GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Some are questioning a decision to allow alcohol to be served in an ArtPrize hospitality tent located next to a facility that treats alcohol addiction.
This weekend, the Waterfront Film Festival has plans to host a hospitality tent on Sheldon Boulevard SE. The festivities will include serving alcohol.
The tent is located right next to Spectrum Health’s Center for Integrative Medicine, which treats people suffering from alcohol addiction in addition to chronic illnesses.
Waterfront Film Festival organizers said the entrance and exit to the beer garden would be further away from the clinic. They weren’t aware of any concerns, they told FOX 17.
“We just wanted to have an area for people to congregate and enjoy some music,” said Kori Eldean, co-founder of the Waterfront Film Festival. The festival is participating in ArtPrize buy screening films.
“Center staff are working to alleviate access issues for patients,” said Spectrum Health in a statement. “Some patient appointments on Friday are being rescheduled. Fortunately, the center and tent will only overlap for two hours [Friday] afternoon.”
Spectrum officials also said they’ve spoken to ArtPrize and Waterfront about the issue, adding the two groups apparently weren’t aware of the clinic’s work. They said they’re working to make sure this doesn’t happen again next year.
