Kalamazoo's Bronson Park is the centerpiece of the city's downtown and features sculptures, war monuments, and historical markers and hosts various festivals and cultural events. Maps for self-directed walking/driving tours of three historic districts throughout Kalamazoo are available from the Convention Bureau and at City Hall. The Village of Schoolcraft offers tours by appointment of the 1835 Underground Railroad Home where a local physician once hid escaped slaves.
Kalamazoo Valley Museum, in the city's downtown, features a Digistar theater and planetarium, a creative preschool activity area, and the Challenger Learning Center, in which children can take off on a simulated space mission. It also houses a 2,300-year-old mummy and hands-on science and history exhibits. The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts includes an interactive gallery called ARTworks, a new community auditorium, and a museum store.
The Kalamazoo Nature Center has an exhibit hall where visitors can perform experiments, learn about plants and animals, and view natural objects magnified 10-fold. Its Parfet Butterfly House provides an indoor tropical sun-rain room, an outdoor garden, and a barn which houses farm animals. Also on site are an 11-acre arboretum and nature trails that are wheelchair and stroller accessible. In nearby Augusta is the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary where year-round visitors can walk a self-guided trail and observe the native waterfowl and birds of prey along Wintergreen Lake. Also in Augusta is the Fort Custer National Cemetery, an official burial ground for U.S. veterans, which contains the graves of 26 German soldiers held as American prisoners during World War II.
The Kalamazoo Air Zoo presents a display of over 60 vintage aircraft and an area that allows visitors to climb into mock cockpits and pretend to fly. Rides include a virtual reality simulator and a four-dimensional theater that puts visitors in the middle of a World War II bombing mission. In nearby Hickory Corners, auto buffs can visit Gilmore Car Museum, rated one of the ten best in the country. The museum outlines the development of the American car in a six-barn, 90-acred, landscaped setting and features almost 200 vehicles from the past century.
Visitors to what was once known as "Celery City" can experience what life was like during the city's past in nearby Portage, were the Celery Flats Interpretive Center features exhibits of the age of celery production. Music lovers can visit the Gibson/Heritage Guitar building, a factory where Gibson Guitars were built in the early 1900s.
The Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, eight miles west of Kalamazoo, has hourly tours, a slide show, and a display pond. The Kellogg Dairy Center in Hickory Corners provides various tours where visitors can learn about the dairy cycle and observe a computerized milking parlor.
Miller Auditorium at the Western Michigan University campus made its debut in 1968 and now is the site of touring Broadway shows, conventions, and jazz, rock, and symphonic concerts. Wings Stadium hosts arena-style concerts of popular music acts for audiences of about 8,000. The 1,569-seat State Theatre, built in 1927, features music and comedy performers under a star-spangled sky projected on the ceiling. Chenery Auditorium hosts concerts and travel-film series at this handsome 1,900-seat public facility. The intimate 200-seat Suzanne D. Parish Theatre carries several plays throughout the year while the Carver Center hosts the Civic Arena Theatre, Civic Black Theatre, and Kalamazoo Civic Youth Theatre, among others.
Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium is also the home of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) that presents a full concert series, as well as chamber and family concerts year-round. KSO also offers free summer concerts at local parks. Fontana Chamber Arts presents chamber music concerts at various sites throughout the city. The Kalamazoo Concert Band, made up of adult musicians and founded in 1961, presents a series of concerts at several local venues. An array of dance performances, from ballet and folk to highland flings are presented by the Kalamazoo Ballet Company at the Comstock Community Auditorium and other sites throughout the city.
Several area theaters offer a variety of performances such as WMU's Irving S. Gilmore Theatre Complex, the Actors & Playwrights' Initiative (API) Theatre, and the Whole Art Theater Company. The New Vic Theatre presents both experimental and traditional fare, including an annual holiday schedule of A Christmas Carol. During its 16-week summer-stock season, the Barn Theatre in nearby Augusta draws about 50,000 patrons.
Autumn in Kalamazoo offers the National Street Rod Association race at the Kalamazoo County while the annual Festival of Trees takes place at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in November. December brings the New Year's Fest at Bronson Park and surrounding buildings.
The cold winter weather is perfect for January's Great Winter Adventure featuring ice sculpting, and at nearby Timber Ridge visitors can enjoy a variety of snow-related activities at the Winter Fest Fun event. March turns downtown green for the St. Patrick's Day parade; the Kalamazoo Nature Center is sticky sweet with the Maple Sugar Festival.
