Dear Zimfest community,
At long last, the ZA board and I are happy to announce the dates and location for Zimfest 2025: August 7-10, 2025, at Central Washington University (CWU) in Ellensburg, WA. Mark your calendars! Be forewarned that Zimfest has been allocated a single dorm with only 80% of the number of beds we usually require on-campus, so you may wish to look into nearby motels, Air BnB’s and campgrounds well in advance. More info on these options coming soon!
The Search
We are so sorry that it took us this long to confirm a date, having begun an exhaustive WA State venue search late last year. After contacting many institutions, we have learned that college conference organizers and the administrations that oversee them have been as disturbed by the COVID epidemic as have many other for-profit and not-for-profit entities.
- Conference service fees are higher all around; be prepared to pay more when registering for Zimfest 2025 and future festivals to help us balance the budget.
- Disturbingly, at least two institutions that hosted Zimfest in the past do not want us back for reasons traceable to participant (mis)behavior. This made our search more difficult, and we remind Zimfest-goers that we owe respect and gratitude to our institutional hosts and their efforts, as well their rules (especially regarding alcohol and marijuana use!).
Volunteers Needed
Finally, we will be re-forming our Organizing Committee (OC) to begin work on Zimfest 2025, starting with teacher and performer applications to open in January. As always, we need volunteer help. Here are some needs we know of right now:
- Volunteer Coordinator—active member of the OC, with duties leading up to and during the festival
- Local Arrangements—does not need to meet with the OC, carries out tasks as needed in concert with Festival Coordinator
- Grant Writing and other Fund-Raising—works independently on behalf of the ZA Board
- Other Ongoing Volunteer Needs: see How and Why to Volunteer on the website
You can fill out the Volunteer Contact Form on the website or write directly to claire[at]zimfest[dot]org for info or to put your hand up!
Thanks for reading (apologies for the lengthy post)!
Claire Jones, Zimfest Coordinator
Music Dancing Across Borders
(PS – We limited our site research and evaluation to Washington state this year with the vision of alternating years between Oregon and Washington sites. See here if you are interested in the venues we have researched.
