A Tranquil History Lesson

By Brendan
May 21, 2012
Mt Hope Cemetery

A tranquil history lesson awaits at Mt. Hope Cemetery.

We always have a bunch of cool attractions and fun spots for the participants to explore during the annual Be A Tourist in Your Own Town, but this year there is something particularly neat and very different that you just have to check out.

It’s a really interesting way to learn about the history of an area when you can walk through and explore the local cemetery. I mean it! I know maybe it’s macabre, but hey, when you have a big community like Greater Lansing and the oldest and biggest cemetery around like the Mt. Hope Cemetery, you’re bound to get a huge dose of local history. Whether its old distant relatives of your own or famous Lansing residents from the past, it’s a cool way to learn about those who came before us and left their marks which now shape our community. Look for grave stones that have last names that remind you of streets around town. Don’t miss the R.E. Olds Mausoleum, maybe Lansing’s most influential resident ever.

Anyone who has ever been to Mt. Hope Cemetery will also tell you about the unique geographic topography of the area. Apparently the area inside the cemetery is very hilly and extreme due to ancient glacial activity that carved out some very steep hills and drop-offs. I know this first hand as my high school track team used to run these hills for intense workouts back in the day. Brutal!

Then, from an artistic perspective a tour through the cemetery is truly inspiring. The cool old statues and monuments evoke a lot of emotion and will likely spark deep and memorable conversation with your companions that day. Do something different, peaceful, interesting and informative on the day of Be A Tourist In Your Own Town this year on June 2nd, 2012 and take a tour of the Mt. Hope Cemetery!

P.S. if you’re afraid this will be kind of a bummer or creepy somehow, don’t worry. Just about every other stop on the day of Be A tourist is sure to cheer your party up significantly. Go from the cemetery to the Potter Park Zoo and then for some ice cream at the MSU Dairy Store — ya big baby…

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Lori’s Helpful Tips for Be A Tourist (Part 3)

By Lori in Lansing
May 17, 2012

Be A Tourist in Your Own Town is coming up and we frequently hear the lament that there’s too much to fit into one day. Well, then, isn’t that a great problem to have? That Greater Lansing has such an abundance of things to see and do is a boon to our region. Since this is our 18th year of presenting Be A Tourist to you, let me assure you that there’s always next year to catch what you missed this year or last year. Or, if you really don’t know, let me clue you in to a little secret I keep. A great majority of these places are open for you to experience all the time!! Yep, it’s true. So here are some suggestions for you:

  1. Pick an area or bus route to visit this year. (See blog # 1)
  2. Visit the places that you normally have to pay an admission or go to the “one day only” venues. (See blog #2)
  3. Make up your own themed BATYOT, like Year of the Arts. (See this blog!)
  4. Experience Greater Lansing’s little known gems. “I never knew that was here!”
  5. Explore Nature, Nature, Nature. Get Out!

Okay, let’s hit on point # 3.  Make this year a themed Be A Tourist day. How about hitting all the galleries and art places and maybe even get a little crafty?

Absolute Gallery in Old Town-Kathy always has a fun artsy/crafty project to do each year. I think she’s got a bead project on tap.

Art Alley in REO Town-Don’t let the construction get you down. Head down Washington Ave. and visit this super cool space. You’ll be glad you did. And you can check out the progress of the LBW&L building while you’re in the neighborhood.

