“YES, there really IS a Kalamazoo!”

Education is important in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Public Schools provide an excellent education for grades K-12, serving over 11,500 students. A scholarship program called the Kalamazoo Promise provides “each Kalamazoo Public Schools graduate with the opportunity to attend post-secondary education with up to a 100% tuition scholarship.” Additional educational services are provided by the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center, Alternative Education and the Adult and Community Education Center. Colleges and universities include Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Davenport University.

Wondering what Kalamazoo means? It’s a Native American word meaning “place where water boils,” referring to the springs bubbling up in the river. The first resident living in what are now the city limits was Titus Bronson who built a cabin in 1829. The Village of Bronson was named the county seat in 1831 but five years later Titus Bronson was accused, tried and convicted of stealing a cherry tree and the town’s name was changed to Kalamazoo. Bronson Park and Bronson Hospital honor the community’s founder. Since Bronson’s time, Kalamazoo has been called many things including “The Paper City” for its cardboard and paper mills, “The Celery City” for the crop once grown in fields all around the city, “The Mall City” for the country’s first pedestrian mall built in 1959 and more recently as “The Bedding Plant Capital of the World” with the largest bedding plant cooperative in the U.S. The City of Kalamazoo was also once the manufacturer of Gibson guitars, the manufacturing domain for Checker cabs, the Roamer automobile, Shakespeare fishing rods and reels, and Kalamazoo stoves.

The City of Kalamazoo is located in Kalamazoo County and is midway between Chicago and Detroit in the heart of the Great Lakes region. Kalamazoo County is the eight largest county in Michigan. There are 83 lakes in Kalamazoo County and Lake Michigan is just 40 minutes away. The Kalamazoo County Fair is a popular event held each summer.

Residents are never short of things to do in Kalamazoo. The city has six theatre companies, museums such as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum (Air Zoo), and the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, which houses a 2,500 year old mummy and a simulator to take you on a trip to Mars. Visitors can also stop by the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, a highly respected and well-known facility in the art world. Want to stop and smell the flowers? The Kalamazoo Nature Center includes trails and an arboretum with a hummingbird and butterfly garden. The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and the Bach Festival Chorus will bring music to your ears. Music and cultural festivals also abound in Kalamazoo at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place, such as the Greek Festival, The Taste of Kalamazoo, The Kalamazoo Blues Festival, The Island Festival, The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, and The Michigan Wine and Harvest Festival. Kalamazoo is also the home of the USTA Boys National Tennis Championships, which is held at Stowe Stadium. Coupled with the unique shops at the downtown mall, the Farmer’s Market and upscale stores found throughout the city, whatever your style and whatever you need can be found in Kalamazoo.