Family fun for everyone The sixth Annual Family Matters at GRCC event located in the Ford Fieldhouse experienced its largest turnout over the weekend. The event opened its doors Feb. 23 at 11:00 a.m. to parents and their children for a fun filled day of face painting, airbrush tattoos, petting zoo, and riding a bucking bull. “By 11:15 there were
non-stop kids with their
parents coming through
the door,” said the event
director, Liz Tyrell from
Student Life. “There were
long lines, and people
packed in the ails between
the exhibits.
Compared to last years,
this is the largest
ever.” GRCC, Child &
Family Resource
Council, WOTV 4,
and WOOD TV 8
sponsored the event
which, and Heart
of West Michigan
United Way had a
record breaking
attendance of
over 2,000 parents
and their
children. “We have
been a part
of this event
since it has
been going,”
Kim Kelly,
United
Way said. Kelly
said the
event was a great place for parents to
gain information about the resources
around the community for families.“This gives the parents the opportunity
to talk to organizations one-on-one
and share information, that’s the biggest
thing.” she said. Among the 44 exhibitors were
Jennifer Prater and Marybeth Quillin
from The Grand Rapids Civic Theater.
They seemed very eager to provide
their information. “We have meet
people today who have never heard of
us,” Quillin said. “Without this exposure these
people would have never known we
existed, so far this event has been a
success.,” Prater said. Parents were not the only people
who were checking out the activities.
Clayton Switzer, a preschooler from
Marshall Elementary School, was
excited to see the John Ball Zoo exhibit
and the snake they had brought along. Also dis- played at the
JBZ exhibit
was fur
from all different types of animals.
Clayton Chase said “the Animals” were
his favorite part of the day.
Clayton’s mother, Joanna Chase,
said getting kids out of the house this
time of year was a good idea. This was
the first year that she visited to Family
Matters, and she was impressed. The mechanical bull provided by
Eccentric Entertainment seemed to be
one of the largest hits for the younger
in attendance. Patience Guoian had
some advice for those who were about
to ride, “its kind of fun, if you close
your eyes you feel like you are going
around-and-around-and-around,” she
said. Maranda, Wood TV 8 and WOTV
4 celebrity host, with microphone in
hand worked the room as she gave
away prizes to children and encouraged
exhibit volunteers to speak into
the mic and tell the crowd about their
organization. “Seeing all the kids with their parents
is the best part of this event for
me.” Maranda said. Eccentric Entertainment provided
many of the activity by bringing all of
the inflatables, airbrush tattoos, Guitar
Hero, and star in your own music
video exhibit. The GRCC Campus
police provided free fingerprinting kits
for children and their parents, and The
Child Development Program was in
charge of the face-painting exhibit.
Besides the record number of
people attending this year
Tyrell was very pleased
to see everything went
as planed. “Everybody worked together, and did what they came here to do.” Tyrell said.“It’s a lot of time and hard work, but it was just a really fun day.” What "lies" under the covers A hovering presence of post 9/11 paranoia creeps on stage Feb. 27 through Mar. 1, 2008. The GRCC Players will perform Catherine Butter-
field’s play “The Sleeper,” directed by GRCC Theater professor Eric Messing,
at Spectrum Theater. “The Sleeper’s” plot centralizes three characters: Gretchen, Mathew, and Bill. Gretchen, late 40’s lives a sheltered life entrapped by her husband Bill. Mathew, late 20’s is an intellectual tutor who contributes to the learning of Bill and Gretchen’s children. The desperate wife waiting for a revelation and the young handsome man cannot escape their mischievous destiny. GRCC student Nick Madison, 19 stages as Mathew the “hot stud” of the show. Mathew would be described as “an intelligent, but modest man, who is the new guy to the area,” Madison said. Eric Messing has directed several plays around Grand Rapids and this is his second show with GRCC players. He directed the play “The Dining Room” by A.R. Gurny, which won the 2004 Grand Award for Outstanding
College Ensemble.Considering “this is all of the actors first time with GRCC Players, the show is coming together really well,” Messing said. The performances so far have been strong and the audience “will be blown away.” “It’s a very topical play that applies to America today” Messing said. The suspicions of attacks are more current now compared to 10 years ago. The play portrays how relationships and perceptions have changed since then. The play has vivid scenes meant for adult’s enjoyment, not meant for children. The outcome of the performance is an expected success. Characters and the director are in tune with the script as well as the acting tactics to reach the goal. “The cast and crew are just amazing people, the director is very focused on doing the show the right way,” Madison said. He described how the script could be put on in a variety of styles. The performances are Feb. 27 through Mar. 1 at Spectrum Theater. The times are 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets for GRCC Students and Staff are $3, other students $5, and regular $8. Tickets are available in the Spectrum Theater box office or call 234-3946 for more information. Spectrum Theater is located on 160 Fountain Street NE. Metaphorical clay designs GRCC Collins Art Gallery
introduces “Clay Forms, Israel
Davis and Chweekim Koek”
currently through Mar. 14.
