Grand Rapids Michigan 2010 Local Farmer’s Markets

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

Grand Rapids Michigan 2010 Local Farmer’s Markets

Michigan is an agricultural state. In fact, in agricultural products,

Michigan is second only to California among the diversity of its

products. Agriculture and farming is a large segment of our local

West Michigan economy.

West Michigan is nationally known for its fruit production, including

blueberries, cherries, apples, grapes and peaches. Add to this local

organic farmers that sell to local restaurants and grocery stores and

you can see how important growing food is to our local economy.

We like to support local businesses and farmers. Local produce is

the best! So visit your local farmers’ Market in Kent County and

see what you have been missing. Fresh produce is here in Michigan

and available in most areas near you.

Ada MI Farmers’ Market – Community Church Parking Lot

Tuesdays June 22 – Sept. 28, 2010 2:00 – 7 pm

Project FRESH accepted

“Chef in the Market” cooking demonstration program, also accepting

food basket donations for delivery to food pantry

Allendale Famers’ Market – 6101 Lake Michigan Dr – Heritage Town

Square Parking Lot ( North side of Lake Michigan Dr) June – October

Tuesdays and Fridays 11:00 am – 4 pm Project FRESH accepted

Byron Center Farmers’ Market – Pathway Church Parking Lot or

grassy area north of the Post Office – 8350 Byron Center Av.

May – October Saturday 8am-1 pm Project FRESH accepted.

Caledonia Michigan Farmers’ Market – M 37 & 100th St Intersection

Saturday 8am – 12 pm until Oct 30th 2010

Coopersville Farmers’ Market – North Main St parking lot pavilion

May 7- Oct 29 Wednesday 8 am – 1 pm Project FRESH accepted

Fulton Street Farmer’s Market – 1147 E. Fulton St Grand Rapids MI

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday 8:00 am – 3:00 pm

May to Christmas

Grand Rapids South East Area Farmers’ Market

Corner of Franklin & Fuller Grand Rapids Michigan

June – October Thursday 10am – 4 pm

Project FRESH & Food Stamps accepted

Grand Rapids West Side Farmer’ Market

Alpine at 11th St ( City View Church) Grand Rapids Michigan

Thursday May 6 – October 7 Thursday 10am – 6:30 pm

Project FRESH accepted

Grandville Farmers’ Market – 4055 Maple St SW Grandville, MI

North of the Grandville Library

May 4 – Oct 19 Tuesday 8 am – 1 pm

Howard City Famers’ Market – 120 W. Edgerton at the White Pine Trail

staging area near the depot at Ensley and Edgerton St. Intersection

May 8 – October Saturday 9 am – 1 pm

Hudsonville Farmers’ Market & Crafts – 3302 Prospect St corner of

Prospect and School just off Chicago Dr.

June 2 – October 6, 2010 Wednesdays 8 am – 2 pm

Project FRESH accepted

Lowell MI Farmers’ Market – 225 S Hudson Lowell Fairgrounds

Thursdays May 13- Oct 7 2010 2 pm – 7 pm Handicap Parking Avail.

Metro Health Hospital Farmers’ Market– Metro Health Village

5900 Byron Center Ave Wyoming MI – easy access off M-6

May 6 – late Sept. 2010 Thursday 9am – 1 pm

Project FRESH accepted; free health screenings; live entertainment

Plainfield Township Farmers’ Market – 4411 Plainfield Ave NE

(corner of 5 Mile Rd and Plainfield Ave) adjacent to Fire Station # 3.

June 15 – Oct 14, 2010 Tuesday & Thursday 2 pm – 7 pm

Rockford MI Farmers’ Market – South Squires St Parking Lot off Main St

June 5 – Oct 30, 2010 Saturday 8 am – 1 pm

Walker Farmers’ Market – 4300 Remembrance Rd at Rylee’s Ace Hardware

Saturday June – Sept 8am – 2 pm

Link to Michigan Farmer’s Markets

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate, the Greater

Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West Michigan. Grand Rapids

Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan area with a diverse business community,

great medical research & services, numerous universities, plus lively arts and

entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

East Grand Rapids Michigan – Movies in the Park Returns Summer 2010

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

East Grand Rapids Michigan – Movies in the Park Returns Summer 2010

Movies in the Park are back this summer! East Grand Rapids Parks

and Recreation Dept in cooperation with the Kent District Library

and Macatawa Bank are showing 4 different FREE movies this summer

at John Collins Park on the shores of Reeds Lake. (weather permitting)

A large 30 foot inflatable screen will be the backdrop on Friday

evenings. These Free Family Friendly Events are back for the 4th year!