  • Art By the River-Stroll along the River Trail by the City Market and enjoy the 10 sculptures (by Michigan artists)  recently unveiled.
  • Arts Council of Greater Lansing in Old Town-Stop in and see this lovely spot right on Turner St. (We’ll have our information tent set up right outside there, so you can’t miss it!
  • The Artisan’s Circle-Head out to Williamston and discover this gallery, a co-op of artists who will be doing some demonstrations.
  • By The Riverside-Here’s another fun project to make and take. Design your own mini-jewelry bag!
  • Craig Mitchell Smith Glass Gallery-We’re sure you’ve seen Craig’s beautiful glass works, but when you discover his gallery in the Meridian Mall, you will be astounded. For a mere $5, you can make a special glass pendant to wear home.
  • Great Lakes Artworks in Old Town- Here’s another place to stop by for some crafty fun!
  • Lansing Art Gallery-The Michigan Society of Water Color artists have a wonderful exhibit. And don’t miss the hands-on art activities in the education center!
  • MICA Gallery in Old Town-If you stick around on Turner St. you’ll be entertained by the “Chalk-a-palooza” musical puppet theatre, then head in to MICA Gallery for a puppet making workshop!
  • Old Town Lansing-Find the sidewalks covered in chalk works of art. No wonder Old Town is a hotbed of arts and culture!
  • Saper Galleries in East Lansing-This is a beautiful gallery filled with 1,500 works of art of every media for all ages!
  • (SCENE) Metrospace in East Lansing-Discover this art gallery and performance space right in the heart of downtown East Lansing!

So is that enough art to enjoy in one day? If you don’t get to them all, note that every first Sunday of each month from noon to 4 or 5 p.m., many of these galleries are open for a First Sunday Gallery walk. It’s a perfect opportunity to have a nice Sunday brunch then stroll through the galleries. I’m a firm believer in purchasing local art at local galleries. We have such a rich and vibrant arts community and it’s important to support both the galleries and the artists.

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The NATURAL Selection

By Brendan
May 14, 2012
Explore the great natural areas of Greater Lansing

Explore the great natural areas of Greater Lansing.

I’ve been blogging these last few times about the big event coming up in Greater Lansing on Saturday June 2nd – Be A Tourist In Your Own Town – and today is going to be no exception. I’ve got a lot to say about this community and while, yes, I’ll admit it’s my job to promote this event and the Capital City, I’d honestly do it anyway even if I worked somewhere else. Greater Lansing is my home town and for all its faults and challenges, I’m really proud of it. I’m proud of what we have and I’m proud of what we don’t have. I’ve lived here forever and I’m proud of where we’ve been and I’m excited for where we’re going too. So you can believe me when I give you my various recommendations for this event which celebrates all things Lansing. In case you don’t know, on the day of Be A Tourist you purchase a $1 passport and with it you’re able to get into over 60 different local attractions and special events all around town. For just 50 cents you get to ride CATA routes to get you to all the different stops. Collect stamps at the various passport stamp locations and enter to win some great prizes. Sound like fun? It really is – get your passport and start checking it out for what you want to do that day, but if you trust me, and you should, let me make a recommendation to you for your day of exploration.

Make your day full of fun outdoor attractions with a theme I call ‘Natural Selection’ – go through the passport and select all the parks, gardens and natural centers and try to stop at them all. Greater Lansing is truly blessed with some incredibly cool natural areas and botanical parks and gardens galore both downtown and out at Michigan State. So yes, we have enough great natural areas that you could have all day to explore them all and still not see them all, especially when you get out to one and find yourself having such a good, quiet and relaxing time you just don’t want to leave.

Burchfield Park
Cooley Gardens
Durant Park
Fenner Nature Center
LCC Shigematsu Garden
Hunter Park Garden House
MSU Horticulture Gardens
MSU 4-H Children’s Gardens
Beal Botanical Gardens
Waldumar Nature Center

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Lori’s Helpful Tips for BATYOT (part 2)

By Lori in Lansing
May 10, 2012

Be A Tourist in Your Own Town is coming up and we frequently hear the lament that there’s too much to fit into one day. Well, then, isn’t that a great problem to have? That Greater Lansing has such an abundance of things to see and do is a boon to our region. Since this is our 18th year of presenting Be A Tourist to you, let me assure you that there’s always next year to catch what you missed this year or last year. Or, if you really don’t know, let me clue you in to a little secret I keep. A great majority of these places are open for you to experience all the time!! Yep, it’s true. So here are some suggestions for you:

 

  1. Pick an area or bus route to visit this year.
  2. Visit the places that you normally have to pay an admission or go to the “one day only” venues.
  3. Make up your own themed BATYOT, like Year of the Arts, Let’s Get Physical or Just Us Animals. (more info in a future blog.)
  4. Experience Greater Lansing’s little known gems. “I never knew that was here!”
  5. Explore Nature, Nature, Nature. Get Out!

