There is no French Quarter in Grand Rapids. But that didn’t dampen the celebration of Bastille Day, the holiday commemorating the French Revolution, in the East Hills neighborhood last week.
“We love to celebrate revolutions in East Hills,” said Kathryn Caliendo, an organizer at the East Hills Council of Neighborhoods.
Actually, the council randomly chose July 14 to have a party at the neighborhood’s Center of the Universe business complex. They only discovered afterward that the date happened to be Bastille Day. So they went with it.
The party was the third in a series of events planned for 2006 to benefit the neighborhood association and cultivate membership. The fourth and final event of the fundraising campaign, Rib, Beer, and Blue, will be held in Cherry Park at the corner of Cherry and Eastern on Friday, September 15. Not surprisingly, the gathering will feature BBQ ribs, plenty of beer, and blues music. Like all the neighborhood events, the public is invited to attend.
The East Hills Council of Neighbors strives to establish a calendar of successful annual events…“successful” defined by KC as “you break even and you have fun.” But of course the Council would like to do more than break even. Such events are an increasingly important means for neighborhood associations to fund important community work. (While admission is generally free, food and beverage sales are the primary fundraising engine.)
Partying for a Good Cause
So far its been a busy summer. The first annual Garagefest, held last April, turned out to be a highly successful event that Caliendo said will happen again next year. Six local alternative bands cranked out live music in an old automotive garage at the corner of Wealthy and Diamond. Although it had an industrial feel, the garage could have been almost anybody’s…the event was that neighborly. Made-to-order wood-fired pizzas and beer were served.
Responsibility for hosting the East Hills Artist’s Market was taken over by the East Hills Business District this year and transformed into the East Hills Artist Market & Jazz Fest. The event took place in June on Cherry Street at Diamond and included live jazz by several local groups. Caliendo explained that the Council is a “tool for economic and community development” and having the Business District take over this event was “just the step” it needed.
Most recently, there was Bastille Day, a gala that included a cash bar featuring French beer, French wine and, of course, French champagne. The event was held at, and in part designed to celebrate, the East Hills Center of the Universe. Once an unsightly empty lot, the neighborhood association rallied to promote redevelopment of the site.
Today, East Hills Center is a vibrant urban hub that houses new businesses such as Marie Catrib's restaurant and the Cobblestone Boutique. Complete with an energy efficient, rain-absorbing green roof, the building also is one of the city's many examples of sustainable development. Put simply, the complex, which opened three years ago, is one of this rebounding neighborhood's many success stories and it's due, in large measure, to committed organizations such as the neighborhood council.
When asked how social events like these contribute to the strength of the neighborhood, Mark Rumsey, executive director of the East Hills Council of Neighbors, responded that it’s “not so much that something happens (at the event itself), but people’s sense of place stays in mind. Grand Rapids has several great neighborhoods. The city is a great place to live.” Aside from raising money to help fund redevelopment, Rumsey said, events like Bastille Day attract people from outside the neighborhood and expose them to what East Hills has to offer.
The Power of an Effective Advocate
Fitch Corners, Congress Park, Diamond Gate, Cherry Hill, Fairmount Square, Orchard Hill, and Wealthy Heights are the neighborhoods that constitute the East Hills Council of Neighbors. Collectively, they well represent the ethnic, social, and economic diversity that is found in the city of Grand Rapids, and the stand fast attitudes that are leading its revitalization. For over 25 years, the council has spearheaded the community organizing efforts in this part of town, despite ever-decreasing federal funding.
“Funding is always a struggle,” Caliendo said. In the face of the financial challenges, the council remains determined to find steady funding sources. This committed group of neighbors isn’t going anywhere.
With that in mind, East Hill’s also has launched a membership campaign, the first in its history. Kicked off in April, the goal of the campaign is to raise $20,000 and recruit 170 new members in 2006. Council staffers also hope to increase their ability to land major grants and increase donations.
A center of political activism and grassroots organizing since 1981, the East Hills neighborhood focuses on crime prevention, community building, and home ownership initiatives. More recently, redevelopment of the neighborhood and ending blight has emerged as a top priority.
And those redevelopment efforts are evident throughout the neighborhood. The council has played an instrumental role in saving Congress School from closing; incubating ArtWorks a community center which provides job training to young adults and children through the arts; and starting the South East Economic Development neighborhood association, or SEED, which led the restoration of the Wealthy Theatre.
The council helped to establish several historic districts in the area; initiated and organized Wealthy Street ALIVE for 10-plus years; stimulated the development of the East Hills Center of the Universe business complex; and started the Wealthy Heights Community Land Trust, which is currently in development.
The council also has been a long-time advocate for the now-underway rehabilitation of the old D.A. Blodgett Home for Children, located at 920 Cherry Street. The project will include, among other things, thirty-three new townhouse condos. The council also is playing a key role in the campaign to promote sustainable development and make East Hills “green.” The group is administering a state-funded grant designed to promote the construction of green roofs, rain gardens, and permeable asphalt parking lots that protect water quality in local resources such as the Grand River.
With limited funding and a small membership base, the council has an impressive track record of successful projects that have helped revitalize the East Hills neighborhood. Imagine what the organization might do with additional resources. Viva la Revolution.
Photographs Copyright Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved
Image descriptions top to bottom:
K.C. Caliendo - East Hills revolutionist
The spread at the Bastille Day Celebration held at the W.M.E.A.C offices.
Tours of the East Hills Center green roof were given during the event.
2nd Ward City Commissioner Rosalynn Bliss is an elected official on the rise and a resident of East Hills.
The East Hills Center building