Weekly workshops offer opportunities to create colorful art and costumes for ypsiGLOW festival

Blacklights and embellished glowing figures will return to Washington Street in Ypsilanti on Oct. 25 from 7:00 p.m to 9:30 p.m. as ypsiGLOW celebrates its fourth consecutive year.

 

ypsiGLOW is a nighttime festival and parade that allows local artists to show their talent by creating luminary costumes and masks. The event is hosted by Wonderfool Productions, which also produces the similar FestiFools and Foolmoon events in Ann Arbor.

 

ypsiGLOW organizers say every year of the event brings brand-new artistry and unexpected surprises.

 

“It was created by Ypsi for all of Ypsi,” says Jennifer Goulet, producer of ypsiGLOW, also known as the ypsiGLOW Master. “We just set the framework for people to get busy and get making. We don’t know everything that will appear on GLOW night.”

 

Public workshops to create art for the event will take place every Saturday until Oct. 19 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Ypsilanti District Library, 229 W. Michigan Ave. in Ypsi. The YDL workshops will teach attendees how to make the large, colorful heads that many wear during the event.

 

Every Sunday until Oct. 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., participants can learn how to make luminaries and costumes for the event at Riverside Art Center, 76 N. Huron Street in Ypsi.

 

In hopes of expanding last year’s crowd of 2,000 people, ypsiGLOW and Festifools have brought on several community partners, including the Youth Alliance from the Parkridge Community Center. This after-school arts program will be able to create art in workshops and present it during ypsiGLOW. There are over 20 local partners involved at the moment.

 

Behind the scenes of the event is a group of ambitious people who hope to bring the community together.

 

Jeri Rosenburg, president of Wonderfool Productions and co-founder of ypsiGLOW, says she wants to see the community thrive “in a very creative way and to have people find their creative passions.”

 

Chanel Stitt is an Ypsilanti resident and a senior at the University of Michigan – Dearborn pursuing her bachelor’s degree in journalism.