The Story

We have had a vision for live music on the Greenway since the flood of ’97. We saw the new space as beautiful, and perfect for live music, but it seemed to be underutilized and even unnoticed by many in the community. The festival was a dream, waiting in the back of our minds, for years. In an April 2017 marketing meeting, Jamie Lunski, the owner and founder of HB Sound & Light, said ‘Let’s do it!’, and the Greenway Takeover Festival was a go! Less than five months later, more than 10,000 attendees 'took over' the Greenway with us, celebrating our community with live music, food, drinks, and fun!

 

Community is everything to HB Sound and Light.  We wanted to find a way to give our community the opportunity to be a part of the excitement, everything from kids performing on a fantastic stage to local artists displaying their work in an exciting and beautiful new venue. Despite the fact that in 2017 our deadline was fast and tight, we met with many local arts groups. These connections gave birth to ideas about the future of the Greenway Takeover Festival and how to jointly expand our local arts and music community. By working collaboratively with many groups who share the same mission of community and the arts, we made something wonderful.

 

The Name 

"Greenway Takeover Festival" didn’t come to us overnight. We juggled a bunch of possibilities before striking gold. The idea came to us while discussing the mission of the festival. We realized that what sets this event apart was its commitment to allowing other groups to 'take over' the festival grounds. We saw it as a way to celebrate all the different things our community has to offer. The Greenway and the arts community are two things that make Grand Forks what it is. Why not bring them together? And so, the Greenway Takeover Festival had a name and a new idea. We worked with Alley Alive, Happy Harry’s Blues on the Red, Big Forkin’ Festival and Friends of the NDMOA to take over the festival in our first year. This gave the festival a new and different feel each day.  In 2017, Alley Alive opened the space to their artists and vendors, Big Forkin’ had music start at 7am for the GF Marathon runners and Happy Harry’s Blues on the Red brought their awesome blues fans. We can't wait to see who will 'take over' next!

 

The Mission

Live music and entertainment is our passion and sharing that with the community is the reason we exist. HB Sound & Light has stepped into the presenting sponsorship position and is committed to make this the greatest event possible. We are not pursuing this venture as a money making opportunity but rather as a chance to give back to the community that allowed us to flourish. Our hope is to create a self-sustaining festival that can offer larger acts every year, give our youth the stage to see where their dreams can take them, and continue to move the local arts community forward. After a successful first year, we plan to continue our mission of a self-sustaining and community-driven event, which places local talent alongside national acts. 

 

The Support

We hope you see the value of the Greenway Takeover Festival. Support from our community, sponsors, and volunteers make the Festival possible! Together we can make Grand Forks the greatest place to live, work, play, gather, and enjoy live music.