It’s one big farewell-to-summer party as the third annual Wiggle Out Loud music festival hits downtown on Labor Day weekend.
‘Wiggle’ in the title represents the activity aspect of the event and ‘Out Loud’ represents the musical experience, said event founder Chris Wiser.
“We will have amazing family-friendly musical acts, art and music activities, movement and exercise activities and a variety of local food trucks offering healthier meal options,” he said.
More than 7,000 people attended last year, and this year, organizers hope to have an even bigger crowd. The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center will handle the logistics of 2015’s event, a move Wiser said fits perfectly with the organizer’s original goals.
“After the first Wiggle Out Loud in 2013 was such a success, we saw that there truly was a want and need for this kind of family event and have since seen it grow,” Wiser said.
Children’s Hospital approached the founders of Wiggle Out Loud because the festival fits their mission of providing health and wellness to Oklahoma’s children, and Leslie Buford, director of community relations and volunteer services at the hospital, said it also plans to expand the event.
“[Wiggle] set out to provide a safe environment where families could make memories while dancing, listening to music and creating arts and crafts,” she said. “We want to change the health status of our state, and providing activities that engage children and their parents in a healthy lifestyle is critical to that mission.”
During the event, children and their families can play with musical instruments, learn yoga and make crafts. Wiser is one half of youth-oriented music act Sugar Free Allstars, which joins Trout Fishing in America on this year’s bill.
Buford said there is also a surprise activity planned prior to the grand finale.
“Oftentimes, we get intimidated by the concept of a ‘healthy lifestyle,’ but there are small things we can do on a daily basis that make a difference in our long-term health,” Buford said.
Another important aspect of the festival goes toward providing “wiggle” events for the patients at The Children’s Hospital.
“We want our patients to have the opportunity to forget about why they are in the hospital and focus on being a kid and having fun,” Buford said.
Print headline: Wiggin’ out, A family-oriented music festival returns to downtown for a rocking good time.
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2015.