LAUP’s Fiesta Week Continues at the Downtown Holland Street Performer Series

Holland, MI – Fiesta Week, a partnership between Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP) and the City of Holland. continues this Thursday, July 13 from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm at the Downtown Holland Street Performer Series. The entire community is invited to GDK Park on Thursday evening during the Series to get a sneak peek at some of talented acts that will be appearing at LAUP’s Fiesta on Saturday, July 15 at the Holland Civic Center! The Street Performer Series will also feature an exciting line-up of 30 performing artists and groups, including musicians, jugglers, balloon twisters, caricature artists, break dancers, henna tattoo artists, and more. The 2023 Street Performer Series is proudly sponsored by Gentex Corporation.

From 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm on Thursday, a number of acts from LAUP’s Fiesta will make a special Street Performer Series appearance at GDK Park, including the Ballet Folklorio youth dance group, Los Salserines salsa dancers, George Salazar from the Karizma Band, and more! A mini car show will also be held on the northside of 8th Street between Central and River Avenues, with a handful of cars on display that will also be participating in the popular car show at Fiesta. The Street Performer Series sponsor, Gentex Corporation, will also be here Thursday night with their famous prize wheel, giveaways galore, and information on their Spanish-speaking production line and employment opportunities.

Attendees should note that 8th Street will be closed to thru traffic and parking from Columbia Avenue to Pine Avenue from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm on Thursday nights to accommodate the expanded number of street performer locations for the 2023 event. Free public parking for the event is available in the surface lots on 7th and 9th Streets, in the 7th and 9th Street Parking Decks and at the Holland Civic Center Place. And don’t forget that the Series is free to attend, but tipping the performers is customary.

The Downtown Holland Social District is also open during the Street Performer Series, meaning that patrons ages 21+ can purchase alcoholic beverages at one of 14 different participating establishment to enjoy while strolling throughout Downtown Holland during the event. For a list of participating establishments, the social district regulations, and the district boundaries, please visit www.downtownsocialdistrict.com.

Upcoming Fiesta Week Activities

Friday, July 14

Summer Concert Series

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Up-and-coming Tejano band Grupo Fierro will perform at the free Summer Concert Series at Kollen Park hosted by Holland Parks and Recreation on July 14 to kick off a weekend of Fiesta fun! No need to pack a picnic! Latino food vendors, Mi Favorita and Jhomary’s Paradise will be selling food at the concert as well.

Saturday, July 15 

Fiesta!

12:00 pm – 11:30 pm

Head to the Holland Civic Center Place for LAUP's annual Fiesta! Fiesta features live music and dancing, a car show, food vendors, a mercado, live mural painting, activities for kids, and more! Purchase a ticket at the door for $15 to the Baile from 7:00 pm - 11:30 pm featuring headliner Grupo Super Nova with a cash bar available.

Street Performer Series Performer Line-Up for July 13

Aidan Rockwell

Aidan Rockwell is a 17-year-old singer/songwriter from Western Michigan. He has been singing his entire life and started writing songs when he was 12. This March, Aidan was recognized by the Nashville Songwriters Association as "One to Watch". Aiden attends Interlochen Arts Academy in the singer/songwriter program and takes his inspiration from different styles including pop, country, and folk.

Andy Callis

Musician Andy Callis has played accordion for a number of bands in the Lansing area, including The Lash, Zydecrunch, Heartland Klezmorim, and Atomic Boogaloo. He loves how the accordion can instantly evoke a time and place, as one hears it passing by on a summer evening in the city.

Ben Bard

Ben Bard is a solo performer who has been playing stringed instruments for as long as he can remember. He has fallen in love with the music of North Africa, Turkey, the Levant, Persia, the Balkans, and Central Asia, and as a result, he has been learning the Turkish saz, Arab oud, and most recently Afghan Kabuli rubab. He enjoys sharing the beauty of this instrument and music with the community.

Caricatures by Britta
Britta Lindemulder has loved to draw since she was a child. She graduated from GVSU with a degree in Illustration and learned how to draw caricatures while working at Michigan’s Adventure. A tattoo artist by day, Britta has been drawing caricatures at the Street Performer Series since 2012.

