🍂 Harvest fests, ArtPrize, and a metro that won’t sit still

Good morning

From Caledonia’s green to Rockford’s 50th Harvest Fest, from LEGO halls downtown to a 21+ daytime club that still gets you home by 10, this weekend is stacked. Everything below still has a door you can walk through — no sold-out traps, no “you should have bought tickets last month.”

In this FluxLocal (25 events + Chihuly):

• Kids, makers, and ArtPrize all over downtown

• Three races worth the early alarm

• Harvest energy in Rockford, Caledonia, and Hudsonville

• Symphony, Civic, KC, and a Stache Sunday night

• Nightlife that starts before dinner and after dark

Let’s get to it.

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Saturday, September 26

🏃 Early miles

Calvin Classic 5K & Youth Fun Run hits Calvin University’s campus Saturday morning — 5K at 8:30 AM, ages 3–9 Fun Run at 9:30. Strollers welcome at the back of the 5K. Registration is open through race day. SE Grand Rapids / Kentwood edge.

Prefer pretzels after your PR? The OktoberfestGR Bier Stein 5K & 8K starts around 10:45 AM (8K) and 11:00 AM (5K) at Riverside Park. Medal, shirt, festival entry, and a drink ticket are usually in the mix. Packet pickup Friday evening or race morning on site.

🧱 For the builders

Brickworld Grand Rapids takes over DeVos Place Hall B 10 AM–5 PM Saturday (and 10 AM–4 PM Sunday). Roughly 50,000 square feet of LEGO builds, vendors, Interactive City, and throw games. About $18 online / $20 at the door; ages 3 and under free. 303 Monroe Ave NW.

Keep it free and hands-on at ArtPrize DoodleStreet 11 AM–4 PM at the Downtown Market: community art, Day of the Dead projects, West Michigan Youth Ballet, and more LEGO. Bring the kids. Expect paint somewhere unexpected.

🍂 Suburban harvest circuit

Caledonia Harvest Festival runs 10 AM–2 PM at Caledonia Community Green Park (6260 92nd St SE). Free: food trucks, hayrides and pumpkin activities, games, bounce houses, DJ, photo spots. Classic chamber fall day.

Rockford’s 50th Annual Harvest Fest fills downtown Rockford and Memorial Park through Sunday. Free golden-anniversary energy: classic cars, chili cook-off and beer tent, Bloody Mary bar, scarecrow make-and-takes, inflatable corn maze, craft and nonprofit vendors. Worth the drive north.

Farmgirl Flea Fall Market takes Hudsonville Fairgrounds 9 AM–4 PM Saturday (also Friday evening). About 180 juried vendors — fall décor, antiques, handmade goods — plus food trucks, a beer/wine tent, and live music. Saturday GA around $7; kids 12 and under free.

💿 Diggers and makers

Vinyl people: the free Grand Rapids Record & CD Show runs 9 AM–4 PM at American Legion Post 179 in Walker (2327 Wilson Ave SW). About 50 tables of LPs, 45s, CDs, and memorabilia.

Downtown, two maker scenes on the same Saturday: Merchants and Makers ArtPrize Market at Rosa Parks Circle 10 AM–6 PM, and Merchants & Makers / Create & Collaborate on the GRAM Terrace 12–4 PM (DJ, fashion, demos, craft station). Both free. Different blocks. You can do both.

🍺 Pretzels and polkas

Oktoberfest GR fills Riverside Park Saturday noon–10 PM. Free entry, all ages; beer is 21+ with ID and drink tickets. Food, games, live music, Edelweiss Club energy. 3061 Monroe Ave NW.

🏘️ Neighborhood energy

Kentwood throws the doors open at the Community Center Grand Opening 11 AM–8 PM at 4755 Walma Ave SE. Free tours, live music, food trucks, family activities, giveaways for the first 500, prize drawings.

East Hills hosts the Wealthy Street Block Party 2–9 PM around Wealthy & Eastern. Live music, food trucks, craft drinks, makers, kids’ zones, and an outdoor Shrek screening with Wealthy Theatre after dark. Free.

🎨 ArtPrize into the evening

ArtPrize HalfTime Party at John Ball Zoo 5:30–8:30 PM. About $10: zoo access, live painting, food, cash bar, top-30 announcement around 7:30. West Side, 1300 Fulton St W.

TransFuse Night Market lights Fulton Street Market 5–10 PM — free fourth-annual night market centering Trans and Queer artists and performers, with makers, live music, drag, food, and drinks. Eastown / Midtown, 1145 Fulton St E.

🕺 Before dinner and after dark (21+)

Bed By 10pm: 30+ Daytime Clubbing at Elevation (The Intersection) runs 4–9 PM Saturday (last entry 6 PM). 21+. 80s/90s/early-2000s dance floor, home before your body notices. Advance tickets about $20–$35.

After dark: It’s a 2000s Party at GLC Live at 20 Monroe, 9 PM. Pop, hip-hop, and rock from the decade of flip phones. 18+ with ID (bar for 21+). Tickets still listed on Ticketmaster.

🎭 Saturday night culture

Grand Rapids Symphony at DeVos Performance Hall 7:30 PM: Corigliano, Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with Simon Trpčeski, Rachmaninoff’s Second. Marcelo Lehninger conducts. Tickets still available.

Come From Away at Civic Theatre Saturday 7:30 PM (and Sunday 2 PM matinee). PG-13 Gander story, Civic centennial closing weekend. Earlier dates sold out; these two are still open. 30 Division Ave N.

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Sunday, September 27

🏃 SHE RUNS (half marathon only)

SHE RUNS Grand Rapids — Half Marathon starts 8:25 AM at John Ball Zoo. Women-focused race benefiting YWCA West Central Michigan and Girls on the Run. The 5K and 10K are sold out — we are only linking the half, where spots are still open. No race-day registration for the sold-out distances.

🧺 Markets and a K-pop morning

Vintage & Handmade Marketplace fills the Downtown Market Shed 10 AM–5 PM. Sixty-plus vintage and handmade vendors, live DJ, Market Hall food, vintage-inspired cocktails at the bar (21+ to drink). Free to wander.

GOLDEN: A K-Pop Kids Party! at Elevation — doors 10:30 AM, show 11:00 AM. All-ages dance party: K-pop, soundtrack remixes, costumes encouraged. $20 advance / $25 day of show.

Rockford Harvest Fest keeps rolling through Sunday if you missed Saturday.

🎉 Civic turns 100 in the street

After the matinee, Civic’s free Centennial Community Block Party runs 4–7 PM on Sheldon Blvd behind the theater. Kids meet-and-greet, food trucks, Apartment Lounge drinks, vendors, alumni and pop-up performances. All ages.

🪩 Sunday night

KC and the Sunshine Band at DeVos Performance Hall 7 PM. Get Down Tonight, That’s the Way (I Like It), and the rest of the catalog. Tickets still available.

Prefer something smaller? Joe Jordan — The Heart Sessions Tour at The Stache — doors 7 PM, show 8 PM. Intimate all-ages set with Gunnar and The Grizzly Boys. $20 advance / $25 day of show. Bar on site.

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Still open all weekend

CHIHULY: Radiant Forms at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park through November 1. Ticketed admission; check same-day hours before you drive the Beltline. 1000 East Beltline Ave NE.

That’s 25 reasons to get out this weekend!
Stack a race, a harvest fest, and a night show, or pick one and have fun!

Until next time, stay connected!