close as I could get to that time and that culture.”

Durham learned that while life in Soviet Russia was marked by deprivation and severe poverty, the arts were considered by

the Soviet government as its way to prove Russia's superiority to the outside world, so the arts were richly supported.

“One of the reasons I had to write this book after the experience of immersing myself in ballet, taking dance, coming to love it as an art form, was that it reminded me that having a physical body is good,” Durham says. “I think it can be easy to forget that, especially since so much of our lives today are digital. There’s something lost when we are not using our bodies in the way that people a hundred years ago might have. Having a body is a gift. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Support for her writing of the novel was strong at home. Durham is married to a Greek Orthodox priest, Father Bryce Vasilios Buffenbarger, who serves at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Kalamazoo. The two met when they both had parts in a high school production of The Sound of Music. He played Captain von Trapp; she played one of the nuns.

“I really wanted the role of Liesl, but that would have been awkward — you can’t marry your father,” Durham says, laughing, as she recounts their roles in the musical.

“We reconnected when I was in college, and now we have been together for 14 years.”

Durham will be celebrating the release of her book on Feb. 18 (details in infobox).

TheArts

DialMforMurder

Feb. 6–16

Farmers Alley Theatre

Farmers Alley Theatre presents this adaptation by writer Jeffrey Hatcher (TV’s Columbo) of the play that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film of the same name. The local production features Jeremy Koch and Kate Thomsen as the couple whose jealousy and deception lead to murder.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6–7 and 13–14 and 2 p.m. Feb. 8–9 and 15–16. Tickets are $25–$45 and available at farmersalleytheatre.com or by calling 343-2727.

PressStart!

Feb. 8–16

Kalamazoo Civic Youth Theatre

A musical adventure in the world of video games will be presented by the Civic's Penguin Project, which gives children with special needs the opportunity to participate in the performing arts.

The play focuses on heroes, villains and sidekicks from well-known video games who are running out of lives and must unite to present a musical fundraiser to collect the gold rings necessary to continue playing.

Show times are 2 p.m. Feb. 8–9 and 15–16 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Civic Theatre. Tickets are $15 and available at kazoocivic.com or by calling 343-1313.

TitanictheMusical

Feb. 8–9

WMU Theatre

Western Michigan University's School of Music and its theatre and dance departments join forces for this production that highlights the passengers and crew on the ill-fated ship that sank on its maiden voyage, in 1912.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 and 2 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Tickets are $10–$24 and available at wmich.edu/theatre or by calling 387-6222.

• Medication reminders

• Delicious assortment of meals

• Meal reminders, or transportation to dining/ activities, if needed

• Housekeeping – weekly cleaning of resident rooms

• Optional laundry services

Taproot:APlay onJusticeand Judgment

Feb. 13–16

Queer Theatre Kalamazoo

This one-act play about the tribulations and breakdown of an activist group's informal meeting to discuss allegations against one of their members will be staged in the Van Deusen Room of the Kalamazoo Public Library.

This free production is a collaboration of the library and Queer Theatre Kalamazoo, and show times are 6 p.m. Feb. 13 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15–16. For more information, visit queertk.org.

CaliforniaSuite

Feb. 21–March 2

Kalamazoo Civic Theatre

Neil Simon’s classic comedy set in a Beverly Hills Hotel will be presented in the Civic's Parish Theatre.

The play, which includes Simon's signature wit and physical comedy, follows four visitors from New York, Philadelphia, London and Chicago who check in to the hotel, bringing their “baggage” with them.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21–22 and Feb. 28–March 1 and 2 p.m. Feb. 23 and March 2. Tickets are $17–$32 and available at kazoocivic.com or by calling 343-1313.

Eurydice

Feb. 21–March 2

Festival Playhouse

The classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice’s journey to the underworld will be reimagined in this production at the Kalamazoo College's Balch Playhouse.

The play focuses on the heroine's point of view as the young bride dies on her wedding day and travels to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love.

• Bathing assistance

• Assistance putting on socks/shoes

• Assistance with bed making/unmaking

• Enriching activity events and programs daily

• Daily devotions/ Sunday worship services

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27–March 1 and 2 p.m. March 2. Tickets are $5–$25 and available at festivalplayhouse.kzoo.edu.

Other Productions

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , Center Stage Theatre, Jan. 31–Feb. 2

All the Natalie Portmans , WMU Theatre, Jan. 31–Feb. 16

DANCE

WinterGalaDanceConcert and WMUStudentDanceConcert

WMU Department of Dance

Dance students and faculty in Western Michigan University's dance department have a busy February. In addition to participating in the WMU Theatre production of Titanic the Musical Feb. 8–9, the department will present two other performances.

The department's annual Winter Gala Dance Concert is set for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7–8 and 2 p.m. Feb. 8–9 in Shaw Theatre and will feature a variety of dance styles, including ballet, jazz, modern and contemporary, performed by WMU dance students and faculty. The concert will also include works by guest choreographers. Tickets are $6–$21.