Let’s try #2!        Visit the places that you normally have to pay admission.

If you’re a bit strapped for cash and feel sometimes like it might break the bank to take the household out for a fun day, here’s your solution. Seriously, for $1 each, you can get the whole **fam-damily into many area attractions that normally charge you a fee for admittance. Like:

 

And here’s my suggestion for the second part of #2!            Do the “One Day Only” tours.

Only on Be A Tourist day can you get a tour of the Greater Lansing Potter’s Guild studio.

Or head behind the scenes at Cooley Law School Stadium.

Or experience what it’s like to sit at the news desk at LCC TV!

Or take a free sailboat ride at Lake Lansing.

So make sure to maximize your day on June 2nd and enjoy what Greater Lansing has to offer!  You can make Be A Tourist translate into your own insider’s scoop day and then boast to your friends that you’ve seen that, done that and been there! And all for just a dollar!

For more Be A Tourist information including maps, attractions, bus routes and more visit www.lansing.org/batyot.  And ‘like’ BATYOT on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BATYOT or ‘follow us’ on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GreaterLansing.

**The fam-damily word is a tribute to my dad. Gosh I haven’t heard that in years.

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What a Day!

By Brendan
May 7, 2012

 

This is a BATYOT!

What a Day! Explore Greater Lansing for just $1!

A special day is coming up for residents of the Greater Lansing area. That of course is June 2nd, the 18th annual Be A Tourist In Your Own Town event. As I’m sure you know already, this is the day that for just the cost of your $1 dollar passport and 50 cents for CATA fare, you can see and do just about everything in town for the day. I mean it. Everything from arts to sports to education is on display and just waiting for you to explore. Now since there are over 60 participating attractions that day, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll be able to enjoy them all. That’s why I recommend flipping through the Be A Tourist Passport in advance and coming up with a theme for your day. Consider the interests of those in your group and then come up with the attractions and affiliated bus routes and get a manageable set of stops in your sights and have at it come 10 a.m. Saturday June 2nd.
In case you’re new to the whole process I’ll make a few suggestions.

Sports Nut – Start your day in rented shoes out at Royal Scot – bowl two games for free! Then head over to FunTyme Adventure Park and take the challenge of some awesome FREE adventure golf. After that jump into some rented skates and go a few laps at Edru Skate-A-Rama in Holt. Grab some lunch at a place on the way but be sure to round out the day with an awesome behind the scenes tour of the home of the Lansing Lugnuts, the Cooley Law School Stadium downtown. If there’s time and you’ve got any energy, get over to Suburban Ice East Lansing for some laps around the rink!
Flower Power – Greater Lansing and MSU Campus are full of beautiful and scenic spots. Take them all in on one day! Be sure to hit Cooley Gardens, LCC Shigematsu Gardens, MSU Horticulture Gardens, Demonstration Gardens and the Children’s 4-H Gardens.
History Buff – Check out all the awesome city and state history on display! Check out the State Capitol building, the Michigan Historical Museum, the RE Olds Transportation Museum, the Historical Society of Greater Lansing and the MSU Museum!
Get Your Learn On – Need to smarten up? Make your day all about the Impression 5 Science Center, the Abrams Planetarium and the Meridian Historical Village. See all that in the morning and then load up on reading material at the Book Burrow, Curious Book Shop and the Downtown Lansing Library!

