By Dana Kroll, Uptown Marketing and Communications Specialist
Grand Rapids, Wednesday, September 24, 2025: This weekend, Wealthy Street will come alive with music, food, and community spirit as it hosts the inaugural Wealthy Street Block Party. This brand-new celebration is brought to Grand Rapids via partnership between the Wealthy Street Business Alliance and the East Hills Council of Neighbors. It is sponsored and supported by Uptown Grand Rapids, Inc. as part of its strategic mission to organize by coordinating people and building relationships to improve experiences, businesses, and neighborhoods across Uptown Grand Rapids.
Earlier this year, the Uptown organization identified an opportunity to fulfill its mission to organize by bringing together the event’s organizers towards what it recognized was a long-shared objective amongst them individually: To host a free, family friendly event designed to highlight the creativity and connection that makes Wealthy Street one of Grand Rapids’ most dynamic corridors, and to create a strategy with which this event might become an annual tradition.
“Uptown GR Inc. is committed to building partnerships and creating opportunities for businesses and residents to thrive,” says Ingrid Miller, Uptown GR, Inc.’s Executive Director. “For years we have heard from businesses and neighbors wishing to host a Wealthy Street specific celebration and we are thrilled to be able to support the inaugural Wealthy Street Block Party, which demonstrates how we can bring people together to support a community vision. We are so proud of the planning team and the hard work of the many volunteers and community partners that brought this event to life!”
Since its inception, Uptown GR. Inc. has worked to advance momentum toward its long-range strategic plan through the work of its staff, board, and volunteers. The organization’s efforts also include regularly solving for key issues, policy alignment, and support via planning that ensures Uptown remains vibrant, resilient, and inclusive. Through this commitment to organize, area leadership has come to identify the organization as a key starting point when endeavoring to bring constructive new concepts to its community.
“Uptown GR, Inc’s involvement has been invaluable in bringing this event to life. They’ve been at the table for every planning meeting, and helped with note taking, coordinating details, securing licenses, and connecting us with resources we wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. Their support has made the process smoother and allowed us to focus on creating an event that truly represents the energy and spirit of Wealthy Street.” Mitch Ermatinger, President, Wealthy Street Business Alliance.
Location: Intersection of Wealthy and Eastern Streets, Grand Rapids
Date: Saturday, September 27 | 12pm – 6pm
Cost: Free and open to the public
More info: Wealthy Street Block Party Facebook Event
Thanks to additional sponsors: Jeffrey Richard Salon, Baxter United, VetrHealth
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Uptown consists of four business districts: Eastown, East Fulton, Wealthy Street, and East Hills. The district is also home to five residential neighborhoods: Baxter, East Hills, Eastown, Fulton Heights, and Midtown. In all climates, UGRI celebrates its mission: to bring together people, partnerships, and possibilities to sustain a strong and vibrant urban district through planning, coordinating, and communicating with and between all sectors of the Uptown community and beyond.
For more information about the Wealthy Street Block Party, contact Mitch Ermatinger.
For more information about this and all things Uptown, please contact Ingrid Miller.