As far as European settlers go, missionaries and fur traders settled the area around Grand Rapids. To honor the preceding Hopewell peoples who long before settled a larger area in the country that includes present-day Grand Rapids, there are symbolic burial grounds along the Grand River. The riverwalk also includes a monument to that symbol of civilization, fluoridation. (There’s no Dr. Strangelove here.) Charming neighborhoods and President Ford’s Presidential Museum are here. Grand Rapids along with Kalamazoo and Battle Creek command a slew of radio stations. The list alone makes me wonder if I’m reading a list for Manhattan. Whew! The Polar Express had its premiere here. (Great movie. The author of the book lives here.) There are free concerts at the end of summer at Celebration on the Grand. In June each year since 1970 the Festival of the Arts has been going strong. Alexander Calder’s sculpture, La Grande Vitesse, was the first project funded by the National Endowment of the Arts in 1969. Come see.