Mittenfest VI + Full Lineup

It’s Mittenfest’s sixth birthday! What started off in 2006 as a modest one-day event to raise money for 826michigan – a volunteer-driven non-profit dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write – has exploded into a massive music festival featuring 60 bands and spanning the course of five days.

When Brandon Zwagerman started the fundraiser five years ago, he couldn’t imagine what it would eventually grow into. But it’s become clear that when you combine great music with a great local cause, well, great things just seem to happen.

“To say we are endlessly grateful to Brandon, Andy Garris (Woodruff’s) and Jeremy Peters (Ghostly Intl. and 826 board member) would be an understatement in every way,” says 826michigan’s Executive Director, Amanda Uhle. “These three have taken the idea of a homey, Michigan-based music festival and made it a major part of 826michigan’s fundraising efforts for the year, a serious attraction for Ypsilanti and an absolute must-do for thousands of music fans.”

Last year alone, Mittenfest raised more than $15,000 for 826michigan and has raised more than $35,000 since it began. This year’s event features some of the biggest names in the local music scene including Chris Bathgate, Prussia, Black Jake & The Carnies and Lightening Love – and the benefit closes with a New Year’s Day set by Frontier Ruckus.

826michigan’s mission to support the writing skills of local youth is based around two basic beliefs: that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. With this in mind, the great volunteers at 826 support thousands of Washtenaw County students every year, helping them to become more skilled, more competent and more confident in expressing themselves through writing. They offer free tutoring, workshops and help with publishing opportunities at their on-site writing center on Liberty Street in Ann Arbor, and they reach out to local schools and classrooms throughout the community.

But 826 is not a stand-alone writing center. It is housed in Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair, a storefront stocking creative and amusing robot-themed novelties with all proceeds going to support 826michigan. So, if you need a tincture of robot tears or want to pick up a spare set of android eyeballs as a holiday gift, stop in and put your pocketbook to good use.

Mittenfest VI is being held December 28 through January 1 at Woodruff’s in Ypsilanti’s Depot Town. Doors open each day at 4 p.m. with live music playing all the way until 2 a.m. each evening. As a special treat, Absolute Beginners will DJ a New Year’s Eve dance party from 2 a.m. – 4 a.m. on Saturday, December 31. Tickets cost $10 per day and are available at the door or in advance at Mittenfest.org. For more information or to donate to 826, visit their website at 826michigan.org.