Encore Magazine May 2023

SUNDAY, MAY 21 • 4 PM

Top 50

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From the Editor

What's not to like about a success story, a come-from-behind tale of surviving and thriving? Well, get ready to feel good, because this month's issue has several stories of people and places doing just that.

Our cover story is on Vicksburg, the small village 15 miles to our south that just 10 years ago was on the brink of financial ruin and under the threat of being taken over by a state-appointed emergency manager. Enter some very dedicated leaders and residents, including retired former Kalamazoo police officer Jim Mallery, and today it's a community to be envied — financially solid, growing and in the midst of transformative projects that are making the village a destination and a desired location to live. Veteran Encore writer Robert Weir takes a look at how Vicksburg government officials have achieved this and what makes this town so special.

In 2019 we wrote about Pamela Coffey, who established Healthy House, a home for women struggling to overcome addiction. Just four years later we are happy to be revisiting Pamela as she embarks on turning a former union hall on the outskirts of Kalamazoo into a place for healing and recovery that can accommodate nine women. Coffey's vision and hard work to make this happen are inspiring.

We also meet a younger member of the Kalamazoo community who is seeking to make a difference by reviving a type of event known as a lyceum, first held here in the late 1800s. Matthew Miller's first two Kalamazoo Lyceum events were successes — the next is this month — and he is hoping to make the discussion series a way to bring disparate people together to talk about issues relevant to our community.

And after what seemed like a long, wet winter, spring has arrived! As you bask in the warming days, we hope you do so with a refreshing beverage of choice and the warm stories in this month's Encore. Enjoy!

Left to right: Tyler J. Stewart, Charles S. Ofstein, William B. Millard & Hannah M. Recknagel

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If you’ve always worked onsite, you've probably never had free reign to build a completely custom space.

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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. Current single issue and newsstand $4, $10 by mail. Back issues $6, $12 by mail. Advertising rates on request. Closing date for space is 28 days prior to publication date. Final date for print–ready copy is 21 days prior to publication date.

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Kalloli, an intern at Encore, got to do a little history research for her interview with Matthew Miller, the organizer of the Kalamazoo Lyceum, a community discussion event that began in January. Kalloli found out that lyceums

were popular in the late 1800s and that Kalamazoo had one way back then. "It's cool to see someone in their 20s resurrecting this way for people to get together and discuss community issues," Kalloli says. "So far, the lyceum is attracting all ages and stimulating good conversations among audience members."

Katie Houston, who wrote stories on two significant events at The Gilmore this month, says she's been overwhelmed by the amazing talent that the organization brings to Kalamazoo. "It's crazy to know that Renée Fleming and Evgeny Kissin are performing here between shows at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall," Katie says. "To have a chance to hear that caliber of music in your mid-sized Midwestern town is nothing short of amazing." Katie is communications manager for The Gilmore.

A contributor to Encore when he was a graduate student at Western Michigan University several years ago, Jef returns to our pages this month with a story about Healthy House, an organization he became involved with while at WMU and continues to stay connected to from afar. He is a writer and illustrator living in Louisville, Colorado, with his partner and three kids but says Kalamazoo will always have a special place in his heart. He blogs poetry, comix and other ephemera at jef-o.ghost.io.

Robert Weir describes his interview for the cover story on the village of Vicksburg as “a stroll into synchronicity.” In December, Weir roamed the town with Village Manager Jim Mallery and the village’s communications consultant, Alex Lee, who talked about the visible and the invisible aspects of community improvement over recent years. And the three ran into other notables — quoted in Weir’s article — who seemed to magically appear to offer their perspectives. “The data flowed in with really no effort at all,” he says. Robert began contributing articles to Encore in 1996.

Katie Houston

Robert M. Weir

Jef Otte

Kalloli Bhatt

First Things

Something Interesting A tour and talk on architectural sculpture

A walking tour of downtown Kalamazoo's architectural sculpture — meaning sculptural details incorporated by an architect or sculptor into the design of a building or other structure — will be offered May 18 by local historian Lynn Houghton. The tour will be followed by a presentation by the author of a book on Michigan architectural sculpture.

Houghton (a frequent Encore contributor) will begin the tour at 4 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Public Library entrance at Rose and South streets. It will feature architectural sculpture found in the 2022 book Guardians of Michigan: Architectural Sculpture of the Pleasant Peninsulas, by Jeff Morrison.

At 5 p.m., immediately after the tour, Morrison will talk about the architectural examples featured in his book. His talk will be presented in the Van Deusen Room of the Kalamazoo Public Library.

The book includes 250 examples of building sculpture across Michigan, including sacred places, Albert Kahn–designed newspaper buildings, skyscraper banks, academic buildings and county courthouses. It was named a Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan and received a State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan.

The events are presented by the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission, Southwest Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and Kalamazoo Public Library.

Something Mineral Rocks, gems and more at annual show

one of the largest rock and gem shows in Michigan will be held at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center May 5–7.

With more than 50 booths of vendors selling everything from fossils and meteorites to precious gems, the show will also have demonstrations of skills such as wire wrapping, Petosky stone polishing and gold panning. There will also be children's activities, including digging for fossils and educational presentations.

The hours for the show are 4–8 p.m. May 5, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. May 6 and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. May 7. Tickets for this family event are $5 for those 12 or older and free for those under 12. Admission is cash only. For more information, visit kalamazoorockclub.org.

Something Funny

Sam Morril coming to State

Theatre

Stand-up comedian Sam Morril, co-host of the We Might Be Drunk podcast, will perform at 7 p.m. May 7 at the Kalamazoo State Theatre.

Morril was a regular on Comedy Central’s This Week at the Comedy Cellar and named one of the cable channel's Comics to Watch in 2011.

Tickets are $39 and available online at kazoostate.com.

Houghton Morrison

Something Festive Band, dancers to perform for Cinco de Mayo

If you’re looking for an authentic celebration of Cinco de Mayo — the annual May 5 observance of Mexico's victory over France in 1862 — head to Bell’s Eccentric Cafe. Performing there at 7 p.m. will be Cuatro Norteño — an ensemble that plays regional music genre of Northern Mexico — and the Latino dance troupe Ballet Folklorico de Mi Tierra.

Cuatro Norteño, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, will perform Norteña songs from traditional to modern, featuring the traditional instruments acordeón and bajo sexto, a Mexican 12-stringed instrument in the guitar family. The dance troupe is from the Kalamazoo Latino community organization El Concilio.

The show is for patrons 21 and older. Tickets are $12–$15 and available online at bellsbeer.com or at the Bell's General Store.

Something Spoked Bike Rodeo at Mayors’ Riverfront Park

Kids can get ready to roll for the summer at a Bike Rodeo from 5–7 p.m. May 17 at Mayors' Riverfront Park.

This free event, sponsored by Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation, will teach bike safety and provide other bike-oriented information.

Open Roads Kalamazoo will provide a bike-fixing station for minor repairs and tune-ups, and Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officers and kids will make their own slushies with cider and berries on Fresh Food is Fun's bike blender. There will also be goodie bags with educational bike information, fire truck and police cruiser demonstrations, and helmet fittings by public safety officers. In addition, there will be prize drawings for kids' bikes; registration online is required to participate in the drawings.

For more information or to register, visit kzooparks.org/events.

Q.

Please send your questions to:

Michael J. Willis, J.D., C.P.A.

Willis Law

491 West South Street

Kalamazoo, MI 49007

269.492.1040

Q.

Please send your questions to: Michael J. Willis, J.D., C.P.A. Willis Law 491 West South Street Kalamazoo, MI 49007 269.492.1040 www.willis.law

its only benefit. However, there is an irrevocable trust for persons in your circumstances that can be established with your assets to the extent they exceed the protected amount (which under Michigan law will cap at a little over $125,000).

What is a Ladybird deed?

Will an

ASK LAWYER

Please send your questions to:

inheritance affect my social security benefits?

MICHAEL J. WILLIS, J.D., C.P.A., WILLIS LAW

Please send your questions to:

What does it mean when a married couple holds property as tenancy by the entirety?

Q. My husband is going into a nursing home. I’ve been told it is possible for me to create a trust and protect my assets from the spend down at the nursing home. Is that true?

Michael J. Willis, J.D., C.P.A.

Willis Law 491 West South Street Kalamazoo, MI 49007 269.492.1040 www.willis.law

LAWYER

If the trust is irrevocable and the assets are effectively established in an annuity income stream back to you per the terms of the trust, then in such a circumstance the trust will no longer be considered a countable asset, but instead an income stream and thereby exempt for Medicaid purposes. This is a sophisticated planning technique, and highly encourage you to seek counsel before implementing this technique or any other Medicaid planning. 9471992-01

A. A tenancy by the entirety is a form of ownership where a married couple, together, own undivided interest in a property. When the coowners are married, tenancy by the entirety is presumed, and does not necessarily need to be mentioned specifically in the deed or conveyance. The married persons each have a survivorship right, which means that the surviving co-owner automatically owns the entire property when their spouse passes, without the asset passing through probate.

A. Whether an inheritance will affect Social Security benefits depends on which kind of benefits you receive. The Social Security Administration has two primary disability benefits programs: (a) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and (b) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. If you receive SSDI benefits, no loss will occur to those benefits if you receive an inheritance. SSDI is an entitlement program and benefits are based on disability and work credits prior to you becoming disabled. The program is not dependent on your assets or resources at any given time.

ASK LAWYER THE BUSINESS AND ESTATE PLANNING

Q. My husband is going into a nursing home. I’ve been told it is possible for me to create a trust and protect my assets from the spend down at the nursing home. Is that true?

A. In Michigan, a Ladybird deed allows a Grantor to transfer his orher real property upon death to a named beneficiary, the Grantee, while avoiding the probate process. The Ladybird deed is appealing because the Grantor will typically retain the right to sell or mortgage the property, or convey the property to another third party at any time, thereby not losing control. Further, the property receives a full “step up” for capital gains tax purposes on the death of the Grantor (this is not available without the reserved life estate or additional powers). The Grantor’s interest is called an enhanced life estate, and the Grantee’s interest is a remainder interest (subject to divestment).

A. Yes. Most often when folks talk on trust planning, they are referencing a revocable trust. In fact, that is the case probably more than 99% of the time. A revocable trust under Michigan law generally is set up only to avoid probate--that’s its only benefit. However, there is an irrevocable trust for persons in your circumstances that can be established with your assets to the extent they exceed the protected amount (which under Michigan law will cap at a little over $125,000).