Connor Scholten

Connor Scholten first began yo-yoing as a young child in 1997, and he first performed for the public as part of the first ever Street Performer series in 2005. He has since worked full time as a yo-yo designer, coached the top players in the world, and taught yo-yo to thousands of people online. He is also the 2017 National Yo-Yo Contest winner. 

Dan Mutschler
Dan Mutschler is a self-taught and talented balloon artist who performs regularly at birthday parties, scouting events, art fairs and more.  He has over 17 years of experience twisting balloons and is constantly learning new designs to share with young and old alike, including popular characters, animals, and more!

Debbie DeRienzo

Debbie DeRienzo is a singer/songwriter that discovered her love of music at a young age. After joining the military in 1999, she found singing and playing her guitar to be a comfort for her and many others. She has been a worship leader since 2000, playing at various churches around the world and weekly at her home church. In 2018 Debbie began pursuing songwriting and in 2020, she released her first single.

De Leon Acoustic

Larry and Victoria De Leon are a father-daughter acoustic duo who have been singing together since Victoria was just 10 years old. They are a bi-lingual Mexican American duo that blends a touch of classic Americana country music with modern day pop classics in both English and Spanish. The natural blend of their harmonies is unmistakable and enchanting.

Doug Marlink
Doug Marlink is a talented banjo player who first began playing banjo in the mid-1970’s. He performs mostly bluegrass and some jazz music on the banjo. He is a street performer regular who can often be found performing both on the streets of Downtown Holland and at the Holland Farmers Market.

Fabian Elizardo

At just 14 years old, guitarist Fabian has found his passion in music. His inspiration comes from anything rock and roll or heavy metal, though he has recently added Spanish style guitar to his repertoire.  With a wide variety of musical tastes, he loves to learn new riffs to share with his audiences. Fabian hopes to one day teach music or turn his love of music into a career as a professional musician.

Flow Like Water

Flow Like Water is break dancing crew that performs regularly at festivals and events throughout West Michigan, bringing the crowd to their feet wherever they go. Their high energy and hip-hop beats are only matched by their amazing dance skills. This highly captivating performance crew seeks to connect within the community through the world of dance.

Giggles and Chuckles
Giggles and Chuckles, aka Lia McCormick and Chau Le-Tran, have over 10 years of experience twisting balloons into hundreds of shapes, including flowers, animals, helicopters, wands, swords and more. They have performed at over 1,000 children’s events, in addition to performing regularly at the Street Performers Series and the Holland Farmers Market.

Henna by Jahara
Jahanara Begum has been a Street Performer in Downtown Holland since the beginning of the Street Performer Series. She is a highly skilled and experienced henna artist who uses all natural ingredients that are safe for the skin. Her designs never fail to impress her fans of all ages!

Holland Doctors of Jazz

Led by Jeff Carroll, musicians Dave Bengamin, Tim Denbesten, Nate Hanson, Robert Keeley, and Micah Vanderhill make up the musical group Holland Doctors of Jazz. These highly experienced and talented musicians have been playing a variety of jazz and big band tunes together for the past several years, performing at community events, restaurants, and stages throughout West Michigan.

Human Women

Allison Eding and Emily Hanrahan both hold bachelor’s degrees in music and currently attend Western Theological Seminary. They have both been performing for the public for over 10 years, in addition to serving as worship leaders at local churches.

Incredimusic

Christopher Trainor has been performing for over 30 years including leading classes and jam sessions. His mission is to make music education entertaining and enjoyable, whether you’re learning to play the recorder, piano, or guitar! Whether he’s teaching lessons or performing on the streets of Downtown Holland, he wants to make music fun!

Jake “Michael Jackson” Thompson

Jake Thompson been dancing like Michael Jackson since 2016, ever since seeing being inspired by a video of Jackson performing “Smooth Criminal” live. Jacob has performed at high school talent shows and other special events and is excited to show off his skills at the Series for the third summer in a row.  

Joshua Schmitz

Joshua is a recent high school graduate who started twisting balloons when he was just eight years old.  He looks forward to making his Street Performers Series debut this summer before pursuing a career in the film and media industry.

