When Industry Dominated Downtown
Fontana's Next Movement
October 2026
Saving the Satyr A mighty effort to help a tiny butterfly survive
Arts Are Active in October
Meet Matt Forkin
Southwest Michigan’s Magazine
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ENCORE EDITOR'S NOTE
From the Editor L
ongevity is an important thing. While many laud change and all the innovations it can bring, there is something to be said for the "stick-to-itiveness" of enterprises that last. Our cover story by Katie Houston, about a large-scale collaboration to save the tiny Mitchell's satyr butterfly, celebrates the dogged determination of many local organizations in that endeavor while particularly spotlighting the efforts of two area women. When a population of the butterflies was released into a fen at Fort Custer Training Center in Augusta in June, it was the realization of more than 20 years of work and planning by six diverse entities: the Michigan Army National Guard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University, John Ball Zoo and the Kalamazoo Nature Center. Three Kalamazooans who were pivotal to the project were Michele Richards, Ashley Cole-Wick and Bill Flanagan. Our story about Fontana Chamber Arts is another example of how people's passion can create lasting effects. The organization, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, is dedicated to showcasing chamber music artists and making the art form relevant to and appreciated by local audiences. Writer Leo Kaplan finds that the organization is entering its next quarter century with a new CEO and a renewed dedication to helping younger musicians in the genre. In another example of commitment to a cause, our Back Story profile features Matt Forkin, the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo. He took the helm of the 70-year-old youth organization as interim CEO in 2024 and was given the role permanently a year ago. Forkin isn't a stranger to the club — he has spent his whole career there, starting out as a summer camp counselor when he was 19. As these stories demonstrate, it is people with passion and determination that sustain any company, organization or effort in the long term. In a time when people are easily distracted and flit from one thing to the next, it's inspiring to witness what single-minded focus can achieve. Happy reading!
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4 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
16 S aving the Mitchell's Satyr It's taking a mighty effort to save this tiny butterfly native to Southwest Michigan
DEPARTMENTS 3 From the Editor 6 Contributors
CONTENTS
FEATURE
October 2026
8 First Things A round–up of happenings in SW Michigan
10 Five Faves When Industry Dominated Downtown — Long-gone factories of Kalamazoo
12 Arts Fontana's Next Movement — At 25, the chamber music organization continues to thrive
30 Back Story Meet Matt Forkin — From camp counselor to CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo
TheArts
21 Literature 21 Visual Arts 22 Music 23 Theater
24 Events of Note
On the Cover: A Mitchell's satyr butterfly rests on Hazel Richards Brakeman's pinky after being released in June at Fort Custer Training Center. Photo by Peter Brakeman.
www.encorekalamazoo.com | 5
CONTRIBUTORS ENCORE
When Industry Dominated Downtown
Fontana's Next Movement
October 2026
Arts Are Active in October
Meet Matt Forkin
Southwest Michigan’s Magazine
Katie Houston
Katie was busy for Encore this month, writing our cover story about efforts to preserve the endangered Mitchell’s satyr butterfly and our Back Story profile of Matt Forkin, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo. "You can't escape environmental change these days — or the changing world’s impacts on youth," says Katie. "It was so heartening to find individuals devoting their talents to caring for the world around them.” Katie is a writer and communications consultant specializing in nonprofit marketing.
Saving the Satyr A mighty effort to help a tiny butterfly survive
Publisher
encore publications, inc.
Editor
Leo Kaplan
marie lee
Leo admits to being more at home in the crowded basements of Vine neighborhood DIY shows than the recital halls of Fontana Chamber Arts performances, which made interviewing Fontana’s new executive director, Sophié van der Westhuizen, a particularly insightful experience. "I was already aware that intimate local shows in Kalamazoo often rival or exceed the quality of national acts," Leo says, "and was excited — but not surprised — to learn that the local chamber music scene also punches well above its weight class." Leo is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Encore, Second Wave and NowKalamazoo as well as the online hyperpop magazine Ringtone.
Art Director alexis stubelt
Photographer brian k. powers
Contributing Writers
lynn houghton, katie houston, leo v. kaplan, marie lee
Copy Editor/Poetry Editor margaret deritter
Advertising Sales janis clark kimberly juwong
Distribution ron kilian robert zedeck
Office Coordinator
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Encore Magazine is published 12 times yearly. Copyright 2026, Encore Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial, circulation and advertising correspondence should be sent to:
www.encorekalamazoo.com 117 W. Cedar St. Suite A, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Telephone: (269) 383–4433 Email: Publisher@encorekalamazoo.com
The staff at Encore welcomes written comments from readers, and articles and poems for submission with no obligation to print or return them. To learn more about us or to comment, visit encorekalamazoo.com. Encore subscription rates: one year $36, two years $70. Current single issue and newsstand $4, $10 by mail. Back issues $6, $12 by mail. Advertising rates on request. Closing date for space is 28 days prior to publication date. Final date for print–ready copy is 21 days prior to publication date. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by those interviewed and published here do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Encore Magazine or the official policies, owners or employees of Encore Publications.
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FIRST THINGS ENCORE
First Things
Something Spooky Something Musical
Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers to play Bell's Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers,
who've been dubbed the "Springsteen of the Southwest" by the Asbury Park Press, will bring their unique blend of punk rock, Americana, indie-pop and mariachi horns to Bell's Back Room Oct. 16. The band is touring to support its 11th album, Hell to Breakfast. Rock musician Ike Reilly will open the show, which begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $36.79 and available online at bellsbeer.com.
Alternative ways to have Halloween fun Trick-or-treating, hayrides, costumes, bobbing for apples — they're fun, but here are
other ways to get into the spirit of the spooky season: Learn about Michigan's haunted history and dark tourism destinations when author Dianna Stampfler presents "Don't Fear: Paranormal Tourism in Michigan" at 3 p.m. Oct. 8 at Portage District Library. To register, visit portagelibrary.info. Later that day Stampfler will discuss her experiences writing Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses. This talk starts at 7 p.m. at Richland Community Library. Hear about the spirit-seeking adventures of Dustin Pari, host of SyFy television's Ghost Hunters, when he presents "Searching Shadows: A Haunted Lecture" at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the downtown Kalamazoo Public Library. Watch All Ears Theatre make cool, scary sound effects when it presents Vampires in the Night, an all-audio adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula performed in the style of Golden Age radio shows. Show time is 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition building, 315 W. Michigan Ave. Trade a hayride for a horse-drawn wagon trek through a night forest during an event called The Tillers Lantern Ride and Local Ghostly Legends, set for 6:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 24 at Tillers International, in Scotts. End the evening in the farmhouse sipping hot cocoa and adult spirits as storyteller Robin Nott shares chilling local folklore, ghost stories and unexplained mysteries. Tickets are $50 and available online at tillersinternational.org.
Wondering what’s happening around Kalamazoo?
Arts and entertainment near me
From live music and theatre to art, dance, film, workshops, family fun and more — there’s always something worth discovering. Find your next night out, creative adventure or unexpected favorite on the Arts Council’s Events Calendar:
KalamazooArts.org/event/
NEED PLANS? START HERE. 8 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
Something Different
Expo events range from geeky to mystical The Kalamazoo County Expo Center
always has an eclectic roster of shows on topics from reptiles to rocks, but several of the center's events this month are a bit more unusual than usual. First up is Geek Fest, a "comic con" for all ages set for 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 10. The free event, which started a decade ago at a local library to highlight geek-oriented culture, has grown enough to be held in the larger Expo Center. Attendees will find artists of comics and graphic novels, cosplayers and vendors of handcrafted wares. West Michigan Oddfest will occur from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 11. Organizers say it's "for the weird and odd to come together." Expect to find taxidermy, bones, bugs and wet specimens (biological samples, such as animals, plant tissues or organs that are preserved and displayed inside sealed, liquid-filled clear containers) as well as a costume contest. Admission is free. Those who find Renaissance faires appealing should head to MacDudley’s Mystic Market Oct. 17 and 18. There'll be games such as Draigonquest, vendors selling mystical trinkets, and a dinner theater featuring folks playing Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. Tickets are $5–$105. For hours, visit macdudley.com/mystic-market. Or maybe you'd like your aura photographed? That, as well as medium and psychic readings, Tarot card readings, and reiki healing, will be available at the Psychic & Holistic Expo Oct. 23–25. The event will also include lectures and wares such as crystals and holistic products. Admission is $5 on Oct. 23 and $10 the other two days. For hours and more information, visit tinyurl.com/psychicexpo26.
Something Writerly
Camille Dungy talks poetry, gardening Poet and author Camille T. Dungy will speak at two local events on Oct. 15. Dungy, whose most recent poetry collection is titled America, A Love Story, will speak at 10 a.m. in the Visiting Writers series at Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Texas Township campus. Dungy, who is also the author of the memoir Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden, will speak that evening at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum during an event titled "Garden Kalamazoo with Writer Camille Dungy." She will talk about her efforts to diversify the plants in her yard in a predominantly white suburb with strict rules prohibiting native plants. The event runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and will also include discussions about community gardens, garden resources and seed collecting as well as food sovereignty and local ecology, with Dungy's talk beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event is free, and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit kalamazoomuseum.org.
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FIVE FAVES ENCORE
Five Faves
When industry dominated downtown Kalamazoo BY LYNN HOUGHTON
Kalamazoo is known for products historically made
here, including guitars, paper, windmills, playing cards and even croquet mallets, that helped put the city on the map. While the products are interesting, the buildings where all these things were made are equally fascinating. It may be a bit surprising to learn that many of these structures were located downtown. These days such structures would be found areas zoned for industrial use, but this kind of zoning did not exist in the city of Kalamazoo until 1925. Here are five buildings, no longer standing, that once housed some of Kalamazoo's burgeoning manufacturing industries:
Henderson-Ames Co.