If you are a recipient of SSI benefits, however, receiving an inheritance may negatively affect your eligibility. This is because SSI is a needs-based program and eligibility is based on limited income and resources. To qualify for SSI benefits one may not have more than $2,000 in assets as an individual or $3,000 as a couple. Any change to either your income or assets will impact your eligibility.

Neither husband nor wife may sell or transfer their interest in the property without the other’s consent. Further, the creditors of one spouse may not attach to the property and force its sale to recover debts unless both spouses consent to the transaction or are liable to the creditor.

Q. My husband is going into a nursing home. I’ve been told it is possible

sophisticated planning technique, and highly encourage you to seek counsel before implementing this technique or any other Medicaid planning.

If the trust is irrevocable and the assets are effectively established in an annuity income stream back to you per the terms of the trust, then in such a circumstance the trust will no longer be considered a countable asset, but instead an income stream and thereby exempt for Medicaid purposes. This is a sophisticated planning technique, and I highly encourage you to seek counsel before implementing this technique or any other Medicaid planning.

Of interest, it is generally believed that a form of the Ladybird deed was used by President Lyndon Johnson to transfer property to his wife, “Lady Bird” Johnson, hence the name of the deed today.

A. Yes. Most often when folks talk on trust planning, they are referencing a revocable trust. In fact, that is the case probably more than 99% of the time. A revocable trust under Michigan law generally is set up only to avoid probate--that’s its only benefit. However, there is an irrevocable trust for persons in your circumstances that can be established with your assets to the extent they exceed the protected amount (which under Michigan law will cap at a little over $125,000). If the trust is irrevocable and the assets are effectively established in an annuity income stream back to you per the terms of the trust, then in such a circumstance the trust will no longer be considered a countable asset, but instead an income stream and thereby exempt for Medicaid purposes. This is a sophisticated planning technique, and highly encourage you to seek counsel before implementing this technique or any other Medicaid planning.

A tenancy by the entirety may only be dissolved through death, mutual consent or divorce.

www.willis.law A. Yes. The Biden administration is contemplating reducing the federal estate tax exemption, significantly, from $11.7 Million per person today, down to $3.5 Million per person. The exemption is the amount of assets one may own (or control) at death and avoid estate tax. An asset amount that exceeds the exemption is generally taxed, today at a rate of 40%. The calculation of assets in an estate at death includes the face value of life insurance not part of a properly-drafted irrevocable trust. The President’s plan would also reduce the amount one may give away during life, without paying gift tax, from $11.7 Million, to $1 Million. Further, the plan intends to abolish the “step up” on capital assets which generally occurs on the death of an individual.

The Social Security Administration also requires participants to report inheritances even if individuals wish to disclaim them. Failure to report an inheritance could subject you to penalties with Social Security Administration. Proper planning with an estate planning attorney is encouraged to help maintain SSI eligibility for one’s dependents.

Five Faves Spring delicacies to forage right where you live

BY gabrielle cerberville

There are plenty of delicious gourmet ingredients growing outside in your city, just waiting for you to take them home and eat them — for free! It’s a common misconception that you have to be an expert to find wild edible foods. In fact, you’ll probably already recognize a few of the spring favorites I’ve chosen here, even if you didn’t know you could eat them.

Whether you are a brand new or a more adventurous forager with some years under your belt, everyone can benefit from incorporating even just a little bit of wild food into their diets. You’ll save a little money, experience the thrill of the hunt and maybe even find yourself more appreciative of the bounty that thrives in the place where you live. Remember to always cross-reference your identifications using multiple sources, be mindful of the impact of your activities and leave the place where you forage a little nicer than you found it.

Here are five of my favorite unexpected, but easy-to-identify, Midwestern spring delicacies:

Dandelion (Taraxacumofficinalis)

You might already know that dandelion is edible, but if you’ve ever had a curious nibble, you might also be under the impression that it tastes bad. You can combat dandelions’ bitterness by quickly blanching, then sauteing them, or by fermenting them in kraut or kimchi. Dandelion roots can be roasted and brewed into a coffee-like drink (minus the caffeine), the unopened flowers can be pickled like capers, and the flowers can be made into dandelion wine, which tastes a bit like a dry mead. Truly, it’s a plant that does it all.

Garlic mustard (Allariapetiolata)

Lilac (Syringa)

Lilacs are among my favorite spring edible flowers, and one of my favorites to introduce to people in an edible context. The color of a lilac will vary based on the pH of the soil, with different-colored flowers sometimes even appearing on the same bush. Lilacs are usually at their peak around Mother’s Day, and their heady perfume makes fantastic inspiration for a tea party. Try infusing them in honey and spreading it on a warm biscuit, blending them with sugar and dehydrating them, or blending them with the rest of your ingredients to make purple ice cream or cake.

This plant is the bane of my existence and also one of the most delicious things I find in early spring. We have a complicated relationship. It’s horrifically invasive, swallowing up forest floors and releasing chemicals into the soil that make it difficult for anything else to grow near it. Let’s just say it’s not exactly a team player. You can eat the whole plant, from its horseradish-y root all the way to its white flowers, but the best time to gather it is in spring, when it is easy to yank up and hasn’t produced flowers or seed pods yet.

Redbud (Cerciscanadensis)

You’ve definitely seen this tree before. When its bare branches suddenly erupt in vibrant fuschia flowers, you know spring is here to stay. Those flowers are a highly anticipated treat for the eager forager and taste a bit like a snap pea had a brief dalliance with a lemon. You can use them to make pink “lemonade,” crazy-colored cordials and the prettiest jelly you’ve ever seen or just add a fancy bit of color to a tossed salad.

Stinging nettle (Urticadioica)

You’ll usually know when you’ve found stinging nettle before you look down, because of the intense pain and welts rising on your bare ankles. Stinging nettle gets its name from its tiny histaminecontaining hairs, which cause an immediate reaction when they come in contact with human skin. Stinging nettle also happens to be an incredibly nutritious food, rich in vitamin A, and provides a much-needed boost of calcium and minerals after the long winter. You might think the stinging hairs would be a lot of trouble to remove, but it’s actually easier than you’d think: blanch the plant for two minutes or dehydrate it and it will be perfectly safe to touch. When dried and powdered, young nettle leaf is a near-perfect duplicate for matcha (a type of green tea), and it can be used in that form for a natural green dye in baked goods. Nettle can also be used in soups, pasta dishes and basically anywhere you would use greens.

About the Author

Gabrielle Cerberville, known on the internet as Mushroom Auntie (@chaoticforager) is a wild food educator, mycologist, permaculturist and interdisciplinary artist who moved to Kalamazoo from Indianapolis in 2020. Her entertaining educational videos on social media, where she shares her knowledge of edible plants and fungi, have been viewed by millions worldwide. She has lectured extensively on the importance of ecological awareness and land knowledge and believes that ethics and hope are the keys to supporting a sustainable future. You can usually find her eating things off the ground.

'The House I Dreamed Of'

BY JEF OTTE

An old union hall could become a new women’s recovery house

Brian Powers

Pam Coffey was working at Luxe Boudoir, her daughter Yolanda Harris’ now-defunct boutique in downtown Kalamazoo, when she struck up a conversation with a real estate agent shopping there. This would turn out to be a fateful conversation.

It was a slow day, in 2019, and Coffey was reading the latest issue of Encore, which just happened to feature Coffey herself and her work with Healthy House for Women, a home located in Kalamazoo’s Northside neighborhood (“Safe Haven for Sobriety,” December 2019).

“I’m not even making this up,” Coffey says. “I was reading the article Encore wrote about us, and I shared it with this woman who came into the store.”

Coffey and her husband, Patrick, started Healthy House in 2015 as a safe place for women to build a foundation for recovery from addiction and trauma. Both are in recovery themselves, and their first resident was referred by someone Coffey knew from a 12-step program. To cover rent and other services for the residents, Coffey secured a fiduciary agent, lined up funding from Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health and started writing grants.

It wasn’t easy at first. Many women couldn’t stay clean. That first resident died of an overdose after leaving the house. But women kept coming from all over the state, and more stayed clean.

And Coffey kept dreaming.

“I envisioned a house a little outside of town, but not too far. Somewhere with woods around it,” Coffey says. “I just felt like my goal was to find somewhere closer to nature, more peaceful.”

“When she told me that, the light bulb went off,” says Caroline Fox Pavone, a sales associate at the commercial real estate firm Signature Associates whom Coffey talked to that day. “I knew I was going to be taking this listing, and it sounded like the right fit.”

“She said, ‘Oh, my God, I think I have the perfect house for you,’” Coffey recalls. “I didn’t have any money. I didn’t even think about needing money. I just said yes.”

Unexpected hurdles

The property is an old farmhouse on Douglas Avenue, north of Kalamazoo, that had been converted into a union hall. With three bathrooms on 1.4 acres of land, it could accommodate nine women and was even on a bus line.

Pamela Coffey outside the building on Douglas Avenue that she is renovating into a recovery house for female addicts.

The union's president wanted to sell, and he wanted to sell to Coffey.

The deal closed in October 2020. Then came the hard part.

Coffey knew the place would need some work, but when the contractor went to pull permits, the township wanted much more work than Coffey had planned on.

“They want me to widen the driveway, put in a fire suppression system, put a fire hydrant and a sidewalk in front of the house. I never even heard of having to put a fire hydrant in somewhere,” she says. “These are things we had not anticipated. So that all came to about $100,000 by itself. We haven’t even started any work inside the house.”

Coffey figures she`ll need $250,000 to open the house to residents. She’s raised about $120,000 so far.

“Whatever is asked of me, that’s what I’ll do,” Coffey says. “This is the house I dreamed of. I’m not giving up.”

If anything, her vision has grown.

‘They don’t go back’

Coffey gained some of her ideas through Becca Stevens, who in 1997 started her first recovery house for survivors of prostitution and sex trafficking. That house, in Nashville, Tennessee, had room for five women.

“What I love about starting small,” Stevens says, “is that it’s not overwhelming. You start small and then grow. One house is doable for any community.”

The Episcopalian priest, author and selfdescribed “social justice entrepreneur” leads Thistle Farms, a women’s recovery network with 600 beds in 29 states. The organization also holds training workshops in Nashville to share best practices and offer support. Coffey went to her first training there in March 2021.

Thistle Farms’ program lasts two years, is rent-free and comes with health care, counseling, recovery support and employment through the organization’s product line of candles, essential oils and homeware. That’s a far cry from the typical addiction treatment model that churns through residents in 90 days or, more often, 30.