A hotdog or snack is available at The Mac Shack – which are

donating the proceeds to the Waterfront Park Project – Phase One.

The KDL Teen Group will be selling popcorn and candy to benefit teen

library programs.

The 2010 Movie Schedule is:

Friday July 16 Bedtime Stories starts at 9:20 pm

Friday July 3 – The Princess & The Frog – starts at 9:10 pm

Friday August 13 – Up starts at 8:50 pm

Friday August 27 – Imagine That starts at 8:30 pm

Summer Movie & Concert Hotline 940-4800 ext 300

So grab your blanket and/ or lawn chairs head out to the park early to

get your place.

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Forest Hills Public Schools Post Outstanding 2010 MEAP Scores

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

Forest Hills Public Schools Post Outstanding 2010 MEAP Scores

Forest Hills students have posted outstanding MEAP scores

for the 2009-2010 year. The Forest Hills students placed at

the top of the Kent County District and the State of Michigan

charts.

In Mathematics, Reading Science, and Social Studies the

percent of Forest Hills students continues to be higher

for every test than what was achieved overall by students

in the District & State. Some of the results already meet

the federal requirements of No Child Left Behind mandate

of 100% proficiency by 2014.

You can view Forest Hills Public Schools test scores here.

As state and federal governments have raised expectations

for student performance, Forest Hills students have recorded

higher levels of achievement. The school staff, parents and

students should be be proud of the effort and accomplishment

for this year’s test scores.

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Grand Rapids Michigan – New Christian Elementary School is Under Construction

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

Grand Rapids Michigan – New Christian Elementary School is Under Construction

The Ottawa Hills neighborhood in Grand Rapids has had major

construction going on all winter. The new Christian Elementary School is

going up on the old Ottawa Hills High School campus. You can read about the

beginning phases on an earlier blog. This campus will serve a large area

and is eagerly anticipated. It is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2010.

We took a few new photos so you can see how it is shaping up.

We could hear the air hammers working away inside.

Lots of machinery and building equipment in evidence.

The former playground was kept intact and their is plenty of open space.

The view from the northwest corner of the lot, near Alexander Dr. SE.

This new facility will be located at: 1501 Fisk St SE

Old Ottawa/Iroquois Middle School

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities,plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

Promoting Michigan ….Yes, We Can!

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

Promoting Michigan ….Yes, We Can!

We attended an inspiring event sponsored by Rapid Growth Media

and Michigan State Housing Development Authority last night at

the Wealthy Street Theatre. This was the first in a year long series

of events. This premier event was called “Touting Michigan”.

Rapid Growth brought together 5 panelists that are each individually

promoting Michigan, our state economy and image, and doing

something positive about rebuilding our state.

The message was clear – We have to do it ourselves!

Panelists from left to right are:

Sean Mann from Let’s Save Michigan

John Bell from Michigan Awesome

Lisa Diggs from Buy Michigan Now

Kevin Buist from Michigan by Choice

Neil Yaremchuk from Made in Michigan

and Moderator Jennifer Pascua

From Neil Yaremchuk: If we buy just $10 worth of Michigan made

products every week, we would pump $37 million back into our

local economies. This means JOBS!!

Think Michigan First, Buy Local, and support your local

businesses and farmers. It is actually cheaper and greener.

Why send our hard earned Michigan money elsewhere?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities,plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

Foreclosures and Short Sales Affecting Grand Rapids Housing Market

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

Foreclosures and Short Sales Affecting Grand Rapids Housing Market

We have been tracking the activity on Short Sales and Foreclosures

of our local Grand Rapids market for some time. They have become

a large share of our housing market here in West Michigan and sellers

must understand the fact that they have to compete with this segment

of the market and will for the next few years.

Experts in the financial markets have written extensively about the

increase in foreclosures, last month figures were estimated to be 3

million or more homes that are facing foreclosure in U.S. in the next

6-12 months.

1) What are buyers looking for when they search for a home?

Selection search Criteria Grand Rapids MI

As you can see from the graph above, this is the order of importance buyers

put in their home searches:

Square Footage
Bedrooms
Baths
Price

Price is number 4 behind Square Footage, Bedrooms, and Baths. So, will a

buyer always go for the distressed sale home over the traditional sale?

Apparently not. We hear from our buyer clients over and over that they

DO NOT WANT TO DO REPAIRS or UPDATING. They want to purchase a

home and get on with their life – not devote 6 months to 12 months of their

spare time and money on painting, repairs and updating.

BUT Price is the ultimate point of competition.

