Arts & Culture
AF Fork Fest has huge turnout for The Aquabats and other artists
Madelyn Wilson | Lehi Free Press
American Fork’s own all-ages music festival, Fork Fest, invites thousands to Mary and Art Dye Park each June to enjoy performances by artists with Utah ties. The family-friendly nature of the event brings the community out in droves. The festival, presented by Harrington Center for the Arts and Velour Live Music Gallery, had its biggest year yet. This year’s Fork Fest was held June 6-7 and drew a whopping 4,000 attendees to enjoy music, activities and food in the park.
Between musical performances, a dozen food vendors, an art tent, a foam pit, a hammock hangout, and bounce houses, Fork Fest had something for everyone, proving, for the eighth year in a row, that it really is an event for the whole family. This year, Harrington Center introduced various art exhibits for attendee interaction, including a wall of CDs that patrons could paint with a song or lyric that changed their lives.
Part of what makes Fork Fest so family-friendly is that children under 12 can attend the festival free of charge with a ticketed adult. Last year’s festival had about 170 children’s tickets reserved, but this year’s count skyrocketed to over 600.
The lineup featured 32 musical artists performing on three stages over a two-day period. The festival began with a Firelight Kickoff on Friday evening, featuring five well-established local artists, including Little Moon and Mindy Gledhill. The kickoff was held entirely on the Forest Stage, an acoustic stage in the trees surrounded by couches and string lights to create a cozy atmosphere.
On Saturday, the festival ran from Noon to 10:30 p.m. and featured 30–45-minute sets from each artist. Performances spanned across three stages, including the Forest Stage used on Friday night and two side-by-side concert stages, the Lake Stage and the Mountain Stage. Local artists, including Drusky, Lantern by Sea, Local Kin and The Fictionist, led up to the headlining act of the weekend: The Aquabats.
The Aquabats! are an Orange County-based “superhero rock band” that can be easily identified by their eccentric costumes consisting of turquoise rash guards, silver “anti-gravity” helmets, black eye masks and silver belts adorned with the band’s logo. Although they’re a nationally touring group, the band has roots in Utah, and they’ve found great popularity locally due to the family-friendly nature of their music and performances. There were many attendees dressed for the occasion, with many in Aquabats t-shirts and some in full-on costumes to coordinate with the band’s.
Their set catered specifically to American Fork, including a run-in with supervillain “Spoon Man,” who hates forks and came to “destroy Fork Fest.” The Aquabats inevitably saved the day and sent Spoon Man back to where he came from. They played various hits, including Pool Party, Red Sweater, Super Rad, and the theme from their 2012 family show, “The Aquabats! Super Show!” The night ended with fireworks above the stage and a friendly farewell from the band.
The effort in making Fork Fest possible is impressive, with board members each clocking hundreds of hours of preparation. Planning begins about 10 months before the festival becomes a reality. Fork Fest also had over 200 volunteers this year.
“We are so grateful for everyone in the community who gives so much time to making this incredibly immersive, memorable summer activity possible,” said Summerisa Stevens, founder and president of Harrington Center for the Arts.
“We get so many messages from people that say, ‘I didn’t know how much I needed this. This is my favorite memory every single summer, to come here and be here and to listen to this music and be with my community,’” Stevens continued.
For more information about Fork Fest and Harrington Center for the Arts, visit harringtoncenter.org.
