StreetFest

StreetFest is a one-time service-learning opportunity that occurs during our first-year student orientation program. During StreetFest, we partner with over 40 community organizations to join them in their work in the city of Grand Rapids. This year, StreetFest will be on Saturday, August 27, 2022.

• Interested in hosting a StreetFest group? Please email slc@calvin.edu! Site proposal forms will be available on July of 2022.


• To be a faculty/staff mentor, check back in early July 2022.


• View StreetFest history

StreetFest 2021
Learn with curiosity • Care deeply • Dwell intentionally

The theme Learn with curiosity • Care deeply • Dwell intentionally reflects our hope for incoming students. We hope that their posture toward college is one of curiosity and intentionality—actively asking questions, listening to stories, engaging in reflection, and investing in their community.

We chose the word “dwell” because it portrays the complexity and layers of living well in a place and encapsulates how we hope students choose to live. To dwell involves both body and mind—our physical presence in a place as well as our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual commitment to it. We hope that Calvin students dwell in Grand Rapids by embracing the physical space of the city and the diverse identities found in each community. Whether students are coming to Grand Rapids for the first time, or have lived in the city their entire lives, we encourage students to intentionally explore the physical geography and actively seek to go beyond the bounds of the “Calvin bubble.” We also hope that students dwell by reflecting on what they see and hear in the city—the stories from members of the local community, the histories of different neighborhoods that inform the present, and the work that is currently being done by leaders to advocate for and empower their communities.

Interconnected with this idea of dwelling are the concepts of learning and caring. Learning with curiosity requires action. Curious students seek out learning beyond the classroom, taking in the stories and experiences of people and neighborhoods while opening their minds and hearts to care more deeply about justice in the community. Caring deeply prompts one to see value and dignity in every person. We believe that people and places—and the stories they hold—are complex and cannot be captured in one moment or one interaction. When students hold deep care for a place, the injustices that affect people and communities become impossible to push aside. Our hope is for students to become better dwellers in Grand Rapids through deepening their care for this place and committing to active engagement.

This process of learning, caring, and dwelling is difficult. It requires effort, investment, and an open mind. It also requires engaging with new ideas that may be different, and perhaps contradictory, to those one grew up believing. We encourage students to embrace this challenge and lean into the discomfort that accompanies growth. Growth requires an intentional step toward action. We hope that students choose to take this step—to learn with curiosity about the stories of their community, care deeply about both the injustice and vibrant life present in the city, and dwell intentionally in Grand Rapids.

Visit the StreetFest history page to read about other themes