Southeast corner of North Park and West Water streets
Frank Henderson started a company in Kalamazoo in 1866 that made saddles and later expanded to manufacturing uniforms and regalia for the military, fraternal and lodge orders, and civic organizations. By 1900 the company had four locations in the city for production. This new fourstory factory opened in 1901. It held three acres of space and made more than half of the lodge uniforms in the United States. In 1924 the company completed a new office building facing West Michigan Avenue and North Park Street. Nine years later the company merged with the Lilley Co. and moved operations to Columbus, Ohio. The factory building came down in 1940 and is now a parking lot, while the office building remains and currently houses First National Bank. General Gas Light Co. East side of North Park Street between Eleanor and West Water streets
George
Kalamazoo Corset Co.
Northeast corner of Eleanor and North Church streets
For years, a corset was considered a necessary
undergarment for women, and many companies met that demand, including the Featherbone Corset Co., which moved from Three Oaks to Kalamazoo in 1891 and adopted a new name, the Kalamazoo Corset Co. It became known for its use of turkey feather quills rather than whalebone for its corset stays. Its original factory, completed in 1894, received additions in 1899 and 1905. At one point 800 people worked there, the majority of them women. The 1920s saw a decline in corset sales, and the number of employees at the factory plummeted. Thirty years later the company was sold and moved out of state. The factory came down in the early 1970s, and the site is now the location of the Home2 Suites hotel, a Hilton business. 10 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
Humphrey and his sons made their mark in Kalamazoo with several businesses. In 1894, George and two of his four sons, Alfred and Frederick, founded the Humphrey Brothers Manufacturing and Plating Co., working with nickel and brass. Another son, Herbert, ventured into producing water heaters as part of Humphrey Brothers until 1899, when he bought out his brothers and changed the name of the water heater company to Humphrey Manufacturing. He sold Humphrey Manufacturing in 1913 to the Ruud Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Alfred invented a new automatic gas light fixture that produced more illumination than others, and the General Gas Light Co. was formed in 1901 to produce the Humphrey Gas Light. Buildings housing the company were erected in 1905 and 1910 on the block bordered by North Park, West Water, Eleanor and Church streets. General Gas Light was renamed Humphrey Products in 1960, and the company moved to the southeast corner of South Sprinkle Road and East N Avenue and demolished the plant on North Park Street. The West Michigan Cancer Center is now located on the site, and Humphrey Products now produces pneumatic valves. A.M. Todd Co. and General Gas and Light Co. images courtesy of Kalamazoo Public Library
A.M. Todd Co.
Merchants Publishing Co.
In 1869 in Nottawa, Michigan, at age 19, chemist Albert May Todd started his business of growing and distilling mint. He decided to move the business to Kalamazoo in 1891, building a factory on the west side of North Rose Street just south of West Kalamazoo Avenue, conveniently across the street from the Michigan Central Railroad Station. The structure, which became known as the Todd Block, was completed around 1894. (In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a building, especially a larger building, would be called a “block.”) In addition to being the owner of A.M. Todd Co., Todd also was a wellknown collector of books, porcelain, paintings, baskets and other items that could be found in several rooms of his factory and now are in public collections around the community. The company moved to Douglas Avenue in 1929, but the Todd Block continued to be used for offices by various businesses until its demolition in 1970.
The production of paper was huge in the Kalamazoo area in the
Southwest corner of North Rose Street and West Kalamazoo Avenue
Northwest corner of North Park Street and West Michigan Avenue 19th and 20th centuries, with a number of mills dotting the city and operating in communities like Vicksburg, Parchment and Plainwell. Other businesses came to Kalamazoo to be close to the raw materials they needed, including Merchants Publishing Co., which was located on the north side of West Main Street (now West Michigan Avenue) west of North Park Street. Founded in Chicago in 1888, the company moved to Kalamazoo in 1902, completing construction of this building one year later. Catalogs were the company's main product, especially for the seed and nursery industry. The company moved to Mills Street in 1930, and its former building continued to be used for various offices until it came down for construction of the Federal Building and U.S. Post Office, which was completed in 1939.
About the Author Lynn Houghton is the regional history curator at the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, located in the Zhang Legacy Collections Center. There, she works with researchers and students of all ages. She is the co-author of Kalamazoo Lost & Found, a book on Kalamazoo history and architecture, and has written numerous "Five Faves" features for Encore. She also participated in the PBS series 10 That Changed America, about the history of architecture and urban planning, and she has led a series of walking tours in Kalamazoo and other parts of Kalamazoo County. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in history from WMU and a master’s in library and information science from Wayne State University.
www.encorekalamazoo.com | 11
ARTS ENCORE
Fontana’s Next Movement
At 25, the chamber music organization continues to thrive BY LEO V. KAPLAN
Sophié van der Westhuizen knows Kalamazoo’s local music scene is something special. “I will always describe Kalamazoo as the eighth wonder of the world when it comes to music,” says van der Westhuizen, an internationally performing pianist and Kalamazoo College piano instructor. “It packs a punch high above other towns this size.” Van der Westhuizen, 48, recently added another feather to her cap, becoming the executive director of Fontana Chamber Arts. Fontana presents intimate concerts by renowned, highly skilled chamber musicians — something that’s hard to come by in a small, Midwestern city like Kalamazoo, she says. “We present chamber music concerts of the highest level. These artists otherwise perform in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and we get to bring them to Kalamazoo.” Fontana Chamber Arts formed in 2001, when the Chamber Music Society of Kalamazoo merged with the Fontana Concert Society. The former, founded in 1955, was focused on bringing international chamber acts to Kalamazoo, while the latter, founded in 1980, hosted a summer concert series highlighting local artists. In bringing in national and international acts, Fontana keeps Kalamazoo integrated with the rest of the country, van der Westhuizen says. Concertgoers can enjoy world-class music in their hometown while local musicians are exposed to a wide range of influences, bolstering their abilities. Sophié van der Westhuizen, executive director of Fontana Chamber Arts
12 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
ENCORE ARTS
Clockwise from top: The Art Emporium in Shelbyville where the Fontana Concert Society, a forerunner to Fontana Chamber Arts, began in 1980; The Cleveland Quartet performed as part of the Chamber Music Society in 1985; and Neill Sanders, center, holding a French horn, was a founder of the Fontana Concert Society. (Courtesy photos)
Fontana also offers educational programs for students from elementary through high school and a summer program that van der Westhuizen has both taught at and sent her children to. Buoyed by community support The organization owes its continued success in no small part to continued support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation. Gilmore, a Kalamazoo-born pianist and businessman, donated the bulk of his estate to his eponymous foundation upon his death in 1985, specifically mentioning the Fontana Concert Society in his will, according to van der Westhuizen. (Her husband, Pierre van der Westhuizen, is the executive and artistic director of the Kalamazoobased Gilmore International Piano Festival.) Fontana receives support from other donors as well, but money is only half the equation. For an organization like Fontana to thrive, it needs attendees at its concerts and parents who want to send their
children to its educational programs. That’s the secret to Kalamazoo’s outsized music scene, according to van der Westhuizen — the people. “People here have been exposed to world-class music and worldclass level performers,” she says, “and that is what they want to hear when they go to a concert. “They are discerning listeners. They know what is good. They’re not happy with absolutely anything, so that’s why they are also willing to support bringing these world-class performers to town. They see the value of it.” That self-perpetuating cycle — high-quality concerts create demand for more high-quality concerts— underpins Fontana's ability to bring in high-quality acts. Spotlighting the young and the masters As van der Westhuizen looks forward to Fontana’s future, she wants to make sure those concerts are not just good but fresh. “One of the things that I really would love to do is bring a spotlight on young, emerging groups,” she says. “There are many that are very exciting — I mean, (in their) early 20s, maybe still in college and starting to perform — and have very creative new ideas of presenting programs, of presenting themselves, breaking norms, breaking boundaries.” In giving these younger groups a platform, Fontana can support emerging musicians’ careers while exposing local audiences to fresh, new ideas. She intends to designate one Fontana concert every year for such acts. She also intends to bring in some of those younger performers for Fontana’s yearly summer chamber music camp, where children can learn from them hands-on. That doesn’t mean Fontana will be eschewing the masters. Van der Westhuizen envisions a balance. “To see a group of people walk on stage who have performed for 30 years, hundreds of concerts — they don’t even have to communicate; they just know what’s happening by the way a person lifts their instrument,” she says. “That level of connectivity and communication is astounding.” Watching world-class and innovative musicians is also a boon to audience members who are themselves musicians, she notes. Students, music professors, members of the Kalamazoo Philharmonia and others often play in their own small groups, sometimes for small audiences and sometimes just for fun. On Friday nights, after their children are asleep, van der Westhuizen and her friends enjoy playing
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ARTS ENCORE
together in a six-woman chamber group called Grove Ensemble. “You learn from any performance that you see,” she says. “You might, from a younger group, learn from their energy and excitement, but when you hear them play, you’ll think they lack some maturity, which, when you see experienced, seasoned performers, will come.” Connecting people Ultimately, Fontana Chamber Arts continues to thrive because Kalamazoo supports it. Whether that’s support from the Gilmore Foundation — itself founded by a local music aficionado who wanted to support the scene even after his death — or the discerning fans who turn out for the shows, Kalamazoo sees the importance of local music, chamber and beyond.