See what I mean? And this is just the beginning and my limited couple of suggestions. Come down to the Greater Lansing Visitor Center across from the Lugnuts stadium, buy your passports and sit around the dinner table and come up with YOUR plan! Make a attractions theme that pleases the whole group and when you’re done touring the town on June 2nd you’ll fall into your favorite chair, wipe your brow and exclaim – What a day!

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Lori’s Helpful Tips for Be A Tourist

By Lori in Lansing
May 3, 2012

Be A Tourist In Your Own Town is coming up and we frequently get the lament that there’s too much to fit into one day. Well, then, isn’t that a great problem to have? That Greater Lansing has such an abundance of things to see and do is a boon to our region. Since this is our 18th year of presenting Be A Tourist to you, let me assure you that there will always be next year to catch what you missed this year or last year. Or, if you really don’t know, let me clue you in to a little secret we keep. A great majority of these places are open for you to experience all the time!! Yep, it’s true. So here are some suggestions for you:

  1. Pick an area or bus route to visit this year.
  2. Visit the places that you normally have to pay an admission or go to the “one day only” venues.
  3. Make up your own themed BATYOT, like Year of the Arts, Let’s Get Physical or Just Us Animals. More info in future blogs.
  4. Experience Greater Lansing’s little known gems. “ I never knew that was here!”
  5. Explore Nature, Nature, Nature. Get Out!

Let’s start with #1.

  1. Pick an area or bus route to visit this year. Let’s try Old Town’s yellow route!

Maybe you could make this year the year that you concentrate on a specific bus route or area. For instance, take the Yellow Route and plan on spending the day in Old Town. Stop in at historic Turner Dodge House, take in the puppet show across from the MICA Gallery or stop in to the gallery for a puppet-making workshop. Make a mini jewelry bag at By the Riverside or drop by the Arts Council to find out all they do to promote arts and culture in the area. Don’t miss Absolute Gallery’s fabulous art project or Great Lakes Artworks just across the street. Of course your visit to Old Town would not be complete without heading over to Preuss Pets. This is a destination all on its own. And although the bus does not stop directly in front of the following places, head down Washington Avenue to visit Elderly Instruments. They will let you ‘pet’ the instruments and you might even get a free kazoo! Keep heading south on Washington and stop into the Historical Society’s brand new mini museum. There you will find some great displays and artifacts from Downtown Shopping in the 20th century. Remember Arbaugh’s? Or Knapps? Take a glimpse into Lansing’s shopping past.

Here’s my advice to you all whenever you’re in Old Town. Poke your head in all the shops. Admire the architecture. Grab a little nosh at Sir Pizza Grand Café or Pablo’s. Pick up some popcorn at Cravings. Experience the wonder of Old Town in their Chalk of the Town exhibit with their sidewalks full of creativity and artistic expression.

And then on your way back downtown on the yellow route bus, don’t forget to get off at the Lansing City Market stop. This is a great way to end the day with armfuls of fresh herbs, cheeses, breads, pastries and flowers.

What? The day is over? Well, you can always do the blue, red or green route next year. Aren’t we fortunate to have all those options? What a great place we have here, don’t you agree?

For more Be A Tourist information including maps, attractions, bus routes and more visit www.lansing.org/batyot.  And like BATYOT on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BATYOT or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GreaterLansing.

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What’s a BATYOT?

By Brendan
April 30, 2012

 

Not a BATYOT

Nope. This is for sure NOT a BATYOT.

