Board takes community input for Big Rapids Festival of the Arts 2025

BIG RAPIDS — The Big Rapids Festival of the Arts board met at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at Big Rapids City Hall, 226 N. Michigan Ave., to receive input from the community on programming for the 2025 festival.

The conversation covered a variety of topics, from potential collaborations with local organizations to ideas for the 2025 festival’s theme.

Local Amy Buse, who hosted a presentation on her travels out west for the 2024 festival, suggested finding someone in the community who can cook cultural food to host a workshop.

“Not just one event, but maybe two or three because I would believe they would fill up fast,” she said.

Board member Richard Scott Cohen said Ferris State University’s International Festival of Cultures is considering moving the festival to February to coincide with the Festival of the Arts, which could open the door for more cultural events.

“It was super, super well attended this year, from what I hear,” Cohen said.

Marge Punches suggested an artistic exploration of Michigan’s lighthouses, which it has more of than any other state.

“They are historical, they are beautiful, and there are light keeper associations all over the state of Michigan,” she said.

Big Rapids Mayor Fred Guenther suggested more visual art to accompany the solid offerings of performing arts in previous festivals.

“The Festival of the Arts needs more varied art. We just sing, dance and play horns. We need to have art, too,” he said. “We’re weak on the visual, hands-on art.”

Board member Mark Gifford agreed with the mayor and said the board often avoids bringing back certain previously featured artists.

“We get locked into, ‘Well, they’ve been here before?’ But does that matter that much?” he said.

The board discussed off-the-beaten-path art forms like stained glass and said they have been trying to get a person who blows glass to give a presentation.

Board member Paul Kwant suggested having local audio engineer Michael Kreple show how he mixes movies and potentially bringing in a musician for a live studio session.

“Immersive audio is now becoming a big thing,” he said.

Local Cathy Johnson suggested a wellness theme for the festival.

“It might be interesting to focus the whole festival on how the arts can bring about wellness of body and spirit,” she said.

Punches agreed with Johnson.

“They bring joy, fulfillment, enrichment and learning. Every time you go to one of these things, you learn something, you feel joy, and you forget about all of that bad stuff that’s going on,” she said.

Guenther suggested the board plan more events for a younger crowd. 

“We can’t get the youth to fire up to enjoy the arts,” he said.

The board discussed potentially bringing in a professional graffiti artist to create a piece on a wall at the planned skate park in Big Rapids.

Kwant suggested events for an even younger age group, such as a drumming event for kids, and the board was reminded of an instrument petting zoo event at a previous festival.

As the meeting wrapped up, the board said they remain open to ideas for the next festival and suggested locals email their input to brfota@brfota.org.