The Feb. 8 performance will be preceded, at 6 p.m., by a Toast for the Talent fundraising event in the Gilmore Theatre Complex Atrium. It's sponsored by Partners in Dance, and tickets are $50.

Later in the month the Ebony Vision Dance Ensemble, a multicultural group of WMU dance students, will perform in Studio B of the Dalton Center. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21–22 and 2 p.m. Feb. 22. Tickets are $5–$15.

For more information or to purchase tickets for these events, visit wmich.edu/dance/events.

RAD Fest

Feb. 27–March 2

Downtown Kalamazoo

The work of more than 50 dance makers from all over the world will be featured in this year's Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (RAD Fest).

This annual festival, hosted by Wellspring/ Cori Terry & Dancers, is a juried event held in downtown Kalamazoo, with most events happening at the Epic Center. The festival draws modern, post-modern and contemporary dancers and choreographers and includes live performances, a Screendance film series, master classes, workshops and networking opportunities.

Tickets prices will range from free to $25 with discounts available with the purchase of multiple tickets. For a full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit wellspringdance.org/ radabout.

Eduardo C. Corral & Yesenia Montilla

Jan. 21

Kalamazoo Books Arts Center

Two Latino poets will present a virtual reading at 7 p.m. as part of the KBAC's Poets in Print series.

Eduardo C. Corral's debut poetry collection, Slow Lightning (2012), won the Yale Younger Poets Prize, making him the first Latino recipient of the award. His second collection, Guillotine, was published in 2020. Corral has received numerous honors, including a Whiting Writers’ Award and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches in the MFA program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh and is a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University.

Yesenia Montilla is an Afro-Latina poet and a daughter of immigrants who has published two poetry collections, The Pink Box (2015) and Muse Found in a Colonized Body (2022), which was a finalist for the 2022 NAACP Image Award. Her work has been published in Academy of American Poets Poema-Day, Prairie Schooner, Gulf Coast and the Best of American Poetry anthologies in 2021 and 2022. She teaches poetry at The Juilliard School and lives in Harlem, New York. For a link to the online reading, visit kalbookarts.org.

Saturday, March 8, 2025

7:30 P.M. at CHENERY AUDITORIUM

TheArts

Alexandre Kantorow

Feb. 5

The Gilmore

In a performance that will include what the classical music world calls the "Mount Everest of concertos," the French pianist and 2024 Gilmore Artist will perform with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. in Chenery Auditorium.

Kantorow won the 2019 Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition along with the Grand Prix, and, at 27, he is the youngest pianist to be named a Gilmore Artist. His program will include Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto, considered one of the most demanding pieces to play, and Rachmaninoff’s rarely performed First Piano Sonata. There will be a pre-concert talk by Zaide Pixley at 6:30 p.m. in Room 130 of the auditorium.

Tickets are $10–$65 and available at thegilmore.org.

SymphonicBeats:HipHopCulture and KSOCraftMusic:Opera

Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra

The KSO delves into two very different music genres for its concerts this month.

The first concert, Symphonic Beats: Hip Hop Culture , on Feb. 7, will feature local artists performing spoken word, poetry, music and dance backed by symphony musicians. The concert is curated by hip-hop educator, emcee and artist Kandace “D.C.” Lavender, and the artists include DJ Boogie, Ed Genesis, Jessica Ivey, Jordan Hamilton, Lopsey, Shantese Robinson, SkitzoMichigan and Yolonda Lavender. Show time is 7:30 p.m. at Kalamazoo Central High School, and tickets are $5-$20.

Opera is the focus of the KSO Craft Music concert on Feb. 12 at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe. Conductor Bruce Uchimura leads KSO Artists in Residence in performing selections from opera standards such as The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, Carmen and La Bohème. Tickets are $5–$30.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit kalamazoosymphony.org.

Anat Cohen Quartetinho

Feb. 21

Fontana Chamber Arts

This ensemble from Israel will perform music described as "chamber jazz" at 7:30 p.m. in Western Michigan University's Dalton Center Recital Hall.

Quartetinho (pronounced “quartet-CHINyo”) is a Portuguese word that means little quartet, and the ensemble consists of Anat Cohen on clarinet and bass clarinet, Vitor Gonçalves on piano and accordion, Tal Mashiach on double bass and guitar, and James Shipp on vibraphone and percussion.

Tickets are $5–$30 and available at fontanamusic.org.

AWorldofDance

Feb. 22

Kalamazoo Concert Band

The band will perform a program of dance tunes at 7:30 p.m. in Chenery Auditorium.

Among the selections will be Havana Dances (by Randall Standridge), Waltz No. 2 (by Dmitri Shostakovich) and Symphonic Dance No. 3 ("Fiesta," by Clinton Williams). The concert is free. For more information, visit kalamazooconcertband.org.

Friends,Violists, Countrymen

Feb. 9

Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra

The 2024 Stulberg Competition bronze medalist, violist Pearl de la Motte, will appear with the KJSO at 3 p.m. in Chenery Auditorium.

She will perform Cecil Forsyth's Concerto for Viola in G Minor in a program that will also include A London Symphony, by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Tickets are $5–$15 and available at kjso.org or by calling 349-7557.

