This story is part of a series about arts and culture in Washtenaw County. It is made possible by the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Destination Ann Arbor, Larry and Lucie Nisson, and the University Musical Society.

The fourth annual Fun Fest music and arts festival will take place from noon-11:00 p.m. on Aug. 10 at Frog Island Park, 699 Rice St. in Ypsilanti.
 
The day-long event, which features live music, food trucks, vendors, and a bounce house for kids, was organized by Taylor Greenshields, who also founded the audio production company Fundamental Sound Co.
 
This year’s event will feature blues vocalist Thornetta Davis, a Detroit-based luminary and winner of innumerable Detroit Music Awards, as well as local acts like the Pajamas, Nique Love Rhodes, the Pherotones, Harmolodics, and Bunkerman.
 
Greenshields says the idea for Fun Fest arose after he and his friends, many of them musicians who often hung out at Frog Island Park, noticed that the park's stage and amphitheater were rarely used.
 
"[We] just looked at each other and [were] like, ‘Whoa, we should do a show on that stage sometime,’" Greenshields says.
 
For a while, that idea remained an idea only, until Greenshields finally decided, "I’m gonna actually do it — so let’s go."
 
Greenshields, who performs as a drummer with various groups in the area, has also served as sound engineer for other festivals, so he already had the experience to move forward.
 
Back in the early 2000s, he says, Ypsi used to feature all sorts of music festivals, like the Frog Island Jazz and Blues Festival, many of which have since ended.
 
"Now there really isn’t that much going on," Greenshields says — and he wanted to fill that void. "I just love that space down at Frog Island so much that I just wanted to see it used to its full potential."
 
This year’s event will be followed by an after-party at Ziggy’s, where the Ypsi-based band Ma Baker is expected to perform.
 
Greenshields says Fun Fest is family-friendly and open to "all walks of life." The event is free to all but welcomes donations, which go toward the festival itself.
 
"We need support [now] more than ever," Greenshields says, especially since the city of Ypsilanti raised the fee for park rentals this year.
 
Greenshields says he’s particularly looking forward to Davis’ performance: "She’s a legend and I am so stoked that she is going to be there." Plus, he adds, his mom is a "huge" Davis fan.

"I just want my mom to enjoy it," he says.
 
Tickets to Fun Fest are available here. A recap video of last year’s Fun Fest is available here.

Natalia Holtzman is a freelance writer based in Ann Arbor. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and others.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Greenshields.