14 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
Relic
Fontana Anniversary Season Opener What: A performance by Relic, an acclaimed period instrument chamber orchestra that was co-founded in 2022 by cellist and Kalamazoo native Cullen O’Neil. It has gained national attention for its intimate, dramatic and imaginative approach to early music. When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 Where: Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western Michigan University How much: $15–$35, with tickets available at fontanamusic.org
Far left: Students ages 12 to 15 participate in Fontanasponsored Kalamazoo Chamber Music workshops. Above: Brad Ridenour, trumpeter with the American Brass Quintet, teaches a master class in Kalamazoo in 2024. (Courtesy photos)
“What I see in the community here is the connection between the audience and the people on stage,” van der Westhuizen says. “They’re (the performers are) bringing their experience, their life stories to the concert hall, and you feel a connection with the outside world through them. You feel the connection with New York City, because they were just there, and they’re coming to us, and they’re working with our students. “There are a lot of people who are, especially as they get older, lonely, and everybody gets sucked into their own world, she says. This is a place where everybody can do something together.”
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Saving the
Satyr BY KATIE HOUSTON
It’s a tiny thing, the Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, less than two inches across its cocoa-brown wingspan. The delicate insect, native in small pockets of Michigan and Indiana, has been on the government’s federally endangered list since 1992 and has become the focus of a large effort to save it that is spearheaded by two Kalamazoo-area women. The U.S. Army's use in World War II of the now-banned insecticide DDT to limit the spread of insect-borne diseases caused harm to species like the Mitchell's satyr butterfly, but now, in an interesting turn of events, it's a U.S. military base that is leading an effort to save this elusive butterfly. On June 30, the Michigan Army National Guard’s Fort Custer Training Center (FCTC), in Augusta, welcomed almost 300 captivebred Mitchell’s satyrs to a new home in its 52-acre secluded prairie fen — the very rare habitat the insect requires — marking a significant step in military environmental stewardship and species conservation. “Fort Custer is the first installation in the country to reintroduce an endangered species, and it’s pretty exceptional, though we all hope it becomes less exceptional,” says the Kalamazoo area's Michele Richards, natural resources specialist and wildland fire program manager for the Michigan Army National Guard. “We’re setting an example for the rest of the country that the military is in a unique position to support endangered species and habitats.” Fort Custer’s more than 7,500 acres are among the millions managed by the military across the U.S. that host more than 250 endangered species — some of which can be found only on military property. Richards notes that there are roughly 1,400 military staff like her across the country doing similar work to save endangered species. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, butterfly abundance fell by 22 percent across 554 species in the 20 years from 2000–2020. Four sites in Kalamazoo County were once home to the Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, but the butterfly hadn’t been seen in any of those locales since 2009 — until now. “The butterfly release was amazing. I was on cloud nine,” says Richards. “This is the biggest achievement I've had so far in my work.” The work was not done alone, or quickly. The butterfly release was decades in the making, the result of a partnership among the Michigan 16 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
The mighty effort to help a tiny butterfly survive
Army National Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan State University, John Ball Zoo, and the Kalamazoo Nature Center. “Staff visiting from Fish and Wildlife for the release told me, ‘This makes the rest of the hard stuff of my job feel totally worth it right now,’” recalls Richards. The other Kalamazoo-area woman who has been pivotal in making the historic FCTC program happen is Ashley Cole-Wick. She is a conservation scientist and zoologist with Michigan State University's Michigan Natural Features Inventory and knows where most any threatened species can be found in Michigan. “We are a natural heritage database that tracks animals from all over the state — what lives where and when it was last seen — and our data goes back more than 100 years," she says. "I specifically work with the most endangered species we have. When someone wants to do a dam removal or cut down some forest or reroute a highway, they check our database before starting.” Any project receiving federal funding or requiring federal permits is reviewed by the government to determine adverse impacts on species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act (1973), which established protections for fish, wildlife and plants that are listed as threatened or endangered. For the Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, the law also makes it illegal to collect it without a permit or to engage in interstate commerce of the species. Becoming environmentalists
It was in 1962 that Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring introduced the public to the concept of environmental conservation, documenting the harm caused by DDT and ultimately leading to a ban on the substance in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Richards says her passion for protecting the environment began when she was growing up in Elk Rapids, Michigan. “As a child of the '70s, those public service commercials really hit my young brain, the ‘Hoot, hoot, don't pollute’ and the Native American crying at the sight of people throwing garbage from cars,” she says. “My second-grade teacher was also an inspiration. She had every possible animal in her classroom, and we collected things like pond water to look at under a microscope. Right around then, my dad
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How you can help save butterflies While planting native plant species in your yard can help threatened butterflies, there are other ways to help them as well. “Helping butterflies is really accessible for those with the time and interest,” says Kalamazoo Nature Center Research Director Jennifer Meilinger, who manages the Michigan Butterfly Network, a conservation program that uses volunteers to help track butterfly populations across the state. “Our Community Scientist program puts community members in the field to count butterflies in publicly accessible natural areas. We offer a free two-hour virtual training every April,” she says, adding that individuals can choose a route or be provided one for exploration between June 1 and Sept. 1. “We like to have data collected six times during the summer, so it's usually less than a three-hour activity. It can absolutely be a family activity, though we need one adult to complete the identification survey,” she says, adding that the effort supplements the work of academic researchers and can contribute to scientific journal articles. “You hear about all of the large visible endangered species, but you don't often hear about the insects,” Meilinger says, adding that as of Aug. 1, a total of 86 local citizen scientists had observed 65 species and 8,540 individual butterflies. “They're in an environment that's like green and brown, and so it can be kind of hard to see them,” she says, noting that raising butterflies with her kids has been inspiring. “I have a 4-and-a-half-year-old and a 2-year-old, and the last couple summers we have been raising some monarchs, and it's just so sweet, talking about the caterpillars and the chrysalis and how to feed them and then releasing them. It’s a way to share that joy that butterflies can bring." You can keep up with the Michigan Butterfly Network on Facebook and learn how to get involved as a citizen scientist at naturecenter.org/michiganbutterfly.
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taught me to drive his small tractor, hitched on a wagon, and I made the neighborhood kids come help me pick up trash along the road.” Richards earned a bachelor’s degree in earth science and environmental studies from Western Michigan University and a master’s in environmental policy from the University of Massachusetts. After an AmeriCorps post teaching kids and landowners about groundwater stewardship in Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties, she worked as a researcher with the Kalamazoo Nature Center. In 2003 she joined the Michigan Army National Guard at Fort Custer, where she has been working ever since to preserve and protect the small butterfly and its habitat. Cole-Wick grew up in Iowa and went to Drake University there, planning to study pharmacy. “Then I took an ecology class, and that was it," she says. "It didn’t matter how much the career paid. I just knew I wanted to be outside, and I changed my major. I've pretty much done something to do with butterflies ever since.” Cole-Wick did field work in South Korea and the Peruvian Amazon and a year of environmental activism with Greenpeace before heading to the University of Alberta, Canada, for a master’s degree in conservation science. Then she found an opportunity in Michigan.
Clockwise from top left: Bill Flanagan, conservation manager at John Ball Zoo, and volunteers check on a butterfly out in the field; Ashley Cole-Wick, conservation specialist with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory at MSU, takes notes; and Michele Richards, natural resources specialist for the Michigan Army National Guard, with Mitchell's satyr butterflies to be released at Fort Custer. (Courtesy photos)
“I’d never even heard of Kalamazoo when I saw a job posting for a butterfly scientist and came to work at the Kalamazoo Nature Center in 2013 to run their butterfly program.” She joined the Michigan Natural Features Inventory in 2018. “I like to lead with my heart and to speak up on behalf of the voiceless, and especially
endangered animals," she says. "Those are the beings in our world that need attention right now.” Going from 20 to six populations
Cole-Wick says there are now six populations of the Mitchell’s satyr in southern Lower Michigan, with fewer than 2,000 of the butterflies living in the wild. “When I first started working on the satyr in 2013, I think Michigan had nearly 20 populations,” she says.
Cole-Wick was instrumental in preparing for the Fort Custer butterfly release, drafting the original biological assessment in 2020 that analyzed possible locations and the preparation required for military training and butterflies to coexist. Richards says, “The military mission is always first, but we can also usually find the win-win.” Each woman credits the other for her hard work and tenacity in bringing the butterfly's reintroduction to fruition. “Ashley was instrumental in helping to establish the successful captive rearing program and a consummate quarterback of the research initiatives that helped us to get where we are,” says Richards. “Michele and I had our first conversation about this reintroduction in 2013,” recalls Cole-Wick. “It wouldn’t have come to pass were it not for her persistence, which was especially critical in the final push to get the proper approvals and signatures with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army.” 'A Goldilocks species'
Among the reasons why the Mitchell’s satyr is dwindling in number is the rarity of prairie fen wetlands that the butterfly requires. These wetlands also harbor countless other species of plants and animals. While wetland ecosystems have been rapidly lost throughout the U.S., prairie fens have been lost even faster, destroyed by water pollution, pesticide use, agriculture and development.