Kandace “D.C.” Lavender

MUSIC

WMU School of Music

Throughout the month

Various venues

The school offers a full slate of concerts this month. Unless otherwise noted, the performances will be in the Dalton Center Recital Hall and tickets are $5–$15.

• Jasmine Pigott, tuba, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3.

• Adam Rainey, bass trombone, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4.

• The Music of David Colson , percussionist, part of WMU’s Bullock Series, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5, with pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.

• University Jazz Orchestra & University Jazz Lab Band — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6.

• Western Winds, part of WMU’s Bullock Series, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12, with pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.

TheIllustrated Accordion

Feb. 7–March 21

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center

Books created in the accordion style by emerging and established artists will be featured in this annual exhibition at the KBAC, where there will be a reception for the artists from 5–8 p.m. March 7.

Accordion books are composed of a continuous folded sheet of paper that can be stood up so viewers can see all the pages at once. They had origins throughout Asia and were created to accommodate scroll-style books.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday to Friday or by appointment. For more information, call 373-4938 or visit kalbookarts.org.

Ongoing

Exhibitions

• Nicholas Roth, piano, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14.

• BandSpectacular , with University Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band and Concert Band, 2 p.m. Feb. 16, Miller Auditorium.

• Ensemble Dal Niente, new chamber music, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17.

• Andrew Rathbun Jazz Quartet, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19, with pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.

• Student Composers II, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, free.

• Carlos López, bassoon, 3 p.m. Feb. 23.

• Kyle Hutchins and Shannon WettsteinSadler, saxophone and piano, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25.

• Mafer Guglielmina, flute, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit wmich.edu/ music/events. is published in partnership and funding provided by

Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century , through Feb. 16, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

TheArts

VISUAL ARTS

Blue Heat: Glass Art

Gala

Feb. 22

Glass Art Kalamazoo

Guests can bid on one-of-a-kind glass art pieces, hear live music and enjoy food and drink at this annual fundraising event, set for 7–10 p.m. at GAK's gallery and studios in the Park Trades Center.

The works to be auctioned have been created by the organization's visiting artists, at its public demonstrations, and during its 2024 Glass Blowers Battle. Guests are encouraged to wear blue or blue-accented attire to this event. Tickets are $65 until Feb. 8 and $75 after that and include a keepsake handmade glass tumbler.

To purchase tickets, visit glassartkalamazoo.org.

Tipping Point , through Feb. 8, Richmond Center for Visual Arts, WMU

Tierraskinland , through Feb. 13, Richmond Center for Visual Arts, WMU

Adam Rainey

PERFORMING ARTS

THEATER Plays

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels — Two swindlers compete in this Center Stage Theatre production, 7 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 1 & 2, 2 p.m. Feb. 1, Comstock Community Auditorium, 2107 N. 26th St., kzoocst.com.

All the Natalie Portmans — Facing eviction, 16-year-old Keyonna escapes into a world of romcoms & characters played by Natalie Portman, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 1, 6–8 & 13–15, 2 p.m. Feb. 2, 9 & 16, York Arena Theatre, WMU, 387–6222, wmich.edu/theatre.

Dial M for Murder — Adapted version of Alfred Hitchcock’s crime thriller, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6, 7, 13 & 14, 2 p.m. Feb. 8, 9, 15 & 16, Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, 343–2727, farmersalleytheatre.com.

Taproot: A Play on Justice & Judgment — The tribulations of an activist group, presented by Queer Theatre Kalamazoo, 6 p.m. Feb. 13, 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15 & 16, Van Deusen Room, Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St., queertk.org.

California Suite — Neil Simon’s play set in a Beverly Hills hotel, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21, 22, 28 & March 1; 2 p.m. Feb. 23 & March 2, Parish Theatre, 405 W. Lovell St., 343-1313, kazoocivic.com.

Eurydice — A twist on the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice’s journey to the underworld, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27–March 1; 2 p.m. March 2, Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St., festivalplayhouse.kzoo.edu.

Musicals

Disney’s The Lion King — Musical based on the film, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29–Feb. 1 & Feb. 4–8, 1 p.m. Jan. 30, Feb. 2 & 9, 2 p.m. Feb. 1 & 8, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 2 & 9, Miller Auditorium, millerauditorium.com.

Press Start! — The Civic Youth Theatre’s Penguin Project presents a musical adventure in the world of video games, 2 p.m. Feb. 8, 9, 15 & 16, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, Civic Theatre, 329 S. Park St., 343-1313, kazoocivic.com.

Titanic the Musical — WMU Theatre presents the stories of the passengers on the ill-fated ship, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8, 2 p.m. Feb. 9, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-6222, wmich.edu/theatre.

DANCE

Winter Gala Dance Concert — Presented by WMU Department of Dance, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 & 8, 2 p.m. Feb. 8 & 9; Toast for the Talent soiree at 6 p.m. Feb. 8, Shaw Theatre, WMU, wmich.edu/dance/ events.

Ebony Vision Dance Ensemble Showcase — WMU dance students perform, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 & 22, 2 p.m. Feb. 22, Studio B, Dalton Center, WMU, wmich.edu/dance/events.

Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (RAD Fest) — Featuring modern, post-modern & contemporary dance, hosted by Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers, Feb. 27–March 2, Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, wellspringdance.org/radabout, 342-4354.

MUSIC

Bands & Solo Artists

Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Concerts — All shows at 8 p.m. unless noted otherwise: Joe Hertler (solo acoustic), 3 p.m. Feb. 2; Emo Night w/All American Throwbacks, Feb. 7; Chappell Roan Night – Pink Pony Club, Feb. 14; Nate Smith, Feb. 16; Hairmania w/Vangogo, Feb. 22; Hell’s Bells w/Dead Fervor, Feb. 26; 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382-2332, bellsbeer.com.

Emily Ickes – Marimbist, 2 p.m. Feb. 9, Parchment Community Library, 401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747, parchmentlibrary.org.

Orchestra, Chamber, Jazz, Vocal & More

Saturdays with the Stulberg — Online recital by 2022 Stulberg Silver Medalist Jacques Forestier, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 1, stulberg.org.

Jasmine Pigott — Tubist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events.

Adam Rainey — Bass trombonist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/ events.

Alexandre Kantorow with the KSO — The 2024 Gilmore Artist performs with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave.; pre-concert talk by Zaide Pixley, 6:30 p.m., Room 130; 3421166, thegilmore.org.

The Music of David Colson — Percussionist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5, Dalton Center Recital Hall, with preconcert talk at 7 p.m., wmich.edu/music/events.

University Jazz Orchestra & University Jazz Lab Band — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events.

SymphonicBeats:HipHopCulture— DJ, dancers, rappers & singers with the KSO, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7, Kalamazoo Central High School, 2432 N. Drake Road, kalamazoosymphony.com.

Friends,Violists,Countrymen— Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra & 2024 Stulberg Bronze Medalist Pearl de la Motte, 3 p.m. Feb. 9, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., 349–7557, kjso.org.

KSO Craft Music: Opera — KSO musicians perform, 7 p.m. Feb. 12, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382–2332, kalamazoosymphony.org.

Western Winds — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12, Dalton Center Recital Hall; pre-concert talk 7 p.m., wmich.edu/ music/events.

Nicholas Roth — Pianist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events.

Crescendo Academy of Music Student Recital — 2 p.m. Feb. 16, First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St., 345-6664, crescendoacademy.com.

University Bands Spectacular — With University Wind Symphony & University Symphonic & University Concert bands, 2 p.m. Feb. 16, Miller Auditorium, wmich.edu/music/events.

Ensemble Dal Niente — New & experimental chamber music, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events.

Andrew Rathbun Jazz Quartet — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19, Dalton Center Recital Hall; pre-concert talk 7 p.m., wmich.edu/music/events.

Student Composers II — Studio recital, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/ music/events.

Anat Cohen Quartetinho — Chamber jazz music presented by Fontana Chamber Arts, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Dalton Center Recital Hall, 382–7774, fontanamusic.org.

Kalamazoo College’s Jazz Band — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College, music.kzoo. edu/events.

Gregorian Chant Workshop — Presented by Early Music Michigan, 2 p.m. Feb. 22, First Congregational Church, 345 W. Michigan Ave., earlymusicmichigan.org.

A World of Dance — Kalamazoo Concert Band performs dance tunes, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., kalamazooconcertband.org.

Carlos López — Bassoonist, 3 p.m. Feb. 23, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events.

The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight — Selections from 40 years of rock music, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24, Miller Auditorium, millerauditorium.com.

Kyle Hutchins & Shannon Wettstein Sadler— Saxophonist & pianist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events.

Mafer Guglielmina — Flutist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/ events.

COMEDY

Cat & Nat’s Reckless Abandonment Tour — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22, Miller Auditorium, millerauditorium.com.

VISUAL ARTS

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 314 S. Park St., 349-7775, kiarts.org Exhibition

Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century — Art celebrating the KIA's centennial,through Feb. 16. Events

Sunday Drop-In Conversation — Conversations with docents about KIA artwork, 1:30–2:30 p.m. Sundays.

Karl Knath’s Wounded Tree & Harold David Landes’ Pink Tree — A look at works in the Legendary Voices exhibition, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 6; registration requested.

ARTbreak — Program about art, artists & exhibitions: Virtual Artist’s Talk by Leslie Barlow, Feb. 12; Tejer (Weave), with movement artist Lourdes del

Mar Santiago Lebrón, Feb. 26 (in person & online); both sessions begin at noon; registration requested.

Kelly Church — Talk by the Ottawa/Potawatomi black ash basket maker & fiber artist, 6 p.m. Feb. 13, online and in person; registration requested.

Black Indian: A Memoir— Discussion of the book by Shonda Buchanan, 2 p.m. Feb. 19; registration requested.

Strokes of Freedom — Richard Phillips discusses creating art while being wrongfully imprisoned, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 25; rescheduled from September.

