Beach bums, beer lovers, and art enthusiasts agree: there’s a lot to love about western Michigan this year. Grand Rapids, Michigan’s second-largest city, was voted best beer city in the US by the national Beer Examiner blog in 2012 and 2013, and its beer-tourism revolution rages on. Over 25 craft breweries pour in the area, and events like Cool Brews Hot Eats and the Winter Beer Festival (both in February), and the Summer Craft Beer Festival (August), keep the city festive year-round. Hops aside, the secret about Grand Rapids’ fabulous art scene is getting out.
In addition to the impressive blooms and Rodin sculptures in the Frederik Meijer Gardens, and the excellent Grand Rapids Art Museum housed in a cool LEED Gold certified building, Grand Rapids is home to the world’s largest art competition, ArtPrize, in which more than 1700 creatives display their masterpieces.
A mere 30 miles away sprawls Lake Michigan’s Gold Coast, perhaps the USA’s most unexpected beach getaway. Some argue that these shores rival Hawaii’s and Southern California’s. Along 300 miles of seemingly endless beaches lie sugar-white dunes, wineries, antiquing, U-pick orchards and berry farms, cider houses, Hemingway haunts – you can even go surfing. In Michigan! So if you never thought you could head to the Midwest for a Cape Cod-esque beach vacation, think again.
A historic furniture-manufacturing center, Grand Rapids is still home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies, and is nicknamed "Furniture City". Its more common modern nickname of "River City" refers to the landmark river for which it was named. The city and surrounding communities are economically diverse, and contribute heavily to the health care, information technology, automotive, aviation, and consumer goods manufacturing industries, among others.
Grand Rapids was the home of The First Family of U.S, Boxing: Floyd Sr., Jr., Jeff, and Roger Mayweather, World Championship Boxer James Toney, singer and song writer Anthony Kiedis, the filmmakers Paul Schrader and Leonard Schrader, the singer Al Green and U.S. President Gerald Ford, who—along with his wife Betty—is buried on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids.