“Their success rate is 75 percent. They don’t even have women work for four to six months,” Coffey says. “They don’t want them to. Once they get that job, the job becomes the most important thing, and they lose focus on their recovery. And then they lose that job. So that’s the next grant we want to apply for — to be able to give the residents a little stipend they can use to buy cigarettes or whatever and we can get them not to work.”

“These are people who have fallen through massive cracks in the system,” says Stevens. “They need time and space to do this heroic healing work. And when they do it, they come off the streets and they don’t go back.”

That’s what Coffey wants for her residents — and for all women, actually — to be safe, because that's what happened for her. She got clean and found recovery. She got her daughter back. She found peace.

Now she’s giving back and getting noticed. The Kalamazoo YWCA named her a 2023 Woman of Achievement. Stevens describes her as a “powerhouse in the room.”

But Coffey's not doing it alone. Healthy House has a board of committed, compassionate women from the area who share her vision of ”All Women, Safe, Sober and Self-sufficient.”

“I used to be ashamed to need help,” Coffey says, “but when I got into recovery, I learned I can’t do it by myself. We’re built to be a community.”

So she’ll keep building.

Learn more about Healthy House for Women, including how to donate, volunteer and support the goal of opening the new house, at healthyhouseforwomen.org.

Featuring Marc-André Hamelin , Piano

Clockwise from top left: Pamela Coffey is working to make a farmhouse turned union hall into a recovery home for women; Coffey in the building's large meeting area; original details of the home like this staircase window make it cozy; and many details of the original farmhouse remain, such as this fireplace and wood detail on the stairway.

Brian Powers

Vicksburg

BY ROBERT M. WEIR

How does a municipality recover from demoralizing financial disaster?

The village of Vicksburg knows. In fact, Vicksburg has learned not only to recover and survive but to thrive. And the story of that process involves positive results that are plainly evident as well as results that are unseen but essential.

One example of the visible and invisible changes is infrastructure, specifically the streets, sidewalks and sewers of downtown Vicksburg.

Thanks to a major project called The Big Dig, completed in 2021, downtown streets are repaved but narrower, providing a valuable “traffic calming” effect. The new sidewalks are wide, attractive and pedestrian-friendly, which is good for retail commerce, while the sanitary sewers and storm drains are state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly, a plus for all.

All these improvements were necessary, but only the above-ground enhancements are readily visible. Village Manager Jim Mallery summarizes the situation this way: “Our sewer system was 80 years old. It had weaknesses that nobody could see. If those (potential failings) were potholes, people would be appalled.”

Appalled is exactly what Mallery felt when, on his first day on the job as village manager, in August 2016, he became aware of previous management practices, confirmed by independent financial auditors, that had

This ever-evolving village is attracting business, residents and more

Rising

Vicksburg Village Manager Jim Mallery enjoys the communal firepit in the town's renovated Oswalt Park.

Brian Powers

put the village government in the throes of fiscal collapse.

“I was contacted by a vice president of a bank the village did business with who said they were going to suspend our accounts. That was three hours into my full-time employment for the village,” Mallery recalls.

Determined to find out what was going on and take steps to correct the situation, Mallery and the Village Council started with "transparent communications” with their constituents, he says, outlining the problems and potential solutions.

Now, a mere six years later, the benefits of those efforts glow, glimmer and glisten in the spotlight of public awareness within the village, as well as among nearby communities, and at the state level, where fiscal bureaucrats pay close attention to the financial condition of municipalities throughout Michigan.

John Gisler, Kalamazoo County commissioner for District 8, which includes most of Vicksburg, beautifully summarizes the village’s circumstances — then and now: “Vicksburg was close to getting a (state-appointed) emergency manager, and now it’s the (Michigan Department of) Treasury’s poster child of how to run a small municipality.”

What makes Vicksburg so highly esteemed among its neighbors as well as in Lansing?

It’s a long list: increasing property values; an influx of new residents; several new downtown businesses; restoration and preservation of historic buildings; voluntary cooperation and collaboration within the business community; the downtown's new Oswalt Park, featuring a large outdoor gas firepit that serves as a public gathering place; a successful international arts and music residency program; an indoor farmers market; a rich schedule of festivals and events; a local brewery; a plethora of quality restaurants and taverns; those wider sidewalks coupled with inviting roll-up doors on some musicoriented eateries; ample free parking; a beloved History Village and Museum (formerly a train depot) where people read, party and get married; and super-friendly merchants, business owners and service personnel.

But at the foundation of these highly visible signs of thriving is a less-evident but critical component: the return to municipal management based on fiscal responsibility and

Upcoming Events in Vicksburg

• Vicksburg Old Car Festival, June 9–10

• Downtown Festival Nights, with live street performers, 5–8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, June 14–Aug. 15

• Taste of Vicksburg, July 15

• Vicksburg Beer & Brats Festival, hosted by the Lions Club, July 20–22

respect for human values. The result has been another benefit known to all who own property in Vicksburg: the reduction of property taxes by one-half mill in June 2019, brought about by a voluntary decision of the Village Council. From police officer to city manager Mallery says he was raised in a family that valued a dollar and treated everyone as equal, regardless of their background or where they live. He and his wife, Stephanie, have resided in Vicksburg since 1997. Their children attended and graduated from Vicksburg schools.

• Magic Festival, Aug. 11–12

• Vicksburg Birthday Celebration, Oct. 14

• Christmas in the Village, Dec. 9

• IceBURG Festival, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, Feb. 10, 2024

Stephanie was employed by Vicksburg Community Schools from 1997 to 2022 as a fifth-grade teacher, district coordinator, district instructional coach and coordinator of English Language Arts.

Jim worked more than 25 years as a police officer in the Kalamazoo Public Safety Department, reaching the rank of captain and serving for a time as interim chief.

“Vicksburg is our hometown,” says Mallery.

In about 2013 he became aware, he says, of “rumblings and rumors” about how the village was being run. When others in

Vicksburg learned of his retirement from KDPS in 2016, members of the Village Council asked, would you “help us out?" Jim agreed, acknowledging now that he didn’t know then “the full depth and breadth of what I was walking into.”

Former Village Manager Matt Crawford resigned in 2013 and plead guilty to embezzlement in 2014. Ken Schippers was brought in to be the village manager in 2014, but two years later the town still had a $3.5 million debt and a $450,000 deficit and was on the brink of having an emergency manger appointed by the state. Schippers hired Mallery as the village's assistant manager in January 2016, and Mallery became village manager when Schippers retired in August of that same year.

The threat of being under the control of an emergency manager, especially in light of emergency manager fiascoes in Detroit, Flint and Benton Harbor, was a huge wake-up call that was amplified by citizen distrust of the government.

“We knew we had to do everything we could to reestablish that trust. Not only

be a steward of the citizens’ money but be completely transparent,” says Mallery.

Boosting transparency

The first step was implementation of a new website for the village, livestreaming of all governmental meetings, and electronic archiving of those meetings on YouTube that would be accessible through a link on the village website so people could view them later.

Vicksburg resident Alex Lee, who had recently retired from his 30-year career as communications director for Kalamazoo Public Schools and taken a new role as director of community engagement for the village, insisted on installation of highquality audio/video recording and playback equipment that would make every word and image easily discernible.

All information related to village finances, dating to 2015–16, is now visible at Vicksburgmi.org under the “Financial Transparency” link. There are also easy-tosee links to the community calendar, village forms and ordinances, departments and commissions, news and bulletins, and other valuable data.

“We’re doing everything we can to communicate the best we can to our citizens,” says Mallery. “We want people to know that the money we spend isn’t just expenditures but investments, and there’s a return on those investments.”

Spending cash only

When it comes to spending, Mallery adds, “We are really committed to spending cash only,” a practice of years gone by that is often missing today in the era of easy credit, municipal bonds and operating deficits. “We will not go into debt unless it’s for critical infrastructure,” he vows.

He cites as “a prime example” a new Department of Public Works building, constructed in 2021–22. “The need (for a new building) was there on Day One, but with no cash on hand, we classified it as a wish,” he says. In response to that wish, the village administrators and leaders created a capital improvement plan. “We put money in each of our buckets,” says Mallery. “Five years later, we had the cash on hand to completely pay for a brand new 6,000-square-foot building, so all our equipment is stored inside, which will prolong the life of the equipment.”

“Vicksburg was close to getting a (state-appointed) emergency manager, and now it’s the (Michigan Department of)Treasury’s poster child of how to run a small municipality.”

— John Gisler, District 8 Kalamazoo County commissioner

A second example — a plan to build a new Village Hall for $2.45 million without taking on debt — was approved by the Vicksburg Village Council in March of this year. The current Village Hall, built in the 1940s, lacks a meeting space, forcing the council to rent another space to hold meetings.

These buildings are two more examples of improvements seen and unseen. Yes, people can see the new public works building. But do people see the equipment parked inside? Most probably don’t. Do they see the savings generated by prolonged equipment life? Maybe they will in future tax bills. As for the new Village Hall, it will house police offices, as the current facility does now, but be designed so that those who do business with the public safety department will have more privacy — an amenity many probably won't realize but that is critically important. A place ‘to enjoy each other’

But back to the happenings and improvements that residents and visitors can readily see.

Among the visible changes are those at Oswalt Park, located at the downtown intersection of East Prairie and South Main streets. The cost of improvements to the park, completed in 2022, was $300,000, but “not one single tax dollar was used,” Mallery says. Rather, the project was paid for through grants and fundraising. This formerly underused park is now a cornerstone gathering place, with a new firepit, benches, charging stations and additional sidewalks.

An example of one of the town's highly visible events is the annual Christmas in the Village, a holiday tradition since 2016. in 2022, this Saturday-night festival featured craft shows at a downtown church, horsedrawn wagon rides, a children’s elf workshop and children’s entertainment throughout downtown, roaming teenage carolers, a magic show, Christmas Card Lane, the winter

Brian Powers

farmers’ market with holiday items for sale, taverns and restaurants that served “Santa Feast Specials,” and a parade that included the Vicksburg High School marching band, municipal and law enforcement vehicles and others.

Santa Claus was there, of course, along with an estimated 7,500 people — residents and visitors — who packed those wide downtown sidewalks, gathered around the new firepit in Oswalt Park and spent tourist dollars.

