With Miami not yet in high season, early October seemed an unlikely time to roll out a new festival. But a team of Miami nightlife curators had a successful debut with the III Points Festival October 3 to 5 in the Wynwood arts district for fans of all things art, music, and technology.
“We wanted to showcase the emerging neighborhood of Wynwood and the incredible people and venues that are committed to furthering the agenda of culture and arts,” said festival co-founder Erica Freshman.
III Points took over the booming arts neighborhood, where more than 30 events unfolded in more than 20 different venues. Usual and unique spaces including bars, galleries, sound stages and indoor soccer fields welcomed more than 3,000 attendees.
“All venues were welcome to participate in the activations we curated, which merged art, tech, and music,” Freshman said. “We wanted to have a combination of straightforward panels, discussions, and screenings, along with less-serious activities, games, parties and showcases.”
Samsung was the main sponsor, showcasing new tech toys for media to play with at the Samsung Galaxy Blogger Lounge, which took place at denim boutique 1ofK. Samsung brand ambassadors also hosted the Next Big Thing Artists Dinner at up-and-coming foodie destination and culinary class outpost Shikany. A Samsung video playlist complemented each course.
Red Bull hosted one of the weekend’s most popular events, the Red Bull Music Academy Couch Sessions with LCD Soundsystem and DFA Records founder James Murphy at nightlife staple Bardot.
Whimsical and nostalgic events including musical chairs, a freeze dance, a disco nap, a gaming lounge, gallery showcases, and sunset barbecues kept festivalgoers busy.
“We tried not to take ourselves too seriously,” Freshman said. “We wanted people to get into the spirit and enjoy it.”
The most dramatic venue transformation occurred at Mana Production Village, a film sound stage warehouse, which was home to two nights of audiovisual deliveries, local art exhibitions, haircut and nail booths, an artsy makeover station, an interactive photo booth, stylized general admission and V.I.P. lounges, and catering from Midtown eatery Gigi.
The largest draw of the festival was the musical lineup, which included local talent as well as headliners like Murphy, DJ Shadow, Jamie xx, Yacht, and Australia’s Miami Horror.
Working to put together a new festival with quality programming was not easy, but organizers were pleased with the timing and the results.
“There was an opportunity to carve out a time of year that was slower in the city and offer a boost to the neighborhood businesses, as well as give people something fresh to do,” Freshman said.
Can III Points enthusiasts expect another go-around next year? “We will definitely be back in 2014—same weekend,” Freshman said.
