Four years ago, Southwest Fest was an idea that came to fruition by a generational group of people from Southwest Detroit who plainly and simply love their city hard. For the past four years, this festival has grown, welcoming more vendors, artists, and attendees from all over while still remaining free of charge. Yes, free.
Savannah Edwards enjoying the fest
This past weekend the original crew along with some new faces returned bigger and better than before to showcase all the hidden gems Southwest Detroit has to offer–and they’re still not done.
“We have so much to offer. We have a lot of local artists and businesses that are undiscovered. The exposure for our community is amazing, we are more than just the gentrified areas,” said Natalie Rivera, who is a part of the planning team for SW Fest.
There were three stages: The Coney Stage, the Senate Theatre stage, and SW Fest Main stage. With two outdoor stages and one inside, the festival welcomed over two dozen artists to perform. From folklorico to break dancing and R&B to Mexican Regional Music, there was entertainment for everyone.
This festival was and is made for the community to receive exposure to the arts, to festivals, and to businesses right here in our community. Making this event very unique to Southwest Detroit through the vendors, businesses and resources that are available to community members.
“There’s little to no accessible events for our community like this. They either have to pay for events like this or they have to go downtown,” Rivera said.
Thanks to generous donations and sponsorships from community members, local businesses, and corporations this festival has been able to keep the event free of charge for all attendees.
main stage
“People tell us: ‘you know, like, why don’t you guys start charging? I think you could get away with five times $20+ fees,’ But that’s what we don’t wanna do.” said Virdiana Camacho, Southwest Fest’s social media lead. “We don’t want to charge people to come enjoy their own culture, their own neighborhood, their own people.”
The small but mighty crew that makes it happen every year consists of 12 folks with all different roles to ensure this festival is free, accessible, and representative of the community in which it is located.
- Amelia Duran – Logistics & Administration
- Gabriel Herrera Duran – Sound, Booking & Production
- Idalis Longoria – Vendors
- Ahmed Nasher – Volunteers
- Viridiana Camacho – Social Media
- Isaiah Johns – Photography
- Nyasia Valdez – Special event coordinator
- Natalie Rivera – Branding & Merchandise
- Thibault Ruellan – Sound
- Rebeca Maxon – Film & Sponsorships
- Anthony Bryant – Sponsorships
- Karen Cardenas – Film
This team of people spends months planning and crafting the magic that is SW Fest and finding new ways to continue to put Southwest Detroit on the map.
