
2025 Festival!
July 26, 2025!
Pleasant Peninsula Mural Festival!
10:00AM - 9:00PM — BLUE BRIDGE & FRONT AVE — FREE!
Make your way downtown for the unveiling of 21 new murals, a day full of kids activities, an eco art market, info fair, live music, speaker series, food trucks, fishing, friendship, and FUN!
21 muralists!
We’re bringing 21 artists from around the United States and Canada to paint 21 murals! Each artist brings their own unique style to help their rare species tell their stories!
21 rare species!
Each of our 21 murals depicts a different threatened or endangered species that is native to Michigan! We’ve paired each of them with a different conservation professional that is helping protect these species in Michigan.
schedule!
Mural unveiling! Live music! Eco-art market! Speaker series! Kids activities! Food trucks! Fishing! Fun!
music lineup!
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Shayla Hamady is an alternative songwriter and producer from East Michigan motivating and inspiring people to embrace passion and their emotions instead of suppressing them to fit in with society.
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With handsome femininity, Mol Sullivan's music swoons feathery and punches low. Her songs- each a poetic exposé of messy and brilliant humanity- range from bedroom-pop lullabies to alt-country rock tunes, drenched in vinegary twang.
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Phabies is a name that leaves you no idea what to expect. Sounds kinda punk. Then the needle drops on their full length debut, "Fire Seed," and the sky around you explodes with technicolor visions of wildly growing vegetation and emotional kaleidoscope Rorschach tests. In short, this music has to be experienced, as an inoculation against cynicism, and a celebration of the fever dream of life.
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Ditch Lily is an oddball folk band. Oddball for obvious (?) reasons, and folk in the sense that they are people (folks) telling human stories about human concerns. Sometimes that does involve a pine tree or geese.
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Colatura writes music that is sometimes dreamy, sometimes heavy, with pop-leaning melodies, earnest storytelling, and fuzzy guitars. Originally from NYC, they relocated to Pittsburgh in early 2024 and have a new EP coming out on Easy Does It Records August 1st.
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Ficus is a psychedelic/stoner/progressive rock group hailing from Michigan's west coast. The band's dynamic sound combines elements of ambient atmospheres, heavy riffs, seductive grooves, and powerful harmonies reminiscent of yesteryear psychedelia with no shortage of modern flare.
speaker lineup!
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Come learn about the history of the Grand River as well as what it means ceremonially for the Potawatomi people! Liz and Jonathan will share how we all can demonstrate our gratitude, appreciation, and respect for the gift of life that water provides. Celebrate the wonder of water and learn how it connects us all!
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Did you know that Michigan and other states that surround the Great Lakes are capable of producing ice-cold water without mountain tops? Come listen to Kyle Dankert from Trout Unlimited unpack the natural conditions here in Michigan that keep our water cold, healthy, and available for humans and trout alike!
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This panel will be a conversation with Pleasant Peninsula Executive Director and lead artist, Eddie Chaffer, along with a few muralists participating in the festival! We will be discussing how public art is a tool to support causes we care about.
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The outdoors is for all of us! Join folks from the Michigan DNR who largely focus on inclusion in nature. We’ll talk about the barriers in conservation, how to cultivate belonging, and pathways to expanding access.
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The GRPM and Indigenous stakeholders have come together for the redesign of Anishinaabek: The First People of This Place, exemplifying the principle of "nothing about us without us." This discussion will explore the importance of community collaboration and the power of representation in history, science, and art.
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Erica and Nancy illustrate how cross pollination and diversity in their work mirrors that of nature! After all, what is a community if not another little ecosystem?
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Come learn about how to support a variety of community- and environmental causes! These panelists will provide tangible takeaways of how anyone can support the causes they work for AND that you care about!
kids activities!
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Join Potawatomi educator Liz Rineheart for story time about plants & animals!
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Join tree expert Blake on an ID expedition nearby! Learn what makes each tree different and unique in this kid-friendly guide!
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Meet reptiles and amphibians from the John Ball Zoo!
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Meet reptiles from Kalamazoo’s Wild Whiskers!
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Let loose on our kids mural wall with some washable paint! Or if paint's not your thing, grab a coloring page!
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Build-your-own binoculars from TP rolls & paper!
but wait, there’s more!
On July 26th we’ll also have these other activities that are fun for the whole family!
• An Artist Market with 40+ Vendors!
• Live Music from Local and Regional Bands!
• An Educational Speaker Series About Ecology and Conservation!
• A Kids’ Mural Tent and Other Children’s Activities!
• Animal Meet-and-Greets!
• 50 Native Pollinators Painted by Community Members!
• 50 Native Plants Painted by Community Members!
• Tree ID Walks, Fishing Demos, Food Trucks and MORE!
see you in downtown grand rapids!
Murals at 52 Front Ave NW.
Art market, music & speakers, org booths, food trucks, & more on the Blue Bridge through Front Avenue!
get involved!
Ready to pitch in? Volunteer with us during install week (July 19–26) or on the Big Day (July 26)!