Hey GR, now there’s a website where you can find out about the artsy goings-on around town, without having to scroll through the bar specials.

The Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids has launched a slick new website –whatsyourartgr.com – that highlights more than 60 arts and cultural organizations from around the Grand Rapids area. The site also includes a comprehensive events calendar, social media feeds from arts groups, and links to each organization’s online ticketing service.

Coolest of all, there’s a function that will allow you to search for last-minute ticket deals that the participating arts organizations will be able to post online. The whatsyourartgr.com site is part of a new marketing initiative by the Arts Council to help spur interest – and ticket sales – for local nonprofit arts groups. The Grand Rapids Community Foundation and Frey Foundation provided financial support.

“We know that people, now more than ever, are making their entertainment decisions based on what they find online,” said Caroline Older, executive director of the GR Arts Council.

She points to the site’s calendar as a “one-stop shop” where West Michigan residents and visitors can find out what’s happening on any given day at Grand Rapids-area theaters, museums and other cultural arts venues. Older acknowledges that there are a variety of sites like REVUE, GRNOW and On The Town that offer entertainment listings, but says whatsyourartgr.com will be more focused for the arts and culture seeker.

“It’s really about wanting to find out what’s going on in the arts and cultural arena and not have it cluttered with restaurant specials and bar specials,” she said.

The last-minute ticket deals could prove to be an especially popular option for thrifty arts fans, but also serve as a welcome source of incremental revenues for local arts groups. In a tight economy, entertainment-goers are looking for low-cost alternatives and, increasingly, they’re also holding off on buying tickets until the day of the event, says the Grand Rapids Ballet’s Misty Hendricks.

The GR Ballet’s last-minute tickets sales have been on the rise over the past few seasons, but this season has been the highest yet, Hendricks said. During the recent run of Flickers, an original ballet based on Charlie Chaplin, more than 20 percent of the tickets were sold the day of the performance. “It’s crazy,” she said. “It’s kind of cool that [the Ballet] is becoming a viable last-minute entertainment alternative, but it is frustrating going into the week not knowing what’s going to happen.”

The frustration may be well worth it, especially for smaller arts organizations, which might be able to pull on the coattails of the larger, well-known arts groups that will be their digital neighbors on whatsyourartgr.com. Site visitors who may be checking out the Grand Rapids Symphony, for example, might click to find out about the Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines, a female barbershop chorus group. And the smaller arts groups “are just as important to the area’s cultural richness as the larger groups,” Older said.

To help formally kick off the site, the Arts Councils is also planning a free event to promote the site on March 11 at McKay Tower in downtown GR. “Opening Night: A What’s Your Art Event” will feature 10-minute performances by a variety of Arts Council member groups, including The Grand Rapids Ballet, Opera Grand Rapids, Civic Theater, GR Symphony and others. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit whatsyourartgr.com or check the event's Facebook page.

The much anticipated year of the future is upon us. For decades, pop culture has tossed around conceptions of how the world would look in 2010; think of The Jetsons or the book and film, 2001: A Space Odyssey or the sequel to both, 2010: Odyssey Two.

While airborne SUVs aren't on the market yet, there has been enormous technological innovation in the world of robotics. Forgo picking up a science magazine and instead opt to make a day trip to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. From Feb. 13 through May 9, the museum will be hosting the traveling exhibit from the Science Museum of Minnesota, Robots + Us.

This hands-on exhibit is fully interactive, enabling visitors of all ages to come face-to-face with a myriad of life mimicking robots. Hang with Larry (the official robot mascot) and his metallic friends and chat with them about the day. Or meet Jeremiah, the avatar, who makes funny faces at passerbyers from his home on the wall.

"[The] animated digital character actually sees you and recognizes that a person is there and interacts with you. It responds to sounds and facial expressions you make and mimics those expressions," explained Megan Burtzloff, design assistant with the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

Unnerved with the idea of interacting with robots as peers? Play God at the Mobile Robot Arena and set up a challenging obstacle course. Guide the mobile bots through the maze of objects with a light beam you control.

Frolic in the Garden of Sensory Delights, where the movement of "wacky robotic flowers" is controlled by the motion of your body. Or, make your very own robot creature called a "jitterbug."
More than a techie playground, Robots + Us lets you step into Low Life Labs, where you can check out the interesting facts robot designers are learning about simple life forms, like ants and cockroaches. For example, taken from the ant world, when building a many legged robot, for stability purposes, at least three feet must be firmly planted at all times.

