GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — March is Women’s History Month and to celebrate the remarkable women who have impacted the Grand Rapids community, a free "Women’s Way Walking Tour" took place at Rosa Parks Circle.
Caroline Cook, the chief tour ambassador for Grand Rapids Walking and Running Tours, said she hopes the walking tour will bring Women’s History Month to life through art.
“I love leading the walking tours, in that it is an immersive experience,” Cook said.
Since moving to Grand Rapids, Cook said she knew she had to share her love for storytelling with others.
“My husband and I moved downtown in 2009 and I fell in love with everything Grand Rapids,” Cook said. "I studied, read, researched and decided that I needed to share all this goodness with other people. I like to tell stories.”
Cook, in partnership with Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc., held the walking tour Friday afternoon, showing murals on buildings in alleyways named after the artists themselves. She said the paintings help bring her storytelling to life.
“What it allows me to do is to provide history of the city in between the murals in general, then when we get to the murals each of the murals celebrates someone who's left an indelible mark in women's history in Grand Rapids,” Cook said.
Bill Kirk with Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc. said they’ve planned tours throughout the month for Women’s History Month.
“You'll get some wonderful information, some wonderful education and then for the rest of the month we have tours on March 5, March 6, and March 25 highlighting different female leaders here both locally and nationally,” Kirk said.
The rest of the walking tours will start at Rosa Park Circle at 6 p.m. They're free and last for one hour.
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