X

Attraction Pass Giveaway Now thru June 30

Save even more – we’re giving away two FREE passes as part of our Attraction Pass GR Giveaway.

Enter to Win

LGBTQIA+ in GR

The Advocate magazine named Grand Rapids one of the Gayest Cities in America more than a decade ago, in a feature exploring the “peer capita queerness of some less expected locales.” Grand Rapids has…

Read More

Locally Owned & Operated LGBTQIA+ Businesses to Check Out

Grand Rapids is home to many locally owned and operated LGBTQIA+ businesses. The city is now a destination to live and work for people of all ages and identities as more inclusive businesses open…

Read More

Promoting Grand Rapids as an Accessible Destination

Experience Grand Rapids wants every visitor to our region to feel welcome and accommodated. That includes travelers with all different types of abilities. In 2018, we teamed with Disability Advocates…

Read More

History of Native Americans in GR

Grand Rapids historian Kevin Finney estimates that indigenous peoples lived in the greater Grand Rapids area for 11,000 years before the first European settlers arrived in 1650. Little is known about…

Read More

History of Europeans in GR

As is the case with many American cities, the unique character of Grand Rapids was shaped largely by successive waves of European settlers. Dutch immigrants had a particularly outsized impact - Grand…

Read More

History of Dutch in GR

As is the case with many American cities, the unique character of Grand Rapids was shaped largely by successive waves of European settlers. Germans, Poles, Italians, English, Irish and French…

Read More

History of African Americans in GR

Few African Americans came to West Michigan until after the Civil War, fleeing Jim Crow discrimination in the southern states. Even then, the numbers were relatively small. It wasn't until the Great…

Read More

History of Latinos in GR

The Latino, or Hispanic, community in Grand Rapids dates back as far as the 1920s, when a small number of young men from Mexico came here to work in railroad jobs. Almost a century later, this…

Read More

History of Asians in GR

In 2010, approximately 2% of Grand Rapids residents claimed Asian-only descent. The city’s Asian population jumped by 30% over the next decade, with the southeast suburb of Kentwood leading the way:…

Read More