Gentex celebrates milestones by connecting with community

Zeeland-based Gentex Corp. is celebrating a pair of anniversaries this summer.

The title sponsor of the downtown Holland Street Performers Series is celebrating the event’s 20th anniversary with a special party in downtown Holland during the regularly scheduled series 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25.

Gentex will celebrate 50 years of doing business in West Michigan with a fireworks display on Thursday, Aug. 15, at Kollen Park in Holland. The event will take place on the final night of the Gentex Street Performers Series presented by downtown Holland.
 
Courtesy Gentex Corp.Gentex is celebrating 50 years of business and 20 years of downtown Holland's street performer series with games, prizes, and more.

“We wanted to do something special for our employees and the community to commemorate this milestone anniversary for the company,” says Steve Downing, Gentex CEO and president.

Gentex supports a wide variety of community events across West Michigan, including now in the Grand Rapids area where the company recently opened two new locations.
 
The fireworks show is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. near Kollen Park. It will be set to music and last around 30 minutes.

Block Party
 
Prior to the fireworks show, the community can also enjoy the Gentex Block Party at the Holland Civic Center during the final night of the Downtown Holland Street Performers Series. The block party will have live music, free hamburgers and hotdogs, Polar Patrol ice cream, food trucks, carnival and yard games, balloon sculptors, face painters, and the Gentex prize wheel from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
 
“The Gentex team really looks forward to hosting this block party each year,” says Craig Piersma, vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “We love connecting with the community and providing a lot of fun activities for families to enjoy together.”

Over the past 50 years, Gentex has grown from a small fire protection start-up to a $2-billion technology company and serves as Ottawa County’s largest employer.

Courtesy City of Holland Facebook pageDowntown Holland Street Performers Series is celebrating 20 years.
Popular event

The Street Performer Series has grown from about 10 performers in five locations along Holland’s Eighth Street to nearly 100 different artists who perform on a rotating basis in 25 different locations throughout downtown Holland. The opening of downtown Holland’s Social District in 2021, which allows alcohol to be purchased from specific downtown merchants and carried in designated containers as customers pursue the district, has further contributed to the event’s attraction.

The event first launched in 2005 as a way of highlighting the city’s newly passed Street Performer ordinance, which allows performing artists to purchase a permit from Holland’s Downtown Development Authority to busk for tips on the sidewalks of downtown.

The popularity of the event continued to build, making it downtown Holland’s signature event and a highlight of the summer for locals and tourists alike.

“I’ve been involved with the planning of the Street Performer Series for the past 15 years, and every summer I continue to be amazed at the event’s growing popularity,” says Downtown Holland Marketing Coordinator Kara de Alvare. “Performing artists from across West Michigan continue to embrace the event each year, along with our shops and restaurants, the local community, and summer visitors.

Gentex along with the Holland Area Arts Council, Latins Americans United for Progress, and many others have partnered with the city to make the street performers series possible.

Courtesy Gentex Corp.Gentex employees look forward to connecting with the community, says Craig Piersma, vice president of marketing and corporate communications.

To add to Thursday’s celebration, several downtown businesses will offer select 20% discounts all day.

During the Street Performers Series 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., attendees will be able to play Plinko or spin a prize wheel to win free giveaways while supplies last or enter to win a $20 gift card from a downtown Holland shop or restaurant.

Gentex is the 2024 Street Performer Series title sponsor with additional support provided by the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.

This is the fourth year Gentex has sponsored the block party on the final night of the Street Performers Series and the first year the company became the title sponsor of this popular summer event.