The Annual Spring Conference on Wind and Percussion takes place at WMU/Miller Auditorium in early April and proud canines are the focus of the West Michigan Apple Blossom Cluster A.K.C. Dog Show at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds in May.
Among June's activities are the Mayfair celebration at Bronson Park, the Dionysos Greekfest, and the Island Fest at Arcadia Festival Site. Also in June are the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts's Art Fair at Bronson Park, the Do-Dah Parade downtown, and the Parade of Homes, which takes place throughout the Kalamazoo area. The actors of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival take the stage at the Celery Flats Amphitheater at the end of the month.
In July, the Great Lakes Folk Festival is at Celery Flats and the Team U.S. National Hot-Air Balloon championship takes flight at Kellogg Airfield in Battle Creek. Other July events include the Blues Festival, a Taste of Kalamazoo at the Arcadia Festival Place, Warbirds Over Kalamazoo at the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, and the Silver Leaf Renaissance Faire, which is presented on certain weekends at the River Oaks County Park.
The Kalamazoo County Fair at the Fairgrounds brings food and fun to the citizenry in August, which is also the month for the Ribfest at the Arcadia Festival Site, the weeklong Black Arts Festival that can be seen at various downtown locations, the two-day Red Barns Spectacular at the Gilmore Car Museum, and the Scottish Fest at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds.
Arcadia Creek in downtown Kalamazoo is a popular festival area that features a natural river encased underground and surrounded by a park. Every other spring, Kalamazoo is the site of the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, which involves more than 100 keyboard-related events that take place throughout western Michigan.
Kalamazoo's professional hockey team, the Michigan K-Wings, is in the United Hockey League (UHL) and plays at Wings Stadium. The Kalamazoo area is also home to the men's Kalamazoo Kingdom and women's Kalamazoo Quest of the United Soccer Leagues. Stowe Stadium at Kalamazoo College hosts the U.S. Tennis Association Boys' 18–16 National Championships every year. Since 1980 the Little League Girls' Softball Senior and Big League World Series is held at Vanderberg Park. NASCAR racing has a weekly series at the Kalamazoo Speedway.
Fans of college sports have many events from which to choose. Western Michigan University has men's baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, soccer, tennis, and track/cross country, while women compete in basketball, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball, golf, precision ice skating, and track/cross country. Many of the competitions are open to spectators.
Kalamazoo College has varsity men's teams competing in baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, and tennis. Women's teams compete in basketball, cross country, softball, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and golf. The Cougars of Kalamazoo Valley Community College have intercollegiate competitions in volleyball, basketball, softball, and tennis for women, and basketball, baseball, tennis, and golf for men.
The city of Kalamazoo has 55 parks that cover nearly 1,300 acres. The city has three golf courses and many more are nearby. Kalamazoo County offers more than 100 public outdoor tennis courts including Kalamazoo College's Stowe Stadium and boating opportunities on nearby Gull Lake and Lake Michigan. The Kal-Haven Trail, which runs from the city to South Haven, Michigan, is a biking/hiking/snowmobile/cross country skiing trail that runs for 34 miles. Water sports are readily accessed via the area's 83 public-access lakes.
Kalamazoo has four major shopping malls. Kalamazoo Mall, once famous as the first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the country, is now open to traffic and features a variety of shops, galleries, and dining establishments. Four large department stores anchor the Crossroads regional shopping mall, which has more than 100 specialty stores and restaurants. Maple Hill Mall, home to a major office store and discount and specialty stores, underwent renovations in 2001, expanding to 642,000 square feet. Southland Mall features office, book, and clothing shops, as well as other retail stores.
Southwestern Michigan is known for its wineries and microbreweries, whose products can be enjoyed at the wide selection of restaurants in Kalamazoo. Dining choices run from ethnic restaurants featuring Mexican, Italian, Greek, Australian, and Chinese to local and chain establishments that serve hearty American fare, such as St. Louis-style ribs, seafood, fresh fish, prime rib, and other favorites. The Black Swan provides gourmet continental cuisine with choices like leg of lamb or beef Wellington for two in its attractive location on Willow Lake. Webster's Restaurant at the Radisson Plaza hotel is western Michigan's only AAA Four Diamond Award-winning restaurant, and features seafood, chops, pasta, and fresh desserts.
Visitor Information: Kalamazoo County Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Chamber Building, 346 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49007-3783; telephone (269)381-4003; toll-free (800)530-9192