Did you see the news?! We are so happy to announce that we have locked in our Headliner for our 3rd Annual Middle of NOWhere Rural Art & Music Festival and the news went live on our IG yesterday! You're gonna wanna catch 'em all! And especially... our HEADLINER 2025 MONFest Headliner Naethan Apollo Blending the rich storytelling of Dungeons & Dragons with a genre-defying alternative pop sound, Naethan creates an immersive audio-visual experience like no other. From love and triumph to deep...
15 days ago • 2 min read
How we move Dear Reader, Are you as excited about MONfest 3 as we are?! We've been steadily working behind the scenes to prepare for our next festival and some fun happenings about Iowa in-between now and then. For your reading pleasure, here's a list of some of the things we've been up to since we last shared a newsletter! Applications for Vendors/Artists remain open! Remember, this year we will only be selecting 65 artists - so get your application in to be considered sooner than later!...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Seasons Greetings! You might think that a one day festival might have an off-season, but at The MONfest we are always dreaming and scheming up ways to continue to bring our best for our community all year round. Here are a few updates on the behind-the-scenes workings of the the MONfest Team as we close out 2025. Seeking Sponsors for MONfest 3 We are looking to connect with sponsors who would like to support our event July 11, 2026. This year, we have some new opportunities for partnerships...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Mark your calendars - MONfest 3 is loading Hi Reader! If you saw the notice hit the gram earlier this month, we hope you are as excited as we are for the drop of our official MONfest 3 date. Join us at the Cellar Winery for MONfest 3 Saturday July 11, 2026 And... for a little hint of what's to come with our theme, feel free to scroll through this awesome comic our favorite Artist Founder made. As we continue to work to prepare for this upcoming event next year, please know we are cooking up...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Welcome to Fall Doodling at MONfest, July 2025 (Photo by FluxStudeos) We know that even though the official Latine/x Heritage Month has come to a close (October 15th) we are never done celebrating cultural roots! And, October kicks us off into the real fall feels along with other important milestones we want to make sure we're shouting out for our artists and creators whose roots emerge from these other fertile soils. October 11th is National Coming Out Day - so we're sending love to our...
6 months ago • 1 min read
How do you celebrate Latine/x Culture? La Gente gathering at the Cellar Winery for a little Volunteer Gratitude Pachanga Here at MONfest we are happy to reflect on what it means to have a Heritage Month dedicated to all things Hispanic, Latina/o/e/x or however you like to name your self as part of this dynamic diaspora. September 15th is the purposeful start of our month which feels a little different to say the least. But... it's in honor of the five Central American countries who reclaimed...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Meet the Monfest team Brief interviews with the people making the magic happen We are excited to bring you behind the scenes of the Middle of NOWhere Rural Art & Music Festival with interviews featuring the MONfest team. But before we dive into that... Enter to win a MONfest Merch Pack in our Back to School Giveaway You might have seen this drop in our IG feed earlier this week but in case you missed it - we recently announced our 🎒Back to School Giveaway where 5 lucky winners will receive a...
8 months ago • 3 min read
Closing the book on MONFest 2025 Vibing at MONFest 2025 - Photo by Flux Studeos We're a few weeks out from our last MONFest and still enjoying the photos our vendors and participants keep sharing about our time together! We wanted to also take a moment to share some good news with you! MONFest Awarded a grant! We are happy to share that we have been the recipient of a grant from the Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Economic Development Authority to support MONfest. The grant funds supported...
9 months ago • 1 min read
Final Preparations Are Underway It's the final countdown! We have been basking in the previews artists and vendors have been sharing on their social feeds all week about the goodies they are prepping to bring to the Cellar Winery on Saturday July 12th! Countdown to MONfest We've also been glowing in the love we've been able to share about the Middle of NOWhere with our communities through a variety of media channels. Read about us in the Ames Tribune Reporter Ronna Faaborg highlighted a few...
10 months ago • 2 min read