Fall is finally here! We crafted a helpful guide to some of the crisp-air, crunchy-leaves, spooky-fun activities!
So much is going on Downtown, we decided to offer you updates on three significant projects that will provide members of the Greater Flint community with enhanced access to the arts, as well as resources for pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors.
Berston Field House has enjoyed a recent surge in attention, coinciding with the rise of WBC star, Claressa Shields. Known as the place where the boxer got her start and returns to train for upcoming fights, Berston is returning the warm embrace of attention, by offering even more to the community it has served for over 90 years. The latest project is The Berston Success Center – what Executive Director, Bryant Nolden says, “will be a resource to counteract the high rate of illiteracy.”
The Flint School of Performing Arts (FSPA) is one of Genesee County’s brightest gems. Davin Pierson Torre, Director since 1995, says approximately 3,500 students attend the state-of-the-art facility, which is Michigan’s largest community school of the arts. Located in the Flint Institute of Music in the Cultural Center, the school’s students range in age from infancy to 90 years old, and it’s open to people of any skill level. Approximately 45 percent of the students reside in Flint, but they come from all over. “People drive from as far as Midland, Saginaw, Lapeer and Clarkston,” the director says.
At the historic Fenton Hotel Tavern & Grille, the menu offers some scrumptious fall comfort food. This popular dish, prepared by Chef Conrad, consists of lamb shanks that are braised, then simmered in demi-glace for an hour to ensure the meat is tender and delectable. The lamb is served on a bed of rice pilaf and topped with sautéed tri-colored peppers, onions and mushrooms.
Danielle Dickson and Patricia Squires, Branch Managers of Foster Closet of Michigan – Genesee County Branch, have had a lot of experience with foster children. “We both grew up with foster parents and were both foster moms,” Dickson says.” That is why the work they do now at Foster Closet is so important to them. A branch of the statewide organization, Foster Closet of Michigan, it is an all-volunteer, tax-exempt nonprofit organization providing aid to the Foster Care Community.
When Michael, 54, Troy, 43, and Charles, 53, were locked up by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) prison system, a U.S. postage stamp cost 22-cents, a movie ticket was $2.75, and the internet and cell phones did not exist – but, for three Flint natives who entered a correctional facility in their 20s and served more than 90 years combined, life on the outside of prison walls seemed almost as scary as the first day they arrived in their eight-by-ten-foot cells.
On August 1, local media was on hand for the grand opening and a tour of Hurley Medical Center Food Pharmacy, which is located in Flint at Hurley’s Eastside campus, within the Diabetes Center, at 2700 Robert T. Longway Blvd.
If you’re a Health Hero – or a Health Hero in the making – you probably know all about the power of nutrition. As a firm believer that food is medicine, I know that making good food choices is one of the most powerful and natural ways to improve your health from the inside out. How you choose to nourish your body has a huge impact on your health.
Did you know that only 56 percent of Michigan toddlers are up-to-date on their vaccinations? According to ivaccinate.org, low immunization rates in the state threaten the health of all residents.