These are not the sights of a dying town. Far from it. These are manifestations of prosperity and amplifications of the village dream — indeed, the epitome of the Village Council’s dynamic goal: “To be a place where visitors are welcome and neighbors become friends.”

“We want Vicksburg to be a spot where people are comfortable to hang out in a safe environment and enjoy each other,” says Mallery. “If we get 1 percent of the population of Kalamazoo County to come to Vicksburg, that’s 2,500 people. I’m quite confident that, with what we’re offering here, they’ll return and, hopefully, bring 10 of their friends.”

A philosophy of service

The benefits of living in Vicksburg are also evident in what Mallery calls “our service-oriented philosophy.”

He cites, as an example, village police officers who “every morning are in front of the elementary schools, middle school and high school just saying hi to kids. Our officers also go into the elementaries, reading to kids, showing the patrol car to them, interacting in a nontraditional manner.”

A similar reading program began with a library initiative in 2019 in which municipal employees read to about 50 youngsters at the Historic Village. That program has grown. Now more than 100 youths are involved and readers include the village staff, council members, police officers, school administrators and library personnel.

“If a resident goes on vacation, whether for the winter or a week, they can give us a call, and we’ll check on their house if they want us to,” says Mallery.

His favorite story of community service involves an elderly resident who got a wooden spoon stuck in a blender. She called the village administrators, and members of the Public Works Department went into the person’s house, unstuck the spoon and repaired the blender.

These efforts, Mallery says, “have an impact on our citizens that we are delivering service in a positive manner. We’re moving from (the mindset) of people simply waving as they walk by to taking time, spending a minute, saying hello, entering a conversation, getting to know each other, and becoming friends.”

Good for business

This above-average, hometown attitude creates an atmosphere that pays dividends for businesses as well.

Nick DeVito, one of two downtown barbers and president of the Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce, describes the business climate as “a hundred percent unique. We all have our own personalities, but we mesh together, and everyone brings something to the table,” he says. “We’re building a community that can be utilized by not only the people who live here but outside folks too.”

Jackie Koney, chief operating officer of Paper City Development, the organization behind restoration of several key downtown buildings

Brian Powers

as well as Vicksburg’s fabled paper mill, says, “Business owners are now really super collaborating on what we can do next.”

Koney cites examples of business owners getting together, generating ideas and bringing them to the Chamber of Commerce or village administrators. “They’re looking at each other’s products, projects and services, then discussing ways to avoid duplications and create joint efforts … like the bookstore and the brewery, or the bakery and the florist,” Koney says. “This collaboration makes us pretty tight-knit and wonderful. It’s fun for the businesses and the people who work here. It’s fun for the people who visit too.”

A cornerstone building at the intersection diagonally across from Oswalt Park is the Vicksburg Community Center, a stately twostory brick building with wrought-iron trim on the front.

“It was called McElvain House when it opened in the 1870s as a hotel for traveling salesmen,” Koney explains. “Eventually, it was turned into a boarding house. Then it became a community center. Our intent is to bring it back as a boutique hotel, modernized but with a historic nod.”

Paper City Development is also responsible for purchasing and moving Mackenzie’s Bakery, a long-standing establishment

in Kalamazoo, to Vicksburg. “We needed a downtown bakery,” she says. “We got all the recipes (from John Mackenzie, the original owner, now retired). We hired the head baker, production manager and two front-counter people.”

Adjacent to the bakery is the Prairie Ronde Artist Gallery, the home of music-residency and artist-residency programs, which John Kern, director of the Prairie Ronde Artist Residency, says are “pretty unique for a town our size.”

These programs, which run from five to seven weeks and provide a creative space for artists, have so far drawn more than 100 artists from the U.S., Canada, Israel and Eastern Europe from all genres, from music and sculpture to painting and fiber arts. Their muse is the history of the mill and papermaking. “They’re telling the story of what was and what is now, and we ask them to interact with the residents of Vicksburg as much as possible,” says Kern.

Such interaction fits well with mill history. Stories abound of olden times when safety precautions were not as extensive and

Scenes from downtown Vicksburg, clockwise from top left: Steve Cowles of Aaron's Music Service strums a tune in his Main Street shop; infrastructure improvements widened downtown sidewalks to be more pedestrian friendly; John Kern oversees the Prairie Ronde Artist Residency, which has a gallery at 101 E. Prairie St.; an aerial view of Oswalt Park, which serves as community meeting place; and Ron Sears gets a trim from Vicksburg barber Nick DeVito.

From Derelict to Re-Development

A cornerstone in the revitalization of Vicksburg is The Mill at Vicksburg, a multimillion dollar renovation of the town's former paper mill. Paper City Development, headed by former Vicksburg native Chris Moore, is turning the Simpson-Lee paper mill property into a multi-use facility that will include a hotel, residential units, brewery and event space. In addition, PCD has also renovated a number of downtown Vicksburg's historic buildings. Read more about the paper mill restoration project in “Going in Big” printed in October 2019 at encorekalamazoo.com/going-in-big/ as well on The Mill at Vicksburg's website at vicksburgmill.com.

children would visit their mothers inside the mill, and when the sound of the 5 o’clock whistle marked the end of the workday and the time for youngsters to return home from their outdoor play.

A bright outlook

Vicksburg’s history dates to 1831. In 1871, early settlers named their community after its founder, John Vickers. The administrative history of a decade ago was a dark spot for the village’s residents, who now number nearly 4,000. But the present is bright, and the future is predicted to be brighter yet.

“This is the time to be here. We’re building for the future,” DeVito says.

Indeed, more than 100 new homes have been constructed in Vicksburg since 2020, according to Mallery.

“We intend to make this village vital for the next hundred years, a place that brings true comfort and happiness to people,” Mallery says.

In the foreseeable future, residents and visitors will come for the organized events listed in this article’s sidebar plus largescreen exterior televisions to be installed in Oswalt Park, where people can gather to watch events such as baseball’s All-Star Game or football’s Super Bowl. At the park they can also connect to the nearby Portage Bikeway Trail System and play on lighted pickleball courts.

Vicksburg residents will also benefit from housing improvement grants, at reduced rates, for furnaces, air conditioners, and accessible entryways for persons with physical limitations in owner-occupied homes; continuous updates to the village’s cash-only capital improvement plan; and updates to master plans for land use and parks and recreation.

Underlying all of these efforts is the commitment to operate with ongoing transparency and, as Mallery says, to “keep the momentum going.”

The Kalamazoo Civic Theatre's Production of

Based on the Victor Hugo novel and songs from the Disney film

Brian Powers

TheArts

A Stellar Pairing Fleming and Kissin performance ‘a coup for the ages’

BY KATIE HOUSTON

A long-awaited performance by soprano Renée Fleming and pianist Evgeny Kissin is finally happening in Kalamazoo this month.

The pair are fitting in a May 27 performance at Chenery Auditorium after their concert at Washington’s Kennedy Center and ahead of another at New York’s Carnegie Hall. They will perform selections — solo and duo — by Liszt, Schubert, Duparc and Rachmaninoff.

Their performance, in the works since 2018, will be the final concert of the Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival's current season. It begins at 8 p.m.

The pair were originally set to perform in the 2020 Gilmore International Piano Festival, but that year’s festival was derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The new date was secured a year ago and announced in August.

“We couldn’t be sure the stars would ever align again,” says Pierre van der Westhuizen, The Gilmore’s executive and artistic director. “But

Soprano Renée Fleming, right, will pair up with world-renowned pianist Evgeny Kissin for a performance May 27 at Chenery Auditorium.

Spotlighting greater Kalamazoo's arts community

her agent told me Renée said, ‘We’re going to Chicago. Why not do The Gilmore?’” 5 years in the making

Securing major artists usually starts at least two years in advance.

“Back in 2018, I was new at The Gilmore and asked Kissin’s agent if there would ever be a chance to bring him to Michigan,” van der Westhuizen says. “She said, ‘Let me work on it — he and Renée (Fleming) are talking about putting something together.’ I told her I would jump through hoops of fire to get both of them here together. It is a coup for the ages, especially as Evgeny has never performed in Michigan.”

The Moscow-born Kissin has been a piano phenom since a young age, with a breakout performance as a preteen in 1984.

“When Evgeny played the Chopin concertos at 12 years old, he sounded as if he had decades of experience. It was not only the virtuosity, that he could retain all the music in his mind, but his maturity. He was a complete artist already,” van der Westhuizen says, adding that the pianist worked with only one teacher, Anna Pavlovna Kantor, until her death in 2021.

About this loss, Kissin has said, “Everything I am able to do on the piano, I owe to her.”

A Kissin performance in Pennsylvania in 2001 is still a potent memory for van der Westhuizen. “I was in Pittsburgh to hear him just after the World Trade Center bombings.

Of course, he couldn’t get a flight out of New York, so he and his conductor drove to Pittsburgh, arriving on the day of the concert. I remember standing outside the hall, listening to him rehearse. The impact of that moment and the healing power of that performance is something I will never forget. He is truly a genius in the truest sense of the word. We use that word so much, but he is the real deal.”

As to Fleming, van der Westhuizen says, “Even if you're not an opera fan, you have heard of her,” possibly because she performs a wide range of music.

While top of mind as a classical music and opera performer — as in the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of The Hours in 2022 — Fleming also sang in last year’s Joni Mitchell Songbook presentation at the Kennedy Center. The American soprano has won five Grammy Awards, sung at a Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and the Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II, and was recognized by President

Van der Westhuizen has heard both Kissin and Fleming many times, but never together, and confesses to getting overcome by fan fluster when he met the soprano.

“I met Ms. Fleming once, though she won’t remember. I was in Chicago to see a friend's debut at the Lyric Opera in 2018. We went backstage and ran right into her and Placido Domingo. I was a blubbering idiot, but she was very gracious,” he recalls.

Preparing for world-famous performers

Preparing for artists of this caliber requires no small effort. While The Gilmore staff cannot reveal the artists’ hospitality requests, we did learn that Fleming will have a dresser, or personal assistant, to tend to her needs and Kissin will have a black-clad page turner on stage and play a Steinway grand piano trucked in specifically for this concert.

Barack Obama in 2012 with the National Medal of Arts.

A Must-See Performance

Who: Renée Fleming & Evgeny Kissin

When: 8 p.m. May 27

Where: Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave.

Tickets and information: thegilmore.org

“Steinway in New York will be shipping us the same piano he will use at Carnegie Hall,” says Anders Dahlberg, Gilmore director of operations.

