ArtPrize (Hub: Downtown Grand Rapids)

Every fall, downtown Grand Rapids gives itself over entirely to art. ArtPrize is an international competition and festival spanning a three-square-mile district, with over 160 venues — museums, galleries, bars, restaurants, parks, laundromats — hosting thousands of artists from around the world. Any artist over 18 can enter; any property owner can become a venue; any visitor can vote. The cash prizes total $500,000. The first event drew an estimated 200,000 visitors in 2009. Recent years have topped 900,000.