ArtPrize.... for those not from West Michigan is a monthish long art event put on by the wicked DeVoss family. It allows artist to pay to enter into a public art competition where the artist may win one of 2 prizes: a public jury and a panel jury. Although this competition provides some networking and showcase opportunities for local and independent artist the whole system it's based on is complicated and troubling for some.

Until reading this post about ArtPrize, I was ignorant of the complexity of this event. I have attended ArtPrize annually for about 3 years now. This year was the first year I organized a whole staycation getaway with the "Frat Bros" (a couple trusted friends named Will and Ed). Hindsight and additional information have me feeling mixed emotions about what was a wonderful trip. However, I feel the need to highlight how, for me, this is an example of the challenges of living up to ones morals as somewhat "woke" Black womanist.

All that being said, this weekend was full of friendship, art, food, booze and naps. I also want to thank the Frat Bros for going on this adventure with me. Now... here are the highlights.

DAY ONE

I did some research and learned about a local distillery that has tours. A bonus was that they make their own Aquavit which is an acquired taste in booze...I'm not a fan but my epicurean frat bros Will and Ed are!  I secured 3 tickets to their Friday evening distillery tour which I was too late to join so I don't have any pictures. But, we did have snacks and drinks after the boys finished the tour and tasting at Long Road Distillers.



With a nice base in our bellies we parked our cars by the downtown AirBnB we'd rented and commenced exploring. It was time to get our corrupted art on!










There was NOT enormous amounts of ridiculously cool stuff inside this store. It was more like someone's mom's hoard and that someone happened to have a store front to put it in instead of a storage locker.



For dinner we stopped at a swanky place downtown and I seriously cannot remember the name. But, I do remember the dessert: warm chocolate chip cookies, a molten mocha cake with vanilla ice cream and berries.

DAY TWO

After a good nights rest we three urban explorers woke up nice and late to start out day. We walked over to the newish downtown market for brunch at Social Kitchen and Bar. This place had it all... old time-y portraits of animals in Victorian garb, fancy light bulbs, mason jar cups, galvanized tubs!








The lower rungs of Maslow's Hierarchy fulfilled we moved on to capitalist culture, including high brow and kitschy.





Up next the Grand Rapids Art Museum: wire faces, wire hands, emoji art, and silhouette textiles and churches made from re-purposed items.









All that art gazing made me hungry. There were multiple food trucks set up outside the GRAM. Will and I scored meat cones! I can die happy now. Baked beans, pulled pork/chicken with BBQ sauce, and coleslaw inside a carb cone!



After snack we went looking for a beverage of the adult kind. I found a place I thought had potential online called the Hemingway Lounge. It said it was a distillery. I thought they'd have awesome rum cocktails. What we found was possible the WORST  BAR EXPERIENCE IN THE WORLD ((WORLD)) ((WORLD)).  When we arrived the bartenders seemed kind of busy and I overheard a lady complain about her peach martini. I figured things would work out because all craft cocktail fans know a good drink can take a few moments to make. Also, just because something is called a martini doesn't mean it is one, and to me drinks made with artificially flavored vodka or schnapps are NOT martinis. But then one of the bartenders came over and took Ed's order...then as we waited the universe began to speak. Signs started showing themselves. However, we were too committed to leave a drink had been ordered. What signs you ask?

• the space behind the bar was a hot mess
• when someone asked about the vodka the distillery made the bartender replied, "it's top notch and taste amazing"
• the bartender had just learn of and how to make a Tom Collins when the man before us ordered one

We finally managed to get our drinks and sat down. Not at the bar because who wanted to look at the mess behind it? Not us! When Will went to taste his drink that was the last straw. He'd ordered a gin and tonic and the bartender but SODA in it!!! We literally could not. We did not finish our drinks. We did not leave a tip.

That evening we had to make up for the afternoon debacle. We found a couple nice places to hangout including Flat Lander's, a small bar inside a strip mall. We also went to a fancy place with a yummy corn dip and nice bathroom signage.

 DAY THREE

Sunday was a fun day but because all three of us have day jobs we needed to keep it short and sweet. Sunday is prep day in my house so it meant I needed to get back in time do make a grocery store run and try to make something to last me all week for lunch. We maximized our time by making our last art stop the Meijer Garden's. But first, brunch at Anna's House. This place is a favorite of mine and I've been here with my family more than once. It's also a favorite of many locals so there is usually a wait, but after that wait you can have a delicious warm plate-sized cinnamon roll.







