Creative Cafe
A weekly exploration of all things creative in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Sponsored by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Originally aired on WKZO AM 590 locally each Saturday at 8 am. Podcasts will be available on Tuesday after the original air date. The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo is a membership organization serving artists and arts organizations in Kalamazoo County. www.KalamazooArts.org for complete information.
Episodes
215 episodes
CREATE! Art Hop December 2025
Kristen sits down with Elaine Unzicker, Aubrey Rodgers, and Kim Shaw to preview the December 2025 Art Hop. The theme is CREATE! Enjoy 55 stops, and more than 250 artists at the largest Art Hop of the year. This episode originally aired on Satur...
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Season 5
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Episode 13
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23:05
Celebrating the Community Arts Awards - CMA Recipients Fran Dwight and Al Harris, Jr.
In the fourth of our five-part series, we celebrate two of the four Community Medal of Arts recipients, Fran Dwight and Al Harris, Jr. We will celebrate the recipients in person on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at 7 pm in the Lake Auditorium on th...
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Season 5
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Episode 12
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23:29
Celebrating the Community Arts Awards - Epic Award!
Today we are celebrating the 2025 recipients of Epic Award. We talk to Jeremy Koch and Rob Weiner of Farmers Alley Theatre and John Kern of Prairie Ronde Residency and Gallery. We will celebrate both in person on December 9, 2025 at 7 pm at the...
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Season 5
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Episode 11
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25:33
Celebrating the Community Arts Awards - Hoogstraten Award and Business Arts Award
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 Zh...
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Season 5
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Episode 10
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21:24
Celebrating the Community Arts Awards - Young Artists Award
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 ...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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22:07
Celebrating Knowledge at the November Art Hop!
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 Ar...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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25:15
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Annual Holiday Sale
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, 202...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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22:58
Kalamazoo Violin Choir!
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 Kalam...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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23:14
Season 45 - Wellspring
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, Oc...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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25:44
The Kalamazoo Kiln Room
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 are...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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26:19
ICYMI: Brush the Block Mural Festival Panel Discussions on RFQs and RFPs
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 Par...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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25:14
Artist Happy Hour! Budgeting for Artistic Priorities
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 Sept...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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23:39
Canadiana Fest is back!
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 W...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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22:32
September Art Hop is almost here!
Kristen sits down with local artist Sara Slaughter and programs director Kim Shaw to talk about the September Art Hop happening on September 5, 2025, from 5 -8 pm in Kalamazoo, MI. Originally aired on Saturday, August 30, 2025, at 8 am on WKZO ...
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Season 4
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Episode 52
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22:48
Community Arts Awards Nominations Now Open
Kristen sits down with Cara Lieurance, Sandra Bremer, and Bryan Zocher to discuss the Community Arts Awards. Each person has been awarded the Community Medal of Arts in the past and has also nominated others for various awards presented by the ...
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Season 4
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Episode 51
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25:17
Brush the Block - Meet the Artists Part Three
In the final installment of a three-part series exploring the Brush the Block Mural Festival, Kristen and Kim talk with local artists Patrick Hershberger and Ellen Vandermyde about their respective murals, their work, and what draws them to lar...
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Season 4
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Episode 50
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23:31
Brush the Block - Meet the Artists Part Two
In part two of this three-part series on the Brush the Block Mural Festival, Kristen and Kim Shaw visit with Heidi Weiss and Chafe Hensley about the mural they will be creating and their local partnership to bring creativity to Kalamazoo.
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Season 4
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Episode 49
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23:50
Brush the Block - Meet the Artists Part One
In the first of this three-part series, Kristen learns more about the artists selected to paint the public murals for the inaugural Brush the Block mural festival. In part one, she speaks with
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Season 4
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Episode 48
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21:58
Season 18 - Farmers Alley Theatre
Kristen interviews Jeremy Koch, the Managing Artistic Director, about Season 18 of the Farmers Alley Theatre. Originally aired on Saturday, July 26, 2025 on WKZO 590 Am and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI.
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Season 4
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Episode 47
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22:29
Shonda Buchanan Part II
Kristen finishes her conversation with Shonda Buchanan about her career, and most recent publications. Originally aired on July 19, 2025 at 8 am on WKZO 590 Am and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
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Season 4
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Episode 46
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22:20
Brush the Block Mural Festival Artists Announced!
Kristen and Kim Shaw sit down with Amy O'Donnell-Lueth and Maya James, two of the seven artists slated to complete murals for the inaugural mural festival in Kalamazoo, called Brush the Block. The festival will take place from September 2-7, 20...
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Season 4
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Episode 45
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25:47
July Art Hop is Almost Here!
Kristen sits down with Kim Shaw to detail the artists and activities that will comprise the July Art Hop, as well as a sneak peek at the artist reveal set to take place during the Bronson Hop as part of Art Hop! Visit
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Season 4
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Episode 44
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22:29
Vicksburg Arts has a New Leader
Kristen sits down with Eltine DeYoung, executive director of Vicksburg Arts to talk about her new appointment and the current programs of the organization. Originally aired on Saturday, June 28, 2025 on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in Kalamazoo, MI...
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Season 4
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Episode 43
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24:52
The Lost Songs of Nina Simone by Shonda Buchanan
Kristen interviews local artist and educator, Shonda Buchanan, about her newest book release, a book of poetry entitled The Lost Songs of Nina Simone. Originally aired on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 8 am on WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM in ...
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Season 4
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Episode 42
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24:57
Wallace and Grommit and Shaun the Sheep in Kalamazoo!
Kristen interviews Museum Program Coordinator Stephanie Willoughby and KVCC Instructor and local artist Aubrey Rodgers about the new interactive Wallace and Grommit, and Shaun the Sheep exhibit called Sheer Genius! Originally aired on Saturday,...
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Season 4
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Episode 41
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22:28