The beast is ready to be unleashed
By Darin Earl
Ambiguous, color-splashed posters marked “The Beast is in Town, May 1” have popped up on Rider’s campus and “the beast” has been unleashed once more.
On the last day of classes, the Arts Management Association is hosting the third annual ArtBeast Festival. This year’s vintage carnival theme will bring a professional circus troupe and feature jugglers, stilt-walkers and midway games. There will be a number of performances and interactive activities throughout the day, including musical acts, dance showcases, a station to tie-dye T-shirts and more.
Todd Dellinger, professor of arts administration, shared his 22 years of professional producing with his arts events and festivals management class, a course for arts administration students that helps them gain experience in event planning. Dellinger describes ArtBeast as a “multi-arts event festival” that presents many aspects of the visual and performing arts.
Along with the circus-inspired events, junior theater studies major Tyler Daddario said this year’s festival “creates buzz” with its marketing technique.
“I’ve always really enjoyed the ambiance of ArtBeast and the environment it creates on our college campus,” Daddario said.
His class hopes to pique the interest of students who have never attended the festival before and to bring back those who have.
In order to make ArtBeast come to life, the class enlisted several groups on campus to help.
“[Arts Management Association] helps by providing funding,” Ashley Alvarez, junior arts administration major and vice president of the organization, said. The Student Entertainment Council and Student Government Association also assisted in funding.
Dellinger speculates that the audience could possibly exceed his expectation of 1,000 attendees.
The students intend to keep track of attendees via wristbands. Food for the festival will be supplied by Cheeburger Cheeburger, Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt and other vendors.
Dellinger is confident the festival will rise above the caliber of last year’s event.
“I couldn’t ask for a better group of focused and driven kids,” Dellinger said of his students.
“It is one of the best days on campus because it’s goofy and fun and creative,” Daddario said. “We get to spend time on the last day of classes together.”
The third annual ArtBeast is on May 1, kicking off at 2:40 p.m. in front of the Fine Arts building. The event is free and open to all. For more information and a complete schedule of events, find the festival on Facebook at: facebook.com/artbeastru and follow ArtBeastRU on Twitter.
printed in the 4/22/15 edition
