Photographed And Written By Liv Foltiny
On April 20th, Ardmore, PA had its very first Spring Fest, an all-day outdoor event everyone could attend free of charge. Hosted by Mirror Image Events and JFS4 Enterprises, Ardmore Spring Fest sought to bring the community together through music (with live performances throughout the day) as well as the products and services from local businesses and artists. Even though I was only there for the second half of the event, one thing was utterly clear: the festival not only met its goal of fostering togetherness and communal support but also ended up surpassing any initial expectations I would have had regarding its magnitude.
Walking up to the lot behind John Henry’s Pub a little after 2:30 pm, I encountered a mass of people, the first being children and their families playing games, which included corn hole and a large-scale version of Connect 4. While I didn’t stay in that area for long, I did end up having a few laughs as a boy who was playing corn hole with (whom I presumed was) his mom accused her of cheating or not playing fair after being told (something along the lines of) one of his shots didn’t count because it hit her before landing elsewhere. Despite this short-lived accusation, the game continued and was just as lighthearted as when I arrived.
Moving on, I found myself in the second section of the lot: the vendors’ area. From books, paintings, and vintage clothing to hoagies, local brews, and funnel cakes, the vendors’ section had a little bit of everything and welcomed everyone, including visitors’ four-legged friends. Multiple dogs visited throughout the day and added to the joyous ambiance through their presence. Many of them enthusiastically received pets from attendees, and others were shy but affectionate (yes, I’m referring to Coach, a dog I met later who snuck up and gave me a kiss while I was focused on taking a photo). Overall, the vendors’ section effectively served as a networking platform for the local community; however, it wasn’t the festival’s main attraction. That particular title was reserved for the stage at the end of the lot.
Flagged on each side by colorful Ardmore Spring Fest banners (courtesy of Mirror Image Media), the stage functioned as the primary focal point, both visually and audibly, in the lot. It not only was where each of the bands performed but also included DJ Korvez’s station. All of the music, announcements, and introductions came from the stage, and the first artist introduction I was present for was that of Melt With You.
DJ Korvez
Donning graphic tees, jeans, jackets, patterns, sequins, or a combination of those things, the members of Melt With You took to the stage. Covering a variety of songs, ranging from “I Want Candy” (The Strangeloves) to “Tainted Love” (Soft Cell’s cover), Melt With You’s set touched upon the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s and led to many attendees dancing. The band commanded the crowd’s attention and made sure to include everyone in their performance; this was most evident during their performance of “99 Luftballoons”/“99 Red Balloons” (Nena). Playing upon the title of the English version of the song, Melt With You, with help from family, tossed red balloons into the audience. Following this, the band continued to play as adults and children happily threw, kicked, and swung the balloons around. Moments like this undeniably established a genuine connection between the artists and the crowd, and it was this connection that ultimately created the positive energy that persisted through the final performance of the day.
Melt With You
After Melt With You finished their set, there was a brief intermission; then, the Atomic Rock Band gathered onstage and began to play. Like the previous band, they performed covers of various songs; however, their setlist covered a larger span of time as it incorporated contemporary hits. Not being familiar with the band and assuming they only played rock music, I was surprised when, seemingly out of nowhere, they played a medley of Taylor Swift songs in the style of rock n’ roll. Needless to say, seeing a group of grown men confidently belting out lyrics to songs typically associated with a female audience was great; the juxtaposition of it all stood out and presented the music in a slightly different way (which was a welcome change for those who weren’t Swifties).
Atomic Rock Band
Besides demonstrating their musical prowess, the members of Atomic Rock Band also showed their ability to play up to the camera and the crowd. I undoubtedly witnessed this firsthand as there were multiple instances when I, upon being spotted by one or more of the band members, was presented with dynamic poses or funny facial expressions (e.g.- tongue sticking out). Their relationship with the cameras went further than this, though, since one of the members intermittently used the tablet embedded in his instrument to record the crowd. When he wasn’t recording the audience, he would switch the images displayed on his tablet, so pictures of MegaMan, zombies, etc. were all fair game. Unfortunately, a technical issue ended the Atomic Rock Band’s set earlier than expected; the band explained this to the crowd and, after thanking everyone for coming, broke down their equipment and stuck around to interact and take photos with fans.
After attendees left, vendors, artists, organizers, and staff stayed to clean up the lot and, even though the festival had come to an end, continued to exhibit that sense of togetherness that permeated the day. From chatting and telling lighthearted jokes to helping one another move things, everyone connected in some way, and, by the end of the day, two things were irrefutably clear: Brian Cronin, the man behind the festival and Mirror Image Media, was more than capable of organizing a successful event, and Ardmore Spring Fest, despite being in its infancy, was on its way to becoming an invaluable asset to the surrounding community.
Brian Cronin (Organizer)
You can learn more about the festival by visiting the links below!
