Taylor Fest Allows Swifties to Stay in Lavender Haze

by Tyler Glover

Lately, almost everywhere you go, you will hear one name: Taylor Swift! Taylor Swift! Taylor Swift! Taylor Swift!

It should come as no surprise that across the nation, there are all kinds of Taylor Swift-inspired events hoping to bring Swifties in for business. It is not just major cities like Los Angeles, New York City or Chicago. Swift mania has traveled across the entire country.

I live in Conway,  Ark. and in the last few months alone I have seen several Taylor Swift-themed events. T.H.I.N.K. Coffee has had Swift-inspired drinks, Good Day Pottery & Art Studio held an event perfect for any painter, and The Bears Den held a Taylor Swift Trivia Night (which I won along with my friend, Allison Barber). 

My favorite thing, though, has been Taylor Fest! Taylor Fest is a Swift-themed dance party put on by Perfect Night Productions at a live music venue called The Hall in Little Rock, Ark. This event tours all over the United States but one stop, they have made at least five times has been in Little Rock. I have attended every event except one. It is a dance party put on by Swifties for Swifties and promises "everyone will feel like the main character."

The entire atmosphere is the closest thing to reliving The Eras Tour. I got to attend Taylor's record-breaking tour twice: in Arlington, Texas and Nashville. It is by far the best concert I have ever attended. It will take one heck of a concert to top it. That is why Taylor Fest's dance parties are so exciting. The minute you walk into the room, you feel you are surrounded by friends. You may try on your costume and get weird looks while leaving home but NOT at Taylor Fest! I have had friends laugh at what I was going to wear and the outfit will get tons of compliments at Taylor Fest. You will NOT be the only one dressed up. It is rarer to find someone not dressed for the occasion, and normally that is a boyfriend who has been dragged there by their girlfriend.

That is not all though! Aside from getting compliments and amazing people-watching, there are always friendship bracelets. Almost everyone there will be wearing friendship bracelets and want to exchange them with you. The room unites everyone in our love for Swift. At the last event held on Tuesday, May 25th, conversations were mostly about her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. The bar also has drinks inspired by the megastar. This time, it was called "Cherry Lips" after the lyric in Swift's song, "Blank Space." In the past, a popular drink has been called “The Cruel Summer,” after her hit song that opens The Eras Tour.
 
From the moment the dance party begins, enthusiasm matches The Eras Tour perfectly (with just 65,000 fewer people). The DJ does a fantastic job of including almost every era. The only two I have noticed absent at most of the events are folklore and evermore. It does make sense because these two pandemic indie folk albums are not filled with the kind of songs you immediately think of when you think of dancing. You will not be disappointed if you are an older fan either. They will play a song from her debut album like "Our Song" right before playing her most recent hit, "Fortnight." The atmosphere invites you to dance like you do not care and most of the people in attendance don’t! We are there to forget all the worries of our lives and dance to songs by an artist who truly has saved so many of us through her music.

The energy of the room continues strong throughout all three hours of each event. Every passionate Swiftie will leave  feeling like they took Swift's words to heart when she says, "Shake It Off." I am always ready to go again after Taylor Fest ends. Luckily, they have come back multiple times and hopefully, will continue to do so. I can't help it! I just want to stay in that "Lavender Haze."