 Lastly, a note I saw in the building our AirBnB was in. Sometimes, in unlikely places you will find something beautiful.

Hi ya'll! It's been what? A month? As a kinda-sorta teacher that means my summer is halfway over... I'm not ready yet. There's so much to do and so much to see. I have managed to check some things off my summer bucket list though. Want a roundup of my actions? Here it is!!!!

The easiest action item on my list is undoubtedly the ICE CREAM CONE box.. coincidentally (?) there are also multiple of these on my list. Truthfully, I have probably used them all up because: 

IamanadultandcanstopbyMcDonald'sfora99centconeonmywayhomefromworkifIwantto

However, one I chose to count and highlight is when my sister, my nephew, my PaPa and I went out for National Ice Cream day last weekend. There's a small batch ice cream shop in my community called Go! Ice Cream which is amazeballs. I tried their ice cream before they moved into the storefront and it was literally ice cream for sale on the go: a bike food cart. It was great to experience Go! Ice Cream's glow up with 3 generations of my family together. Additionally, the shop had a special sundae/cone just for the holiday. It was a confetti waffle cone, scoops of sweetened brown butter ice cream, chocolate shell and a dusting of Pop Rocks!!!! It was literally a musical treat in my mouth. Do you remember the sound Pop Rocks make when eaten? I do. It was nostalgia and my brown girl bougie tendencies all in a cone! 

Last month I also took a 3 day trip to Chicago and managed to get in a lot of action in a weekend. I must #humblebrag that I was able to do so much in such a small span of time. Usually at some point the reality that I have a chronic illness catches up with my and my side effect symptoms flare up. That weekend I magically got through like an ac tual healthy person! 

Upon arrival I did what any respectable person would do: when my friend Lilly mentioned a street festival with tacos I said "Yes and...." So Lilly, picked me up and we headed to Pilsen for aptly named: Taco Fest. Over the course of 2.5 hours we managed to have a great time while hacking the festival by habitually picking the shortest line no matter what and buying whatever we could at the end of it. There were elotes, tacos of multiple varieties, Micheladas and Coronas.







After eating our fill in the hot heat of Chicago in the summer we walked over to a local brewery to kick back in the AC and "hydrate." Unfortunately I was so bust wiping sweat from my brow that there are no picture. After an afternoon of food and fun I went back to Lilly's for a power nap before my night time shenanigans. What was planned you ask? I found a Groupon for a live comedy show which was actually being taped for the comic's special. My very good friend from undergrad Ben, agreed to meet me at the show downtown to see Barry Brewer crack some jokes. 

An interesting thing happened on my way to the show... My power nap ran late and then my Lyft driver showed up in a minivan (plot twist!) and only drove 40mi/hr on Lakeshore Dr. If you've ever tried to get from north of downtown and taken Lakeshore in Chicago you know that speed is to slow. In short, I was late and my friend Ben being the only White Jewish man in the audience was a champ for being that random White dude at a Black comedy show. He literally had a mote of space around him when I arrived. Later on over tapas at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba he joked that he wanted to announce, "I was invited, I am not crashing this sacred space!!!" I told Ben, I was pretty sure there'd be a closeup of his reaction when Barry made "White people be like..." jokes in during the video recording.




The next morning I woke up refreshed and ready to eat. I had plans for framily brunch with Lilly, another undergrad friend Melanie, and a Americorpse cohort member Gilad. I was super excited to connect with Melanie, and Gilad whom I hadn't seen in ages. They both opened their homes and hearts to me when I used to travel to Chicago on a regular basis. Additionally, Melanie has been working on rehabing her home to make it super hippie certified and LEED certified as well. 


My trip to Chicago, is only part of my month of making summer happen. I also made plans and broke them because I had a flair up of side effects/was too tired/or literally too sick. However, below are highlights of some of the plans I made and kept. Here's to keeping oneself accountable regarding scheduling self-care and "me time."







Whew! I've been busy ya'll. To close out here's an update version of my Summer Bucket List 2017.