About Ridge and River Guide
The Ridge and River Guide helps neighbors discover what is happening across the towns, cities, and communities of our region.
Every week, libraries host story hours, churches hold dinners and fundraisers, musicians perform, museums open exhibits, nonprofits organize events, and communities gather for festivals, markets, and celebrations. Too often, information for those events are scattered across websites, social media pages, newsletters, and bulletin boards. The Ridge and River Guide brings them together in one place for free.
Why we built it
In 2019, we moved to this region after spending eighteen months searching across the United States for a place to call home. Growing up in Flint, Michigan, and traveling extensively throughout the country and abroad gave us the opportunity to experience remarkable places, but when we discovered the hills, valleys, rivers, and small towns of this region, we found something special. The landscape reminded us of northern Italy, southern Germany, and Scotland, but it was the people who convinced us to stay.
After settling here, we noticed there was no easy way to see everything happening across the region. Great events were taking place every day, but information was scattered. The Guide was created by a veteran and software developer who saw a need and built a solution. Initially outlined to support one local charity, but grew to be a tool designed around the way people here actually live, travel, and participate in their communities.
The name reflects the geography of the region. Rivers divide communities and ridges often separate them, yet people cross both every day for work, school, worship, recreation, and family. The Ridge and River Guide was built to bridge those ridges and rivers by making local events, organizations, and community life easier to discover.
Supported by local art
The Ridge and River Guide is hosted and financially supported by SheDreamsInDigital.net, the creative work of artist Sya Reed. She provides hosting, wisdom, and infrastructure (plus snacks and sodas to her coder husband to keep ongoing development moving). This allows the Guide to stay free to use and gives us a way to give something back to the region that welcomed us when we chose to make it our home.
Our philosophy
Before social media, communities relied on bulletin boards in libraries, grocery stores, churches, and town halls. People posted flyers, shared information, and knew where to look to find out what was happening nearby. That information was freely shared, and while people of our region understand “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch,” we also feel that information should be free.
Facebook made it easy but time‑expensive, with an algorithm that hides your own likes from you and requires a mandatory account. Nextdoor divides. On both, you are the product and they profit from you. Ridge and River Guide makes it easy: no algorithms to fight, you see what you want to see. Our “product” is having a way to find things we want to attend; our “profit” is not missing fun events. Anyone can suggest an event or place, any group can post directly, any person can see all events and places, or only those they want.
Not a social network. Not an advertising platform. Just a guide for the places and people we have come to love. We came here because of the beauty. We stayed because of the people. We built the Ridge and River Guide to help those people find one another. If you read this far, feel it is noble and want to buy us a coffee at a local shop, click the cup!
M & S
