Admission is $5 for those over 21 and $10 for anyone under.
Visit the event page for a full list of acts.
The festival is sponsored by Wishbone Gifts, Inc, Heidi J Hale designs, Aw Yeah Comics, Steve Robert, Art Mart and Muncie YART.
Featuring EDM, hip hop, Comedy Underground and a pop up art gallery, the third annual Illuminate Arts Festival will return to Be Here Now to celebrate local artists April 30.
The festival, which began in 2014, was a product of Andrew August’s devotion to the local artistic community, he said.
August founded the Electronic Dance Music Collective (EDMC), an association of producers and songwriters, when he found out that many had not played their original works for an audience before.
“I found out that all of these EDMC DJs were also writing their own music, and I was like, “hold the phone,” August said.
August decided to create a festival to showcase local EDM talent in collaboration with Whitney Lewis of Be Here Now.
The second Illuminate Arts Festival in 2015 was the most attended event ever at the venue.
This year, the Illuminate Arts Festival has expanded to include a greater diversity of Muncie talent, including hip hop, a multimedia art show and stand-up comedy. But the goal remains “to shine the biggest spotlight on local art,” said August, who will be performing as ‘Mephysto’, at 8 p.m.
And unlike in years past, not all of this art will be musical. The Pop Up Art Gallery will be open from 12- 6 p.m. and will feature multimedia art from sixteen artists from the Glue and Scissors Society, a local artist collection.
Lavonte Pugh, from the Glue and Scissors Society, said the group has used trial and error to put up an art gallery in the midst of a festival, where it will be best for audiences and artists.
“We don't want to dissuade artists from submitting if they are worried about their work being destroyed, so we use our experience from past shows to place things in places where rowdy attendants won't likely be,” he said.
The gallery will feature the group’s popular chess boards, which can be played blindfolded against the artist.
Music performances will take place on three stages throughout Be Here Now.
Twelve EDM DJs will be performing on BHN’s back porch stage and main stage. Five hip hop artists will be on the front porch.
The Comedy Underground will be on the main stage from 6-8 p.m. and will feature six comedians. There will be “30,000 watts of sonic thunder,” which will feature LED and fire performances.
Local artist Amelia Rule will also being doing ink portraits during the event.
August hopes that the festival encourages people to “not be bored in Muncie but instead make it the city you want it to be.”
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