Richmond Center for Visual Arts Western Michigan University, 387-2436, wmich.edu/art

Tipping Point — Works on climate change by Tom Rice, through Feb. 8, with reception 5–8 p.m. Feb. 7, Albertine Monroe-Brown Gallery.

Tierraskinland — Video installation on displacement by Patricia Villalobos Echeverria, through Feb. 13; reception 5–8 p.m. Feb. 7, NetzorgKerr Gallery.

Other Venues

The Illustrated Accordion — Accordion-style books, Feb. 7–March 21; artists' reception 5 p.m. March 7, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A, 373-4938, kalbookarts.org.

Blue Heat: Glass Art Gala & Auction — Celebration of glass art, auctions, food & music, 7–10 p.m. Feb. 22, Glass Art Kalamazoo, Suite 100, Park Trades Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., glassartkalamazoo.org.

LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS

Comstock Township Library 6130 King Highway, 345-0136, comstocklibrary.org

Take Your Child to the Library Day — A worldwide event with free activities, 1–3 p.m. Feb. 1.

CTL Writers — Group writing discussion, 10 a.m. Fridays; no class Feb. 14.

Board Game Night — Snacks & games for all ages, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12; registration required.

Pride Book Club — Discussion of G. Haron Davis’ Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic, 4 p.m. Feb. 21, in person & online; registration required.

Adult Book Club — Discussion of James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 27; registration required.

Kalamazoo Public Library 553-7800, kpl.gov

Critchlow Alligator Encounters — See animals from Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary, 11:30 a.m. Feb. 1, Northside Association for Community Development, 612 N. Park St.

Comics & Manga with Aubrey Jewel Rodgers — Comic & manga creation, 6 p.m. Feb. 3, Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St.; registration required.

Kalamazoo Writers Disorganization — "How to Give a Literary Reading," 4 p.m. Feb. 4, Central Library, 315 S. Rose St.

No Shelf Control: A Graphic Novel Book Club — Discussion of N.D. Stevenson's Nimona, 6 p.m. Feb. 4, Central Library.

ComingHometoHistory:JacobPinney-Johnson — Stories of Kalamazoo's Black history, 6 p.m. Feb. 6, Central Library.

Women of the Watch: Keepers of the Light — Kamryn Marck discusses female lighthouse keepers of the Great Lakes, 1 p.m. Feb. 8, Oshtemo Branch.

KPL Mobile Library — 3 p.m. Feb. 10, Douglass Apartments, 1211 Douglas Ave.; 3 p.m. Feb. 11, Maple Grove Village, 735 Summit Ave.; 4 p.m. Feb. 19, Oakwood Neighborhood Association, 3320 Laird Ave.; 3:30 p.m. Feb. 24, New Village Park/Heather Gardens, 2400 Albans Way; 10 a.m. Feb. 25, Lodge House, 1211 S. Westnedge Ave.; 3:30 p.m. Feb. 25,

Interfaith Homes, 1037 Interfaith Blvd.; stops are approximately 1 hour.

When Love Takes Flight: Air & Space Sweethearts— Stories of love by the Air Zoo, 6 p.m. Feb. 10, Central Library.

Page Turners Book Club — Discussion of Rita Bullwinkel's Headshot, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10, Oshtemo Branch.

GLAMA Acoustic Slow Jam — Great Lakes Acoustic Music Association leads a jam for acoustic stringed instrument players, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 11, Central Library.

Music & Memories with Fiddlehead Music Therapy — How music moves us & stirs memories, 11 a.m. Feb. 17, Oshtemo Branch.

Higher Education for the Justice-Involved — Learn about prison education programs, 6 p.m. Feb. 18, Central Library.

Coffee & Connections — All-ages community gathering with library staff, 2 p.m. Feb. 19, 9 a.m. Feb. 24, Central Library; light refreshments served.

Dungeons & Dragons Game Night — Play with other adults, beginner to experienced levels, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19, Central Library; registration required.

O Say Can You Hear? A Cultural Biography of the Star-Spangled Banner — Mark Clague discusses the song's origin story, 1 p.m. Feb. 20, Central Library.

Classics Revisited — Discussion of poetry by Lord Byron, 2:30 p.m. Feb. 20, Central Library.

Black History Trivia Bingo — Play Bingo with SHARE (Society for History and Racial Equity), 6 p.m. Feb. 24, Eastwood Branch, 1112 Gayle.

Seed to Cup: Deciphering Coffee Language — Gary Marquardt discusses the terminology of coffee, with sampling of coffees, 6 p.m. Feb. 26, Washington Square Branch, 1244 Portage St.

Senior Citizens’ Breakfast — Breakfast & chance to ask health care questions, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 28, Eastwood Branch.

Lori Hannemann, Michael Brundage, CFP® & Michelle Eldridge, CFA,CPWA® Wealth Management Partners

Parchment Community Library

401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747, parchmentlibrary.org

Parchment Book Group – Discussion of Kristin Hannah's The Women, 6 p.m. Feb. 10.

Notable Figures in Kalamazoo Area History –Dianna Stampfler discusses notable Kalamazooans through history, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11.

Mystery Book Club – Discussion of Anthony Horowitz's The Sentence is Death, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18.

