The Animoog Playground: Wonderland for Moogers

Curator's Corner is The Tuned Inn's behind the scenes look at the development, production, and booking process of the top festivals in the country. This edition features Charlie Jennings, Event Operations at AC Entertainment / Moogfest.

For the first time, Moogfest is adding an outdoor element: the Animoog Playground. Because a lot of music festivals take place exclusively outside, we decided to add an outdoor venue to give fans the classic festival experience. Having an outdoor venue also allows us to accommodate more bands and to showcase them on a huge, rock-concert-style stage.

This will be one of the very few times a multi-day, full-scale concert stage has been erected in the heart of downtown Asheville. Even better, the Animoog Playground will be much more than just a stage (as you may have guessed from the name). The “Playground” is exactly that: a place for adults to have fun through a conglomeration of amazing music, exciting visual experiences, and unique interactive features. The goal is to create an atmosphere that transports Moogfest attendees into another world. Don’t be surprised if you see large aliens mingling with attendees or your fellow fans riding bicycles that look like giant animals. It’s all part of the Animoog Playground experience.

In order to complete the experience, we recruited four of Asheville’s best local food trucks to create our very own “food truck alley” in the Animoog Playground. There will be food from Lowdown, Gypsy Queen, Veggie Love, and Pink Taco. No boring festival food here! And, you can’t forget about the drinks when you’re in BeerCity USA (a title Asheville has held for three years straight!). The Animoog Playground will feature local and craft beers (and no, you won’t be penned into a beer garden while you drink).

So get ready to party and bring a jacket (Asheville is incredibly beautiful, but cool, this time of year). See you at the Animoog Playground!