1. The time-honored tradition of the Amway Riverbank Run returns to Grand Rapids this weekend.
Thousands of runners will fill the streets Saturday to compete in five races, including the Marquee 25k.
The day starts out with 5k runners hitting the streets at 7 a.m. For all the details head to amwayriverbankrun.com.
2. Local letter carriers will again collect food during this Saturday’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
Postal customers are encouraged to leave a bag or box of food by their mailbox, and it will be collected by their letter carrier and delivered to local food banks in our area.
Most needed items are canned meats and proteins, canned vegetables, and canned fruit but any non-perishable items are welcome.
Stamp Out Hunger is the nation's largest one-day food drive, with 1.82 billion pounds of food collected since it began in 1993, including 41.2 million pounds last year.
3. The mayor of Grand Rapids proclaimed to thank the nurses at Mary Free Bed and within the Grand Rapids community during National Nurses Week.
Nurses make up the nation's largest healthcare profession. Grand Rapids nurses cover a variety of settings, including acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, physician offices, home care, schools, and more.
The official proclamation will be on display at Mary Free Bed when National Nurses Week is over.
4. The Grand Rapids Public Library will host free programs throughout May in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Cartoonist Gene Luen Yang, who wrote graphic novels like "Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search" and "American Born Chinese," will give a talk at 2 p.m. on May 14 at the main library.
Registration is required at the library's website. After the talk, yang will sign books at Eastown Bookstore Books and Mortar.
Then on May 16, Jennifer Tompkins, community history and education director of the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Foundation, will tell the stories of Japanese American World War II soldiers from West Michigan.
5. Great food and great times. The 5th Annual Roll'n Out Food Truck Fest is being held on Sunday, May 21 on Ottawa Avenue, Calder Plaza, and the 5/3 Bank parking deck.
The event, free and open to the public, will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and feature 44 food trucks and trailers, a constellation brands bar, a merchant market, stage entertainment, a picnic area, and family activities.
All the detail are at gr8foodtrucks.com.
