Returning with reunions

The return of the Women in the Arts Festival may bring a roster of music, an artist market, food and good times. But over the years, it’s also provided a welcoming safe space during times of political uncertainty. 

“In 2016, after the election, many women were devastated,” recalled Julie Haan, a WITA Festival committee member. “Having the festival and a place to come together and kind of go through that loss of a ‘feminist election.’ People really tuned in to see how important this community event is.”

Returning this weekend to Edgewood United Church in East Lansing,  the 37th annual event is diverse as ever. The artist market offers more than 50 booths of products, services and local non-profit organizations — all fronted and created by women. For shoppers, there is one-of-a-kind art on canvas, handmade jewelry and mixed media stationary. Sistrum, a women’s choral group, is providing food for attendees. 

Haan, who has worked with the festival since 2006 after relocating to Lansing, said she was thrilled to join a diverse group of artistic women with similar interests, as well as getting to interact with their loyal festival attendees.
It is a familial feeling that makes WITA unique and something to experience. It’s about reconnecting and making new connections. This year, WITA’s roster is stacked with reunion shows from local bands, and Haan said it was intentional.
“It is about seeing people you haven’t seen all year, and your favorite music coming back after going into the pandemic where we couldn’t do anything.” 

During the height of COVID-19 in 2020, WITA hosted hosted a free virtual festival, and donations went straight to the performers. 

“We had a scaled-down version,” Haan recalled of last year’s event. “We only allowed about half the vendors so that we can have the space required with masks. This year is the kind of a reunion where all the stops are out.”

For some WITA veterans, this year of reunions is one for the books, thanks to comeback performances from Half Looking and Nervous But Excited.
The second-night headliners, Kate Peterson and Sarah Cleaver of Nervous but Excited, share their excitement to get back on the WITA stage after a decade-long hiatus. “Honestly? We just missed it,” Cleaver said. “Ten years is a big deal, and it’s a good thing to celebrate.”

The festival is a testament to to the community of women in the Lansing area. It is a driving force that connects Nervous but Excited to Lansing even from its first shows almost 20 years ago.

She credits Goldenrod Music, a women’s music distribution company in Lansing, for bringing the two together. 

Nervous But Excited is known for its distinct folk sound. Between them, there are guitars, banjos, ukuleles — even a mandolin. The precise harmonies and smooth chords will sneak up on you after a delicate build, and the lyrics walk you through a transporting experience of love, fear and all the things that make humans so complicated.
“It’s kind of homestead,” Cleaver said. “The songs are very intimate and personal reflections of our lives. I think how we talk about and introduce these songs and interact with the audience is what changes and involves much more political elements.”

Organizing the festival was a collaborative process by a committee of volunteers eager to keep the event alive.
“This group formed here has been around probably the last seven years,” Haan said. “Everyone has a job, and they do it. It’s almost like clockwork.” 

In summertime each year, Haan and the other committee members start to see inquiries for booth space applications. The questions come from familiar faces that have appeared since the beginning, but new artists are welcomed each year.
“In some ways, we don’t have to do a lot of searching for vendors because we have word of mouth,” Haan said. “And it’s just gotten more popular.”

She attributed the popularity to artists wanting to participate in festivals close to home and keeping expenses down. Compared to higher vendor booth costs, WITA has fees of $40, making the event feasible for smaller vendors. “The festival is one of those staples in the community that people depend on,” Haan said.
A few years ago, WITA partnered with Ten Pound Fiddle to help host the concert side of WITA. Haan credits Ten Pound Fiddle’s partnership and dedicated audience with expanding the festival’s footprint and creating stability. Haan sees this as an opportunity to bring in new and younger people who want to continue bringing the festival to East Lansing.

It is free to enter the festival’s artist markets and view day stage performances. However, headliner tickets start at $20 for the public, $18 for Ten Pound Fiddle members and $5 for students. They also follow a “pay what you can” model to encourage community participation to keep the arts accessible for all. These proceeds help support WITA and donations are highly encouraged.