Chweekim Koek, born in
Singapore exhibited “Blue
and Green” a form of Cone 06,
hand built stoneware under
glaze. Besides Grand Rapids,
Koek exhibited his art in
Singapore, Baton Rouge, LA
Syracruse, NY and Emory VA.
Israel Davis reveals
his collective works titled“Pages” in a variety of screenprinted
slips. His works are derived
from photographs to provide
a “metaphor through fantasy
and authenticity.” The screens mainly capture
images of family members
coexisting with each
other. One display called“Brother’s Play” has two different
interpretation of the
same brothers, as shown to
the right. Surrounding the forms
are illustrative writings from
journals and responses to the
photographs. Davis said the inspiration
for his art it was an “investigation
of the symbols, people,
and objects that have affected
my subconscious, perceptions
of growing up and real life
experience.” A reception will happen Feb. 27, 6-8 PM. Most of the displays are for sale. Ask the Princess: Dancing in the streets
My parents did not force me to take any
form of dance lessons as a young girl, but after seeing “Step Up 2,” I wish they would
have. The first “Step Up” was good, but not
as inspiring as the “Step Up 2.” Hip-hop
dancing seems more invigorating than
ballet, even though I enjoy both. “Step Up 2” is worth watching even
though it is predictable at some points.
Someone who is looking for action or
would like good acting movies, this
probably would not be your forte. However, the film exceeded my
expectations. If you enjoy awesome
dancing tangled with a love plot, than I
encourage going to watch this film. Dancing no matter what kind is a form
of art. Watching the men and women in the
fi lm made me want to get up and dance.
Whenever I watch dance fi lms it brings
out the best emotions in me. The rhythm of
a certain song along with the style of dance
derives strong feelings of pride, ambition,
passion, and liberation combined. The way the characters moved their
bodies left an impact. How can somebody
shake their booty without shaking the rest
of their body? Now that is talent. I could not master
it at home, but I’ll
keep practicing.
The variety of choreography
ranging from breakdance,
freeze, krumping,
flips, locking, popping was
phenomenal. I could not
even describe all the
dance moves they did. I
could not imagine the
ability to do that without
losing balance.
In one point of the
movie Chase dribbled
Andie like a
basketball while in
the rain. Stress of peer pressure, relationships, and ambitions are portrayed throughout the movie. Everyday people make choices, which can be applauded or be regretted, this movie identifies with taking a stand for what you believe. Briana Evigan as Andie was brilliant. Her character shined throughout the whole
movie. In the beginning we see a young
woman trying to fi nd her place within other
people’s boundaries. By the end her character
develops into a beautiful confident
woman, who will not let people step on her
toes. Her passion for dancing was turned into
something progressive and this changed
her demeanor in life. Robert Hoffman played Chase Collins
and was perfect, not to mention his incredible
looks. Accidentally bumping into Andie,
he proved to be arrogant and intangible,
but the façade did not last long. Andie was
his perfect match. Her expertise in streettalk
and his understanding of proper ballet
school made them the perfect team. Now the next step was to show the
world how no matter where you come from,
who you are, dancing is a way to unite all
forms of backgrounds. Each person can
bring his or her own expressive style to the
floor or street. Even though Evigan and Hoffman were
the highlight of the show, the other characters
had their own unique spark. Upon leaving the theater, I felt an impulse to go dance in the streets. Check out my blog at http//asktheprincess.blogspot.com. A&E Briefs for Feb. 13, 2008 GRCC Collins
Art Gallery March
Intersection
Shows Wealthy Theatre
Events “Is it over yet?” Speak Out! Have something to say? Sound off to The Collegiate at grcc_collegiate@yahoo.com for your tips or views on the current news, sports, arts & entertainment and opinion. |
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All my life I have dreamed of
being a “prima ballerina.” Holding the audiences’ attention with
the point of my toe, spiraling into a
graceful leap.
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