What: Better Dads Festival
Where: Roger McGuire Green, Pack Square Park, downtown Asheville
Date: Saturday, June 17, 2017 (Father’s Day weekend)
Time: Noon to 9:30 PM
Price: Free admission (including the music!)
This Father’s Day weekend, the Better Dads Festival will create an active, soulful, inspirational, fun, and educational space for the Asheville community to explore and celebrate fatherhood. The event welcomes people of all ages. Live music, dance, games, costumes, drumming, storytelling, crafts, poetry, and a dress-your-dad photo booth will provide opportunities to play together. Community speakers and resource booths from Asheville’s diverse communities will invite festivalgoers to explore how men show up in their lives, the challenges they face, and new possibilities. For those seeking deeper connection, there will be sharing circles.
The musical lineup will include acclaimed local artists LYRIC (who performs with her father), David LaMotte, and the Billy Jonas Band. And, Asheville storyteller, Connie Regan-Blake will bring her magic to the stage.
Awesome food and beverage vendors- Corner Kitchen Catering, Ghan Shan Station, Flat Rock Bakery Pizza, Highland Brewing Company, to name a few- will be on site.
The Better Dads Festival is the brainchild of Hendersonville resident, Alan Kay who has aspired to create a celebration of healthy fatherhood in all its forms. When asked, “Why the name Better Dads?” Alan responded with:
“Great question! In today’s world, it’s up to all of us, with all of our diversity, to create the next generation of compassionate and authentic men committed to a common good. It’s our collective responsibility to mentor and create a nurturing environment so that all children can grow up in an equitable community. How men show up in the world begins with what our children learn in their families, from the media, in their schools, and from their peers. Women and men share equally in determining how we communicate, maintain relationships, respect one another, and welcome diversity. While the festival focuses on nurturing better dads, we know that we all have a part to play. We’re delighted by the support of various women’s organizations that have agreed to participate in this event. We all have much to share. We all have much to learn.”
The Better Dads Festival is an outgrowth of work done by men involved with the ManKind Project (MKP), specifically within the Asheville community. MKP is a nonprofit training and education organization with three decades of success hosting life-changing experiential personal development programs for men. MKP supports a global network of peer-facilitated men’s groups and supports men in leading lives of integrity, authenticity, and service.
This will be a very lively and visual event that will invite participants to consider how to make a better world together. To learn more about the Better Dads Festival please visit BetterDadsFestival.org.