Price is the only thing left when you have 30 similar homes on the market

competing for the same buyers. Supply and Demand will continue to rule

the real estate housing market in the foreseeable future.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities,plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

The Fix on I-96 to Begin in April 2010 – End Summer 2011

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

The Fix on I-96 to Begin in Arpril 2010- End of Summer 2011

Major remodeling on the I-96 expressway starting at the bridge over the

Grand River in Grand Rapids and running to Fuller Street exit is being

announced by Michigan Department of Transportation through a novel

method – a YouTube video.

The video takes you on a completed trip through the new proposed

highway, from both directions, east & west. It shows the 4 bridges

that will be replaced: Diamond, Lafayette, Eastern, and Coit Avenues.

This $40 Million project is part of American Recovery & Reinvestment

Act benefits. A new south wall, landscape beautification and new

signage and lighting will be added along this two mile driveway to

downtown Grand Rapids.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_PstCprpQk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

Article here but the best information is covered in the video.
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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Kent County Michigan High Schools Rank Top in U.S.

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Terry & Bonnie

Kent County Michigan High Schools Rank Top in U.S.

U.S.News & World Report has published it’s ranking of Top High Schools

in the United States last month for 2010. Of the 21,00 schools in the country

considered, Michigan was ranked overall in 26th place, with 864 schools

ranked.

Of these, 324 were considered eligible for ranking and 75 made Gold,

Silver, or Bronze status. Twenty were awarded Silver or Gold Rank in

the state and of these, Kent County had 7 Open Enrollment High Schools

awarded Silver. Fifty Five high schools in Michigan were awarded Bronze,

3 in Kent County.

Silver Award Schools:

City High-Middle School – Grand Rapids MI

Forest Hills Eastern High School – Grand Rapids – Ada MI

Forest Hills Central High School – Grand Rapids – Ada MI

East Grand Rapids High School – East Grand Rapids MI

Bronze Award Schools:

Kelloggsville High School – Grand Rapids MI

Lee High School – Wyoming MI

Lincoln School – Grand Rapids MI

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities, plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Grand Rapids Michigan First Snow of 2009

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

Grand Rapids Michigan First Snow of 2009

I guess I am still a kid at heart. What a thrill to wake up and see the

white crystals of snow coating everything in sight! Needless to say,

with the amount of snow we received, it is a “Snow Day” for most

of the kids in Grand Rapids area. While it is not inconvenient for me,

it is for most people. Roads are slippery, traffic is slow and commute

times are much longer than our normal speedy travel.

I took a few photos so you can see what we woke up to in GR this

morning.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing

metropolitan area with a diverse business community, great medical

research & services, numerous universities, plus lively arts and

entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

Grand Rapids Michigan Good Eats = Real Food Cafe

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

Grand Rapids Michigan Good Eats = Real Food Cafe

Where Something Good is Always Cooking

Breakfast ~ Lunch~ Take-Out ~ Bakery

The Real Food Cafe is THE REAL DEAL! We probably go there for lunch at

least once a week. They only serve breakfast and lunch but it is better than

my Mom made. Their breakfasts are almost legendary. They serve

breakfast anytime and what a breakfast…..the home fries are just too

delicious to describe.

The pancakes are made with real buttermilk, fresh eggs and served with real

butter. Below is the picture of my two eggs scrambled and home fries.

The home made soups are always delicious. The burgers are 1/3 lb. of

Angus beef. The sandwiches are huge and definitely satisfying.

The omelets are mouth-watering.

The baked goods such as cookies, cakes and pies are all home made on site

and worth sacrificing the diet for. The crew and wait staff are all friendly and

genuinely happy at work. It just makes you feel good to be there. It is

always full of people eating “real food” and enjoying themselves.

One of our favorite people at Real Food is “Rosie.” She has known

the chef, Frank, since he was a little boy and is always busy seating

people, getting drinks, and generally bustling around with a friendly

word and smile to all.

They have recently expanded and added an additional location:

Real Food Cafe

at 5430 Northland Dr. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525

(616)361-1808

If you like “real food made with real ingredients by real people,”

this is the place to go.

We are there often, so we hope to see you , too.

The Real Food Cafe 2419 Eastern Ave.

Grand Rapids MI 49507 (616)241-4080

We have received no remuneration or monies for our endorsement of this business.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in

West Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing

metropolitan area with a diverse business community, great medical

research & services, numerous universities, plus lively arts and

entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry 616-292-7263

OUR FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM

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Grand Rapids Michigan 2010 Local Farmer’s Markets