BOOM Charlotte immersive arts festival is on the move again with a new location
One of Charlotte’s largest arts festivals with immersive artistic experiences will have a new location next year.
The eighth annual BOOM Charlotte will be April 25-27 at University City in north Charlotte, University City Partners and the festival founder said Tuesday. The three-day festival typically spotlights as many as 100 local artists and cutting-edge fringe arts and culture with dance, music, theater, poetry, visual art and film.
“It will be one of the most scenic places around the lake and have a different look and experience,” Manoj Kesavan, founder and executive director of BOOM Charlotte, told The Charlotte Observer.
The festival originally was held in Plaza Midwood. At its height, in 2019 before a two-year hiatus in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, BOOM Charlotte drew about 20,000 attendees. The last two festivals were held at Camp North End drawing about 10,000 people, Kesavan said.
University City has plenty of potential, Kesavan said, with UNC Charlotte there and traffic from nearby businesses like Boardwalk Billy’s.
“We hope it will be as big or bigger,” he said. “We’ve never wanted to be in one place and have other programs in other parts of the city.”
The partnership supports University City Partner’s mission to support local arts and culture as well, Keith Stanely, CEO and president of University City Partners, said in a statement. The nonprofit promotes economic growth to the University City area of Charlotte through public and private partnerships.
University City has seen a 42% increase in visitors since 2021, with 3.4 million guests visiting so far this year, according to University City Partners.
About BOOM Charlotte
The festival will have two experiences:
▪ BOOM Fringe with ticketed indoor experimental art.
▪ BOOM Intersection with free outdoor, family-friendly performances.
BOOM Charlotte depends on grants and local sponsors to cover expenses to give artists the freedom to develop new ideas.
Artist applications are being accepted through Jan. 15 on BOOM Charlotte’s website at boomcharlotte.org. Details on vendors, performers and artists will be announced closer to the event.
“It’s definitely a majority minority festival,” Kesavan said.
This year, along with a focus on Black and immigrant arts and cultures, Kesavan said he is reaching out to Native Americans in the community.
“Native American artists seem completely absent from the cultural scene here,” he said.
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This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 11:38 AM.