Community Calendar

Djékady is a collaboration between West African musician Balla Kouyaté and Grammy-winning cellist Mike Block. Their ensemble puts Malian music into conversation with American folk music and contemporary styles, allowing new shoots to sprout from his family’s musical tree.

Balla Kouyaté has been featured on numerous albums, including the Silkroad Ensembles’s Sing Me Home and Yo-Yo Ma’s Songs of Joy and Peace. His music has been recorded for the Library of Congress and heard in venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, and The Kennedy Center as well as festivals throughout the United States and Europe. As an educator, Kouyaté has offered masterclasses in universities and schools across the country, and he was chosen as a NEA National Heritage Fellow in 2019.

Mike Block is a Grammy Award-winning cellist, singer and composer with a passion for cross-cultural collaboration. Hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene,” (Gramophone) he has been a member of the Silkroad Ensemble for nearly twenty years. Yo-Yo Ma calls Block “the ideal musician for the 21st century,” saying, “I’m always struck by his unique perspective on the world and his relaxed and confident approach; he takes on new music and new things fearlessly.”

Bird Banding Up Close

Wednesdays, August 27 – September 24, 8-10 am (weather permitting)

Wednesdays, October 1 – October 29, 9-11 am (weather permitting)

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission
Audience: All ages
Meet: Banding Barn near KNC Camp

For half a century, the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory’s team of researchers has been banding birds. This long-running program has contributed data on over 650,000 birds to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory that is actively being used for scientific research, management and conservation of birds across the country. As we embark on our 52nd year of this critical work, we invite you to come witness the intricate process of bird banding and observe these beautiful birds up close at the KNC Banding Barn.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab

Bird Banding Up Close

Wednesdays, August 27 – September 24, 8-10 am (weather permitting)

Wednesdays, October 1 – October 29, 9-11 am (weather permitting)

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission
Audience: All ages
Meet: Banding Barn near KNC Camp

For half a century, the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory’s team of researchers has been banding birds. This long-running program has contributed data on over 650,000 birds to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory that is actively being used for scientific research, management and conservation of birds across the country. As we embark on our 52nd year of this critical work, we invite you to come witness the intricate process of bird banding and observe these beautiful birds up close at the KNC Banding Barn.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab

Bird Banding Up Close

Wednesdays, August 27 – September 24, 8-10 am (weather permitting)

Wednesdays, October 1 – October 29, 9-11 am (weather permitting)

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission
Audience: All ages
Meet: Banding Barn near KNC Camp

For half a century, the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory’s team of researchers has been banding birds. This long-running program has contributed data on over 650,000 birds to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory that is actively being used for scientific research, management and conservation of birds across the country. As we embark on our 52nd year of this critical work, we invite you to come witness the intricate process of bird banding and observe these beautiful birds up close at the KNC Banding Barn.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab

The Lantern of Lost Memories tells the story of Mr. Hirasaki’s magical photo studio, a gateway to the afterlife where the departed revisit their memories through a “spinning lantern.” Guests—including a kind yakuza, a devoted teacher, and a young girl—relive their past and choose one cherished moment to photograph. This emotional story celebrates memory, love, and beauty. Discussion will relate themes in the book with the exhibition Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper.

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.
All book discussions are free, open to the public, and take place in-person at the Meader Fine Arts Library. Participants do not need to have read the book, but it will help facilitate the overall discussion. Preregistration is encouraged.

Bird Banding Up Close

Wednesdays, August 27 – September 24, 8-10 am (weather permitting)

Wednesdays, October 1 – October 29, 9-11 am (weather permitting)

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission
Audience: All ages
Meet: Banding Barn near KNC Camp

For half a century, the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory’s team of researchers has been banding birds. This long-running program has contributed data on over 650,000 birds to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory that is actively being used for scientific research, management and conservation of birds across the country. As we embark on our 52nd year of this critical work, we invite you to come witness the intricate process of bird banding and observe these beautiful birds up close at the KNC Banding Barn.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab

Enjoy free admission and extended hours until 8pm on Thursdays. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program and the Efroymson Family Fund.

Chinese, Korean, and Japanese artists have been painting pictures of birds for more than 1000 years. With an estimated 50 billion birds flying around us all the time, this comes as little surprise. Birders, who partake in one of the globe’s fastest-growing, multi-generational pastimes, know our feathered friends offer endless variety and incredible beauty. During this Joy Light Lecture in East Asian Art, Dr. Robert Mintz will guide our exploration of East Asian “bird and flower painting” through the joy of “artistic bird-watching.”

Kalamazoo Art League is delighted to sponsor this year’s Joy Light Lecture in East Asian Art and will provide a reception before the presentation, starting at 5:30 pm.

Dr. Mintz is the Chief Curatorial Director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. A specialist in 18th-century Japanese painting, he oversees the art research and exhibitions program and guides the growth, preservation, and presentation of the museum’s Asian and Asian American art collections.

All hybrid events will be livestreamed to our YouTube page and can be found under the “Live” tab. Recordings of select past events are available on YouTube as well.

Bird Banding Up Close

Wednesdays, August 27 – September 24, 8-10 am (weather permitting)

Wednesdays, October 1 – October 29, 9-11 am (weather permitting)

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission
Audience: All ages
Meet: Banding Barn near KNC Camp

For half a century, the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory’s team of researchers has been banding birds. This long-running program has contributed data on over 650,000 birds to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory that is actively being used for scientific research, management and conservation of birds across the country. As we embark on our 52nd year of this critical work, we invite you to come witness the intricate process of bird banding and observe these beautiful birds up close at the KNC Banding Barn.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab

Raptor Run 5K & Kids Raptor Run
Saturday, October 18, 2025

Start off your day at the popular 5K Raptor Run/Walk along some of KNC’s most beautiful trails. The untimed run/walk includes steep hills, forest views, and a variety of terrain. Younger participants can join the Kids’ Raptor Run for ages 8 and under on a stroller-friendly, 1K romp around the Habitat Haven Trail.