Creative Cafe

Welcome to the second episode in a 5-part series celebrating the 2025 Community Arts Awards. Today we are celebrating April Woodward Slack, recipient of the Gayle Hoogstraten Arts Leadership Award, and Lynn Chen-Zhang, one of the founders of Zhang Financial, recipient of the 2025 Business Arts Award. We will celebrate the 2025 Community Arts Award in person on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 7 pm in the Lake Auditorium on the campus of KVCC.

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

Welcome to our first in a series of 5 episodes celebrating the 2025 Community Arts Awards. Today, we talk with Ivan Tai and Felix Bahrou. The Community Arts Awards will be celebrated in person on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at 7:00 pm pm at the Lake Auditorium on the KVCC campus. Originally aired on Saturday, November 1, 2025 at 8 am on WKZO 590 and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

We explore one of the 45 stops for the November Art Hop with Steve Walsh, executive director of the Vine Neighborhood Association, and artists Janice March-Prelesnik of Music Medicine Collective, and Donna Vogtmann of Pysanky and Pyrographic Art. Originally aired on Saturday, November 25, 2025 at 8 am on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI. 

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

Kristen interviews Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Michelle Hargrave, and the Director of the Kirk Newman Art School, Leslie Donaldson, about the 52nd Annual Holiday Art Show. Originally aired on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 8 Am on WKZO 590 Am and 106.9 FM

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

Kristen sits back down with Negar Afazel, the founder of the Kalamazoo Violin Choir, to discuss the program's first year and plans for its continuation. Originally aired on Saturday, October 11, 2025 at 8 am on WKZO 590 Am and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI.

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

Kristen interviews Julie White, the interim Executive Director, and Marissa Bianan, the Artistic Director of Wellspring, about its 45th season - the concerts, classes, and events that make up their path forward. Originally aired on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 8 AM on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, Michigan. 

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

Kristen interviews Montana Major, owner, and Jasper Hursley, studio manager, of the new Kalamazoo Kiln Room.  The Kiln Room has been open for about a year at Jericho in the Edison Neighborhood.  It caters to ceramic artists in our area seeking classes and kiln services, marking the expansion of services offered to an increasingly growing artist community here in Kalamazoo. This episode originally aired on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI.

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

Kristen hosted a panel discussion during the Brush the Block mural festival with Emma Master, program director of the Edison Neighborhood Association; Mary Kenney, a local artist and art committee member for St. Thomas More Catholic Student Parish; and Stacy Davison, DDA coordinator for Texas Township. They discussed RFQs and RFPs, the importance of public art, and their approaches to seeking public art in their respective communities. This panel was originally held during the Brush the Block mural festival. Originally aired Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 8 AM on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI.

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

The topic we all love to hate - budgeting.  At the Creative Cafe, we spent some time with finance professionals Eric Johnson, Benjamin Stap, and Christina Burr, from Your Part-Time Controller, about their upcoming Artist Happy Hour on September 17th in the Joliffe Theatre from 6 - 8 pm. They talk about the importance and challenges of budgeting for artistic priorities. Originally aired on Saturday, September 12, 2025, at 8 am on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI.

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org

Kristen Interviews Channon Mondoux, the Festival Director for the Canadiana Fest, now in its third year. They talk about the growth of the event, and what to expect if you attend. Originally aired on Saturday, September 6, 2025 at  am on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI.

Creative Cafe is a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Home - KalamazooArts.org