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Promotional poster drawn by Rachel Mckay /Courtesy of Grand Rapids Zine Fest
On Saturday, August 23 from 12-6 p.m. West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT) will host Grand Rapids Zine Fest. This is the sophomore year for the festival that will feature over 35 exhibitors including Issue Press, The Bandit Zine, Brown and Proud Press and Ramsey Everydaypants.
Drew Damron and Sara Chittenden have organized the event, collaborating with WMCAT and Cult Pizza for this year's fest.
"A Zine Fest is an important event because it cultivates and supports the community of artists and writers who are self-publishing their own work," says Damron. "It provides a large platform for zine makers to distribute their work to the public, and it connects local zinesters with others from around the country. It is also a unique event in that it provides a space where everyone is respected and cared for. We will have gender neutral bathrooms and a Safer Space policy in place which allows us to remove any attendees who exhibit any form of racism, transphobia, homo/biphobia, misogyny, ableism etcetera."
Zine genres this year include everything from personal zines (perzines), culinary, comics, photography, poetry and politics. Prices range from one to 10 dollars.
Zine Fest is a free event and open to the public.
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