Lansing 5:01’s Rooftop Hop invigorates downtown

There aren’t many events that can coincide doughnuts, jazz, zip lining and rooftops with grace.

Rooftop Hop is a standalone. Bringing arts, heights, food and people together in downtown, Rooftop Hop saw a vibrant spectrum of Lansing’s culture with a little superhero flavor.

Dressed in a Spider-Man suit, Tom Mata flew down the wire with cheers from the nervous line of future zip liners down the street. “I figured it would be funny to see Spider-Man zip line down Washington,” said Mata.

Events like Rooftop Hop are what downtown Lansing needs to stay active, said Mata.

“I think it's great because it generates interest in downtown. For the most part I feel that downtown is super alive during the 9-5 when most workers are downtown and afterward it peters out."

Waverly Public Schools employees Bevin David, Randee Smith and Mary Herrbach attended Rooftop Hop as a planned work date with friend Jenny Golota.

“I saw it on Facebook and I guess you could call this a team building with just the girls,” said David.

Fresh off sailing down the zip line, the four friends were all smiles. “It didn’t look scary at all until you got up there. Then it looked scary.”

David said that she heard of Lansing 5:01 and the event from a friend that works there. “I know it’s a networking thing and it brings people together. You can meet people. I like that part of it.”

Golota said that events like this keep the focus on Lansing. “You can just have fun where you live and not have to go to a bigger city.”

“Without this, this town would be a ghost town on a Thursday night,” said Herrbach.

Retired assistant chief of the Lansing Fire Department Matthew Jenkins and his wife Pamela Jenkins went to Rooftop Hop as a date.

“I’ve seen a few of these buildings but my wife hasn’t so I figured it would be a good thing to share with her,” said Jenkins.

Fresh off the first stop at the La Fille Gallery, Jenkins said “It was a larger building than we thought it was and the lower level was really cool.”

Though they aren’t interested in ziplining, Jenkins said they plan to hit every event space.

“I definitely see the reason for it: it gets people downtown that don’t necessarily spend time down here. It gets people out and about and makes people see what we have to offer down here,” said Jenkins.

“We’ve always spent a lot of time downtown and always enjoyed it.”