Encounter the
Arts
Central Park Place is home to Encounter the Arts, a free annual event that began in 2022 to celebrate Grand Haven’s vibrant arts community through family-friendly workshops and performances. At the event, local artists lead various classes and demonstrations for people of all ages. Encounter the Arts is an open house-style event, so everyone in the community can come and go as they please!
in 2023, Central Park Place partnered with Loutit Library to bring the Manhattan Short Film Festival to Encounter the Arts as a special event finale starting with a cocktail hour reception at 5 PM and the film festival at 6 PM!
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A big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in this year’s Encounter the Arts. We had an incredible turnout and are already looking forward to planning next years event. Our team is beyond grateful for the support of our arts community and thankful for their donation of time and talent to make Encounter the Arts possible. Cheers to ETA 2024!
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
- Theatre Tour with Central Park Players – Acacia Theatre
- Vocals for Performance with Carlos Seise – Woodbine Room
- Dance Performances with Tracy O’Neal McQueen & Steph Rau – Ballroom
- Community Art Project Mural
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
- Shakespeare Performance with Pigeon Creek Theatre -Acacia Theatre
- Cardio Drumming with Deb Spinner – Woodbine Room
- Television Production for Sports and Theatre with Dennis Threadgill & Floyd Fonte – Ballroom
- Community Art Project Mural
3:30 pm - 4:15 pm
- Vocals for Performance with Carlos Seise – Woodbine Room
- Stage Combat with Chris Farrar – Ballroom
- Community Art Project Mural
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm
- Theatre Tour with Central Park Players – Acacia Theatre
- GHHS Cast and Crew of Mary Poppins with Rita Mclary – Ballroom
- Improv Experience with Justin Sternbergh – Woodbine Room
- Community Art Project Mural
Kids Art Zone: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
A special thank you to the Northwest Ottawa Recreation Authority (NORA) as the Kids Art Zone Coordinator! Kids activities will take place in the Escanaba Room.
- Rock Painting
- Face Painting
- Balloon Animals
- Kids Maker Space
- Ray Truillo and the Lakeshore Taekwondo Academy
Atrium Gallery Features: 2:00pm - 5:00pm
We recently added new features that will be hosted in our Atrium Gallery. These include:
- Lakeshore FabLab Presentation
- Dake Corporation: Industrial Parts Into Art
- Midwest Miniature Museum Exhibit
- Magic Presentation by The Mystic Prince
- Create Your Art Out presented by The Epicenter
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Cocktail Reception
A cocktail reception, hosted by Central Park Players, will be held in our Atrium Gallery before short film screenings and will feature live music by Roger Gonda.
6:00 pm: Manhattan Short Film Festival
Proudly presented in partnership with Loutit District Library. Discover your inner film critic by casting your vote for Best Film and Best Actor in the 26th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival. You’ll join film lovers in over 500 venues across the globe gathering to see the Ten Finalist in this year’s event. Learn more.
Screenings will take place in the Acacia Theatre and will last for 2.5 hours including a brief intermission. Free popcorn will be available for all attendees as well!