How does a grand piano get shipped? “On a truck, very carefully,” says Dahlberg. “The legs are removed, it is placed on its side, crated, and loaded onto a truck.” It is scheduled to arrive four days before the concert so it can acclimate to the temperature and humidity of Chenery Auditorium.

“As big as these pianos are, they are very delicate,” says Dahlberg, adding that The Gilmore will also fly in Kissin’s preferred piano technician from New York, who, like the piano, will arrive a few days before the concert.

A must-see

“Artistically speaking, this program is not just about the famous artists,” says van der Westhuizen. “It will truly be a unique artistic experience: virtuoso piano music paired with virtuoso coloratura soprano. Not very many presenters are doing vocal song recitals anymore. In this music — Schubert, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff — the singer and the piano are on equal footing. The pianist is not just an accompanist.”

Van der Westhuizen says he is most anticipating hearing the Rachmaninoff pieces, noting that Russian pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff himself performed at Chenery in 1925.

“To have a Russian pianist play Rachmaninoff, paired with the incredibly voluminous voice of Renée Fleming, well, I think Rachmaninoff himself would swoon over the combination — as, I think, would Irving Gilmore (the late Kalamazoo businessman and philanthropist who was a big supporter of the arts). This will be an historic occasion. People will kick themselves if they miss it.”

TheArts

Maria Joao Pires

Rarely heard in the U.S., Portuguese pianist to teach and perform here

The Gilmore International Piano Festival often presents artists who are not household names but are either on the cusp of major careers — Lang Lang and Yuja Wang come to mind — or have stellar reputations elsewhere.

Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires is among the latter group — she’s renowned in Europe but rarely heard in the U.S. She will perform as part of The Gilmore at 4 p.m. May 21 in Stetson Chapel, on the Kalamazoo College campus.

“She is a legendary figure in the piano world and one of my childhood idols,” says Gilmore Executive and Artistic Director Pierre van der Westhuizen. “She has officially retired, but I thought a great way to connect with her would be around our mission of nurturing young artists.”

Pires will also bring a unique nine-day Partitura Workshop to Kalamazoo this month, joining a half-dozen young pianists she selected who will also perform with her on the 21st. She launched the Partitura concept in 2012 to provide a relaxed, noncompetitive environment of collaboration and creativity.

“I don’t like the idea of master classes because it is a little bit stiff," Pires says. “It’s one who knows and the others who don’t. And this doesn’t correspond to reality, because the people who are teaching, they are learning at the same time. In Partitura we do everything: Everybody plays, everybody talks, gives an opinion. People start to see that there is not one truth in music.”

Van der Westhuizen says of this workshop, “It’s very rare to find a learning environment devoid of competition in the piano world.”

The workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m.–noon and 2–6 p.m. May 17–20 and 22–26 in the Epic Center’s Jolliffe Theatre, and the public will be allowed to watch it. The tickets are pay-what-you-can, with a suggested price of $30 per day.

Pires had been scheduled to perform at The Gilmore’s 2020 festival, which pivoted to virtual concerts.

“We had colleagues from all over the country gobsmacked that she was coming for festival,” says van der Westhuizen, “so to have her for a whole week, working with young musicians on a day-to-day basis, and to hear her play will be incredible.”

For more information on the May 21 concert, the Partitura Workshop and to purchase tickets, go to thegilmore.org.

Maria João Pires will lead workshops for up-and-coming pianists and perform in Kalamazoo this month.

TheArts

TheHunchbackofNotreDame May 5–21 Civic Theatre

The story of bell ringer Quasimodo who dreams of seeing Paris and his friendship with Esmeralda, a Romani woman, is the heart of this musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo.

The musical has songs from the Disney animated movie of the same name as well as new songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. This production is directed by Mike Artis and stars Brett Gowen as Quasimodo and McKenna Burlingham as Esmeralda.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. May 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 & 20 and 2 p.m. May 7, 14 & 21. Tickets are $30, or $24 for students 13 and up, and $17 for children 12 and under, and are available at kazoocivic.com.

Jekyll&Hyde

May 13

All Ears Theatre

An all-audio telling of the story of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde will be performed at 6 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition, 315 W. Michigan Ave.

The free performance, directed by Martie Groat, will include Arnie Johnston in the title role of Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde and Pamela Clark as Gabriella Utterson, Dr. Jekyll's friend and lawyer who untangles the mystery surrounding him.

For more information, visit allearstheatre.org.

Chicken&Biscuits , through May 7

Farmers Alley Theatre

LittleWorlds: SpringConcertofDance

May 19–21

Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers

Kalamazoo's modern dance company will wrap up its season with a weekend of performances this month at Wellspring Theater in the Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall.

The troupe's spring concert will feature works choreographed by Cori Terry and Marisa Bianan.

Show times are 8 p.m. May 19 & 20 and 2 p.m. May 21. Tickets are $22, or $12 for students and $10 for youth, and are available at wellspringdance.org or by calling 342-4354.

BrightStars:ABenefitConcert May 12 & 13

Farmers Alley Theatre

Farmers Alley Theatre celebrates its 15th season with a performance by Broadway performer and Kalamazoo native Hannah Elless and other Farmers Alley performers.

Elless will share with audiences her experiences on stages from Kalamazoo to Broadway, where she starred in the original production of Bright Star in 2016 and the revival of Godspell in 2011. Other performers sharing memories of Farmers Alley will be Denene, Jeremy and Jason Koch; Cece Weeks; Whitney Weiner; and Gina Chimner.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. May 12 & 13. Tickets are $75–$125, with a portion that is tax-deductible, and are available at farmersalleytheatre.com.

NexttoNormal May 18–21 Festival Playhouse

A suburban family’s struggle with the mother’s mental illness is the focus of this play to be staged at Balch Playhouse, on the Kalamazoo College campus.

For 16 years, Diana Goodman has lived with manic depression, since the death of her infant son, an illness that has almost torn her family apart on multiple occasions. Taking audiences into the hearts and minds of each of the characters, Next to Normal addresses issues such as grieving a loss, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. May 18–20 and 2 p.m. May 21. Tickets are $25, with discounts for seniors, children, students and staff, and are available at festivalplayhouse.kzoo.edu. The show will also be livestreamed.

SnowWhite: AFairytaleBallet

May 20 & 21

Ballet Kalamazoo

The youth dance troupe will present the classic fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Comstock Community Auditorium, 2107 N. 26th St.

DANCE

Grand Rapids native Joseph Van Harn, a member of Festival Ballet Providence (Rhode Island), will perform as a special guest.

Show times are 6 p.m. May 20 and 2 p.m. May 21. Tickets are $20, or $15 for students 17 and under, $10 for children 2–5 years old and free for younger children. Tickets are available at balletkalamazoo.com.

TheArts

DecadesofHits

May 24

Blendings Vocal Ensemble

This performance by a Kalamazoo choir is designed to appeal to fans of popular music from the 1930s through the 1990s.

The concert, set for 7:30 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, will include songs from each decade, including songs by Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Sonny & Cher, Stevie Wonder and Sting.

Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door. For more information, visit the group's Facebook page, at facebook.com/ BlendingsEnsemble.

Stulberg International String Festival

May 18–20

Various venues

There will be several opportunities to be part of the action when some of the globe's most talented youth string musicians come to town for the Stulberg International String Festival.

The public can be part of the festival, a competition for young musicians, through these events:

• The Stulberg Spring Soiree, a fundraising event that kicks off the festival and will feature music by The Birdseed Salesmen, a wine pull, a silent auction, dinner and drink. It starts at 6:30 p.m. May 18 at Bell’s Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., and tickets are $90.

• Master Classes, which the public can observe for free, 3–6 p.m. May 19 at Western Michigan University’s Dalton Center.

• Bach Prize Award Night, when the 12 Stulberg finalists play solo Bach pieces for prizes, 7:30–10 p.m. May 19 at WMU’s Dalton Center Recital Hall; tickets are $15, or $5 for students.

• Competition Semifinals & Finals, when the 12 semifinalists compete for the top prizes. The semifinals are 9 a.m.–noon & 1–4 p.m. May 20, and the finals are 7:30 p.m. May 20 at Dalton Center Recital Hall. Admission to the semifinals is free, and tickets for the finals are $25, or $5 for students and $35 for a combo ticket to the finals and the Bach Prize.

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

EternalMemory: MusicforUkraine

May 13

Kalamazoo

Philharmonia

A centuries-wide sampling of Ukrainian music will be performed by this Kalamazoo College-based community symphony.

The concert is set for 7:30 p.m. in the college’s Dalton Theatre.

Among the works by Ukrainian composers to be performed are Maksym Berezovsky's Symphony in C, Boris Lyatoshynsky's Prelude from the film Taras Shevchenko and Mykola Skoryk's Melody. Tickets are $2–$5 and will be available at the door. For more information, visit philharmonia.kzoo.edu.

KSO Concerts

Throughout the month

Various venues

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra will showcase the talents of young players to professionals in three performances this month:

• The KSO Community Concert, featuring works by Amy Breach & Johannes Brahms, is set for 7 p.m. May 9 at First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St.; admission is free.

• The KSO Masterworks Season Finale, which will feature internationally recognized pianist Marc-André Hamelin performing Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto in C Minor and the KSO playing works by Ferruccio Busoni, Carlos Simon and Ottorino Respighi. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. May 20 in Miller Auditorium, and tickets are $6–$68.

• Kalamazoo Kids in Tune, an after-school orchestra featuring area elementary through high school students, will perform at 7 p.m. May 23 at Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave.; admission is free.

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

Brass Band of Battle Creek

May 20

W.K. Kellogg Auditorium

The acclaimed brass band will perform a New Orleans-themed concert featuring several special guests.

Joining the band will be clarinetist Doreen Ketchens, known as "Lady Louie" for the way she plays her instrument like Louie Armstrong; trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, who has been named Trombonist of the Year 15 times by the Jazz Journalists Association; and jazz drummer Herlin Riley, a regularly featured musician at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at Kellogg Auditorium, located at 50 Van Buren St., in Battle Creek. Tickets are $25–$65 and can be purchased at bbbc.net.

There’sNoPlaceLike Home

May 21

Kalamazoo Ringers

The longestrunning bronze-level community handbell ensemble in the U.S. will perform its spring concert from 4–5:30 p.m. at Grace Harbor Church, 811 Gorham Lane.

Admission to the event is free, but donations will be accepted. For more information, visit kalamazooringers.org.