“Wetlands are our natural sponges — they take in water when we have giant rain events and ensure that we don't flood,” says Richards. “The more wetlands we have, the less likely we are to encounter damage when we have extraordinary rain events.” Cole-Wick adds, "These endangered satyr butterflies are really a Goldilocks kind of species. They need very specific conditions.” The butterfly is quite particular. It needs the right kind of hydration — cold, calciumrich groundwater fed by springs. It requires just the right plants to eat and lay its eggs on and some shade but not too much. Given the scarcity of their habitat, Mitchell’s satyrs are known as “conservation-reliant,” requiring land management via invasive plant removal and prescribed burns. For those who manage these habitats, predicting future weather is extremely important. Richards says major changes in the state’s seasonal weather, due to climate change, have arrived sooner than expected. “In Michigan, we're predicted to have a lot of rain on the shoulder seasons. Spring and fall will be really, really wet, with big rain and storm events, and the summers will be dry as all get out,” says Richards. “It won't be a half inch here or there; it'll be 3 inches today and 6 inches tomorrow. That was supposed to be 50 years out, and it's already here.” Breeding butterflies
In 2020, Grand Rapids' John Ball Zoo increased its focus on conservation,
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To See It in the Wild Sarett Nature Center, in Benton Harbor, has a boardwalk in its prairie fen habitat from which visitors may view the Mitchell's satyr butterfly during its brief flight period of 10 to 14 days, in June and July. Keep up with the schedule at sarett.com.
committing 3% of its revenue to the work. When Michigan State University reached out to the zoo, suggesting collaborating on propagating the endangered Poweshiek skipperling butterfly, Conservation Manager Bill Flanagan, a Kalamazoo resident, was all in, and the zoo’s Great Lakes Rare Butterfly Program was launched. “I’d never heard of the Poweshiek skipperling at the time, but David Pavlik and his team at MSU helped us undertake raising them,” Flanagan says. "After we were successful, we started raising the Mitchell’s satyr. We keep them outside to mimic the life cycle of butterflies in the wild, so they stay on the same developmental trajectory, flying as adults at the same time.”
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The Mitchell’s satyr produces just one generation per year and only flies as an adult for two to three weeks, spending the rest of the time in its larval stages. During that short window of adult life, the butterfly must quickly find another butterfly, mate and lay eggs before it dies. “Our three outdoor hoop houses are filled with individual flowerpots with females and host plants. When they're done laying eggs, they go back out into the wild,” Flanagan says, noting the zoo currently has between 1,000 and 2,000 Mitchell’s satyr caterpillars munching away on its plants. What comes next
The Mitchell’s satyr’s dwindling numbers may not be quite as alarming as the coal
Col. Andy Kuhns, Michigan Army National Guard, with a container of butterflies to be released at Fort Custer. (Courtesy photo)
mine canary whose death alerts humans that the underground atmosphere is becoming dangerous, but its extinction would mean losing another species down the slippery slope that sees so many “blink out” every year. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List, more than 48,600 species are currently threatened with extinction worldwide. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has meetings for all endangered species in the state,” says Richards. "I think we've got 30 in Michigan, and I attend meetings for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Karner blue butterfly and Mitchell's satyr. Richards and Cole-Wick hope that next year even more butterflies will be released at Fort Custer. “Before a 2027 release at Fort Custer, we’ll survey how many that overwintered survived, and we'll mark them before we release additional butterflies from John Ball Zoo,” says Cole-Wick. “It's one of those moments where you're actually doing what people think you do — prancing around chasing butterflies with nets. But there's also a lot of boring work, spreadsheets and research and managing grants.” “For me, I don't see butterflies, I see recovery,” says Cole-Wick. “And when we talk about recovery for endangered species, our goal is always to get it (the species) moved down a level, to threatened. We’ll have to get back up to 20 or so populations for that to happen (for the Mitchell’s satyr).” “This is our home, and we have to take care of it and of the species that also use it,” says Richards. “Pollinators are exceedingly important, and they are crashing hard. And every single thing we can do to help save them helps save us.”
TheArts
Sponsored by
LITERATURE
Can Poetry Be Funny? Oct. 28 Friends of Poetry
Local writers and special guests will perform lighthearted, witty and slapstick poems in this annual event being held from 6–7 p.m. in the Van Deusen Room of the Kalamazoo Public Library. For more information, visit kpl.gov.
Fez Avery & Marcel Fable Price Oct. 10 Kalamazoo Book Arts Center
Two Michigan poets will give a reading at 7 p.m. at the center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., as part of KBAC's Poets in Print series. Fez Avery, author of CLAYBOY (2026), is a poet and performer currently serving as a visiting instructor of creative writing at Interlochen Arts Academy. His work has been published in The Avery Journal, Gulf Coast, Passages North and swamp pink. Marcel Fable Price, author of New American Monarch (2024), is an award-winning storyteller and former Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids whose work explores grief, love, leadership and possibility. He is currently the director of platform and programming for Kalamazoo Forward Ventures. Price For more information, visit kalbookarts.org.
Author Talks
Throughout the month Various venues Several authors will visit local libraries this month. Portage District Library will host true crime writer Michael Finkel, author of The Art Thief, at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 9, and Tobin Buhk, crime historian and author of True Crimes in the Civil War, at 6 p.m. Oct. 14. Registration at portagelibrary.info is required for both events. The Antwerp Sunshine Branch of the Van Buren District Library will feature Dianna Stampfler, author of Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses, at 7 p.m. Oct. 8, and Nicole Lintemuth, author of This Book is Dangerous: A Reading Journal, at 6 p.m. Oct. 21. The library is located at 24283 Front St. in Mattawan.
and published in partnership with
VISUAL ARTS
Artists' Books Exhibitions Opening Oct. 20 Richmond Center for the Visual Arts & Kalamazoo Book Arts Center
A collaborative exhibition of books as art will be featured this month at Western Michigan University and the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. Beginning Oct. 20, works from Some Assembly Required: The Artist’s Books of Julie Chen, will be on display at both the KBAC Gallery, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., and the Netzorg-Kerr Gallery of WMU's Richmond Center for the Visual Arts. Chen is founder of Flying Fish Press, which publishes limited-edition artists’ books that combine text and image with innovative book structures. Chen will give a lecture at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Richmond Center for the Visual Arts followed by a reception. A reception for the artist also will be held from 5–8 p.m. Nov. 6 at the KBAC. The Richmond Center will also feature a companion exhibition, Bound To: Artist Books from the WMU Special Collections Library, from Oct. 20–Nov. 21 in its Albertine Monroe-Brown Gallery. For more information, visit kalbookarts.org or wmich.edu/art.
Among the Beasts: Wild, Tamed & Imagined Oct. 28–Jan. 31 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Alva Dorn, Me-ow
Featuring works from the KIA's permanent collection, this exhibition will explore the roles animals have played in artistic expression through time. The exhibit encompasses real and imagined animals depicted in various media from ancient pendants and Chinese scrolls to contemporary photography. KIA hours are 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Thursday; and noon–4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10–$15 and free for children ages 6 and younger. Continuing Exhibitions
For the People, By the People: America at 250, KIA, through Oct. 4. Resilience: A Sansei Sense of Legacy, KIA, through Nov. 1. Book Arts in Italy 2026, through Oct. 9, KBAC
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TheArts
• Dabin Ryu Trio • Aristo Sham The Gilmore
Connecting Chords Music Festival
Throughout the month Various venues
Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago
The festival is offering a diverse sampling of cultures, performers and venues this month: • Duke Ellington Sacred Concert, with local musicians and WMU’s Jazz Orchestra, 7 p.m. Oct. 3, First United Methodist Church, 212 S. Park St. • Kleinstuck Trail Walk, with improvisational ensemble Songs of the Alvar, 6 p.m. Oct. 10, Kleinstuck Preserve, 1001 W. Maple St. • Stundom, Nordic folk and chamber music, 7 p.m. Oct. 14, Bell’s Back Room, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. • Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago, with colorful costumes, dance and percussion, 7 p.m. Oct. 15, Dalton Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building, 139 Thompson St. • T he Lodger, screening of the 1927 silent film with improvised score performed by organist David Briggs, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20, First Congregational Church, 345 W. Michigan Ave. • Music Medicine Collective, contemplative music and stories, 2 p.m. Oct. 24, Van Deusen Room, Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St. • Neta Elkayam + Amit Hai Cohen, Judeo-Moroccan music, 4 p.m. Oct. 25, Congregation of Moses, 2501 Stadium Dr. Tickets for each performance are $5–$17 and can be purchased online at connectingchordsfestival.com.
• Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony • Halloween Boos & Brews Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
The KSO is brewing up two unique performances this month. Violinist Ella Eon, 2026 Stulberg Gold Medalist, will join the symphony for its presentation of Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Miller Auditorium. Tickets are $7–$78. Enjoy Halloween-inspired tunes played by the KSO Pint-Sized Orchestra at Halloween Boos & Brews, 6 and 8 p.m. Oct. 28, at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. Tickets are $34. To purchase tickets, visit kalamazoosymphony.com or call 349-7779. 22 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
MUSIC
The Gilmore will host concerts by two award-winning artists in October. The Dabin Ryu Trio, fronted by jazz pianist and composer Ryu Dabin Ryu, winner of the 15th UNISA International Piano Competition, will perform at 4 and 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. Pianist Aristo Sham, the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner, will perform at 4 p.m. Oct. 18 in the Cori Terry Theatre of the Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall. Tickets for each performance are $10–$28 and available online at thegilmore.org.
America’s Story at 250 Years Oct. 24 Kalamazoo Concert Band
The Kalamazoo Community Chorale, Kalamazoo Male Chorus and conductor and cornetist Chris Bradley will join the KCB for this free patriotic performance. Showtime is 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave. For more information, visit kalamazooconcertband.org.
