GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM)- Rosa Parks Circle became an icy battleground Tuesday.

The Grand Rapids Art Museum and the Downtown Alliance  sponsored the creation of a giant ice chess set. The creators are Randy Finch and Derek Maxfield who have competed in ArtPrize during the past two years. They spent the day putting the set together then they played a game of chess that lasted about ninety minutes.

The teams received input from spectators like Joe Eimer: "I think it's a great idea - it's fun, nice day - wind's not blowing it's cold. It's interesting that's for sure."

"We've been working on the chess pieces for over a month and a half. The chess sculpture was one of the first designs we had marketed for the show and we knew we had a lot of work to get it done. We've been working on it slowly as we've been producing the other sculptures," said Finch.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM)- A new summer festival may come to Grand Rapids this year but the city commission has some concerns. 

Tuesday morning organizers pitched the idea of River City Bike Week to the commissioners.  If approved it would begin July 17th right after Muskegon Bike Time ends. 

Organizers say the event would attract thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts.  They would use Ionia from Fulton to Wealthy to set up national vendors, show off different motorcycles and they would also bring concerts to the Van Andel Arena.  

The city commission is worried about the amount of noise from the event and how local businesses would benefit.  Organizers say they will talk to the surrounding restaurants and shops about the idea. 

They hope to have a decision from the commission by the end of the month.

NEWS RELEASE:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Interfaith Dialogue Association strives to promote friendship and trust among people of diverse religions and ideologies by study, dialogue, and sharing about religious experiences.

The IDA’s 2011 Rabbi Philip Sigal Memorial Lecture, “From Tolerance to Holy Envy: The Interfaith Agenda,” will be presented by Douglas Kindschi. The lecture will be given Thursday, January 20, at 7 p.m., at Loosemore Auditorium in the DeVos Center, 401 West Fulton, on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus of Grand Valley State University. Admission is free. See Building #5 on the map link, http://www.gvsu.edu/maps.htm.  

Kindschi, director of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, is now in his 35th year at Grand Valley, and served as a dean for 28 of those years. He is currently a professor of mathematics and philosophy.