Silent Book Club Evening Session – Bring a book & read in companionable silence, 5:15 p.m. Feb. 24, 1:15 p.m. Feb. 26.

Portage District Library

300 Library Lane, 329-4544, portagelibrary.info

Friends of the Library Book Sale — 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Feb. 1.

Merze Tate: A Biography — Presented by Sonya Bernard-Hollins, 6 p.m. Feb. 4; registration required.

Music Trivia! — Compete as an individual or as a team of up to 6, 6 p.m. Feb. 5; registration required.

Muffins & The Market — A discussion of stock market trends, 9 a.m. Feb. 6 & 20.

International Mystery Book Discussion — On Tana French’s The Searcher, 7 p.m. Feb. 13.

Small Business Hub and Incubator Kitchen

Entrepreneurs

Documentary & Donuts — Viewing of Black Art in the Absence of Light, followed by discussion, 10 a.m. Feb. 14.

Saturday Sound Immersion — Wind Willow Consortium plays for a well-being experience, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 15; registration required.

Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society — Open to anyone interested in genealogy, 7 p.m. Feb. 17.

Plots & Pages: A Local Writers Group — Mark Love discusses the craft of writing, 6 p.m. Feb. 18.

Pupusa Cooking Demo with Casa De Los Abuelos — Learn about the Salvadoran delicacy pupusas, 6 p.m. Feb. 19; registration required.

What to Know Before You Go — Talk with endof-life doulas, 1 p.m. Feb. 22; registration required.

Light Lunch & Literature — Discussion of Nella Quicksand, noon Feb. 24; registration

Richland Community Library 8951 Park St., 629-9085, richlandlibrary.org

Bridge Club — Noon–3 p.m. Tuesdays.

Richland Area Writer’s Group — Open to new members, 10 a.m. Feb. 8 & 22, in person & online.

Cookbook Club — Discussion of Lane Gold's Vegan Junk Food, 6 p.m. Feb. 11.

Medicare 101: Understanding Your Options — Presentation by Kiss Financial, 6 p.m. Feb. 12; registration required.

Dungeons&Dragons Bravo Team — Play a new crusade each month, 3 p.m. Feb. 13, 5 p.m. Feb. 19; registration required.

Richland Genealogy Group — Open to new members, 10 a.m. Feb. 20, in person & via Zoom.

RCL Book Club — Discussion of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 6 p.m. Feb. 20.

Team Trivia Night — 6:30 p.m. Feb. 26; registration required.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 · 7:30 pm

Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU

the finest example of chamber jazz

SATURDAY, APRIL 12 · 7:30 pm

Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU

the only professional six-voice women’s a cappella group in the US

FRIDAY, JUNE 6 · 7:30 pm

Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU

fontanamusic.org 269/250-6984

Vicksburg District Library 215 S. Michigan Ave., 649-1648, vicksburglibrary.org

Bridge Club — 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays.

Book Club for Adults — 9:30 a.m. Feb. 6; this month’s book at the circulation desk.

Writer’s Motivational Group — Set goals & report progress, 4 p.m. Feb. 27.

Other Venues

Rootead’s Poetry Night — Healing through spoken word for young adults (18 & up) with a featured artist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6, Rootead Studio, 505 E. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 3, rootead.org.

Eduardo C. Corral & Yesenia Montilla — Virtual reading by these Latino poets, 7 p.m. Feb. 22, kalbookarts.org.

MUSEUMS

Gilmore Car Museum 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, 671-5089, gilmorecarmuseum.org

2024 Lecture Series — Miles from Ordinary, David O. Lyon on the new edition of the Gilmore Car Museum book, Feb. 2; The American Army in Normandy, with historian Jim Craft, Feb. 9; Ford

vs. Ferrari, talk by John Lacko, Feb. 16; Kalamazoo Greats, Dianna Stampfler on characters in Kalamazoo history, Feb. 23; sessions begin at 2 p.m.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum

230 N. Rose St., 373-7990, kalamazoomuseum.org

Exhibitions

CollectingBlackHistory:MurphyDarden'sLegacy — Artifacts from the late Kalamazoo artist, through March 2.

Ray Harryhausen: Miniature Models of the Silver Screen — 100+ artifacts from the collection of the animation filmmaker, through April 27.

Colorful Collections — Items in a rainbow of hues from the museum's collection, Feb. 1–Aug. 31.

TheArtofAdvertising — Nostalgic signs & ads of local businesses, Feb. 8–Aug. 31.

Events

Jerry Brown — Founder of the band Home performs, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 16; free to the public, limited tickets available.

NATURE

Kalamazoo Nature Center

7000 N. Westnedge Ave., 381-1574, naturecenter.org

Valentine’s Candlelight Night Hike — 6:30 p.m. Feb. 14; registration recommended.

Returning & Reskilling Series — Apple tree pruning, 10 a.m. Feb. 15, DeLano Homestead, 555 West E Ave.; registration required.

Candlelight Night Hike — 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15; registration recommended.

Winter Tree ID — Methods of identification, 4:30 p.m. Feb. 20, DeLano Homestead, 555 West E Ave.; registration required.