WMU School of Music Throughout the month Various venues
Western Michigan University Gilmore School of Music has a full slate of performances this month. Unless otherwise noted, the performances are at the Dalton Center Recital Hall and tickets are $6 to $18. • Carol Dusdieker, soprano, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 • WMU Orchestra, with 2026 Stulberg Silver Medalist Mingzhe Ye, 7 p.m. Oct. 4 •B est of MAT, works by Multimedia Arts Technology students, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5, free • KSO Artists-in-Residence, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 • Aron Zelkowicz, cello, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 • University Bands, 2 p.m. Oct. 11, Miller Auditorium • University Jazz Lab Band, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 • George Garzone & Jerry Bergonzi, saxophone, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 • Dana Jessen, bassoon, 2 p.m. Oct. 16 • Choral Showcase, 3 p.m. Oct. 18 • Nathan Carterette, piano, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 • PRISM, saxophone quartet, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28, Dalton Center Lecture Hall, free • Multimedia & Surround Sound Concert, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 • Gold Company Sneak Preview — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 For more information, visit wmich.music.
Sham
• Some Enchanted Evening • Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. Kalamazoo Civic Theatre
Young thespians and those with a little more time treading the boards will perform in two musicals at The Civic this month. The Senior Class Readers Theatre, a program for performers 50 and older, will present Some Enchanted Evening, The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein Oct. 2–11 at the Parish Theatre, 405 W. Lovell St. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 and 9 and 2 p.m. Oct. 3, 10 and 11. Tickets are $17–$35. The Civic Youth Theatre will take audiences under the sea Oct. 23–Nov. 1 with its presentation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 and 30; 2 p.m. Oct. 24, 25, 31 and Nov. 1; and 5 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Civic Auditorium. Tickets are $15–$20. To purchase tickets, visit kazoocivic.com or call 343-1313.
Vampires In the Night Oct. 24 All Ears Theatre
Get ready to revisit Dracula Bram Stoker’s Dracula in this allaudio theater production adaptation written by Bryan Zocher. Showtime is 6 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition building, 315 W. Michigan Ave. For information, visit allearstheatre.org.
THEATER Birthday Candles Oct. 1-11 WMU Theatre
Audiences will witness 90 years of Ernestine Ashworth’s life in 90 minutes in this production set for the York Theatre at Western Michigan University. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1–3 and 8–10 and 2 p.m. Oct. 4 and 11. Tickets are $12–$22 and available online at wmich.edu/theatre.
Ghost Stories Oct. 16–30 New Vic Theatre
There's no telling what you'll hear in these performances of spooky stories the theater promises will be "a little different each time." Showtimes are 8 p.m. Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24 and 30 at the theater located at 134 E. Vine St. Tickets are $10–$30 and available online at thenewvictheatre.org or by calling 381-3328.
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EVENTS ENCORE Reilly, Oct. 16; May Erlewine, Oct. 17; Prince Daddy & The Hyena w/Combat & Walter Etc., Oct. 22; all shows begin at 8 p.m., 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382–2332, bellsbeer.com.
PERFORMING ARTS THEATER Plays
Mother & the Michigan/Ohio War — A Michigan/Ohio War reenactment turns into a comedy, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, 2 & 3, 2 p.m. Oct. 3 & 4, Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, 343–2727, farmersalleytheatre.com. Birthday Candles — 90 years of a woman's life in 90 minutes, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1–3 & 8–10; 2 p.m. Oct. 4 & 11, York Theatre, WMU, 387–6222, wmich.edu/theatre. Ghost Stories — Spooky stories, 8 p.m. Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24 & 30, New Vic Theatre, 134 E. Vine St., 3813328, thenewvictheatre.org. Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. — Civic Youth Theatre presents Ariel & her aquatic friends, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 & 30, 2 p.m. Oct. 24, 25, 31 & Nov. 1, 5 p.m. Oct. 24, Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St., 343-1313, kazoocivic.com. Musicals Some Enchanted Evening, The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein — Performed by the Civic's Senior Class Readers Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 & 9, 2 p.m. Oct. 3, 10 & 11, Parish Theatre, 405 W. Lovell St., 343–1313, kazoocivic.com. Kinky Boots — A shoemaker facing bankruptcy partners with a drag queen, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30–31, Nov. 6–7, 12–14; 2 p.m. Nov. 1, 8 & 15, Shaw Theatre, WMU, 387–6222, wmich.edu/theatre. Other Tipsy Andronicus — Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus with drinking games & hijinks, 6 p.m. Oct. 9, Bells Back Room, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382–2332, bellsbeer.com. Tribute to The Phantom of the Opera — Immersive theatrical experience, 7 p.m. Oct. 10, Ladies Library Auditorium, 333 S. Park St., ladieslibrarykzoo.org; register online. Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Live— Fraggle Rock-ers discover the Celebration Stone, 3 p.m. Oct. 18, Miller Auditorium, millerauditorium.com. Vampires in the Night — All-audio theater adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 6 p.m. Oct. 24, Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition, 315 W. Michigan Ave., allearstheatre.org. MUSIC Bands & Solo Artists Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Concerts — Bombargo, Oct. 1; The 1985: Totally 80s Mixtape Live, Oct. 10; Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers w/Ike & Shane 24 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
Norse Code – Scandinavian folk music, 2 p.m. Oct. 12, Parchment Community Library, 401 S. Riverview Drive, parchmentlibrary.org. Danger Dear —Performing with violinist Helen Yee, 8 p.m. Oct. 30; Dormouse Theatre, 1030 Portage St., dormousetheatre.com. Orchestra, Chamber, Jazz, Vocal & More Carol Dusdieker — Soprano, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, wmich.edu/music/events. Relic — Chamber orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2, Dalton Center Recital Hall, fontanamusic.org. Dabin Ryu Trio — Jazz trio, 4 & 7 p.m. Oct. 3, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., thegilmore.org. Duke Ellington Sacred Concert — Local artists perform selected works, 7 p.m. Oct. 3, First United Methodist Church, 212 S. Park St., connectingchordsfestival.com. WMU Orchestra Fall Concert — With 2026 Stulberg Silver Medalist Mingzhe Ye, 7 p.m. Oct. 4, Miller Auditorium, stulberg.org.
Best of MAT — Works by WMU Multimedia Arts Technology students, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5 Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events. KSO Artists-in-Residence — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/ events. Sara Emerson — Soprano, 7 p.m. Oct. 9, The Listening Room, Second Reformed Church, 2323 Stadium Dr., 382-6600. Kleinstuck Trail Walk — Music by Songs of the Alvar, 6 p.m. Oct. 10, Kleinstuck Preserve; meet at YMCA tennis courts, 1001 W. Maple St.; connectingchordsfestival.com. Silent But Deadly — Halloween concert, 7 & 9 p.m. Oct. 10, Glow Hall, 246 N. Kalamazoo Mall, theglowhall.com Aron Zelkowicz — Cello, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events. University Bands — University Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band & Concert Band, 2 p.m. Oct. 11, Miller Auditorium, wmich.edu/music/events. University Jazz Lab Band — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/ events. Stundom — Nordic folk & chamber music, 7 p.m. Oct. 14, Bell’s Back Room, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., connectingchordsfestival.com. Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago — Vibrant dress, dance & percussion, 7 p.m. Oct. 15, Dalton Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building, Kalamazoo College, connectingchordsfestival.com.
George Garzone & Jerry Bergonzi — Saxophone, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events. Dana Jessen — Bassoon, 2 p.m. Oct. 16, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events.
Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony — The KSO with 2026 Stulberg Gold Medalist Ella Eon, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17, Miller Auditorium, kalamazoosymphony. com. Choral Showcase — Amphion, Anima & University Chorale, 3 p.m. Oct. 18, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, wmich.edu/music/events. Aristo Sham — Piano, 4 p.m. Oct. 18, Cori Terry Theatre, Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, thegilmore.org. Kalamazoo Mandolin & Guitar Orchestra — 7 p.m. Oct. 23, The Listening Room, Second Reformed Church, 2323 Stadium Dr., 382-6600. Music Medicine Collective — Music & storytelling, 2 p.m. Oct. 24, Van Deusen Room, Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St., connectingchordsfestival.com. America’s Story at 250 Years — Kalamazoo Concert Band, Community Chorale & Male Chorus, 7 p.m. Oct. 24, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., kalamazooconcertband.org. Neta Elkayam + Amit Hai Cohen — Judeo-Moroccan music, 4 p.m. Oct. 25, Congregation of Moses, 2501 Stadium Dr., connectingchordsfestival.com. Halloween Boos & Brews — KSO Artistsin-Residence perform, 6 & 8 p.m. Oct. 28, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., kalamazoosymphony.com. Nathan Carterette — Piano, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/ events. PRISM — Saxophone quartet, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28, Dalton Center Lecture Hall, wmich.edu/music/ events. Multimedia & Surround Sound Concert, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich. edu/music/events. Gold Company Sneak Preview — Gold Company & GCII, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, Dalton Center Recital Hall, wmich.edu/music/events. Academy Street Winds Concert — 3 p.m. Oct. 31, Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College, music.kzoo. edu/events. COMEDY Canned Champagne — Improv comedy show, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10; Dormouse Theatre, 1030 Portage St., dormousetheatre.com. FILM Candyman (1992) — Grad student explores urban legend, 8 p.m.; pre-show 7 p.m., Oct. 8, Dormouse Theatre, 1030 Portage St., dormousetheatre.com.
