Community Calendar

Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” was one of the most influential works of the American Revolution. The first edition was published on January 10, 1776, with an initial print run of just 1,000 copies; but within weeks demand soared. The students of Andy Murphy’s POLISCI 495 course co-curated the exhibition “Revolutionary Paine” to document the whirlwind caused by its publication. On view at the Clements January 16-May 8, weekdays from 12-4 pm.

An A250 presentation that accompanies the Northwest Ordinance exhibit at the Ford Presidential Library from April 1-30. Gerald Ford Jr. grew up in a region of the nation heavily shaped by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Ford Presidential Foundation Executive Director Gleaves Whitney will unpack the significance of this jewel among America’s forgotten founding documents and discuss its impact on the civic and political culture in which our 38th President worked. Lecture is followed by a free reception.

Join Cranbrook Academy of Art at deSalle Auditorium for the Knoll Lecture in Design delivered by Nifemi Marcus-Bello.
Nifemi Marcus-Bello’s Knoll Lecture in Design, Material Affirmations, will explore material affirmations as acts of care, agency, and transformation; revealing how materials shape meaning, memory, and identity. Through an iterative, inquiry-based design practice, it examines making as dialogue, embracing tactility, imperfection, and embodied knowledge to cultivate more attentive, ethical, and materially engaged ways of creating.
The Knoll Lecture in Design was established in 2004 by Knoll, the residential furnishings company founded by Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate Florence Schust and her husband, Hans Knoll. Each year, the endowed Knoll Lecture Fund brings the world’s most distinguished and innovative designers and thinkers to the Cranbrook campus to speak about their practice and to work with tomorrow’s design leaders studying at the Academy. Past speakers have included Steven Haulenbeek, Aldo Bakker, Martino Gamper, Bertjan Pot, Lindsey Adelman, Stefano Caggiano, and many others.

Jeopardy! Bar League Championship Is On!

The Jeopardy! Bar League Championship is now in full swing, bringing weekly trivia nights to bars across the country where teams compete and climb the leaderboard.

Join and register your team at a participating bar, play along with your team each week, and earn points as you go — the more you play, the better your chances.

Top teams in each region will take home cash prizes, and one team will earn the national title — along with a VIP trip to Los Angeles and a behind-the-scenes experience at the Alex Trebek Stage. Will you be the ones to take it home?

You can still be part of it - check out the leaderboard and find a bar near you to jump in while the competition’s still heating up - https://www.jeopardybarleague.com/leaderboard/

It’s the summer of 1776, and the nation is ready to declare independence … if only the founding fathers agree to it! This musical follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson as they attempt to convince members of Congress to sign the Declaration of Independence. With humor and a stirring score, the Tony® Award-winning musical presents the frustrations and triumphs of our founding fathers. Presented in partnership with the Midland County Historical Society, and in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States. 1776 brings a fresh look at the people, and the compromises that defined a revolution.

Directed by Susie Polito
Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards / Book by Peter Stone

Landmark: Less Cancer Hike and Bike America 2026
Walk, ride and roam anywhere/anytime. Enter your photos of local landmarks and favorite adventure places to win prizes!
June 6th – July 6th
The annual event serves as our primary fundraiser, helping fuel our critical cancer prevention initiatives.
Register for FREE today at: https://www.lesscancer.org/

This exhibition honors the commitment of our members from SE Michigan and beyond, whose support plays a vital role in bringing our mission to life. We welcome the public to discover the unique artistic voices and styles of over 100 member artists.

Storytime with Programs Director, Janice Wilks! Every Wednesday from 10:30am – 11:30am Storytime will be followed by activities designed for children with developmental differences. We will never tell your child to hush or stop wiggling. Physically-distanced with stringent health and safety protocols being followed. Takes place at our office: 2505 Ardmore St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506. Every family leaves with a free book and a snack! If you plan on attending, please RSVP with the form below so we can make sure there’s enough goodies to go around.

At the beginning of the eliminations, there are 160 of them. 80 enter the competition, and only twelve will advance to the final. The heroes of PIANOFORTE are the participants of the legendary International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, which takes place once every five years in Warsaw. Young musicians from all over the world have been preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity since childhood. Triumphant highs, painful lows, enormous pressure – PIANOFORTE is a film rollercoaster that shows the extraordinary power of music. Director Jakub Piątek takes viewers behind the scenes of the Competition, where pianists struggle with this special experience combining passion and joy of playing with tears of exhaustion and despair. It is also an intimate story about the maturation of young musicians who try to find their way between the demands of the Competition and intensive training, and new friendships, successes, dilemmas and failures.

Films are free to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets will be available at the front desk of the museum starting at 10 am on the day of each screening, or pre-register the day of screening at kalamazoomuseum.org.

Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” was one of the most influential works of the American Revolution. The first edition was published on January 10, 1776, with an initial print run of just 1,000 copies; but within weeks demand soared. The students of Andy Murphy’s POLISCI 495 course co-curated the exhibition “Revolutionary Paine” to document the whirlwind caused by its publication. On view at the Clements January 16-May 8, weekdays from 12-4 pm.