2017 News Release

News Release

PlayThink 2017 Draws Record Breaking Crowd

June 19, 2017
BEREA, KY

The 6th annual PlayThink Movement and Arts Festival was held at Homegrown Hideaways in Berea, Kentucky this weekend, June 14-18, 2017.
PlayThink, the largest family-friendly movement and arts festival in the United States, attracted a record-breaking 2,000 attendees.
PlayThink 2017 offered attendees more than 250 playshops, 13 musical performances, a Flowcase that showcased 26 flow artists, nightly fire shows performed by fire artists from as far away as Houston, Texas and several interactive art pieces including an effigy that was burned on the final evening of the event.

This weekend, the population of Berea, Kentucky increased by 2,000 as flow artists and families congregated at Homegrown Hideaways for the 6th annual PlayThink Movement and Arts Festival.

PlayThink, the largest festival of its kind in the nation, is a twist on the renowned Burning Man. When creating the event in 2012, Paige Hankla, founder and owner of PlayThink, was inspired by the temporary city in the desert, but wanted a family friendly event.

“I believe that every person is not only an artist, but a teacher,” said Paige. “When our children watch us participate - creating art, navigating through challenges with confidence, or acting for the greater benefit of our community - we teach them how to create the world we want them to live in. Events like Burning Man and PlayThink help us learn how to transform the world around us into a beautiful, magical sanctuary.”

The PlayThink Movement and Arts Festival offered the live music, visual arts, performances, craft vendors, and food that attendees enjoy at typical arts festivals, but this always surprising, endlessly magical event gave its attendees so much more. The 2017 festival featured a silent disco, a specially designed car that delighted children by producing continuous stream of bubbles, a firewalk, a geodesic dome filled with dozens of live butterflies and a waterfall, an effigy constructed by Kre8Now Makerspace, and for the first time ever, a wedding.

PlayThink differentiates itself from other festivals in its encouragement of participation and community building. Attendees inspired by the breathtaking performances during Friday night’s Flowcase and the nightly fire shows learned how to breathe fire, walk on stilts, and perform daring acts of acrobatics during more than 250 playshops led by the nation's leading instructors. Friendships blossomed after classes ended as students coached each other, shared meals, and watched their children play together at a obstacle playpark created by Lexington’s Urban Ninja.

Three-time PlayThink attendee and father of two, Nick Dawson, encouraged families to check out PlayThink in years to come. “PlayThink is terrific family festival,” said Nick. “Everyone that comes to the festival feels at home, even if they are not really aware of ‘flow arts’. If you come, you will not only see amazing things you've never seen before, you will do them! You will amaze yourself!"

To learn more about PlayThink or to view photographs and videos from this weekend's festivities, visit www.PlayThinkFest.com and www.facebook.com/PlayThinkMove.

Photographs

Credit: Erica Chambers