Other Venues

Climate Change Talk — 5:30 p.m. Feb. 3, Van Buren District Library's Antwerp Sunshine Branch, 24283 Front St., Mattawan, 668-2534, vbdl.org.

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society General Meeting & Speaker — A Sky Full of Satellites: The Changing Orbital Population & the Impact of Megaconstellations, online talk by Jonathan McDowell, 7–9:15 p.m. Feb. 7, Kalamazoo Math & Science Center, 600 W. Vine St., kasonline.org.

Kzoo Parks Winter Family Scavenger Hunt — Find items hidden in parks to win prizes; maps & clues given during open hours at participating parks; Feb. 12–19, kzooparks.org/events.

Birds & Coffee Online Chat — Common songbird injuries & reasons for intake to wildlife rehabilitators, 10 a.m. Feb. 12; Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, birdsanctuary@kbs.msu.edu; registration required.

Zoo to You: Plant & Animal Connections — Animals from John Ball Zoo, 10:45 a.m. Feb. 22, Portage Parks & Recreation Bldg., 320 Library Lane, portagemi.gov/calendar; registration required.

Online Viewing Session — Through Kalamazoo Astronomical Society's remote telescope in Arizona, 8:30 p.m. Feb. 22; (cloud date, March 1); register at kasonline.org.

Audubon Society of Kalamazoo — "On the Move with Red-tailed Hawks," 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24, People’s Church, 1758 N. 10th St., kalamazooaudubon.org.

Terra Talks: Shoreline Living Speaker — Lecture series on environmental stewardship, 6 p.m. Feb. 28, Portage Parks & Recreation Bldg., 320 Library Lane, portagemi.gov/calendar; registration required.

MISCELLANEOUS

Black History Is American History — Kalamazoo & U.S. Black heroes, Feb. 28, Northside Association of Community Development, 612 N. Park St., kpl. gov/event/black-history-is-american-history.

Midwestern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships — Jan. 29–Feb. 1, Wings Event Center, usfigureskating.org.

Winter Auto Swap Meet — By Kalamazoo Antique Auto Restorers Club, 2–6 p.m. Jan. 31, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Feb. 1, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, kaarc.org.

Kalamazoo Craft Beverage Week — With local brewers, distillers & winemakers, Feb. 1–8, discoverkalamazoo.com/craft-beverage-week.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee — Talk by the Olympic gold medaist; with Q&A & signing of her book, A Kind of Grace (limited copies for purchase with cash); 6 p.m. Feb. 1, Portage Zhang Senior Center, 203 E. Centre Ave., portagemi.gov/calendar.

Snow Jog — Jog through downtown Kalamazoo & complete challenges; race starts/ends at Bell’s Beer Garden; noon–4 p.m. Feb. 8, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382-2332, bellsbeer.com.

Kalamazoo Reptile & Exotic Pet Expo — Reptiles, amphibians & exotic pets, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Feb. 9, Kalamazoo County Expo Center South, 2900 Lake St., kalamazooreptileexpo.com.

Lantern Festival Celebration — Chinese-themed activities & performances, 2–4 p.m. Feb. 9, Portage Zhang Senior Center, kzooca.org/events.

Flurry of Fun — Winter games, s’mores, storytelling, obstacle course, & more, 5–7 p.m. Feb. 13, Mayors’ Riverfront Park, 251 Mills St., kzooparks.org/events.

Shipshewana on the Road — Food & crafts, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Feb. 15, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Feb. 16, South & Main Rooms, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, shipshewanaontheroad.com.

Kalamazoo Record & CD Show — New & used records & CDs, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Feb. 16, Room A, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 734-604-2540.

Kalamazoo Restaurant Week — Featuring 16 venues participating, Feb. 20–March 1, kalamazoorestaurantweek.com.

Garage Sale Art Fair — Artists' overstocks, seconds & supplies, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Feb. 22, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, garagesaleartfair.com.

IceBURG Festival — Winter celebration with music & activities, 2–6 p.m. Feb. 22, downtown Vicksburg. Winter Blast Half Marathon, 10K & 5K — 8 a.m. Feb. 23, Loy Norrix High School, 606 E. Kilgore Road; registration required, portagemi.gov/calendar.

Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of creativity and connect with local artists! Art Hop 2025 is going to be more exciting than ever! Save these dates and stay tuned for the exciting details to emerge. To learn of the latest Art happenings, sign up for our weekly eNews mailing list at KalamazooArts.org

Instructions for Midwinter Surrender

Let the cat climb the window. Let her drag her wet pink nose across the glass in thin white streaks.

Let the fox squirrel steal pepitas from the red squirrel. Let the expired Christmas tree decompose on the porch.

Let snow. Let frigid. Let dust make itself seen. Let Isis spread her wings and Ganesha’s thick dance.

Let god answer the prayers of others. Let others. Let inhale and exhale. Let lungs and liver. Let heart.

before rain. Let the air grow bloated, full as a belly before birthing. A birthday balloon.

