Art Hop Fridays

The Museum will be open for selected Art Hops during the year.  As always, expect to find some of your favorite local musicians, up-and-coming bands, and some evenings with doubleheaders.  Swing by the Museum on Art Hop nights (usually the first Friday of the month) and enjoy good music, a little refreshment, and good company! 

Connecting Chords Music Festival
November 2, 2018
5-8 p.m.
In correlation with the November Art Hop, experience a unique musical event with live Native American storytelling and a planetarium show. Noted for his knowledge of the traditional stories of the Anishinaabe, Native American storyteller Larry Plamondon will give a live presentation at 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. In the planetarium at 6:15 p.m., watch a free showing of “Sky Legends of the Three Fires,” with contributions from Larry. It features three Native American stories about the night sky. This event is free and open to the public as part of the community-wide Connecting Chords Music Festival series, with the goal to celebrate the unifying power of the world's music. The Festival runs October 5 to November 25, 2018.

Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra
December 7, 2018
5-8 p.m.
The Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra presents holiday music old and new, along with other traditional audience favorites, at the Museum for the December Art Hop. The Kalamazoo Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra is a plucked string ensemble consisting of mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars, and bass. The KMGO was founded in 2003 to revive the mandolin orchestra tradition in Kalamazoo. Under the direction of conductor Matt Cosgrove, the orchestra enjoys performing a wide variety of music, including classical, ethnic, and “golden era” mandolin orchestra music.

Fretboard Festival Play-in Contest
January 4, 2019
5-9 p.m.
Each year the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival has an open call for all bands and musicians who play stringed instruments to compete in our Play-In Contest. The Play-In Contest determines the final two spots in the 2019 Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival lineup. This year the categories are Solo & Ensemble.