Four stages of live music, a circus and numerous art displays will transform one Indiana field into a small-scale, Woodstock-esque hippie paradise this weekend.
The first Hyperion Music and Arts Festival will be held in Spencer, Ind., the same location where the once Muncie-grounded Wuhnurth Music Festival moved to in 2010. Headlining acts will include Papadosio, Future Rock and The Ragbirds, along with many other acts of varying genres.
THE STAFF
Despite being located in Spencer, the festival has a number of Muncie ties, including co-founder Sara Elifritz, who graduated from the Ball State School of Music in 2011. After an immersive learning experience at Ball State in which she booked bands to play on campus, Elifritz went on to have a hand in organizing Muncie MusicFest, Muncie Springfest and Muncie Gras, as well as booking all the bands for Doc's Music Hall at one point.
"It can be a real pain doing all the planning, and it's a lot of hard work, but it's all worth it when I get thousands of people out there enjoying the event," Elifritz said.
There are many aspects that must be taken into account when planning a music festival, from vendors to volunteering opportunities. With so many pieces to the puzzle, Elifritz only handles the general management and logistics of the festival.
"We book all the bands," she said. "We have to pick out a venue. We have to do a budget for everything. We've done all the promotion. I have different staff that take care of booking and production and the art aspects and the volunteers, vendors. All kinds of things."
Marta Vitolins is part of Elifritz's festival building brigade.
Vitolins, a senior classical studies major, is in charge of organizing the volunteer work that takes place at the festival, because festival attendees can volunteer eight hours in exchange for their ticket. Setting up, tearing down and keeping the festival eco-friendly are just a few of the jobs volunteers will do in exchange for their weekend of amusement.
"I'm in charge of the volunteer schedule, making sure that people show up and get their jobs done and are sober," Vitolins said. "When I'm actually at the festival, I'll just be making sure that everyone is getting their stuff done and that everything runs smoothly with that."
While it may not be as glamorous as booking the bands, Vitolins said working as the volunteer coordinator has still had its perks.
"I've gotten to be in touch with and meet a lot of really cool people who all have a really big passion for local music and supporting the arts," she said. "That is probably the most rewarding part, getting to support all of that."
THE BANDS
Having played Wuhnurth in 2010, Muncie's own Eumatik will be returning to Spencer for the festival.
Fresh off a busy summer of playing other festivals, keyboardist Ashton Kleemann said the band is looking forward to the festivities.
"I am looking forward to shocking some people - not personally, but Eumatik has some surprises," Kleemann said. "We're playing the Thursday pre-party, so that's going to be a lot of fun."
Formerly a member of Catch Curtis, Kleemann and bandmate Josh Lockwood met at freshman orientation. After both being involved with the music technology program, they met Derek Shelton, who would eventually become the drummer for Eumatik after Kleemann and Lockwood decided to branch off from their Catch Curtis roots.
Looking ahead to this weekend, Kleemann said he is certain Hyperion will be a better experience for them than the previous weekend was. Eumatik played at the Skyy's Burning Music and Arts Festival at the Water Bowl in Muncie, amid Friday night's monsoons.
"If it rains this weekend like it did last weekend, there's still going to be 1,000 people at Hyperion," Kleemann said.
Although she will be working the festival, Vitolins said she is excited to escape from the college grind for the weekend.
"I'm just looking forward to some time to get away from school and everything here and spending it in an environment with good people," she said. "I feel like everything good about life will be at this festival and then back to the real world."
For more information on the lineup and tickets, check out hyperionfestival.com.
WHAT
Hyperion Music and Arts Festival
WHERE
Spencer, Ind.
WHEN
Friday and Saturday
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