Let the piano remain unplayed. Let cello. Let violin. Let guitar in its ancient case. Let hand-drum and harp.

Let stray cat fur construct another cat in the crevice of the couch. Let the collection of wooden chopsticks.

Let books and books and books. Let words weave worlds away. Let manifest dreams. Let childhood

innocence—like unborn flowers fantasizing bees, like earthworms sung to sleep by deep mycelium.

Let it be easy. These rigid hands, this clamped mouth, let them open as the sky’s windblown throat

Let joy. Let love with her carnival-glass eyes. Her confetti eruptions. Let loose. Let it free memory—

the iridescent sheath, distant and shiny before expiring, becoming the space we breathe in. The space we breathe out.

— Elizabeth Rae Bullmer

Bullmer is a Kalamazoo poet who has been writing since age 7 and whose work has appeared in a variety of journals. She is also a licensed massage and sound therapist, facilitator of writing and healing workshops, and mother of two. This poem is from her new chapbook, Skipping Stones on the River Styx, which will be released Feb. 21 by Finishing Line Press.

Kelly Doyle (continued from page 30)

I worked at Gryphon Place (a local nonprofit that provides a crisis line and conflict-management services) for 10 years, starting in 1995, and got really lucky with that being my base. They have a really good, intensive training. I learned how to communicate with people, how to be in crisis with people and not freak out, how to listen and how to take feedback. After every call, you would get an immediate assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. At that time I was not someone who took feedback very well. It was a good lesson.

In 1997, I had a best friend and roommate who died of AIDS. He was a very capable person but didn’t know how to handle or manage his diagnosis. And we didn’t talk about treatment, even though there was treatment available. After he died, I found a prescription that he never got filled, and it was because he didn’t have knowledgeable support — he didn’t have a CARES. I felt guilty for not stepping in.

After he died, I volunteered at CARES as a buddy and a transporter. After two years, my buddy died, and I needed a break. I came back in 2003 as an adherence specialist, working with people on taking their medications. I stepped away in 2009 but returned when (then-) Executive Director David Feaster hired me as director of client services in 2011.

David really set the standard for client-centered care. He always said, "If you’re mad at your client, you need to change your expectations of them." Another of his sayings was, "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" That helped me learn how to pick my battles. When he moved on to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, I applied to replace him and was offered the job in January 2016. I came in with guns blazing. I was ready with a strategic plan. How has the work serving people with HIV/AIDS changed since you became involved?

When I started, the goal was to help people die. If you were a gay man in the '80s and '90s, you were losing a lot of friends. It was sad and hard and filled with overwhelming grief. Medications came along

in 1995, which began our evolution to helping people live. Now you can take a pill once a day or get a shot every couple of months, and your HIV levels can be undetectable and untransmittable. We’re in a very different space now, from helping people die to helping people live a healthy life with HIV — including having a strong, intimate sex life like everybody else — and living to an old age.

What keeps you up at night?

Anxiety about losing funding. But what do they say about worrying — that you’re just suffering twice? So, I can worry about funding all I want, but it is more effective to get out there and advocate and call, educate and talk to my elected officials.

As well, the demonization of trans people right now is chilling to me. The stories I’ve heard about trans people being suicidal are terrifying and sad. This is a group of people that’s so vulnerable, who are just trying to live their authentic life.

What keeps you going every day?

The people I work with — their passion and love and dedication — and the clients we work with, always. They are so grateful to have the support and care that we give, because they come in scared, whether it’s an HIV diagnosis or just an STI (sexually transmitted infection). It makes a huge difference to receive non-judgmental, unbiased care, love and support. It’s the way they get through — and not just get through, but thrive.

CARES is 40 years old this year. What are you excited about for the future of the organization?

We are actually realizing our future by opening Iridescent Health. We’ve evolved from a place that was very grassroots and run by volunteers to hiring social workers, providing medical case management, and opening an actual medical practice. That’s the future that we wanted to be in, and that’s where we’re at.

— Interview by Katie Houston, edited for length and clarity

Kelly Doyle Executive Director, CARES

Kelly Doyle began her relationship with CARES of Southwest Michigan as a volunteer, after losing a friend to AIDS in 1997. The health services nonprofit has served clients with HIV/AIDS for 40 years. Today, the 52-year-old Doyle leads the organization, which opened its new primary health clinic and sexual wellness center, Iridescent Health, in October to provide for LGBTQ+specific health care needs.

“We’ve expanded our services to serve the broader LGBTQ+ community with regular health care services,” Doyle says.

Doyle, who grew up in Chicago and Allegan, says she was drawn to social work early on. “I really feel that social work was my calling — which was a concept I learned early on, from the Catholic school nuns in Chicago,” she says.

She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Western Michigan University and has worked in social services in Kalamazoo and Chicago. She became an employee at CARES in 2003 as an adherence specialist, became director of client services in 2011, and took over as the organization's CEO in 2016. How did you get to where you are today?

Believe it or not, I always wanted to be an executive director. My mother had been a vice president with (the grocery chains) Jewel-Osco in Chicago and Harding's here in Michigan. She was a great example for me.

(continued on page 29)