Clawson Fest advances into fourth year

CLAWSON — For its fourth year in a row, Clawson Fest is returning and preparing for another impressive event.

Clawson Fest was created four years ago by Sean Nasrey, who was seeking to provide a place for performers and artists to showcase their talents.

Nasrey is a member of the Detroit-based, indie/pop rock band Oak City Roots and has a lot of connections with other artists in the United States.

Nasrey said that during the height of COVID, a fellow musician from California was looking for safe, outdoor places to perform, and asked Nasrey if there were any festivals or events going on in the Clawson area.

“I said, ‘Well, not that I know of, but if you give me a few minutes, let me make some calls,’” Nasrey said. “I called them back about an hour later and I said, ‘Good news, I called our city and they said I could use an empty parking lot here on Main Street to do a little festival.’”

The small festival on a vacant parking lot was the beginning of a yearly tradition for Clawson, and Nasrey was thrilled to be a part of it.

“Within 11 days of that phone call was the first Clawson Fest. It was such a grassroots thing, and so successful,” he said.

Since being located in an empty parking lot on Main Street, the Clawson Fest has moved on to bigger and better things, now being located in the center of Clawson, on South Main Street stretching from 14 Mile Road to Tacoma Street.

“We are able to help out so many local charities and schools and all that,” Nasrey said. “My longtime friend and bandmate Sean Dunlop also helps. We get our own sponsors, and our own money, so that we can put on the festival.”

Nasrey said that a lot of the money raised from Clawson Fest goes to the schools. The Clawson Fest team has also set up a fundraiser for students from Clawson schools to raise money by selling nonalcoholic beverages.

Also, people can purchase alcoholic beverages from restaurants in the social district of Clawson and walk around the festival with those drinks.

The festival features around 120 vendors, including artists, restaurants, and business vendors. Four bands will be participating and performing throughout the duration of the festival. The bands include Motor City Josh & the Big 3, Used Cars, Oak City Roots, and The Mike Leslie Band.

For the children, there will be a kids zone with face painting, caricature drawings, science activities, arts and crafts, and more.

DDA Director Joan Horton said that it is exciting to continue to watch the festival grow over the years.

“They have totally increased the amount of vendors, so there will be a lot of shopping. There is a wide selection,” Horton said. “There’s not a lot of repeat products; there will be unique shopping.”

Clawson Fest has produced some of the highest rates of customers for vendors who participated in the past, making it one of their best days of the year.

Bonnie Swope, owner of Pop Up Art Studio in Clawson, has been participating in Clawson Fest every year since it began.

Swope said that she has had a lot of experience working at different festivals and events, and has even spearheaded some herself. But Clawson Fest has always seemed to be one that stands out among others.

“It’s a real grassroots, Clawson-centric event,” she said. “The funds are raised by Clawson businesses and Clawson people. It’s put on by Clawson residents and friends, so it is kind of a hallmark type of event.”

At the festival, Swope will be having her own booth to showcase her business, which is a local marketing and graphics business. Swope and her team provide banners and marketing materials for businesses.

This year, Swope said that her booth will have a rubber ducky pond that can result in prizes if the right duck is picked. She said that prizes could include Clawson-branded gear, like backpacks, T-shirts, and sunglasses.

Swope said that since the Clawson Fest began in 2020, she can’t believe how much it has grown, but said that this is probably as big as Nasrey and the event organizers want it to get.

“They want to keep it in their hometown ... It is very heavily attended and even though it’s one day, many of the artists say it is their best event of the year,” she said. “There are a lot of people contributing and a lot of people supporting. It is not a big for-profit event, like some of the other festivals that I have attended.”

Nasrey said that looking forward, he doesn’t think growing the event is needed, and that he thinks the festival is at a “perfect” size.

“I don’t think I need to expand it, and I don’t think we need to do anything different,” he said. “Why change a good thing? We don’t want it to get out of hand and so massive that we can’t wrangle it in.”

Clawson fest will be going from noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 24 on Main Street between 14 Mile Road and Tacoma Street in Clawson. For more information, visit clawsonfest.com.