Burtzloff said the exhibit features a live ant colony and relates it to how the human mind works, how the ants organize the colony, and is akin to how the human mind sorts and solves problems. Another section of the exhibit is the Thinking About Thinking section which features a chess set.

"A robot can be taught to do motion and move but, how are they at thinking for themselves?" Burtzloff described. The question being asked is about "the artificial mind versus the human mind. Is intelligence more than a collection of facts?"

According to the Science Museum of Minnesota, "the Robots and Us traveling exhibit is a playful look at how biology and engineering are coming together to close the gap between reality and our robot dreams."

Whether you're an avowed Luddite or a serial, "early adopter" of every technological innovation that hits the market, Robots + Us offers a slew of modern curiosities to delight or to simply discuss.

Fasching, German Mardi Gras
Latvian Hall, Grand Rapids
Feb. 13, 6 p.m.
$5 food/ $10 dancing

German for carnival, Fasching is the most colorful event of the year. Celebrate on this side of the Atlantic with costumes, dancing and sauerkraut! The Ein Prosit band will regale you with music. Nosh brats, pickled cabbage, gobble dessert, then head over to the dance floor to shake it all up. The event is BYOB, and food is limited. For reservations or more information, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Hope College Great Performance Series: Cashore Marionettes
Knickerbocker Theatre, Holland
Feb. 6, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
$6-17
hope.edu/arts, (616) 395-7403

Cashore travels the world with a collection of award winning marionettes of his own design. Performed to a backdrop of classical compositions, the marionettes are maneuvered to convey a breadth of human emotion generally unseen in puppetry. Lauded as "a combination of virtuoso manipulation, humor, pathos, classic music, and poetic insight," Cashore is sure to imbue the event with wonder and curiosity for adult and children alike.

Big, Big Bugs
Grand Rapids Public Museum
Feb.20 - May 31
Mon. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tues. 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Wed.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 12-5 p.m.
grmuseum.org, (616) 456-3977

Put away your fly swatter, it's time for a little role reversal. Experience the world as a diminutive insect, where larger than life robotic bugs tower over you. This hands-on exhibit also features a giant spider web for the little ones to climb on and neat-o bug facts in the "bug lab," for adults to digest. Learn about "good and bad" bugs, see live insects, and check out the special camping themed planetarium show, complete with a simulated thunderstorm!

In spite of our computer generated world, physical feats and daring stunts of wonder still fascinate us.

This month, Broadway Grand Rapids presents Cirque Dreams Illumination by Cirque Productions, the company that brought Cirque de la Symphonie to the Grand Rapids Symphony last year. Running Jan. 26 through Jan. 31, evening shows and matinees offer many opportunities to attend.

The show on its first tour, Cirque Dreams Illumination casts a unique light on circus style feats. Distinct from the symphony event, Cirque Dreams is "all about the lights and visual tricks," says Nicole Gram, director of marketing and public relations at Broadway Grand Rapids. The show "takes everyday things you might see in a city, but makes it extraordinary."

A singer/narrator guides spectators through the action, featuring world-class acrobats and high-flying aerialists, tempting fate on the high-rise towers of the theatrical city. See the impossible bends of contortionists and the gut wrenching, derring-do of tight rope traipsers, all navigating an urban landscape described as a "magical metropolis," brought to the stage.

Neo-circus arts are as hot as ever, combining iconic styles of performance art with modern sensibilities. Cirque Dreams Illumination presents a clever show of classic death-defying acts performed to an eclectic backdrop of sounds and movement. The original score includes contemporary hip-hop, jazz and pop music making the event accessible to all tastes, while the skill of tight rope walkers and street-style dancers meld to create an unforgettable experience.

Robert Muraine, notorious L.A. born "popper," whose street dance antics on the television show So You Think You Can Dance garnered him national acclaim, will be on hand incorporating contortion, fluid movements and distinct, personal pizzazz.

A family friendly show, children get in free with a paying adult thanks to the national program, Kid's Night on Broadway. More than a ticket deal, the program offers perks like merchandise giveaways and special activities. Come early to the Wednesday, Jan. 27, evening performance to learn impressive "pop and lock" moves from Muraine himself and mingle with the cast before the show.

Cirque Dreams Illumination
DeVos Performance Hall, Grand Rapids
Jan. 26-27, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 28, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 29, 8 p.m.; Jan. 30, 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Jan. 31, 3 p.m.
$32-62
devoshall.com, (616) 742-6500