Photo © 2014 Abby J Kok
OUR STORY
MAWP; or Music and Art in Wright Park, for those less into brevity,
dates back to the early 1990’s in the heart of Tacoma. The event's
humble origin can be traced to an unassuming record store, Mother
Records, and its charismatic owner, Ken Johnson.
Inspired by a performance of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra at
historic Wright Park Ken thought, “Wonder if I could do that? But
Punk Rock…"
While simple in theory, it took a lot of time and energy to accomplish
this little dream. The initial effort to get the ball rolling was expended
by primarily Ken and Mother Records co-owner, Kelly Mickelsen. In
years after, the burden would fall on the shoulders of Ken alone.
It was no small feat to organize these events. His efforts included but
were not limited to: convincing the Tacoma Metro Parks Department to
allow such an audacious undertaking, booking the bands to perform,
promoting the show through various avenues of advertising, and
soliciting sponsors to secure and maintain the necessary budget to
manage all of this, all while still allowing enough funding left over for
staging, a sound system and security. A tremendous amount of Ken's
life was poured into the show every year for nothing more than a love
of local music; a fun and free opportunity for the public and the
performers alike.
OUR STORY
MAWP; or Music and Art in Wright Park, for those less into brevity,
dates back to the early 1990’s in the heart of Tacoma. The event's
humble origin can be traced to an unassuming record store, Mother
Records, and its charismatic owner, Ken Johnson.
Inspired by a performance of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra at
historic Wright Park Ken thought, “Wonder if I could do that? But
Punk Rock…"
While simple in theory, it took a lot of time and energy to accomplish
this little dream. The initial effort to get the ball rolling was expended
by primarily Ken and Mother Records co-owner, Kelly Mickelsen. In
years after, the burden would fall on the shoulders of Ken alone.
It was no small feat to organize these events. His efforts included but
were not limited to: convincing the Tacoma Metro Parks Department to
allow such an audacious undertaking, booking the bands to perform,
promoting the show through various avenues of advertising, and
soliciting sponsors to secure and maintain the necessary budget to
manage all of this, all while still allowing enough funding left over for
staging, a sound system and security. A tremendous amount of Ken's
life was poured into the show every year for nothing more than a love
of local music; a fun and free opportunity for the public and the
performers alike.
© 2014 MAWP
That inaugural event way back in 1993 is a vague memory now. For
over 20 years Music and Art in Wright Park has offered a free and
creative outlet for the fans, artists and performers. And while he tried
to get away from it all or take a break from the event, Ken remains to
this day the heart and soul behind the organization, and a large
reason that MAWP is able to provide such a stellar show every year.
This festival is a family friendly, free event. filled with art, crafts, some
food trucks and a ton of music!! Rock, Rock-n-Roll, Alternative, Pop, Punk,
whatever you want to call it, Tacoma has a rich history in it and a bright future
for it. This music and art festival is totally reliant on donations, sponsors,
vendors, fund raisers, and volunteers to produce this local extravaganza.
Help keep MAWP a free to the public event and growing even larger.
All donations go to the future productions of Music and Art in Wright
Park. Thanks for your support!
That inaugural event way back in 1993 is a vague memory now. For
over 20 years Music and Art in Wright Park has offered a free and
creative outlet for the fans, artists and performers. And while he tried
to get away from it all or take a break from the event, Ken remains to
this day the heart and soul behind the organization, and a large
reason that MAWP is able to provide such a stellar show every year.
This festival is a family friendly, free event. filled with art, crafts, some
food trucks and a ton of music!! Rock, Rock-n-Roll, Alternative, Pop, Punk,
whatever you want to call it, Tacoma has a rich history in it and a bright future
for it. This music and art festival is totally reliant on donations, sponsors,
vendors, fund raisers, and volunteers to produce this local extravaganza.
Help keep MAWP a free to the public event and growing even larger.
All donations go to the future productions of Music and Art in Wright
Park. Thanks for your support!