MUSIC

LoveIs (Volume6)

May 24

Kalamazoo Bach Festival

A commissioned world premiere and the revealing of a new name and logo for the 77-year-old Kalamazoo Bach Festival will be featured in this concert at 7:30 p.m. at Kalamazoo College’s Dalton Theatre.

Composer David O collaborated with Kalamazoo's Joe Ossmann to create “Blessed: Meditations on the Beatitudes,” which will be premiered at the concert.

Tickets are $5–$24 for the in-person performance and $19 for online viewing and can be purchased at kalamazoobachfestival.org.

2023 A

TheArts

LITERATURE

MichiganSalvage:TheFictionofBonnie JoCampbell

May 20

Kalamazoo Public Library

Kalamazoo author Bonnie Jo Campbell will be on hand to discuss her fiction writing with the editors of this first scholarly book on her work. The event begins at 2 p.m. and will include a reading and book signing.

Campbell is the author of the novels Q Road; Once Upon a River, the bestselling 2011 novel that was made into a movie of the same name in 2019; and the forthcoming novel, The Waters

She is also the author of the short-story collections Women and Other Animals, which won the 1998 Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction from the Association of Writers and Writing Programs; American Salvage, a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award in Fiction; and Mothers Tell Your Daughters (2015).

Campbell received her M.A. in mathematics and her M.F.A. in creative writing from Western Michigan University and lives with her husband and other animals outside Kalamazoo. She teaches writing in the low-residency program at Pacific University.

More Author Talks

Throughout the month

Various venues

Authors of both fiction and nonfiction works will discuss their writing in online and in-person talks this month.

• Marion Starling Boyer, Kalamazoo Valley Community College professor emeritus and the author of five published poetry collections, will read from her new book, Ice Hours (2023), which won Michigan State University's Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize, at 7 p.m. May 10 at the Richland Community Library.

• Jena Friedman — The American comedian and writer will discuss her book, Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera, in a virtual presentation 8–9 p.m. May 10 on kpl.gov/live. Registration is required at kpl.gov.

• Courtney Summers — The author of I’m the Girl, a coming-of-age novel that was named a Best Book of the Year in 2022 by BuzzFeed, Kirkus Reviews and more, will give an online talk from 2–3 p.m. May 20 on kpl.gov/live. Registration is required at kpl.gov.

• Justin & Alexis Black — The couple will discuss their experiences in the foster-care system and overcoming adversity as detailed in their book, Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat the Odds and Discovered Healing, Happiness and Love, from 7–8 p.m. May 23 at the Portage District Library.

Art Hop

May 5

Downtown Kalamazoo

Celebrating public art, this month's Art Hop will unveil the Kalamazoo County Public Arts Commission's Pixel Stix project, which is an interactive, online gallery of area murals.

This free event, organized by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, runs from 5–8 p.m. and will also feature art making in action, including glassblowing, ceramics, fiber arts, woodworking and more.

The Arts Council has an app that provides a guide and map of Art Hop sites, information about participating artists, and walking directions. For more information or to access the app, visit kalamazooarts.org.

Somers Randolph

May 10 via Zoom

Somers Randolph will discuss his 40 years of creating sculptures from stone in a virtual presentation sponsored by the Kalamazoo Art League.

The New Mexican sculptor is known for creating one-of-a-kind sensuous knots and woven curves out of stone, including alabaster, marble, granite, and even lapis. The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. To register and receive the Zoom link, send email to artleaguekalamazoo.org.

Boyer

VISUAL ARTS

CrossCurrents: East/West Woodblock Prints

May 12 – July 28

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center

Kalamazoo artist Mary Brodbeck, who learned woodblock techniques from Japanese artist Yoshisuke Funasaka through a fellowship in Japan in 1998, will participate in an exhibition with her mentor to showcase 25 years of crosscultural exchange and relationship.

Using 17th-century Japanese woodblock techniques, Funasaka's works will display abstract motifs, while Brodbeck's will showcase the Great Lakes watershed region.

The KBAC gallery, at 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A, is open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday. There will be a reception with the artists at 5:30 p.m. May 12. For more information, visit kalbookarts.org.

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center:

• John McKaig, through May 5

• CarolineAllen:PaperCollage , through May 12

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts:

• Art,MusicandFeminisminthe 1950s , through May 7

• ExpressionsinPaperandClay , through May 14

• HighSchoolAreaShow , through May 21

• LinesThat , through June 11

EcoWisdom , Westminster Art Festival, through June 15

Midwest Ghazal

We don’t wail for Laila, never tear hair, beat our breasts here. Count on us to keep all our emotions real close to the vest here. First it was railroads, then automobiles stretched this place. That’s why we always reply to “Where is the Midwest?” “Here.”

“Well, that’s different” or “Interesting” isn’t a compliment. We strive for polite, but sometimes we are hard-pressed here. Just one more piece of pie, then we all stand and talk by the door It’s not easy to manage a graceful escape for a guest here. On both coasts they call us the Rust Belt, the fly-over states, but usually we’re just ignored, the butt of their jests here. Hotter than Florida, winters that shatter our bones— in the face of extremes, staying temperate’s always the test here. In our hearts we don’t want to be able to garden year-round. Winter sharpens our visions; the perfect tomato’s the quest here. A shame that our gardens can’t ever have jasmine, magnolias, but I know black-eyed Susans, indigenous plants, flower best here.

— Susan Blackwell Ramsey

Ramsey is a Kalamazoo poet whose collection A Mind Like This (2012) won the University of Nebraska’s Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. She likes to write in various poetic forms. The form she uses here, a ghazal (pronounced guzzle), was originally an Arabic form with couplets that all end in the same word, preceded by words that rhyme. In addition, the rhyme and common word appear in the first line, and the poet’s name in the last couplet.

PERFORMING ARTS THEATER

Plays

Chicken&Biscuits — There’s non-stop drama as rival sisters bury their father, 7:30 p.m. May 4-6, 2 p.m. May 7, Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, 343–2727, farmersalleytheatre.com.

Next to Normal — A suburban family copes with crisis & mental illness, 7:30 p.m. May 18–20, 2 p.m. May 21, Festival Playhouse, Light Fine Arts Building, Kalamazoo College, festivalplayouse.kzoo.edu.

Musicals

Fiddler on the Roof — An ASL-interpreted performance of this well-known musical about fathers, daughters & Jewish traditions during a time of upheaval, 7 p.m. May 2, Miller Auditorium, WMU, millerauditorium.com.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame — The story of Quasimodo, a bell ringer who longs to see Paris, 7:30 p.m. May 5–6, 12–13, 19–20, 2 p.m. May 7, 14 & 21, Civic Theatre, 329 S. Park St., 343-1313, kazoocivic.com.

Madagascar the Musical — The animated movie’s characters take to the stage, 6:30 p.m. May 9, Miller Auditorium, WMU, millerauditorium.com.

Other

Bright Stars: Benefit Concert Celebrating 15th Anniversary of Farmers Alley Theatre — Starring Hannah Elless & other Farmers Alley performers, May 12 & 13, Farmers Alley Theatre, 343–2727, farmersalleytheatre.com.

Jekyll&Hyde — Radio theater show directed by Martie Groat, 6 p.m. May 13, Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition, 315 W. Michigan Ave., allearstheatre.org.

DANCE

Snow White: A Fairytale Ballet — Presented by Ballet Kalamazoo, 6 p.m. May 20, 2 p.m. May 21, Comstock Community Auditorium, 2107 N. 26th St., balletkalamazoo.com.

Little Worlds: Spring Concert of Dance — Presented by Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers, 8–10 p.m. May 19–20, 2–4 p.m. May 21, Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, wellspringdance.org, 342-4354.

MUSIC

Bands & Solo Artists

Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Concerts — Built to Spill w/ Itchy Kitty, May 2; Kitchen Dwellers w/ Sicard Hollow, May 4; Ringo Deathstarr w/ Pleasure Venom and Tamourina, May 6; Desmond Jones & Jordan Hamilton, May 19; Celebrating Shania!, May 20; shame w/ Been Stellar, May 22; Fenne Lily & Christian Lee Hutson, May 26; all shows begin at 8 p.m., 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382–2332, bellsbeer.com.

Foreigner — The classic rock band performs, 8 p.m. May 19, Wings Event Center, 3600 Vanrick Drive, wingseventcenter.com/Events.

Sunny Bleau and The Moons — Roots and bluesrock band, 7 p.m. May 24, Dormouse Theatre, 1030 Portage Road, dormousetheatre.com.

Gun Lake Live Summer Series — Lakefront concerts at 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Lakefront Pavilion, Bay Pointe Inn, 11456 Marsh Road, Shelbyville: Brena, May 31; 888–486–5253.

Orchestra, Chamber, Jazz, Vocal & More Prep String & Prep Winds — Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra’s Prep Ensemble performs, 3:30 p.m. May 7, Kasdorf Auditorium, Loy Norrix High School, 606 E. Kilgore Road, 349–7557, kjso.org.

KSO Community Concert — Featuring works by Amy Breach & Johannes Brahms, 7 p.m. May 9, First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St., kalamazoosymphony.com.

Eternal Memory: Music for Ukraine — Kalamazoo Philharmonia performs music of Ukraine, 7:30 p.m. May 13, Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College, philharmonia.kzoo.edu.

Maria João Pires’ Partitura Workshop — The piano master offers a workshop with selected pianists that’s open to the public to observe, 9 a.m.-noon and 2–6 p.m. May 17–20 and 22–26, Jolliffe Theatre, Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, 342–1166, thegilmore.org.

Stulberg Spring Soiree — A kickoff gala for the Stulberg International String Competition, with music by The Birdseed Salesman, a wine pull, a silent auction, dinner and drinks, 6:30 p.m. May 18, Bell’s Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., stulberg.org.

Stulberg Master Classes — Open to the public to observe, 3-6 p.m. May 19, Dalton Center, WMU. 2023 Stulberg Bach Prize Award Night — The 12 Stulberg semifinalists perform their solo Bach pieces, 7:30–10 p.m. May 19, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, stulberg.org.

Stulberg Finals — Talented young string musicians compete and perform: semifinals, 9 a.m.–noon & 1–4 p.m. May 20; finals, 7:30 p.m. May 20; Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, stulberg.org.

KSO Masterworks Season Finale — Featuring works by Busoni, Rachmaninoff and Respighi, 7:30 p.m. May 20, Miller Auditorium, WMU, kalamazoosymphony.com.