Lisa Bullis-Dennen

Lisa has been a student and performer of Arab dance for over 20 year and now focuses solely on Egyptian dance styles. Her goal is to present an authentic and emotionally rich experience. Lisa lives part-time in Egypt, immersed in the rich history and culture. Her daily experiences adapting to another way of life show up in her dancing, from the improvisational nature, to connecting with the audience.

M. Brooks & Larissa Brooks

Husband and wife duo M. and Larissa Brooks perform a broad range of music including pop, rock, indie, folk, and classical. Larissa is a classically trained violinist who has performed with the likes of The Who and Sarah McLaughlin while M. Brooks is a singer/songwriter with two albums to his name.

Mark Cosgrove

Mark Cosgrove is West Ottawa senior who has been singing since he was just two years old. In addition to singing in his school’s premier choir group, he has also performed as the lead in a number of different high school theatre productions.  He also serves as an emcee for assemblies, local talent shows, and high school games. At the Series, he will perform covers from popular artists from the 60’s to today.

Mike Arnold Music

Mike Arnold first began playing the guitar in college and picked it up again in the early 2000’s as a hobby. He regularly plays 30-40 gigs a year, including bars and restaurants, farmers markets, weddings, and other private events. He plays and sing acoustic guitar covers from the 70s-2000s.

Mike Villar

Mike has been singing and playing guitar since 1978, has been performing in Southwest Michigan for over 12 years with the band Stum Dumb, and Dumber, and has been a part of the Series since 2018. He performs original songs as well covers ranging from easy rock from the 70’s up to current contemporary hits.

North Coast

In the summer of 2020, after months of lockdown and canceled shows, three friends, Micah Huisman, Jacob Hoekwater, and Caleb Vanderkoii, took to the street to play music together and became North Coast. After many hours on the street performing instrumental covers of everything from Ed Sheeran to Elvis Presley, they’ve developed an engaging and dynamic live show they can’t wait to share with you.

Scatterbrain

Dani and Lainey Canan, Shayna Gibson and Charis Snyder are just a few college girls from Zeeland who love making music together and performing for the public! They are excited to be a part of the Street Performer Series for a second year in a row together as a group.

Shawna & Matt Veenstra

Shawna and Matt Veenstra are a dad and daughter duo with experience in musical theatre. With Matt’s additional experience performing pop and rock songs in a cover band, they perform duets and solos together in those genres. Matt is a band teacher at Holland Christian Elementary and Middle Schools, and Shawna is currently working towards a music degree in Music Education with an emphasis on voice.

Stephen Koets

Stephen has been performing his entire life from church praise groups to teaching guitar lessons from home. Music is his hobby and his escape when not working at Bliss Bakery, which he owns with his wife.  Stephen plays a mix of acoustic favorite from artists like Cat Stephens, James Taylor, Tom Petty, and John Mayer.

The TripleRoot Band

Erik Boehm, Mitch Ware, and Brett Wild are all lifetime musicians, who have performed with various bands over the years. They found each other three years ago, and it was magic from the first day. They feature amazing three-part vocal harmonies while playing Americana songs and hits from the 70's and 80's. They engage the audience and love having fun with them!

Third Class Flynn

Third Class Flynn is an Irish music busking duo, comprised of husband-and-wife Ray and Cindy Veen. Dressed as the characters Michael and Mary Flynn, Irish immigrants from the late 1800's, the Flynn's tell their story through the music of Ireland: folk tunes, dance tunes, pub tunes, laments and more.

About Gentex Corporation:

Gentex Corporation is a supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and electronics to the automotive industry, dimmable aircraft windows for aviation markets, and fire protection products to the fire protection market. The company was founded in Zeeland in 1974 and is Ottawa County’s largest employer.

About Downtown Holland:
Located in the heart of the City of Holland, just minutes from the shores of Lake Michigan and adjacent to the campus of Hope College, Downtown Holland is a premier shopping, dining, and special events destination like none other! Downtown Holland offers over 100 locally owned boutiques, shops, and galleries, along with breweries, cafes, and restaurants for every taste. Downtown Holland is also home to unique cultural attractions, an award-winning farmers market and beautiful parks. We can’t wait to welcome you! For more information and the latest Downtown Holland news and updates, visit us at www.downtownholland.com, follow Downtown Holland on Facebook and Instagram, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, or call 616.796.1210.