Community Calendar

In the quiet glow of a moonlit junkyard, a community of cats gathers for one extraordinary night. They dance, they sing, they tell their stories — each one hoping to be chosen for a new life.

Western Michigan University’s production of CATS brings this beloved musical into the intimate Williams Theatre, placing the audience right in the heart of the Jellicle Ball. With characters that range from rebellious to wise, mysterious to magical, this is a show about identity, memory, and connection — told through music that leaps off the stage and choreography that fills every corner of the space.

What if, just for an evening, you could step into a café where people simply lived together — enjoying coffee, ice cream, love, and laughter — without the barriers that so often divide us? That’s the gentle power of Utopia, a play by Charles L. Mee. As a mother and daughter watch lives unfolding around them, we hear tender confessions, playful debates, and dreams shared across tables. Different perspectives collide and comfort, inviting us to imagine a world where everyone belongs and small joys are truly enough. Warm, thoughtful, and quietly profound, Utopia reminds us how good life might feel — and how it still could be.

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

In the quiet glow of a moonlit junkyard, a community of cats gathers for one extraordinary night. They dance, they sing, they tell their stories — each one hoping to be chosen for a new life.

Western Michigan University’s production of CATS brings this beloved musical into the intimate Williams Theatre, placing the audience right in the heart of the Jellicle Ball. With characters that range from rebellious to wise, mysterious to magical, this is a show about identity, memory, and connection — told through music that leaps off the stage and choreography that fills every corner of the space.

What if, just for an evening, you could step into a café where people simply lived together — enjoying coffee, ice cream, love, and laughter — without the barriers that so often divide us? That’s the gentle power of Utopia, a play by Charles L. Mee. As a mother and daughter watch lives unfolding around them, we hear tender confessions, playful debates, and dreams shared across tables. Different perspectives collide and comfort, inviting us to imagine a world where everyone belongs and small joys are truly enough. Warm, thoughtful, and quietly profound, Utopia reminds us how good life might feel — and how it still could be.

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

Learn and create with us during an interactive ArtBreak that will highlight the power of sharing stories and experiences in order to unite communities! “The Rope Project” began in 2017 as an alternative arts initiative woven together by Education for the Arts’ visual teaching artists, whose hope was to bring students across the county together to share stories celebrating their community and their unique experiences. These stories are written on fabric and tied together to form a rope using a rope-making machine.

Gayle Swank-Reyes, with the help of her EFA advanced high school students, will discuss the history of the rope-making project and share some of the projects inspired by the ropes and the stories they hold. Attendees will then be invited to contribute their stories to a rope we will create together. This rope will later be incorporated into a project that EFA students will develop during the school year.

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.

In the quiet glow of a moonlit junkyard, a community of cats gathers for one extraordinary night. They dance, they sing, they tell their stories — each one hoping to be chosen for a new life.

Western Michigan University’s production of CATS brings this beloved musical into the intimate Williams Theatre, placing the audience right in the heart of the Jellicle Ball. With characters that range from rebellious to wise, mysterious to magical, this is a show about identity, memory, and connection — told through music that leaps off the stage and choreography that fills every corner of the space.

What if, just for an evening, you could step into a café where people simply lived together — enjoying coffee, ice cream, love, and laughter — without the barriers that so often divide us? That’s the gentle power of Utopia, a play by Charles L. Mee. As a mother and daughter watch lives unfolding around them, we hear tender confessions, playful debates, and dreams shared across tables. Different perspectives collide and comfort, inviting us to imagine a world where everyone belongs and small joys are truly enough. Warm, thoughtful, and quietly profound, Utopia reminds us how good life might feel — and how it still could be.

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