Up Front

First Things

Please Note: Due to the COVID–19 virus, some of these events may have been canceled after press time. Please check with the venue and organizations for up-to-date information.

Something Delicious Lunchtime Live! returns

What are you looking forward to more? Choosing among varied dishes available at many food trucks or eating among the leafy greenness of Bronson Park? You’ll be able to get both when Lunchtime Live! returns to Bronson Park on June 12.

The event, which runs from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. every Friday, offers a variety of food truck vendors, live music, pop-up retail vendors and activities.

At press time, the event was still scheduled to begin in June, according to Ashton Anthony, recreation manager for the Kalamazoo Department of Parks & Recreation.

Lunchtime Live! in Bronson Park

Something Free A weekend to get hooked on fishing

If you’ve been itching to try out angling (fancy word for fishing) but not ready to splurge on getting a license, no worries. You can go fishing for free June 13-14.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Free Fishing Weekend allows Michigan residents and outof-state visitors the opportunity to fish without a fishing license. All fishing license fees will be waived those two days, and participants can fish on both inland and Great Lakes waters for many species of fish. All fishing regulations, including catch and keep limits, will still apply.

For more information, visit tinyurl.com/mifishfree.

Something Later Do-Dah, KIA Fair rescheduled for August

June Jubilee, the official kickoff to summer each year in downtown Kalamazoo, includes the annual Do-Dah parade, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair, Art on the Mall, and a host of other activities. They’re normally held on the first weekend of June in downtown Kalamazoo, but this year, well, they’re not happening the first weekend of June.

The anchors of this weekend of events — the parade and arts fair — have been rescheduled to new dates in August, according to event organizers.

The Do-Dah Parade, originally scheduled for June 6, has been rescheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15. This parade of parody, which started in 1984, is all about businesses and organizations celebrating silliness. This year’s theme is “Hindsight is 2020," and the deadline to sign up to participate in the parade is July 10. For more information, visit deb7293.wixsite.com/dodahkzoo.

The KIA Arts Fair 2020, originally scheduled for June 5-6, has been rescheduled for Aug. 14-15 at its usual location, Bronson Park. At press time, Art on the Mall, a complementary art fair on the Kalamazoo Mall that usually runs at the same time as the KIA Fair, had not been rescheduled.

Something to Sing Along To Drive-in concert kicks off series

Leave it to the Portage Parks & Recreation Division: They’ve figured out a way to have a summer concert series and maintain social distancing.

The first event of its free Summer Concert Series, which begins at 7 p.m. June 18 at Ramona Park, 8600 S. Sprinkle Road, will be “drive-in style,” letting attendees listen to the music from the comfort of their own cars. The tribute band The Boy Band Night will perform songs made famous by boy bands such as ’N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, One Direction and others.

Three other concerts are planned in the series, all of them beginning at 7 p.m. at locations to be announced:

June 25 —Tribute band The Hair Band Night will perform hits from 1980s hair bands, including Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses and Van Halen.

July 30 — Tribute band Motown Nation will perform songs by Motown artists, including Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Frankie Valli, The Supremes and The Temptations.

August 6 — West Michigan R&B musicians Al Hight & The M6 West Band will perform. The band’s name refers to the highway that runs through their hometown of Grand Rapids.

For an updated schedule of concerts and locations, visit the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo’s website at kalamazooarts.org/concerts-inthe-park.

Something Proud Kalamazoo Pride takes celebration virtual

They can’t take their celebration to the streets this month, but OutFront Kalamazoo has found a way to celebrate Kalamazoo Pride virtually.

According to Amy Hunter, the organization’s executive director, times and details were still being confirmed at press time, but these events will be happening in a virtual format:

• June 5: #StillProudStillPerforming, a virtual drag show will kick off Pride Month. In collaboration with I.B.S. Productions, OutFront Kalamazoo will be hosting local drag performers virtually.

• June 12: Amy Hunter, OutFront's Executive Director talks with LGBTQ+ leaders in a series of interviews called Profiles in Pride.

• June 19: The Coming Out Monologues will be presented by the WMU Office of LBGT Student Services, a fundraiser for WMU LGBTQ+ students. You'll find these stories of discovering who you are poignant and inspiring.

• June 27: A special guest artist performance is in the works; check the website for more information.

Visit the website at outfrontkzoo.org/ or OutFront’s Facebook page at facebook. com/OutFrontKzoo/ for more information on the schedule.

Thank you to all those helping in the fight against the coronavirus. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and those families whose lives have been affected.

STEWARDSHIP

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