Grand Rapids, MI — June 7, 8, 9, 2024

Festival of the Arts 2024

ART • MUSIC • DANCE • FOOD • ACTIVITIES

Get the Festival 2024 Program.

Click here

Thank you West Michigan!

Festival 2024 was one for the books. Great art, performance, food and community… in spite of a bit of rain Saturday evening.  Thank you to everyone who participated.  Everyone who volunteered.  Everyone who sponsored us.  And thank you to everyone in our community.

We are already back to work planning for Festival 2025.

Western Michigan artists, performers, food vendors, sponsors, and hundreds of volunteers are hard at work planning for Festival 2024.  

You’ll experience your favorite traditional activities as well as new surprises.  Four performance stages, cultural food booths, visual art exhibits and activities, and artisan craftsmen.  Join us for Western Michigan’s unofficial start of  summer!

Get the Festival 2023 digital program here:

2023 Program

Heavy Hearts

With heavy hearts we mourn the loss of David Abbott. In 2019, David became the first executive director of Festival of the Arts, which was no small feat, and he gave it everything he had. He brought us into our 50th year and was instrumental in developing a strategic plan for our future. David was passionate about the local arts community and bringing us all together. His kindness and remarkable contributions to West Michigan will be a loss for us all, and he will always be remembered for doing these things with an undeniable sense of style. We felt him smiling down on us during this perfect last day of Festival 2024. We share our deepest sympathy with his family and friends.

Get ready for Festival. Use the buttons below for the latest maps and descriptions:

Festival Map
Performance Schedule
Artisan Village
Food Vendors

Ready to volunteer for Festival?  Join our family.  Click the button to sign up.

Volunteer

Here's the latest —

Thank you to our 2024 Festival Sponsors

In-Kind Support

Life EMS

Penske

Trailer Express

John S. Hyatt & Associates

Pioneer Construction

GRPL

Family Futures

Ice Mountain

City of Grand Rapids

Uccello’s

WNJ

Lost Art Brewery

The Rapid

KDL

Gordon Waters

Quota of Grand Rapids

DeVos Place

Great Lakes Access

Holy Trinity

Lowell Arts

WGVU

Kerkstra

Grand Rapids Comic-Con

Are you an artist, performer, food booth or vendor?

Applications for Festival 2022 Performers, Food Booths,
and Artisan Village are open now.

Visual Artists
Performers
Food Booths

Experience Festival

Performance Arts →

Visual Arts →

Food and Merch →

What is Festival
of the Arts?

Festival is the annual three-day celebration of the arts, held in downtown Grand Rapids. The first Festival in 1970 highlighted the 1969 installation of Alexander Calder’s La Grande Vitesse on what is now known as Calder Plaza. Today, Festival attracts thousands of families downtown, with the best area performers and artists, exhibits, activities for kids, and of course, great food.
History of Festival

Volunteers make
Festival happen

Festival is powered by volunteers – and we need YOU.

Work with your family, co-workers or friends, for a few hours, a few days, or throughout Festival weekend. We have fun jobs for all ages and abilities.

Sign up today, and see why so many people love to volunteer at Festival!

Volunteer at Festival

Publicity/Social Media. Participant acknowledges and agrees that Festival of the Arts, including its agents or employees, shall have the right to publish, disseminate, disclose, and/or otherwise place into any public or online forum photographs, videos, images, or any other information (regardless of medium) relating to the Festival of the Arts (“Media”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Participant hereby releases Festival of the Arts in relation to its decision, in Festival of the Arts’ sole discretion, to use or publish (or not) any such Media, including in any claim relating in any way to Participant’s “Name, Image and Likeness” (NIL).