Once the breadbasket of Grand Rapids, the Creston-Cheshire district today is the city's playground. With bike trails extending across the state, the Grand River, and eight parks, two of them among the city's largest, Creston-Cheshire offers plenty of opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors in an urban setting.It also showcases strong and stable neighborhoods, highly successful inner-city school programs, a thriving business district, and an energetic nightlife. Where else in Grand Rapids can you find authentic Irish music and poetry slams on the same street on the same night?Settled by determined Dutch, Irish, German, and Polish immigrants, Creston-Cheshire has undergone a great deal of change since its development 150 years ago. But the district today remains true to its founding values: diversity, neighborliness, and hard work.
During these times of increasing grocery prices and the strong presence of big-box stores, Kingma’s Market nestled in Grand Rapids’ Cheshire neighborhood wonderfully showcases how local flavor, community spirit, and thoughtful leadership can truly transform what a neighborhood grocery store can be.
Murals and other public art are being used to revitalize Grand Rapids and beyond to foster creativity, and empower local artists through innovative programs.
Community leader and activist Barbara Rapaport will receive the Ledy Award for Community Engagement for her work with nonprofits, promoting literacy and education and helping leaders optimize human capacity.
Tech Week GR underlines Grand Rapids’ claim to the Silicon Valley of the Midwest. The Right Place and other strategic partners have created a foundation for helping technology companies thrive in Grand Rapids, driven by the live event.
Grand Rapids Public Library celebrates readers of all ages, and that includes adults. Their latest program, storytimes for adults, invites adults to enjoy short stories read aloud by special guests, along with a cash bar and appetizers at the Golden Age at the Creston Brewery.
Northeast Grand Rapids small business collective includes LGBTQ-friendly coffee shop and library, yoga, reiki and massage businesses under one roof.
New City Neighbors' newly renovated farmhouse on one acre at 1115 Leonard St. NE in the Creston neighborhood offers space for additional youth programming and clubs, expansion of its community café and opportunity to grow more food.
Creston’s Lions and Rabbits has relaunched as a nonprofit, Lions and Rabbits Center for the Arts, which allows the organization to expand its social and economic impact through public art and programming.
City of Grand Rapids is using a new model, the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP), that will give residents more say in how its $2 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will be spent in each of the city's three wards.
The Kent County Health Department and local health care providers are collaborating on what may be the biggest inter-organizational vaccination effort in Michigan’s history.
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