Walking downtown this June, students new to Ann Arbor may be surprised to see 18-foot dinosaur puppets roaming around campus in search of their next meal. Hopefully, they won’t upset the careful balance of stilts walkers decked out in full circus regalia or stumble unwittingly into a fierce and rhythmic capoeira class held al fresco on the Power Center lawn. Welcome to the planned spontaneity of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, a wide-ranging month-long celebration that encompasses everything from concerts to outdoor wine tastings.
“If you come with an open mind, you will discover some amazing stuff,” the festival’s Executive Director, Amy Nesbitt, said in an interview with the Daily. “It’s a festival — we want people to discover new things.”
Preparations begin months, and often years, in advance, allowing festival-goers to experience big name acts, like local legend Mayer Hawthorne, as well as more idiosyncratic experiences all month long. While big ticket indoor events cost $20, student tickets to any event are offered. And as a nonprofit run by a small, hardworking staff and manned by dedicated volunteers, the festival provides almost all of its programming free of charge, relying on donations to continue.
“90 percent of what we offer is free,” Nesbitt explained. “If that doesn’t get you off your couch, then I don’t know what will!”
While in much of the world these types of lively outdoor festivals are commonplace, the United States jumped on the bandwagon later than most.
“There are a lot of particularly outdoor festivals doing these types of acts, mostly in Europe and Asia,” Nesbitt said, “but little by little [they’re starting] in America [too].”
Many acts at the summer festival perform worldwide, and Nesbitt pools resources with other American festival nonprofits to attract them and put together a US tour. Standouts this year include the Water Balloon Gladiators, a prankster husband and wife team, Orquesta Ritmo, a salsa band that performs alongside live dancing lessons each year. Another highlight is the free film screenings, which feature classics like “Rear Window” and “Indiana Jones” along with contemporary hits like “The Imitation Game” projected on a huge outdoor screen at Rackham.
Newcomers to the festival may have been disoriented by the tumult of activity, movement and music that heralds the start of summer in Ann Arbor. But with any luck, soon they’ll be dancing with the townies under a starry sky.