Baila Music Fest

Everyone loves a good burger, whether traditional, a smash burger, or an olive burger that truly hits the spot.

Mix 95.7 wants to know the favorites across West Michigan and is opening nominations for the best burger spots in the area.

Submit your pick and the top entries will head to a community vote to settle the question once and for all.

Along the way, learn why locals sometimes call them hamburgs and find spots serving burgers for breakfast in Grand Rapids.

Michigan’s painted turtle holds a special place as the state reptile, beloved for its presence in local swamps and wetlands.

Yet the West Michigan Wildlife Center recently rescued a Northern Map Turtle found wandering downtown Grand Rapids with its shell painted blue.

The center warns that paint on living shell tissue can block normal temperature regulation, disrupt metabolism, and introduce toxins.

Staff removed most of the color and urge people to simply admire turtles as they are.

The Christkindl Markt returns to the Grand Rapids Downtown Market for its fourth year, featuring more than 60 vendors with authentic European foods, handcrafted goods and one-of-a-kind holiday gifts.

Running from November 18 through Christmas Eve, the market adds extended evening hours on Thursdays through Saturdays and new menu items like porchetta sandwiches and chimney cakes.

Shoppers can browse nutcrackers, wooden puzzles and alpaca goods while enjoying returning favorites and fresh local producers. Private heated Alpenglobe reservations and curling options round out the festive experience.

Michigan’s painted turtle holds a special place as the state reptile, beloved for its presence in local swamps and wetlands.

Yet the West Michigan Wildlife Center recently rescued a Northern Map Turtle found wandering downtown Grand Rapids with its shell painted blue.

The center warns that paint on living shell tissue can block normal temperature regulation, disrupt metabolism, and introduce toxins.

Staff removed most of the color and urge people to simply admire turtles as they are.

Michigan Street in Grand Rapids stands at a crossroads after years of growth that brought new businesses, a hotel and hundreds of homes to the corridor.

Owners such as Bob Quay of Bob's Bar and Jacob Heminger of Midtowne Smoke Shop welcome the changes and call for more apartments, retail and buildings to fill empty lots along the busy street.

The Michigan Street Corridor Improvement Authority reports rising tax revenue and is now seeking a strategic planner to shift from reactive management to proactive leadership over the next three to five years.

The 4th Annual Cans Film Festival drew record crowds to Grand Rapids for screenings of 26 independent Michigan-made films at the Wealthy Theatre.

Attendees brought cans and bottles for donation, raising funds split among audience favorites while also collecting food for a local pantry.

Founder Tran Hoang Calvin noted the event restored a sense of pre-pandemic community spirit and highlighted student filmmakers whose work won top honors. The festival plans to align with ArtPrize in 2027.

The Grand Rapids Public Safety Committee will receive a briefing Tuesday morning on the city's use of automated license plate readers made by Flock Safety, with company representatives also scheduled to speak.

Residents have voiced strong opposition, arguing the cameras could track innocent people and create a police state, while some commissioners say it is time to review policies for this connected technology.

The session at city hall aims to explain the system's crime-solving uses and address common misconceptions.

🗓️ West Michigan Events | August 25 – September 1, 2026

1. 28th Street Metro Cruise — Final Weekend Wrap-Up (Wyoming / Grand Rapids / Kentwood)
📅 This weekend — Thursday August 20 through Saturday August 22 (check for any lingering Pit Stop events)
🕒 Fri 2–8 PM | Sat 11 AM–7 PM at Rogers Plaza
📍 28th Street corridor from Grandville to Cascade Township
🎟️ Free to spectators
🔗 www.28thstreetmetrocruise.org
📄 West Michigan's biggest car event of the year draws an estimated 200,000 people to the 13-mile stretch of 28th Street, featuring 15,000+ collector, muscle, antique, modified, and classic cars. The Main Event at Rogers Plaza includes 340 show cars, 5 live bands, food from 20+ vendors, kids' entertainment, Miss Metro Cruise, and more. Saturday's official Cruise Parade runs 4–5 PM — line the street for a spectacular rolling parade of automotive history.

2. Grand Rapids Children's Museum — "AIM HIGH: American Dreams of Flight" Exhibit (Grand Rapids)
📅 Opens Tuesday, August 25 — runs through September 5
🕒 Museum hours
📍 Grand Rapids Children's Museum, 11 Sheldon Ave. NE, Grand Rapids
🎟️ Museum admission applies
🔗 www.grcm.org
📄 A brand-new hands-on exhibit opens at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum today, inviting kids to explore the history and science of human flight — from early aviation pioneers to modern aerospace. A perfect late-summer outing for families before school schedules take over.

