1. A 50-year holiday tradition kicks off in West Michigan, Eastern Floral's annual open house, but this year there will be a few changes.
They're calling it Festive Fridays. Every Friday throughout the month of November, Eastern Floral will host the holiday event at its Grand Rapids location, complete with activities for kids, safely packaged treats, local holiday gifts, a s'more station, and more.
Each Festive Friday will benefit a different local nonprofit organization, proceeds from today will support the refugee education center.
For more details about Festive Fridays, you can visit easternfloral.com or check out their Facebook event.
2. Grand Rapids Jaycees announced that their annual Santa Parade is no longer happening this year.
They say they're grateful for the community support, but said they made the decision with public health and safety in mind.
The event was planned as a reverse parade, where the public would drive by to see floats lining the street.
3. Starbucks has unveiled its new cups for the holiday season.
Starting today, customers will have their drinks served in one of these four festive cups. Starbucks first rolled out seasonal cups in 1997 which are meant to drum up excitement for the coffee chain.
The theme is "Carry the Merry". Starbucks said in a press release it's about people carrying the cups out into the world "as messengers of joy."
Also today, you can get a free reusable version of the holiday cup. To qualify, just order one of Starbucks' seasonal drinks.
4. The Binder Park Zoo welcomed their newest family member over the weekend. They shared a few photos on their social media to check out.
It's a Colobus Monkey, born on Halloween morning. It's actually the first primate born at Binder Park in nearly five years.
The zoo doesn't know the baby's gender yet, they like to take a hands-off approach with new family members, but we're told he appears to be healthy, and the first-time parents are also doing well.
Guests can see the little one in-person when the zoo reopens on April 15.
Colobus Monkeys are native to Africa and Colobus is the Greek word for mutilated, because unlike other monkeys, Colobus Monkeys do not have thumbs.
5. Three iconic toys have been inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. The winners are:
- Baby Nancy: The first black doll to have an afro and dark skin. The toy is credited with making cultural and commercial breakthroughs in the U.S.
- Sidewalk Chalk: Great masterpieces have been created on sidewalks all over the world because of the sticks. People use chalk to play games outside such as Tic-Tac-Toe, hopscotch, and four square.
- Jenga: According to the manufacturer, the wooden block game was created in Ghana in the 1970s. The record for the highest known Jenga tower is 40 complete stories.