ENCORE EVENTS The Lodger (1927) — Silent film with live improvised score, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20, First Congregational Church, 345 W. Michigan Ave., connectingchordsfestival.com. Natchez (2025) — Portrait of Natchez, Mississippi; followed by discussion, noon Oct. 28, Dale Lake Auditorium, KVCC, 6767 West O Ave., kalamazooarts.org. Halloween Mystery Movie — Title TBA w/costume contest, 8 p.m.; pre-show 7 p.m., Oct. 29, Dormouse Theatre, 1030 Portage St., dormousetheatre.com. VISUAL ARTS Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 314 S. Park St., 349-7775, kiarts.org Exhibitions For the People, By the People: America at 250 — Liberty, justice & identity, through Oct. 4. Resilience: A Sansei Sense of Legacy — Stories of WWII Japanese-American internment, through Nov. 1. Among the Beasts: Wild, Tamed & Imagined — Roles of animals in art works, Oct. 28–Jan. 31. Events Free Thursdays — Free admission, 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Gallery Shop Meet & Greet —Meet local artists, 5–7 p.m. Oct. 1. Sheila Pree Bright’s Cotton & Dulce Pinzon’s Catwoman — Discussion, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1; registration encouraged. ¡Noche de Familia! — Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, 6–8 p.m. Oct. 2. Indigenous Voices & the Future of American Art — Discussion with Indigenous artists, 10 a.m.– 1:30 p.m. Oct. 3; registration encouraged. Drop-in Conversations — Chat with docents, 1:30–2:30 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 4. Community Day — Focused on Resilience exhibition, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Oct. 10. Remembering WWII in Japanese Voices — Talk by sociolinguist Noriko Sugimori, noon Oct. 14, registration requested. Book Discussion — George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy, 2 p.m. Oct. 14; registration requested. High School Portfolio Day — Students get portfolio advice, 8–11 a.m. Oct. 15; registration encouraged. The Cats of Mirikitani (2006) — Film screening, 6 p.m. Oct. 15; registration requested. Unframed: Soiree — Fundraiser honoring Joy & Tim Light, 6–9 p.m. Oct. 17; details on website. The Eye is the First Circle (2022) — Film screening, noon Oct. 28, registration requested. Intergenerational Impacts of the Japanese American Wartime Incarceration — Talk by Donna Nagata, 6 p.m. Oct. 29, registration requested.
Other Venues
Book Arts in Italy 2026 — Prints & books, through Oct. 9, Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A, 373–4938, kalbookarts.org. Washington Avenue Arts & Culture Crawl — Family-friendly arts & culture, noon–4 p.m. Oct. 10, various venues, Edison neighborhood, kalamazooarts.org. Some Assembly Required: The Artist’s Books of Julie Chen — Opening Oct. 20, two locations: Netzorg-Kerr Gallery, Richmond Center for Visual Arts, WMU, through Nov. 21, wmich.edu/art; &
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A, through Dec. 18, kalbookarts.org.
Bound To: Artist Books from the WMU Special Collections Library — Oct. 20–Nov. 21, Albertine Monroe-Brown Gallery, Richmond Center for Visual Arts, WMU, wmich.edu/art. LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS Comstock Township Library 6130 King Highway, 345-0136, comstocklibrary.org CTL Writers — Writing discussion, 4 p.m. Oct. 2 & 23.
www.encorekalamazoo.com | 25
EVENTS ENCORE Buck-a-Bag Book Sale — Fill a bag for $1, Oct. 5–17.
Ancestry for Beginners — Tools & resources, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5, Eastwood Branch, 1112 Gayle Ave.
Bujo & Chill — Lo-fi music & bullet journaling, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 24, Oshtemo Branch.
Beth’s Book Club — Allison King’s The Phoenix Pencil Company, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 8 & 10.
Kalamazoo Writers Organization — A collective for local writers, 4 p.m. Oct. 6, Central Library.
Scrabble Club for Adults — 10:30 a.m. Oct. 24, Central Library.
Pride Book Club — Rob Costello’s We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels & Other Creatures, 6 p.m. Oct. 14, registration required.
A Graphic Novel Book Club — Hiromi Goto's Shadow Life, 6 p.m. Oct. 6, Central Library.
Gentle Yoga with Apral — 5:30 p.m. Oct. 26, Eastwood Branch.
Estate Planning Clinic — 3 p.m. Oct. 7, Eastwood Branch.
Adulting 101: Time Management Basics — Methods, lists & creating balance, 6 p.m. Oct. 26, registration required.
Kalamazoo Civic Theatre Book Club — Read books of upcoming shows, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 7, Central Library.
Dungeons & Dragons Game Night — For adults of all levels, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 28, Washington Square; registration required.
Shelf Assured Book Club: Native American Authors —Share a book with the group, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 28; registration required.
The Great Michigan Gathering — Watch party for author Priya Parker, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8, Central Library.
Kalamazoo Public Library 553-7800, kpl.gov
Breathworks — Deep breathing exercises, 11 a.m. Oct. 10 & 24, Eastwood Branch.
Parchment Book Group — Kristina McMorris’s The Edge of Lost, 6 p.m. Oct. 12.
Budgeting for Success — Workshop, 9 a.m. Oct. 1 & 15, Alma Powell Branch, 1000 W. Paterson St.; registration required.
Relax & Meditate with Tai Chi — 11 a.m. Oct. 10, Oshtemo Branch; registration required.
Write Out in the Park — Outdoor writing session, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 13 & 22, lower Kindleberger Park.
Haunted House — With Ghost Hunters host Dustin Pari, noon–6 p.m. Oct. 14; noon–7:30 p.m. Oct. 15, Central Library.
Vinyasa Yoga — All levels, 5:15 p.m. Oct. 14.
Fall in Love with Literacy— Community literacy program, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 3, Central Library; registration required, 315 S. Rose St. Music & Memories — Music for older adults & those with memory loss, 11 a.m. Oct. 5, Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St. KPL Mobile Library — 3:30 p.m. Oct. 5, New Village Park/Heather Gardens, 2400 Albans Way; 10 a.m. Oct. 6, Lodge House, 1211 S. Westnedge Ave.; 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6, Interfaith Homes, 1037 Interfaith Blvd.; 4 p.m. Oct. 7, Douglass Community Association, 1000 W. Paterson St.; 11:30 a.m. Oct. 15, Leisure Time Condominiums, Green Meadow Rd.; 2 p.m. Oct. 15, Leisure Pointe Condominiums, 4814 Weston Ave.; 3:30 p.m. Oct. 19, Milwood Commons, 2031 East Cork St.; 10 a.m. Oct. 28, Kalamazoo Literacy Council, 420 E. Alcott St.; 3 p.m. Oct. 28, Parkview Hills Clubhouse, 3707 Greenleaf Circle; 4 p.m. Oct. 28, Oakwood Neighborhood Association, 3320 Laird Ave.; stops are about one hour unless noted otherwise.
Dungeons & Dragons Monster Mash — Play D&D 5th edition, 6 p.m. Oct. 5, Central Library.
Searching Shadows: A Haunted Lecture — By Ghost Hunters host Dustin Pari, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14, Central Library. Classics Revisited — Jim Harrison’s Dalva, 2:30 p.m. Oct. 15, Central Library. Evolution of a Naturalist: From Lawn Lover to Native Gardener — Talk by Donna Keller, 6 p.m. Oct. 19, Oshtemo Branch. Romance Roundtable — Emma R. Alban’s Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19, Central Library. GLAMA Acoustic Slow Jam — Acoustic string music jam, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20, Central Library. Community Cafe — Movie, board games, puzzles & refreshments, 10 a.m. Oct. 21, Central Library. Ghost Stories with Paul Strickland — Spooky stories, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21, Washington Square Branch, 1244 Portage St. Senior Citizen Breakfast — 10:30 a.m. Oct. 23, Eastwood Branch.
Saturday, Oct 31st & Sunday, Dec 20th 9:00am - 3:00pm
Great Michigan Gathering Kickoff featuring Priya Parker — Watch party, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8.
Chair Yoga — All levels, Oct. 17. Mystery Book Club — Liz Ireland’s Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20. OLLI Senior Readers Theater — Humorous short plays, 1 p.m. Oct. 21. Portage District Library 300 Library Lane, 329-4544, portagelibrary.info Muffins & the Market — Stock market trends & resources, 9 a.m. Oct. 1 & 15. Friends of the Library Book Sale — 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 3. Kalamazoo Area Newcomers Club Open House — 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 3. Stump the Librarian — Test Librarian Ruth’s superhero knowledge, 10 a.m. Oct. 3. Kalamazoo County Historical Society — Local history speakers, 7 p.m. Oct. 5. Yoga with Apral — 4 p.m. Oct. 6 & 22; registration required. Using News Literacy to Find Trustworthy Sources — Workshop, 6 p.m. Oct. 6; registration required. Don’t Fear Paranormal Tourism in Michigan — Dianna Stampfler on Michigan’s dark side & destinations, 3 p.m. Oct. 8; registration required.
KALAMAZOO INDOOR
FLEA MARKET
Parchment Community Library 401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747, parchmentlibrary.org
International Mystery Book Club — Jennifer Givhan’s Salt Bones, 7 p.m. Oct. 8. Booth rentals available contact:
Documentary & Donuts — Cosmic Dawn (2025), 10 a.m.–noon Oct. 9.
269-383-8778
Michael Finkel — Author of The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, 3:30 p.m. Oct. 9; registration required. Tea 101 — 6 p.m. Oct. 12; registration required.
www.kalamazooexpocenter.com 26 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
Cooking Demo & Tasting — Jim Mumford shares samples from his book, PizzaPedia, 6 p.m. Oct. 13; registration required.