Brass Band of Battle Creek — Performing a New Orleans-themed concert, 7:30 p.m. May 20, Kellogg Auditorium, 50 Van Buren St. W., Battle Creek, bbbc.net.

Maria João Pires & Partitura Pianists — The Portuguese pianist performs with young pianists from her Partitura Workshop, 4 p.m., May 21, Stetson Chapel, Kalamazoo College, thegilmore.org.

There’s No Place Like Home — Kalamazoo Ringers’ spring concert, 4–5:30 p.m. May 21, Grace Harbor Church, 811 Gorham Lane, kalamazooringers.org.

Kalamazoo Kids in Tune — The after-school orchestra performs, 7 p.m. May 23, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., kalamazoosymphony.com.

Love Is (Volume 6) — Kalamazoo Bach Festival orchestra and chorus perform, 7:30 p.m. May 24, Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College, with online option available, kalamazoobachfestival.org.

Decades of Hits — Blendings Vocal Ensemble sings a selection of popular music from the 1930–1990s, 7:30 p.m. May 24, Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, 329 S. Park St., facebook.com/BlendingsEnsemble.

Renée Fleming & Evgeny Kissin — The renowned soprano and the piano virtuoso perform solo and together, 8 p.m. May 27, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., thegilmore.org.

COMEDY

Sam Morril — Comedian, 7 p.m. May 7, State Theatre, 404 S. Burdick St., kazoostate.com.

VISUAL ARTS

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

314 S. Park St., 349-7775, kiarts.org

Exhibitions

Art, Music & Feminism in the 1950s — Featuring women artists during a period of change, through May 7.

ExpressionsinPaper&Clay — Traditions of Japanese printmaking & ceramics in the last 50 years, through May 14.

High School Area Show — Works by youth from Southwest Michigan, through May 21.

Lines That … — Show exploring the versatility of a line, through June 11.

Unveiling American Genius — Abstract & contemporary works emphasizing stories told by African American, Latino & other artists, through Dec. 31.

Events

Somers Randolph — Art League lecture by the stone sculptor, 7–8 p.m. May 10, online; to register, send email to artleaguekalamazoo@gmail.com.

Other Venues

John McKaig — Prints & other artworks, through May 5, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Michigan Ave., kalbookarts.org.

Art Hop — Displays of art at various locations with the theme “Celebrating Public Art,” 5–8 p.m. May 5, downtown Kalamazoo, 342–5059, kalamazooarts.org.

Caroline Allen: Paper Collage — Works inspired by Kia Penso's short stories, through May 12, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center; kalbookarts.org.

Cross Currents: East/West Woodblock Prints — Exhibition by Kalamazoo artist Mary Brodbeck & Japanese artist Yoshisuke Funasaka, May 12–July 28; reception 5:30–7:30 p.m. May 12, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center; kalbookarts.org.

LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS

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

Buck a Bag Book Sale — Fill a bag with books for $1, May 1–13.

Adult Book Club — Discussion of Melody Razak’s Moth, 6–7:30 p.m. May 31; registration required.

Kalamazoo Public Library 553-7800, kpl.gov

Britt Hawthorne — Online talk by the author of the best-selling book Raising Anti-Racist Children, 1–2 p.m. May 3; registration required.

May the 4th Be With You — A variety of Star Wars activities & appearance by Lord Vader, with costumes welcome, 4:30–5:30 p.m. May 4, Children’s Room, Central Library, 315 S. Rose St. Move with Joy: Yoga for All Ages — Mindfulness & relaxation techniques, with yoga mats provided, 3–4:30 p.m. May 5, Eastwood Branch, 112 Gayle Ave.; registration required.

First Saturday of the Month — Community organizations, crafts & activities, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. May 6, Alma Powell Branch, 1000 W. Paterson St. Music and Memories — Caitlyn Bodine leading songs for older adults & discussing how music stirs memories, 10:45 a.m.–noon May 8, Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St.

Page Turners Book Club — Discussion of Catherine Raven’s Fox & I, 6:30–7:30 p.m. May 8, Oshtemo Branch; registration required.

Spice It Up for Mother’s Day! — A spicy cooking demo by Chef K, 6–7:30 p.m. May 8, Eastwood Branch; registration required.

GLAMA Acoustic Slow Jam — Great Lakes Acoustic Music Association members lead a jam session, 5:30–7:30 p.m. May 9, Van Deusen Room, Central Library.

Reading Race Group — Discussion of Anna Malaika Tubbs’ The Three Mothers, 6:30 p.m. May 9, Boardroom, Central Library.

Coffee Talk — Video talk “Can We Feed Ourselves Without Devouring the Planet?” and discussion, 10:30–11:30 a.m. May 10, Oshtemo Branch.

Jena Friedman — Online talk by the author of Not Funny: Essays on Life, Comedy, Culture, Et Cetera, 8–9 p.m. May 10, kpl.gov/live; registration required.

Ask a Lawyer Family Law Clinic — A private session with an attorney on common family legal questions, 3–5 p.m. May 11 & 10 a.m.-noon May 24, Central Library; registration required.

Dungeons & Dragons Community Event — Beginner & experienced tables, 5:30–7:30 p.m. May 11, Central Library; registration required.

Rose Street Poetry Club — Poetry reading & writing session for adults, 10–11 a.m. May 13, Central Library.

Electric Vehicle Q&A and Car Show — The Kalamazoo Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA) displays cars & answers questions, 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. May 13, Oshtemo Branch.

GLAMA Community Sing — 6–7:30 p.m. May 16, Central Library.

Adult Reading Challenge: Great Books Discussion — Offer and hear about book titles & ideas for the spring challenge, 6-7:30 p.m. May 16, Oshtemo Branch.

Washington Square Spring Celebration — With food, music, face painting, balloon animals & more, 5:30–7 p.m. May 17, Washington Square Branch, 1244 Portage St.

Classics Revisited — Discussion of John Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, 2:30–4 p.m. May 18, Central Library; Zoom option available.

Guardians of Michigan — Tour of architectural sculpture in downtown Kalamazoo led by local historian Lynn Houghton, starting at 4 p.m. May 18 at Central Library; followed at 5 p.m. by talk and book signing by author Jeff Morrison about building sculptures across Michigan, Van Deusen Room, Central Library.

Michigan Salvage: The Fiction of Bonnie Jo Campbell — The editors of this book and local writer Campbell discuss this first scholarly study of her writing, with a reading from her latest work and a book signing, 2–3:30 p.m. May 20, Central Library.

Courtney Summers — Online talk by the best-selling author of the young adult book I’m the Girl, 2–3 p.m. May 20, kpl.gov/live; registration required.

Mama’s Family: Finding Your Female Ancestors — Overcoming roadblocks & sharing genealogical resources, 6:30–7:30 p.m. May 22, Eastwood Branch; registration required.

Bullet Journal Blast — Discussion of this journaling technique, 10:30 a.m.–noon May 27, Oshtemo Branch; registration required.

Parchment Community Library 401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747, parchmentlibrary.org

Big Furry Friends – Meet therapy dogs, 4:30-6:30 p.m. May 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30.

Parchment Book Group – Discussion of Abbi Waxman’s Adult Assembly Required, 6 p.m. May 8.

Mystery Book Club: Maris Soule Series – Discussion of Soule’s As the Crow Flies, 6:30 p.m. May 16.

Bee Happy Painting Event – Paint a bee scene with Coleen Austin, 6 p.m. May 18 or 25, $10, limited seating, paid reservation required.

Portage District Library

300 Library Lane, 329-4544, portagelibrary.info

Muffins & the Market — Warren Fritz on stock market trends, 9 a.m. May 4 & 18.

Resumes Made Easy — Resume-writing workshop, 6–7:30 p.m. May 4; registration recommended.

Saturday Sound Immersion — Wind Willow Consortium provides a relaxing, well-being experience, 10 a.m. May 6; registration required.

Plots & Pages: A Local Writers Group — Author Mark Love on the craft of writing, 6:30 p.m. May 8.

Summer Movie Preview — Watch previews & discuss upcoming movies, 7–8 p.m. May 9.

International Mystery Book Discussion — Discussion of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses, 7 p.m. May 11; registration required.

Documentary and Donuts — Watch The Grace Lee Project & eat donuts, 10 a.m.–noon May 12; registration required.

Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society — Open to those interested in genealogy, 6:30 p.m. May 15.

Open for Discussion — Drop-in discussion of Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart, 10:30 a.m. May 16. Festival in the Flats — Celebrating children’s literacy with story hour, activities, a free book & snacks, 10:30–11:30 a.m. May 16; Celery Flats Park: registration required.

Cookies and Conversation: Heartwarming

Reads Book Club — Discussion of Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, 2 p.m. May 17.

Yoga and Journaling — Slow-flow yoga with journaling, 1:30 p.m. May 19; registration required.

Kalamazoo Macintosh Users Group — Help with Macintosh programs & accessories, 9 a.m.–noon May 20.

Zion Lion — Reggae band performs, 2–4 p.m. May 21.

Excelling in the Work Place — A workshop on interpersonal communication, resourcefulness & conflict resolution, 4–5:30 p.m. May 23.

Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat the Odds and Discovered Healing, Happiness and Love — Justin & Alexis Black on their experiences in the foster-care system, 7–8 p.m. May 23.

Book Tasting — Discussion of staff book picks, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. May 24.

Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones: Eating Wild for the Future — A program on environmentally friendly landscaping, 7 p.m. May 24.

Richland Community Library

8951 Park St., 629-9085, richlandlibrary.org

Bridge Club — Noon Tuesdays.

Adult Art Club — Making art with random supplies, 6–7 p.m. May 2; registration required.

Adult Educational Class — Optimizing Your Social Security Benefits, 6 p.m. May 9; registration required.

Marion Starling Boyer — Author of the poetry collection The Ice Hours, 7 p.m. May 10.

RCL Film Club — Discussion of The Farewell, 7 p.m. May 11.

Richland Area Writer’s Group — 10–11:30 a.m. May 13, in-person & via Zoom.

Richland Genealogy Group — Roundtable discussion, 10–11:30 a.m. May 18, in-person & via Zoom.

Books with Friends — Discussion of A.J. Fikry’s The Storied Life, 7 p.m. May 18, in-person & via Zoom. MUSEUMS

Air Zoo

6151 Portage Road, Portage, 382-6555, airzoo.org

BreakingtheSoundBarrier— A Smithsonian Channel show on Chuck Yeager’s 1947 accomplishment of what many thought was impossible, through May.

