Special Events
Discover ideas and products for female health, home, style, shopping and fun at the West Michigan’s Women Expo, coming to DeVos Place March 6-8.
Attend the International Women’s Day event at DeVos Place on March 10. It’s designed to help women build relationships, embrace diversity, and support each other both professionally and personally.
YWCA West Central Michigan presents In Her Honor, an annual luncheon celebrating the women whose leadership, vision, and purpose help shape a more just, inclusive, and equitable West Michigan. This year’s keynote speaker is Sara Smolenski, a respected judge and community champion. March 10.
Visit Grand Valley State University’s downtown GR campus for See Jane Run: How Women Politicians Matter for Young People, presented by author and teacher Christina Wolbrecht. March 19.
The Art of Women
Take the self-guided Women Legends Walking Tour and Legacy Landmarks Walking Tour of downtown Grand Rapids, prepared by the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council. Women are also well represented – as artists and subjects – in Experience Grand Rapids’ self-guided mural tours.
View artistic tributes to 26 amazing women on the self-guided Rad Women Electrical Box Tour of downtown GR. All portraits were painted by local female-identifying artists.
Experience four immersive “Women’s Way” murals in downtown GR alleyways:
• Angeline Kelsey “Naw Kay o say” Yob Way, named for a local educator, community activist and citizen of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, is located just north of the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum on Sheldon Blvd. NE.
• Harriet Woods Hill Way, dedicated to the first Black woman officer in the Grand Rapids Police Department, is situated at the northwest corner of GRPD headquarters .
• Maurilia Ortiz Blakeley Way, just west of San Chez Bistro , includes a 50-foot high mural of the woman who created the local Hispanic Institute.
• Ethel B. Coe Way, a tribute to the local community activist, musician, actor and civil rights actor, is just north of GLC Live at 20 Monroe on Monroe Ave .
Explore Parisa Ghaderi: For Dancing in the Streets, an immersive, multi-channel video work that explores the female body and how it has been a contested site of struggle around the world, specifically among Iranian women. Ghaderi collaged images for this exhibition from the ongoing Woman, Life, Freedom ports that began in Iraq in 2022. Now thru April 26 at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Musical Women
Candlelight: Tribute to Taylor Swift is a live, multi-sensory musical experience at St. Cecliia Music Center. March 7.
St. Cecilia Music Center presents A Celebration of International Women’s Day with Shawn Colvin, the GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter. March 8.
The Intersection hosts ABRACADABRA, a Lady Gaga-themed Dance Party on March 13.
Acclaimed electric violinist Mia Asano comes to Stache at The Intersection on March 18.
Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony is the Grand Rapids Symphony’s visual-musical journey through the beloved entertainer’s music catalog. March 20-21 at DeVos Performance Hall.
Funny Women
Laugh along with accomplished female comedians at LaughFest, our annual community-wide festival of funny:
• Second City alum Kim Cook appears in the Cancer Survivor Showcase on March 11.
• Chicago comedian Maggie Hughes DePalo and American’s Got Talent semifinalist Hayden Kristal are featured in the Clean Comedy Showcase, March 12-14.
• Local comedians Jo Hilman, Brianna Blackburn and Kristin Hirsch take part in the Michigan Mashup Variety Show, March 12.
• Comedian/speaker/actress/writer/director/educator Lena Green leads GospelFest, an opportunity to learn of those and from those who are on a cancer or grief journey, share in song through several local gospel groups, and have some good laughs. March 14.
• Michigan-based comedian Hannah Osborne is part of The Dirty Show crew on March 14.
• Local celebrity chef Jenna Arcidiacono and comedian Brian Atkinson present Cooking & Comedy March 15.
LaughFest benefits Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids, an emotional health support community for anyone dealing with cancer, which was founded by three local women and inspired by the cancer journey of the late Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner. You can help further the organization’s mission by attending its Red Door Gala, featuring dinner and a show from Last Comic Standing finalist Tammy Pescatelli and stand-up comic Brad Upton, at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park March 25.
Not part of LaughFest, but laugh-filled nonetheless: TV talk show host Sherri Shepherd brings her Make It Make Sense Tour to GLC Live at 20 Monroe for a stand-up comedy performance March 13.
Women on the Stage
The Women of Lockerbie is a poetic play about the aftermath of the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, focusing on an American mother searching for her son’s remains and the Scottish women of Lockerbie who want to wash and return the victims’ clothing to their families, transforming an act of hate into one of love and healing. March 5-7 & 12-14.
Singer-songwriter Kay Nichole is one of nine musical performers coming to Van Andel Arena for Winter Jam 2026, one of the most influential tours in Christian music. March 8.
Broadway Grand Rapids presents & Juliet, a hilarious musical that asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? March 10-15 at DeVos Performance Hall.
Actors’ Theatre Grand Rapids presents Dance Nation, a fiercely funny, deeply poignant explosion of ambition, adolescence and the raw power of girlhood. This 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist tells the tale of a pre-teen dance team (played by adults). March 5-14.
Women on the Page
Schuler Books hosts author Lyla Lane in conversation about her new book, The Best Little Motel in Texas. Perfect for murder mystery lovers. March 4.
Pages & Grapes, the area’s romance-only bookstore, hosts A Romance Resale on March 7, inviting readers to come together to sell their gently used treasures, a Book Swap on March 14, and a Romance Book Club on March 22 discussing Wish, the first Onyx Mist Series book from author Sara Flanagan.
Calvin University hosts its fourth annual Celebrate & Connect Women’s Event on March 21. Enjoy breakfast, a vibrant marketplace, and an inspiring word from keynote speakers Linda and Jen Barick, who will draw on stories from Linda’s book, Beauty Marks: Healing Your Wounded Heart.
Women in Sports
Cheer on the Grand Rapids Rise pro volleyball team, West Michigan’s first female major-league sports team, at Van Andel Arena: March 7 vs. Omaha Supernovas, March 18 vs. Dallas Pulse and March 25 vs. Indy Ignite.
Women & Business
Raise a glass to Women’s History Month at the breweries, wineries and distilleries led by Women Crafting the Beverage Industry in Grand Rapids.
Shop at 35 Women-Owned Businesses in Grand Rapids for clothing, furniture, gifts, books records and more.
