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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. |
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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! Rainbow Dome Photo © 2014 Abby J Kok |