ENCORE EVENTS Scary Plants in Your Garden — Petal Pushers Garden Club presents, 12:30 p.m. Oct. 14; registration required. Tobin Buhk — Crime historian & author of True Crimes in the Civil War, 6 p.m. Oct. 14; registration required. Kalamazoo Macintosh Users Group — Help with Mac computers & accessories, 9 a.m.–noon Oct. 17. Saturday Sound Immersion — Wind Willow Consortium plays, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 17; registration required. Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society — Genealogy information, 7 p.m. Oct. 19. Plots & Pages: A Local Writers Group — Writing discussion, 6–8 p.m. Oct. 20. Speed Gaming — 30-minute board game sessions, 6 p.m. Oct. 21; registration required. Light Lunch & Literature — Discuss Michael Finkel’s The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, noon Oct. 26; registration required. Richland Community Library 8951 Park St., 629-9085, richlandlibrary.org Medicare 101: Understanding Your Options — 6 p.m. Oct. 1; registration required. I Love the 80’s … To Death! Murder Mystery — Live actors & 80s fashion, 3–6 p.m. Oct. 3; registration required. Bridge Club — Noon–3 p.m. Tuesdays. Adult Dungeons & Dragons Bravo Team — New crusade, 5 p.m. Oct. 8; 3 p.m. Oct. 14; registration required.
Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses — Author Dianna Stampfler shares stories, 7 p.m. Oct. 8.
Save $5
Richland Area Writer’s Group — Open to new members, noon Oct. 9 & 23, in person & online.
Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A, 373–4938, kalbookarts.org.
Beyond Books: Outdoor Game Day — Explore outdoor games, noon–2:30 p.m. Oct. 10.
Romance Book Club — Maisey Yates' First Witches Club, 6 p.m. Oct. 28, Ned’s on Gull Lake, 15450 M-43, Hickory Corners, richlandlibrary.org; registration required.
Cookbook Club — Explore & share cookbooks, 6 p.m. Oct. 13. Richland Genealogy Group — Discussion group, 10 a.m. Oct. 15, in person & online. RCL Book Club — Emilia Hart’s Weyward, 6 p.m. Oct. 15. Horror Movie Trivia Night — Team play, 6 p.m. Oct. 20; registration required. Nicole Lintemuth — Author of This Book is Dangerous: A Reading Journal, 6 p.m. Oct. 21. Fandom Trivia Night — Team play, 7 p.m. Oct. 27; registration required. Vicksburg District Library 215 S. Michigan Ave, 649-1648, vicksburglibrary.org
Can Poetry Be Funny? — Readings of humorous poems, 6 p.m. Oct. 28, Kalamazoo Public Library Central Branch, 315 S. Rose, friendsofpoetry.org. The Business of Poetry — Tools for navigating the profession, 6 p.m. Oct. 29, KNAC, 315 W. Michigan Ave., kalamazoopoetryfestival.com. MUSEUMS Gilmore Car Museum 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, 671-5089, gilmorecarmuseum.org Overland Car Show — Off-road vehicles, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 3. Flavors of Fall: Color Tour & Bourbon Tasting — 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Oct. 3.
Book Club for Adults — Selection at circulation desk, 9:30 a.m. Oct. 1. Bridge Club — 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays. Writer’s Motivational Group — Set goals & report progress, 4 p.m. Oct. 8. Scrabble Club for Adults — All levels, 1 p.m. Oct. 13. Other Venues Book Chat Cafe — Chat, recommendations & exchange, 10 a.m. Oct. 10, Java Jones, 8885 N. 32nd St., Richland, richlandlibrary.org. Fez Avery & Marcel Fable Price — Poets in Print reading, 7 p.m. Oct. 10, Kalamazoo Book
The Modified — Extreme cars & custom builds, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 10. DeutscheMarques Oktoberfest Market & Color Tour — German cars, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 17. Trunk or Treat — Family event, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Oct. 21. Good Vibrations: A ‘60s Party — 6–9 p.m. Oct. 24. Kalamazoo Valley Museum 230 N. Rose St., 373-7990, kalamazoomuseum.org
Toytopia — Exhibition of toy origins, early arcade games & more, through Jan. 3.
Tickets on Sale Now
on Adult, Senior, Student Tickets Promo Code: 98Encore Offer valid up to 4 tickets Exp. 5-16-27 Not valid on previously purchased tickets or youth productions.
Oct. 23 - Nov. 1
Nov. 6-15
Nov. 27 - Dec. 20
Jan. 15-24
Purchase your tickets at:
KazooCivic.com 269-343-1313
Oct. 2-11
www.encorekalamazoo.com | 27
EVENTS ENCORE Garden Kalamazoo with Writer Camille Dungy — Gathering of local community gardeners with presentation by Dungy, author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden at 7:30 p.m., 6–8:30 p.m. Oct. 15.
Raptor Folklore Talk — Bird omens & blessings, 10 a.m. Oct. 31.
NATURE
Birds & Coffee Chat Online — "Avian Evolution: Are There Dinosaurs at Your Feeder?," 10 a.m. Oct. 14.
Kalamazoo Nature Center 7000 N. Westnedge Ave., 381-1574, naturecenter.org Bird Banding Up Close — The process of bird banding, 9 a.m.–noon Sundays–Fridays. Silver Maples: Native Lawns & Gardens — Program for adults 50+, 11 a.m. Oct. 1; registration required. Kalamazoo River Guardians — Take samples of & identify macroinvertebrates, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Oct. 3; registration required. Birds & Coffee — Guided bird hike, 9 a.m. Oct. 3. Naturalist Exploration Hour — Guided explorations, 10 a.m. Oct. 10. Pop Culture Trivia — Individual or teams up to five, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15; registration required. Raptor Run 5K & Kids Raptor Run — 9 a.m. & 10 a.m. Oct. 17; registration required.
Kellogg Bird Sanctuary 12685 East C Ave., Augusta, 671-2510, birdsanctuary@kbs.msu.edu
Birding Hike — Led by staff, 9 a.m. Oct. 22. Owl Prowl — Night walk calling for owls, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22. Other Venues KAS General Meeting — Astrophotography Night, 7–9:15 p.m. Oct. 2, Kalamazoo Math & Science Center, 600 W. Vine St., kasonline.org. Beginning Birding Walk — 9 a.m. Oct. 3; Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery's 2nd parking lot, 34270 County Road 652, Mattawan, kalamazooaudubon. org. KAS Public Observing Session — The Great Square, 7–10 p.m. Oct. 3; The Moon & Galaxies of Autumn, 7–10 p.m. Oct. 17; Kalamazoo Nature Center, 7000 N. Westnedge Ave., kasonline.org. MISCELLANEOUS
Volunteer Tree Planting Day — 4–6 p.m. Oct. 21; registration encouraged.
Olde Tyme Harvest Festival — Hayrides, demonstrations & antique tractors, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Oct. 2–3, Scotts Mill County Park, 8451 S. 35th St., 579-4627, scottstractorshow.org.
Garden Prep Masterclass — Three-session gardening workshop, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21; Nov. 4 & 18; registration required.
Vicksburg Farmers Market — 2–6 p.m. Oct. 2; 300 N. Richardson St., vicksburgfarmersmarket.com.
Golf Cart Tours — 10 a.m., noon & 2 p.m. Oct. 22; registration required.
Kalamazoo Farmers Market — 7 a.m.–1 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 31, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Tuesdays through Oct. 6 & Thursdays through Oct. 8; 1204 Bank St.; kzoofarmmarket.com.
Discover KNC — Guided hike of Beech Maple Trail, 2 p.m. Oct. 17.
Autumn Color Hike — Cooper’s Glen, 10 a.m. Oct. 24. Beer, Bread & Blight: How Fungi Have Shaped Human History — Presentation, 2 p.m. Oct. 24; registration required. Tricks & Trails — Costumes, candy & crafts, 4–7 p.m. Oct. 24; register or drop-in. Haunted Night Hike — 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30; registration required.
Texas Township Farmers Market — 8 a.m.–noon Saturdays through Oct. 17, 7110 West Q Ave., texastownship.org/168/farmers-market. Kalamazoo County Expo Center Events — Kalamazoo Indoor Garage Sale, Oct. 3 & 4; Kalamazoo Ham Fest 2026, Oct. 3; Kalamazoo Record & CD Show, Oct. 4; Kalamazoo County
Senior Expo, Oct. 6; Stamp & Cover Show, Oct. 9 & 10; Ultimate Collectible Expo, Oct. 10; Geek Fest, Oct. 10; West Michigan Oddfest, Oct. 11, MacDudley’s Mystic Market, Oct. 17; Psychic & Holistic Expo, Oct. 23, 24 & 25; Harvest Craft Show, Oct. 24 & 25; Dia de Los Muertos, Oct. 30; Kalamazoo Indoor Flea Market, Oct. 31; Kalamazoo Numismatic Club Annual Fall Coin Show, Oct. 31; Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 2900 Lake St.; for event hours, visit kalcounty.gov. White Cane 5K Walk/Run — To raise awareness of & connection with the blind community, Oct. 3, Spring Valley Park, 2600 Mount Olivet Road, whitecane5k.com. Vicksburg Historical Society Cemetery Tours — Walking tour & storytelling, 3–6 p.m. Oct. 3, Schoolcraft Township Cemetery, 333 W. Highway St., vicksburgmi.org; tickets required. Portage Farmers Market — 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 11, 125 E. Centre Ave., mypark.portagemi.gov. Honorable Harvest Lecture Series — Exploring the principle that humans should give back to the land that sustains them, 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Nov. 17, KVCC’s Schlack Culinary & Allied Health Building, 418 E. Walnut St.; schedule at valleyhub.kvcc.edu. Harvest Fest — Live music, vendors & food trucks, 5–9 p.m. Oct. 9, Kalamazoo Farmers Market, 1204 Bank St., foodtruckrallykz.com. Boos in the Zoo — Trick-or-treating & costume fun, noon–4 p.m. Oct. 10, downtown Kalamazoo. Vintage in the Zoo — Vintage & handmade goods, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Oct. 11, Kalamazoo Farmers Market, 1204 Bank St., vintageinthezoo.com. Arts & Eats Tour — Driving tour of studios, galleries, farms & eateries in SW Michigan, Oct. 17 & 18, facebook.com/artsandeats; map online. Monster Mash — Trick-or-treating, hayrides, pumpkin-carving & drive-in movie, 3–7 p.m. Oct. 17, Ramona Park, 8600 S. Sprinkle Road; movie parking starts at 5:30 p.m., portagemi.gov/950/ events. The Tillers Lantern Ride & Local Ghostly Legends — Horse-drawn rides with folklore & frights, Oct. 24, Tillers International, 10515 E. OP Ave., Scotts, tillersinternational.org. Halloween Forest — Costume contest & games, 2–4 p.m. Oct. 24, Milham Park, 607 E. Kilgore, kzooparks.org. 10th Annual Arctoberfest — Auction benefitting Arc Community Advocates, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 29, Radisson Plaza Hotel, 100 W. Michigan Ave., communityadvocates.org; tickets required.
