Why The Print Expo Rules by Monika Hauck (2015)
Kazoo! Print Expo
Why does the Kazoo! Print Expo rule? If you don’t know, it’s likely because you haven’t attended before and unfortunately for those individuals there are only a handful of excuses you could list in order to evade judgment. So I’m just going to go ahead and save you the trouble by listing those excuses.
Reasons for not going to the Kazoo! Print Expo:
1) You were at a Kazoo! Show the night before
2) You have to prepare for Kazoo! Fest all day long
As stated, the reasons for your potential lack of attendance are few. And although your excuses may be true, this is what you can expect as a response to your pittances.
A) So was everyone else
B) See above answer
So, with that in mind, I should remind myself to remind you, that I am not here to guilt trip you about why you haven’t gone to the Kazoo! Print Expo, but instead I am here to positively enlighten you about the many reasons you SHOULD go. Always. Every year.
Kazoo! Fest is a special thing. Surely if you’re reading this you have some familiarity with the annual five day event. If you’re new to the Kazoo! Fest scene and reading this article, it might sound like some half-baked reverse psychology press piece. It might sound like that even if you are a regular Kazoo! Fest attendee, but I’m under the impression that reverse psychology is still effective in some scenarios.
Luckily for me, it doesn’t really matter because The Kazoo! Print Expo doesn’t need a list of reasons for why it rules. I’m still going to list some though, just for good measure.
The Kazoo! Print Expo, nestled in Mitchell Hall, is where I’ll be on Saturday morning, with the sun streaming through the high gymnasium windows, sparkling with dust making me nostalgic and slightly allergic at the same time. It doesn’t matter though because the comparatively quiet event will have me thumbing through hand drawn pages within minutes of my arrival. The Print Expo brings together such a unique array of creators and, in its fledgling phase, you can spend time with artists and their work in a way that you are unable to at larger events. It provides a complementary experience to the rest of Kazoo! Fest, it offers something for your eyes and your hands (and that blank spot on your wall), so you can give those holes in the side of your head a few hours rest.
I’ve witnessed the Print Expo grow and adapt over the last few years, and you know how sometimes you go to something, an annual event or show, and feel like it is in a really sweet spot? Not so big that you’re jostling to keep two feet grounded comfortably, but at the same time not so small that you’re questioning if you’re at the right venue? Not too cool, but cool enough that if you miss it, you might actually miss it – that sweet spot? I think that’s precisely where the Kazoo! Print Expo is right now. And all I’m saying, in my admittedly roundabout, cheesy, and reverse psychological way, is that a few hours sleep is just not worth missing this event.
Monika Hauck is a Guelph-based visual artist and is one of the creators behind Versa, this year’s Kazoo! Fest and Ed Video‘s Look Hear Micro-Grant Recipient.
