GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The annual Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit has seen its fair share of development since launching six years ago.
This year, organizers say the annual event is taking its largest step yet as it turns the day-long affair into a five-day event “for residents, business owners and stakeholders to learn with and from each other about strategies, resources and opportunities to strengthen neighborhoods and advance equity.”
Entry is free from the opening ceremony on Tuesday, June 1 to the closing ceremony Saturday, June 5. No events require preregistration this year, so guests are encouraged to show up willing to take part.
The summit started in 2015 with the aim of bringing resources and communities together. The venue shifted as attendance grew. The summit’s last home was Grand Valley State University’s Pew Grand Rapids campus, 401 Fulton Street W.
In that time, Jourdan Eatman, Lead Neighborhood Connector for the City of Grand Rapids watched attendance inflate to 600 guests last year. But this year, he anticipates that number more than doubles, with 300 estimated attendees each day.
Much of that is credited to the five-day expansion between venues that provide more accessibility to individual neighborhoods. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday bring sessions to Grand Rapids’ three wards, each in a public park.
Magdalena Rivera, executive director of the East Hills Council of Neighbors and a part of the summit’s planning team, said the shift to local venues lends itself to changes down the road, but is especially important to see this year as the pandemic winds down.
“The transition from Grand Valley in a one-and-done place this year will truly be a huge welcome from the community, especially recovering from COVID in not being able to gather much,” Rivera said.
2021 Summit Locations:
- Opening Ceremony | Tuesday, June 1, 2021 | Studio Park C | 123 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 | 12 to 2 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 2, 2021 | Richmond Park, Ward One | 1101 Richmond St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 | 6 to 9 p.m.
- Thursday, June 3, 2021 | Riverside Park, Ward Two | 2001 Monroe Avenue NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49501 | 6 to 9 p.m.
- Friday, June 4, 2021 | McKay Jaycee Park, Ward Three | 2531 Kalamazoo Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507 | 6 to 9 p.m.
- Closing Ceremony | Saturday, June 5, 2021 | Studio Park C | 123 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 | 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
As each year brings with it a new summit theme, 2021′s focus is “Moving Beyond Diversity...,” Eatman said aligns itself with a year of civil unrest and cries for racial equity both nationally and locally.
He said a lot of the conversations around the theme came from seeing a lot of organizations and companies trying to use hashtags as a way of jumping on with support, “but not having real action” behind it.
“So, they really want to say how do we move beyond just the scapegoat of diversity? We hear it a lot. It is, in a sense, capitalized upon. So how do we bring up a discussion topic to really elevate this conversation of ‘what does it mean to move beyond diversity?” Eatman said.
The intentional ellipses at the end of the theme emphasizes the steps beyond a hashtag that need to be taken to make serious change. Rather than just adjusting hiring practices, it pushes for taking strides in embracing diversity and seeing beauty in difference, Eatman said.
In doing so, Eatman said his team really wanted to tap into local talent, leveraging community members current efforts in leading change while also being able to connect others to those resources.
“There are what we say are ‘hidden figures’ that need to not be hidden anymore,” he said. “So, what are we doing in regards to making sure that that exposure is out there for the talent? We have a lot of people that are leading these calls at the grassroot level that can really help us to take these conversations.”
Part of the conversations each day come directly from the wards that house them. Eatman said the planning committee reached out to neighborhood leadership to collect their thoughts and plan sessions that would best benefit them.
In the First Ward, he said, community representatives were elected for a session on cross-generational reflections of civil unrest. Also notable will be conversations about Grand Rapid’s master plan and local implications, which also came from the committee’s close relationships with community associations.
“We rely and really have great relationships and continue to grow those relationships with our neighborhood associations, Eatman said. “We know that the community residents trust the neighborhood associations to speak on their behalf. And so when we tap into our neighborhood association about this topic, we know that they’re tapping to their communities that they represent to provide such feedback.”
Feedback is going to be the flavor of the year with such a shift from the summit’s status quo, Eatman said.
“In the spirit of innovation, this is a brand new summit as far as the layout, so we really have to see how the community responds,” he said.
“Perhaps five days might be too much, right? And so maybe it’s a three day event next year. We’re really going to rely on the community provide that feedback to see was this something that they wanted.”
For those on the fence, Eatman said the event always proves helpful in getting attendees to feel more connected to their communities. Whether it be networking that shines light on a job just around the corner or a leader who shares similar community concerns, he said the connections made at the Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit can have huge impacts.
“This literally is for you, the Grand Rapids residents,” he said. “We center summit around resources and the residents and make sure that people are aware of what is in their community, and in particular in their ward.”
Rivera echoed that sentiment, saying that especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, being apart for so long has changed how people commune. Events like this year’s Neighborhood Summit are a powerful step in moving forward, she said.
“Coming together as community means something so strong right now in our world -- how we have conversations about diversity, racial equity and inclusion, how we work through some of the things going on with our neighbor door to door,” she said.
“I want neighbors, to feel empowered, that we can come together as a neighborhood.”
More information on the Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit can be found on its website.
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