MANSFIELD — The upcoming ManAfest: Mansfield Art and Culture Festival will include a new after-party event for participants to socialize with vendors, artists and performers.
This year’s event on Sept. 16 will conclude with the ManAfest Afterglow Party, a new event coordinated by Drew Anderson, committee member for the local festival.
MORE ABOUT THE LOCAL ART AND CULTURE FESTIVAL
The event will take place at Idea Works, 40 W. Fourth St.
The event name, Afterglow, is symbolic of the feeling Anderson said he experienced at the end of his first year of the local art and culture festival.
“Sometimes it’s the first public exposure a vendor experiences,” he said. “I know for me, I was glowing after my first festival and showing off my work.”
Anderson, 34, has participated in the festival for the past several years, displaying his art as a vendor. His work includes a variety of acrylic and spray paint art pieces.
Leading up to this year, Anderson said he was ready to take on more of a leadership role and help with organizing an event for the festival.
He said that his background in event coordination helped inspire him to take on this task.
“The idea for the event honestly just came to me,” Anderson said. “I like it because it’s a little different than a typical after party.”
The Afterglow from 9 p.m. to midnight will feature black lights, a fluorescent body paint and temporary-tattoo station and a fluorescent bubble machine.
Partygoers are encouraged to wear bright colored clothing, including neon colors such as orange, green, or pink, for best results with the black lights, Anderson said.
Other party features will include a selfie-station and a local food truck, which Anderson said will be announced in the coming weeks.
Anderson plans to work with the Phoenix Brewing Company, a local Mansfield brewery, to provide a variety of craft beers, free of charge to those of legal drinking age. Those who attend the party are also welcome to bring their own beverages if preferred.
All ages are welcome to attend the party. ID’s will be checked at the door and attendees will be given a wristband to signify if they are of legal drinking age.
Live music performances will be opened at 9 p.m. by I Told You, a local group composed of multi-genre musicians and songwriters.
Eight to ten artists from RDG Music Group, a local hip-hop production group operated by Danny Holmes Jr., are scheduled to perform short sets from 10 p.m. to midnight.
“For some of the artists, it will be their first live performance,” Anderson said. “Everyone has to start somewhere, and I’m glad this can be the place for some of the performers.”
A musician himself, Anderson said he can relate to the fears that accompany the transition from writing songs to actually performing them.
He said he’d been writing songs for years, but had to overcome many anxieties before feeling comfortable performing in front of an audience.
Anderson is a featured musician at this year’s ManAfest festival, and goes by the name Ace Grymwood. He will be performing family-friendly parodies of all genres, inspired by one of his favorite childhood bands, “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Inspiration for the after party was drawn from Richland Source Newsroom After Hours, he said, which is a monthly summer concert series held at Idea Works.
“I really love what’s been done by the After Hours series,” Anderson said. “It really helped me come up with a basic outline. Idea Works was my first choice of where to have the event and they were really on board.”
Organizing the event was important to help take some work off the shoulders of Victoria Hoefler, festival coordinator and vice president of the Art Sector at the Richland Community Development Group, Anderson said.
“Victoria does pretty much everything,” he said. “So if I can help ease that burden, it makes me feel good.”
Anderson said he wants the after party to provide a space for vendors, artists, performers, volunteers, and community members to come together and have something fun to do at the end of the festival.
“It will be a great place for people to relax, mingle, and enjoy some new artists,” he said.
For more information, visit the ManAfest Afterglow event page on Facebook.
