Grand Rapids Medical Mile
Grand Rapids Medical Mile

See the VanAndel Institute logo? The blue cylinder building? And the building in the foreground with the curved roof? These are all beacons of hope for our health care future in west Michigan and just a taste of Grand Rapids Medical Mile. The medical mile is about a mile in length and is composed of medical related businesses and organizations located in the Hillside District. It has also been referred to as “Health Hill” and “Pill Hill”.

Highlights of the Medical Mile include the new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital (scheduled to open in 2011), the Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion,  the Meijer Heart Center and Butterworth Hospital–all of which are part of the Spectrum Health campus; the Van Andel Institute; the GVSU Cook DeVos Center for Health Sciences and the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine’s Secchia Center.

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Near midnight hidden in the woods at Rothbury.
Near midnight hidden in the woods at Rothbury.

Tucked away in Sherwood Forest at the Rothbury Music Festival is the Speak EZ stage. It’s a bit of a secret and things don’t really start to get going there until later in the evening. I wandered upon this performance when it was being set up and was glad I stayed. When it got really, really dark, a woman wearing all white danced to techno funk music behind constantly changing graphics and imagery. The effect was stunning and interesting. If anyone knows who the artist is, could you please post this in the comments section? Thanks, Ann

Click here for a link to another amazing performer who was at Rothbury this year on the Speak EZ stage as well as during The String Cheese Incident performance, you won’t believe what she can do with a hula hoop.

Running the Show at the Hidden Speakeasy Stage
Running the Show at the Secret Speak EZ Stage

Lots of my friends have been asking for more, more, more details about The Rothbury Music Festival this year. So I will give them to you! The best way I can describe Rothbury is “unexpected.” By this I mean, there’s just nothing to compare it to. The whole experience is over the top, maybe that’s why more than 50,000 people attended this year, that’s up about 20,00 from last year.

One example is at the Speak EZ Stage and bar. It’s hidden in Sherwood Forest, in fact, I didn’t even know about it until my son Ryan told me about the stage. The Speak EZ is tucked back in the woods and has a burlesque look and feel to it. Artists perform at this stage with everything from burlesque to experimental art. I took this photo as an impromptu show was being set up for a performing, experimental artist… more on that later, I took photos.

The unexpected, is expected at Rothbury
The unexpected, is expected at Rothbury

It’s hard to capture the atmosphere at the Rothbury Music Festival, but this photos comes close. Spontaneous, whimsical, and unexpected. In the category sidebar, be sure to check out the Rothbury link for more pics.

The Dead Performing at Rothbury 2009
The Dead Performing at Rothbury 2009, pictured from left to right Phil Lesh, Bob Weir & Warren Haynes

Here’s a pic of The Dead in concert at Rothbury in 2009. Tens of thousands of fans showed up for the show and they definitely got what they came for. The atmosphere here was basically like the biggest party you could ever imagine, with the ultimate band performing live. All in a hang loose, everyone’s your friend atmosphere.

On another note, the folks running Rothbury have been great to deal with, they treated us like VIP’s and were super organized.

Vibrational Sound Massage by The Conduit at Rothbury
Vibrational Sound Massage by The Conduit at Rothbury

Vibrational sound massage. Hmmmmm as a person who practices yoga, this sounded like a great idea (especially since it was free) so I gave it a try after watching this guy. There are two areas set up for this in Sherwood Forest at Rothbury and it’s very relaxing. It feels like having something relax you from inside out on a cellular level, I wish I could describe it better, but it’s interesting. The place doing this is visiting from Manchester, CT and is called The Conduit. Here’s a link to their website.

Right after the gates opened at Rothbury. Yesterday around 6PM.
Right after the gates opened at Rothbury. Yesterday around 6PM.

The sky may have been gloomy when the Rothbury gates opened but everyone was there to have fun and at least it didn’t rain yesterday. It looks like we’ll have the perfect Michigan summer weather here for the rest of the weekend.

As I was walking through the festival, I noticed a surprisingly good selection of food and lots, and lots of vendors with some pretty cool stuff to buy.