GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) -- The 46th Annual Festival of the Arts kicked off Friday at noon in downtown Grand Rapids. The three-day event runs through Sunday with live musical and dance performances at several stages.
All activities are free and open to the public.
There are 27 food booths, with the majority of proceeds from food sales going directly to local nonprofit organizations. In addition to a variety of ethnic food, there will be a vegan booth this year.
Festival co-chair Christina Buentello says for many of the thousands of Festival visitor, food is the main draw.
"You get to choose from different types of tastes: African food, Mexican food, Polish food, Greek food downtown in one spot for three days," Buentello said. "Nowhere else can you get that done."
Also new this year is the Festival of the Arts smartphone app, developed by Grand Rapids Community College students. It is available now in the Google Play store and will be soon in the Apple App Store.
The full lineup of food booths, performances and a map are available at www.festivalgr.org.
Festival of the Arts is the largest all-volunteer art events in the nation and one of the longest-running festivals in the state. An estimated 1,000 volunteers are participating this year.