28 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
ENCORE BACK STORY Matt Forkin (continued from page 30) really cool to know they're bringing their kids because of the experience they had.” After a busy summer, the club is hosting weekday after-school programs, which include sports; learning to paint with watercolors, make pottery or do graphic design; creating music; and even learning 3D printing or computer coding for programming drones. During a tour of the new building, Forkin credits his staff, board, donors and wife, Taryn, for their partnerships during a very busy year. “I’ve seen that if you work hard (and) you put the kids first, anything's possible. I think I'm a testament to that. Surround yourself with the right people, listen, learn and what's meant to be, will be.” How did you get where you are today? I was born and raised on the east side of the state and moved here for college. I come from a very blue-collar home, and one of the tenets of my childhood was to learn how to work hard. The message at home was: “You need to go and get a degree because that's going to afford you a life of non-manual labor.” I was never a strong student, and coming to WMU proved no different. When I was 19, I saw a posting for a summer camp counselor, and I thought that was something I could do. I completely fell in love with it once I saw how the Boys and Girls Clubs can help lift people up. A fulltime opportunity became available here and I took it. I didn’t finish my degree, but I think challenging the norm is part of what the club does. I've had a lot of luck and a lot of privilege along the way, but sometimes you can create your own luck. I started as a youth development professional, which is our frontline staff, the most important and hardest position that we have. I had a ton of really good mentors who challenged me to be the best version of myself in order to help young people reach that in themselves. I always talk about how the club is a place of belonging for young people, but I also found a place that I belonged. Last year I served as interim CEO for about six months, and then last fall I was named the permanent CEO.
Tell us about the club's beautiful new building. We opened June 8, and from the start, we hit our capacity of 120 kids. The original plan was for the building to be two stories at 35,000 square feet and cost about $7 million, but then Covid-19 hit (boosting construction costs). We ended up with a one-story building with 22,000 square feet, costing $12.5 million, but we built the mechanical system to allow us to build that second story when we can. A facility like this gives us the opportunity to do so much more to give young people a place where they feel supported. This building is so full of life and learning — it’s a place where we learn to fail and pick ourselves back up and to push ourselves in ways that we didn't know we could. As an example of the magic about this place, two weeks ago we couldn't get our 3D printer figured out because we just don't have experts in house. One of our teens sat there and figured it out. They unlocked this area of their brain that maybe they didn't know was there. It was really cool to see that unfold in real time. During the school year, we're open from 3 to 7 p.m. for drop-ins, with lots of choices of what to do, and from 7 to 8 p.m. for targeted, small group programs. We'll have a washer and dryer soon, because clean clothes can be really important to kids. Our commercial kitchen is nearing completion, and we’ll be able to do programming in the culinary arts. We had nearly 75 teens getting their food safety certification this summer, something that can help them get that first job.
The learning that happens here is sometimes unconventional, but it's meaningful and it's authentic. When you see young people here learning, they’re doing it out of excitement and passion. What keeps you up at night? Imagining how we, as an organization, can be better. That's what keeps us coming back to work every day, why we have so many staff that have been here for so long. Something this powerful doesn't happen from any one person doing it alone, and that's the spirit here: Everything should be a partnership, because when we have more minds around the table, we have more energy, skill sets and life experience, and that's how really magical things happen. For instance, the past five summers we've partnered with the Kalamazoo Civic to do a free theater camp where kids get top-tier dance, theater and vocal training, culminating in a full-on musical performance. This year, we produced Matilda, and it was unbelievable to see the growth from day one to that final showcase 10 weeks later. What does the organization need from the community? Beyond financial support, it would be volunteering your skills. We need somebody who might teach kids to sew or print T-shirts, do 3D printing or graphic design, or people who love the game of basketball or gardening or reading to kids. Sometimes it takes someone else to believe in us for us to believe in ourselves, and that's what the club can do. I've given this place so much because it deserves nothing less. — Interview by Katie Houston, edited for length and clarity
Business Coverage
• Commercial Property • General Liability • Business Automobile • Commercial Umbrella
Schoolcraft
(269)679-4918
Personal Coverage • Homeowners • Automobile • Umbrella Liability • Life Insurance • Annuities
www.myhighstreet.com www.encorekalamazoo.com | 29
BACK STORY ENCORE
Matt Forkin
From camp counselor to CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs
T
he Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo, an organization that started in the 1950s, has operated from 17 locations in that time but is now settling in at its new home at Portage and Vine streets, in Kalamazoo’s Edison neighborhood. And Chief Executive Officer Matt Forkin has been part of the organization since signing on as a summer camp counselor 17 years ago. “We were here in Edison for nearly 50 years, so we’re excited to rebuild relationships with second and third generations of families,” the 36-year-old says. “When I'm working the pickup line (where parents pick up their children) outside, I see so many former club members from when I was 22 and they were 15. It's (continued on page 29)
30 | ENCORE OCTOBER 2026
SPONSORED CONTENT
AZO: Our Airport Brings the World to Us By Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport Staff
When we talk about Kalamazoo/
Battle Creek International Airport, we naturally think about where it can take us for business trips, family vacations, and weekend getaways. But there is another side of the story that is just as important: Our airport brings the world to us. On average, about 40% of the passengers using AZO are people who are not from the Kalamazoo area. Many are coming here to visit family and friends, but importantly, others are here to attend a meeting or conference, interview for a job, visit a customer, meet with a supplier, or explore an investment opportunity. This provides real economic value to the Southwest Michigan. That statistic is a reminder that an airport is a two-way door. It doesn't just help local residents get out; it gives people from other communities a convenient way to get in. Consider the perspective of a local company recruiting an executive from another state. Or a local manufacturer inviting an important customer to tour its facility. The visitor's experience begins long before they arrive at the company's front door. How easily can they get here? How many connections are required? How far will they have to drive after landing? Being able to tell that customer or prospective employee, “Fly into Kalamazoo,” has real value beyond the airport’s property lines. It also matters when companies are deciding where to locate or expand their operations. Economic developers and site-selection consultants consider a wide range of factors, including workforce, utilities, available property, transportation infrastructure and access to markets. Airport access is one part of that equation because companies need to move people as well as products.
Start your next trip even sooner.
AZO is closer. FLYAZO.COM And this isn't just a consideration for major metropolitan areas. Columbia, Missouri, offers a compelling example. Like Kalamazoo, Columbia is a regional community with much larger airports within driving distance. Rather than simply accepting that residents and businesses would drive to those airports, Columbia invested in strengthening its own regional airport. More importantly, the community viewed air service as part of its economic-development strategy, recognizing that better access could help attract and retain businesses, employees and investment. An airport doesn't have to offer nonstop service to everywhere to be valuable. It needs to provide businesses with convenient access to the larger markets where their customers, employees and business partners are located. The value of AZO isn't measured only by how many nonstop destinations appear on the departure board. Its value also lies in the people who can reach Southwest Michigan because those flights exist.
A passenger connecting through Chicago or Detroit may ultimately be headed to Kalamazoo to do business with a local company. Those connections have an economic value that isn't always visible on an airport's passenger count. We often talk about roads and highways as critical infrastructure because they connect our businesses and communities to the rest of the country. An airport does something similar on a much larger geographic scale. It provides an on-ramp to the national and global transportation network. And that onramp works in both directions. AZO helps Southwest Michigan reach the world. But just as importantly, it gives the world a way to reach Southwest Michigan. That's why having a commercial airport in our community matters—not simply for where we can go, but for who can come here, what businesses can accomplish here and what opportunities can find their way to our doorstep. Our airport doesn't just connect us to the world. It brings the world to us.
Organized in conjunction with
Barrett Barrera Projects Made possible by generous support from
Diane & Randy Eberts
Images clockwise from left: Maiko Takeda, Atmospheric Re-entry head piece, 2013. Photo: Barrett Barrera Projects. Courtesy of Barrett Barrera Projects. Jessica Stockholder, UNTITLED / IPCNY, 2001, relief print, wood engraving, embossment, fake fur, yellow Lake Como silk and uphostery. Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Gift of the International Print Center New York, 2010.7 Hung Liu, Lady Lotus, 2016, mixed media on panel. Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Joy Light East Asian Art Acquisition and Exhibition Fund, 2017.38
Statement Pieces: Fashioning the Self & Society
Explore how self-expression has been presented, shaped, and reimagined.
Nov. 7, 2026–Feb. 7, 2027
kiarts.org