Science Innovation Hall of Fame Awards — Hosted by Air Zoo and Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame, 6 p.m. May 20; tickets available on website.

Gilmore Car Museum

6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, 671-5089, gilmorecarmuseum.org

Wednesday Night Cruise–Ins — Collector cars, oldies music & food, 5–8 p.m. Wednesdays on good-weather nights, through September.

David J. Beeke Memorial Ford & Mustang Show

— Benefitting the West Michigan Cancer Center, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 6; tickets available online. Boats at the Barns — Antique & classic boats, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 13; tickets available online.

Vintage Travel Trailer Rally — 9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 13, with wine tasting event, noon–5 p.m.; registration required.

Congress of Motorcars — Vehicles produced in 1942 & earlier, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. May 20.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum

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

Moments in Time: The Kalamazoo County Photo Documentary Project — Documenting life in Kalamazoo since 1984, through June 4.

Mental Health: Mind Matters — Exploring mental health and mental illness, through June 18.

WonderMedia:AsktheQuestions!— This interactive exhibition tests visitors’ literacy skills and shows how to discern misinformation and disinformation in the media, through 2023.

NATURE

Kalamazoo Nature Center

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

Birding the Kleinstuck Preserve — Help researchers do a migratory bird survey, 8 a.m. May 3, 10 & 17; meet at Maple Street YMCA parking area, 1001 Maple St.; registration required.

Great Blazes! — Experience seasonal changes & unique ecology with a conservation educator, 1–3 p.m. May 4 & 18.

Birding with the Stars — Expert birders lead a morning hike, 8 a.m. May 8; registration required.

Mindfulness Yoga — With meditation, 6–7 p.m. May 10.

Creative Wilderness — Artmaking techniques with guest artists, 1–3 p.m. May 11; registration required.

Returning & Reskilling Series — Using natural materials to navigate and explore, 10–11:30 a.m. May 13 & 27, DeLano Homestead, 555 West E Ave.; registration required.

Virtual Butterfly Monitor Training — How to monitor butterflies for conservation work, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. May 13; registration required.

Kalamazoo River Guardians — Take samples of & identify macroinvertebrates from the Kalamazoo River Watershed, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. May 20, beginning at Merrill Park, 5845 Comstock Ave.; registration required.

Music in the Arb — Live music, with picnic dinners allowed, 5:30–8:30 p.m. May 20; registration required.

Garlic Mustard & Dame’s Rocket Pulling Day — Hand-pull these aggressive invasive species, 8:30–10:30 a.m. May 24, Habitat Haven & Cooper’s Overlook trails.

Coffee & Conservation — Meet an ambassador animal & discuss conservation, 1–3 p.m. May 25; registration required.

Other Venues

Binder Park Zoo Opening Day — May 1, 7400 Division Drive, Battle Creek, 979-1351, binderparkzoo.org.

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society General Meeting and Speaker —Yutaka Hirai discusses the history of the Milky Way, 7–9:15 p.m. May 5, Kalamazoo Math and Science Center, 600 W. Vine St.

Birds and Coffee Chat Online — A talk on bird conservation with an emphasis on bird health, 10 a.m. May 10, Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, 12685 East C Ave., Augusta, 671-2510, birdsanctuary@kbs.msu.edu, registration required.

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society Public Observing Session — Galaxies of the Great Bear, May 13; Venus & the First Quarter Moon, May 27; both from 9 p.m.–1 a.m., Kalamazoo Nature Center, 7000 N. Westnedge Ave.

Ranger Hike: Migration Station — Migratory Bird Day walk with Portage park rangers, 2:30–3:30 p.m. May 14, West Lake Nature Preserve, 9001 S. Westnedge Ave., portagemi.gov/calendar; registration required.

Lanterns on the Lake — Lantern release to honor loved ones, 8–9:30 p.m. May 20, Ramona Park & Beach, 8600 S. Sprinkle Road, portagemi.gov/calendar; registration required.

MISCELLANEOUS

Kalamazoo Rock, Gem & Mineral Show — Over 50 booths plus demonstrations, including Petoskey stone polishing & gold panning, 4–8 p.m. May 5, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. May 6, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. May 7, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 2900 Lake St., kalamazoorockclub.org.

Kalamazoo Farmers Market — 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturdays, 1204 Bank St.; opening day, May 6, pfcmarkets.com.

MAC Gallop 5K — 5K run/walk on Portage trails hosted by Mustang Athletic Club and the city of Portage, 8 a.m. May 6, starting at Portage Central High School’s McCamley-Knight Field, 8135 S. Westnedge Ave., pcmustangac.com.

A Walking Tour of Downtown Kalamazoo Breweries — 1–4 p.m. May 6, 13, 20 & 27; 350–4598, westmibeertours.com.

Portage Farmers Market — 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Sundays, May 7–October, Portage City Hall, 7900 S. Westnedge Ave., 329-4522.

Kalamazoo Indoor Flea Market — New & used items, antiques & crafts, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. May 13, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 383-8778.

Your Story! — Create a short TV program to be aired on Public Media Network, 10 a.m.–noon May 13, Public Media Network, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, third floor, 343-2211, publicmedianet.org/your-story; registration required.

Bike Rodeo — For kids to learn biking skills, maintenance & safety, 5–7 p.m. May 17, Mayors’ Riverfront Park, 251 Mills St., kzooparks.org/events.

Kalamazoo Antique Toy Show — Antique & collectible toys, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. May 20; early-bird admission, 4–8 p.m. May 19; Main and North rooms, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 366–1314.

Kalamazoo Reptile & Exotic Pet Expo — Reptiles, amphibians & other exotic pets, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. May 20, Kalamazoo County Expo Center South, kalamazooreptileexpo.com.

Party in the Park — Story hour with costumed characters, 10–11 a.m., May 24, Bronson Park; bring a blanket to sit on; kpl.gov/event.

West Michigan Apple Blossom Cluster Dog Show — AKC dog show, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. May 25–29, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, (616) 600–1578.

Friday at the Flats — Food trucks, live music & vendors, 4:30–8:30 p.m. May 26, Celery Flats Pavilion, 7335 Garden Lane, portagemi.gov/calendar.

Portage Craft Market — Local artisans, 4:30–7 p.m. May 26, during Friday at the Flats, Celery Flats Historical Area, portagemi.gov/calendar.

Matthew Miller (continued from page 38)

How did you get where you are today?

I was born and raised in Kalamazoo, graduating from Kalamazoo Central High School in 2015. I went to the Citadel, a small military college in South Carolina, where I majored in biology. It was a good leadership incubator for me and an opportunity to serve a broader mission. I worked in the public-affairs advocacy space in South Carolina for a couple years and then went to work for a nonprofit in Dodge City, Kansas. I had this strong desire to come home and recommit myself to Michigan and came back about a year ago and started working in the housing department of Integrated Services of Kalamazoo to help folks find safe and sustainable housing. I had some spare time and carved out a little bit to build spaces for the community where we can fight back against this sense of polarization and isolation in our communities and bring people together. The lyceum came out of that.

Why is a biology major interested in something philosophical, like a lyceum?

The notion of my biology degree was some of my strong feeling of wanting to help protect our environment, become knowledgeable about the systems that we are impacting and how we relate to that. Coming out of college in 2019, I had that sense of service, which translated

into working in the advocacy space. A lot of our work was advocating to people in positions of leadership to help preserve the environment or policies that would help do that. I helped people get elected who were very conscientious about our impact on the environment and the necessity to care for and preserve it.

The nonprofit I worked at in Kansas was helping young people find roles in public service, and young people are very focused on the environment. Now I’m doing things in the social-work space. So, while I’m not on the clinical side of it, I certainly understand how our biology is impacted by our environment. Whether that be our mental or physical health, environmental factors can impact that.

What is an accomplishment you are most proud of?

I have a few that will give the broader picture.

In South Carolina, I helped Spencer Wetmore get elected to the State House. She was a mother and lawyer down there, and we helped flip a district that for 10 years had been held by one political party, and she was elected by the hair of our chin. She’s been one of the strongest advocates for vulnerable communities down there.

Another accomplishment was when I worked at Lead for America, in Kansas, which involved helping get over a hundred

people into fellowships within their local communities all over America. These were mostly recent college graduates who wanted the opportunity to do something they wanted to do but didn’t necessarily have an obvious route to make it happen.

My job right now is really rewarding. I’m helping people find housing, get food stamps, IDs, basic things that we might take for granted. Every single day can offer either a challenge or inspiration to keep working.

It’s kind of hard to pick between those three, since they all had an impact at different phases of my life.

Who or what is your source of inspiration?

One source of inspiration is my parents. They are blue-collar people, especially my stepdad. He works with his hands every single day. I also look to my faith for what service can look like for people. Sometimes you feel like there’s no other way to live outside of just serving people. It’s not easy by any means, but it’s a blessing to be able to have done it in different capacities. And to be able to offer some of that to Michigan and Kalamazoo, the place that I owe so much to for helping raise me and give me a good perspective on life, I appreciate it.

For more information on the Kalamazoo Lyceum, visit facebook.com/kzoolyceum.

— Interview by Kalloli Bhatt, edited for length and clarity

Matthew Miller Founder and director, Kalamazoo Lyceum

At the beginning of this year, Kalamazoo saw the resurgence of a tradition that had been dormant since the late 1800s: the lyceum.

The resurrected Kalamazoo Lyceum, initiated by 26-year-old Matthew Miller, focuses on common experiences shared by different people and viewed through contemporary lenses.

“Lyceum” is a Greek word meaning “hall for public lectures or discussions." Lyceums were popular community events in the mid-1800s; Kalamazoo’s first lyceum was held in 1837.

Miller has convened two Kalamazoo Lyceum events this year. The first, in January, attracted more than 60 people and discussed how the media affects people's thinking. In March, the lyceum focused on Kalamazoo's culture and brought in just over 50 attendees. The next lyceum will be scheduled for later this month or in June and will be announced on the Kalamazoo Lyceum's Facebook page at facebook.com/kzoolyceum.

"We just want everyone to feel like their voice matters and foster that sense of inclusion, no matter one’s background," Miller says. “In the end, my hope is that every person who attends the lyceum finds community.

What is your role at the lyceum?

The business-card title would say I’m the founder and director and I run the logistics of the lyceum. With time, my hope is to be more of a collaborator with different voices, because it shouldn’t just be my voice that’s kind of shepherding these things.

(continued on page 37)

Brian Powers