3. Grand Rapids Art Museum — "Decadent Spirit: French Art at the Turn of the Century" Opens (Grand Rapids)
📅 Opens Tuesday, August 25 — runs through September 6
🕒 Museum hours; closed Mondays
📍 Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center NW, Grand Rapids
🎟️ Museum admission; members free
🔗 www.artmuseumgr.org
📄 A stunning new exhibition opens at GRAM today exploring the lush, richly ornamental world of French art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring works spanning painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from one of history's most visually intoxicating eras. A must-see for art lovers before it closes in September.

4. Grand Rapids Public Museum — "Backyard Adventures" Exhibition (Grand Rapids)
📅 Opens Tuesday, August 25 — runs through September 6
🕒 Museum hours
📍 Grand Rapids Public Museum, 272 Pearl St. NW, Grand Rapids
🎟️ Museum admission applies
🔗 www.grpm.org
📄 A new family-friendly exhibition opens today at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, celebrating the wonders of the natural world right in your own backyard. An immersive and educational experience for curious kids and nature-loving adults alike — a wonderful way to end summer on an exploratory note.

5. Gentex Street Performer Series — Final Thursdays (Holland)
📅 Thursday, August 27
🕒 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 Downtown Holland, 8th Street
🎟️ Free
🔗 www.downtownholland.com
📄 Holland's beloved Gentex Street Performer Series returns to Downtown Holland for one of its final Thursday night performances of the summer. Roaming performers, musicians, and entertainers fill the charming streets of Downtown Holland for a lively, walkable evening out. Grab dinner at one of the many nearby restaurants and make a night of it.

6. Music on Main — Downtown Zeeland (Zeeland)
📅 Thursday, August 27 (final show of the summer!)
🕒 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍 Main Street between Elm and Church Streets, Downtown Zeeland
🎟️ Free
🔗 www.downtownzeeland.com
📄 The final Music on Main of the 2026 summer season brings live music, food trucks, and yard games to the Downtown Zeeland Social District for one last Thursday night community gathering before fall arrives. Bring lawn chairs, a picnic, or grab something from the food trucks — and savor the last warm evenings of summer in style.

7. ZZ Top with Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band at Meijer Gardens (Grand Rapids Township)
📅 Wednesday, August 26
🕒 7:15 PM
📍 Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater, 1000 E. Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids
🎟️ $105 members | $110 public
🔗 www.axs.com/MeijerGardens
📄 "That Little Ol' Band from Texas" brings more than a half century of rock, blues, and boogie to the ivy-covered Meijer Gardens stage — one of the most iconic acts in rock history performing at one of the most beautiful outdoor venues in the Midwest. Opening the night is Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, the high-energy country blues trio from Indiana. Don't miss it.

8. Myles Smith with Michael Marcagi at Meijer Gardens (Grand Rapids Township)
📅 Friday, August 28
🕒 7:00 PM
📍 Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater, 1000 E. Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids
🎟️ $89 members | $94 public
🔗 www.axs.com/MeijerGardens
📄 Breakout UK singer-songwriter Myles Smith arrives at Meijer Gardens for what is shaping up as one of the most anticipated shows of the late summer season. With over 2.5 billion streams and a sound that blends indie pop, folk, and emotional songwriting, Smith brings the perfect closing energy to the 2026 Meijer Gardens summer season. Michael Marcagi opens the evening.

9. Grand Haven Musical Fountain — Nightly Through Labor Day (Grand Haven)
📅 Every night through Labor Day, September 7
🕒 Dusk (typically 9:15–9:30 PM as summer winds down)
📍 Waterfront Drive along the Grand River channel, Grand Haven
🎟️ Free
🔗 visitgrandhaven.com/attractions/musical-fountain
📄 One of West Michigan's most beloved free attractions, the Grand Haven Musical Fountain lights up the river channel nightly with a 25-minute synchronized water, light, and music show. Running every evening through Labor Day weekend — don't miss one of the final shows of the 2026 season. Bring a blanket and arrive early for a good spot along the channel.

10. Jazz in the Park — West Michigan Jazz Society (Walker)
📅 Monday, August 25 (tonight!)
🕒 6:30 PM
📍 Millennium Park Meadows, 1415 Maynard Ave. SW, Walker
🎟️ Free (donations welcome)
🔗 www.wmichjazz.org
📄 The West Michigan Jazz Society's free Monday night jazz series at Millennium Park Meadows continues its final weeks of the summer season. Blankets and low chairs encouraged, food trucks on site. A perfect way to spend a warm Monday evening under the open sky with great live music and good neighbors.