BATYOT? What the heck is a BATYOT? Some weird flying mouse species at the zoo? Maybe some kind of bearded-Lorax looking creature? Hmmm – Some form of baseball played on a kayak? Oh, I know! Some weird social media hash-tag thing so people don’t have to type, right? Believe it or not those guesses are wrong, but actually closer than you might guess at the same time. I know, I’m confusing you – let me slow down and back up.
BATYOT is short for something. It’s the short version for all of us at the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau that plan BATYOT – Be A Tourist In Your Own Town, to you. Just like the name of our organization is kind of a mouthful, so is our big annual event, so we lovingly call it BATYOT for short. I know it sounds weird, and to the outsider I’m sure you picture some odd tropical animal with huge ears when you think of a BATYOT, not a community-wide event, but a big fun event is just exactly what it is.
For just one buck you buy a Greater Lansing passport and with it, you’re granted access to over 60 cool local attractions, activities and general hot spots. Now because the Greater Lansing area is growing and because BATYOT is now in its 18th year, the event is growing too! More and more area attractions and businesses want to get involved and that spreads the possible activities out more than ever. Starting to sound like a lot of driving around? Not to worry! We wouldn’t do that to you – not with gas at about $4 a gallon! We have transportation covered – Enter long-time event partner Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA to those that like shortened names, keeping with the theme here). That’s right, for just 50 cents, CATA will take you all over Greater Lansing and to nearly all the great stops on the day of Be A Tourist. Several different routes going continuously make it so you don’t really have to wait too long and you get to tour the city in style. In fact, for years, riding the bus was my kid’s favorite part of the event. So get out and enjoy a BATYOT on June 2nd 2012.

No, a BATYOT is not some strange animal that will sit on your lap that you can feed a banana but you can go to the zoo and see all the cool animals at Potter Park! You can also get into Impression 5 Science Center, get a

This is a BATYOT!

Now this is a BATYOT! Explore Greater Lansing for just $1!

behind the scene tour of where the Lansing Lugnuts play, get a sailboat ride on Lake Lansing, bowl a game at Royal Scot, roller skate at Edru Skate-A-Rama and much much more. Also when you go to certain locations on June 2nd you can get your passport stamped. Get 10 stamps and send it in to us and be entered to win some great prizes. I’m telling you, get out on June 2nd from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and enjoy a BATYOT – Try and do it all or spend the whole day at one awesome location, either way you just can’t lose. When you’re done for the day you’ll know exactly what a BATYOT is – a ton of fun to be had right here in Greater Lansing Michigan.

Click HERE for all the event information.

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Lansing Battlefield Brawl-Not for the Weak or Meek.

By Lori in Lansing
April 25, 2012

What happens when you take a handful of local weekend warriors, a dash of some former college and pro athletes, add a pinch of local newscasters and celebrities and mix them all up into 12 teams of 10 and pour them on to Michigan State University’s practice football field? On a Sunday. After weeks of trash talking. And tell them they’re raising money for the kids at Oldham Project  called Oldham Kids? Let me tell you what happens. THE best flag football tournament that you’ll get to see.

Don’t miss Battlefield Brawl III this Sunday, April 29, 2012. Come on out and watch as Tim Bograkos, Andre Hutson, Amp Campbell, Jehuu Caulcrick and a host of other former and current athletes take to the field alongside the weekend warriors. See newscasters Tim Nester, Lauren Evens and Evan Pinsonnault  get scrappy. And cheer on the Capital City Stealth, the MSU Club Soccer team, my personal favorites the Good Fruit Team: Bad News Pears and eight more great teams. Will there be some competitiveness? You betcha. Will there be some hilarity and chaos? Oh yes. And probably some sore and bruised players. But fun will win out always. And in my mind, what’s cuter than a bunch of grown people running around with streamers on?

So come and support a great local event and a great local charity, enjoy some good-natured ribbing and a bit of down and dirty flag football. It’s all for the Kids.

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Green VERSUS White??

By Brendan
April 23, 2012

I know, at first it’s kind of a strange notion. Green versus white? That seems odd. Around here, green and white go together! United against the world. Inseparable, like mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and carrots, beer and hot wings – you see what I mean. This is Spartan Country and Green and White are the colors we wear with pride. Well, at a few very special times of the year we get to mix things up a bit and we see our beloved Spartans turn inside their own circle and go brother versus brother in a full-speed tune up for the challenges that await with the on-coming season. I mean, heck, after all, what better way to get ready for your enemies than to face other members of the strongest and meanest football team in the land, the Michigan State Spartans! It’s odd to see, but actually really smart.

Michigan State Spartans

It's Spartan versus Spartan at the annual Green & White Game!

This Saturday at Spartan Stadium is the annual MSU Football Green and White game and it’s an important opportunity for Coach Dantonio and his crew to evaluate talent and see how things are shaping up as spring practice comes to a close. While this game is all business for the MSU coaches and for the Spartan players trying to play well for increased minutes come fall – it’s all fun for us fans. It’s not only an important day of evaluation for the football program, its fun and FREE to the SPARTAN-NATION. I love seeing how some of my favorite players from the previous season are coming along and I really enjoy getting a glimpse at the up and coming talent as well. If you’re a Spartan fan you know we lost our starting QB and some great receivers to graduation so we have some key positions to fill. The spring game is an excellent way to get a sneak peek at who is in line for what position and all the other details that real football lovers just crave during the off-season.

Now I know there is nothing better than seeing the Spartans mow through the Big Ten and watch them pick wolverine meat out of their teeth but the Green versus White game is a cool opportunity none the less. Right now, as we get ready for the season we can sharpen our swords, re-awaken our mean-streak and go brother versus brother for a day. I know green and white goes like peanut butter and jelly, but green VERSUS white well that’s like… like – Thunder versus Lightning! Come see the sparks fly, I know me and my crew of Spartans will be there!

MSU Football Spring Game – April 28, 2012 – Location: Spartan Stadium – Times: 1:00 pm – Admission: Free!
Spring practice for MSU football begins on March 28 and ends at the annual Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 28.  Game time is 1:00 with free admission.  It’s never too early to start thinking about Spartan Football!!!

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Top 5 Ideas for Entertaining Out of Town Guests

By Lori in Lansing
April 19, 2012

It’s getting to be that time of year when your home becomes a stopping off point or destination for traveling family and friends. While a trip to the closest chain store/restaurant may be your first and safest thought, wouldn’t you be THE star host if you treated your guests to some local flavor?

  1. Show off your town. You live here for a reason, so become an ambassador of the place that makes you proud to call home. If you need some suggestions, just grab one of our Greater Lansing Visitor Guides or visit our website. You’ll find a wealth of information there. Are you super busy and don’t have a lot of time to entertain? Here’s my biggest (and best) suggestion. Invite them when the event “Be A Tourist In Your Own Town” is going on, buy them a $1 passport and send them out to explore!
  2. Surprise them. When my sister came to visit from Canada, I decided that since she was such a fan of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives that I would take her to Joe’s Gizzard City in Potterville. Guy Fieri had recently been there and filmed a segment for his show. But I told her it was a surprise lunch. It worked out well. Joe (yes there really is a Joe) was nice enough to get into a photo I took which she sent out to Vancouver to impress a friend.
  3. Delight them. Take them somewhere that fits with their interests. My friend is a professional arborist and graduated from Michigan State a while back. Next time she’s in town, I’m packing a picnic and we’re heading to Cooley Gardens. I know she’ll be delighted because I’ve heard her mention what a specimen treasure trove this small garden is.
  4. Shop local. It’s fine to stop at the mall, but then make sure you take them to a local retail mecca like Old Town. Set some time aside to poke in all the shops and galleries. Stop in to the Peanut Shop downtown for some tasty snacks or, if they are visiting from out of state, hit up Michigania.
  5. Eat local. For heaven’s sake don’t take them to dinner at Applebee’s. While I love Applebee’s on occasion, they can do that at home…or in Topeka and a gazillion other cities. Let them experience a purely Lansing dining experience. How about  pizza at DeLuca’s? Or some margaritas and Mexican up on the roof of El Azteco?

So invite the relatives, some friends, or some MSU alums that you’ve kept in touch with over the years and then cross your fingers that they’ll do the same for you, especially if they live in New Orleans or San Francisco. I’ve heard Topeka is nice this time of year…

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