Emberlight Festival leans into future after successes of second seasson

IRONWOOD - Aug. 27 represented the end of this year's Emberlight Festival: a 2-month round-up that included multiple art shows, a global film festival, performance infusions, and three main stage events that featured national and international singers.

"Horizons - Heritage -Harmony" was the festival theme, and those words were expressed in both explicit and implicit ways throughout the offerings.

The festival just premiered in 2021, so it is still taking form, but has become increasingly grounded and has been warmly received by audiences who appreciate its combination of free, accessible, artistic expression, combined with sweeping peeks of urbane flair.

"Everybody felt the joy," said Lori Booth, president of the festival's Board of Directors, adding that feedback from the public has been "so positive and uplifting."

At the end of August, Booth was among three key players in the festival's success who sat down with the Globe to explain the growing pains of the event.

Miles Mykkanen and Cindy Franck, who are, respectively, the festival's artistic director and creative producer, joined Booth at the Emberlight office in Ironwood to dream, ultimately, about what the future holds.

"I think, the first two years, people just didn't understand what we were doing," said Mykkanen. "In many respects, we were still figuring it out."

Nevertheless, they forged ahead because, as Franck said, "If you overthink things, you never take a chance. We didn't know how to do things, but we did them anyway."

"That's what art is about - just jumping off the deep end and saying 'I don't have any idea what I just did,'" said Mykkanen. "You stumble along the way, and you make mistakes, but that's also part of the process."

Franck claimed that art requires "risk," but immediately added "thoughtful risk."

She's amazed at how far they've come in two years, and she credits not only their own gamble, but also the wager taken by multiple other parties, including those who agreed to allow the festival to use Ironwood locations such as Miners Memorial Heritage Park, the Ironwood Area Historical Society, Theatre North and the Historic Ironwood Theatre.

From her perspective, that took "faith in the vision and the mission."

In addition, said Mykkanen, "There're so many people behind the scenes."

He and Franck mentioned the dozens of volunteers and the team leaders in charge of them. Moreover, said Mykkanen, "I'm really proud of our board." He also commended Booth for her valuable financial experience and Franck for her talent with community organizing.

Franck, Mykkanen and Booth all are pleased with this year's festival, which included the talents of up to 150 artists. "The number of artists we were able to present is something I'm fiercely proud of," said Mykkanen.

Booth said one of the most exciting developments for the festival has been the recent declaration of its independence as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

"On many levels, it changes everything," said Booth. "The plans that we get to set in place now are our own. I see it as opening up all of the windows to the future to us because we can make it exactly what we want, so I'm very excited about that."

Until now, Theatre North had been sponsoring the festival, and Booth acknowledged that commitment as "spectacular," but noted that their new freedom now is "inspiring."

She recalled what this year's big winner of the Emberlight International Film Festival said about the event.

Carlos Melendez, whose short film "Hunger" won awards for Best Director, Audience Choice and Emberlight Choice, said he submitted his work for consideration at the recommendation of his research assistant.

He said his assistant told him, "You have to submit to Emberlight because it's going to be something big."

Booth said she sensed the same "something" from the first time she met with Franck and Mykkanen in the fall of 2020, when the latter two - who founded the festival - were in the midst of countless hours of planning for a festival premiere the following summer.

Now, the big question is what comes next. The answer during the interview leaned more to refining, rather than widening, the approach, and to diversifying the audience rather than adding to the schedule.

Booth believes the festival provides "a unique perspective that we really can grow." But she said they must be mindful to "maintain sustainable resources, both human and otherwise."

Mykkanen said it's possible that the festival might not have found a place even ten years ago.

He thinks that entertainment has been evolving from the more static framework of the previous century to more open-ended possibilities now.

He believes that, in the past three to five years, a growing interest in climate change - along with the shake-up of the COVID-19 pandemic - have shifted directions in outlooks.

Hence, he's excited about "pushing the audience" to experience art in "unconventional" ways.

"There's something about Emberlight that none of us can put our finger on," said Mykkanen, hinting that an undefined "community passion" is at the base.

Franck noted that the local arts community, at large, has had challenges in the past, but that recent years have brought "a river of energy" to that movement, of which the Emberlight Festival is now a part.

She believes a local and institutional work ethic - along with what Mykkanen added is "U.P. sisu" - has helped the festival's cause, as well as the general sense that each participant has a special talent to contribute.

Booth said "absence of ego" and "inclusive" views are additional components helping festival operators to work effectively.

Beyond that, she said, "There is a phenomenon in business that's called flow," and she noted that as having been of further aid.

Finally, all three of them spoke of how they want Emberlight to interweave within - rather than compete with - existing local events.

"We're all kind of collectively creating Emberlight," said Franck, referring to collaboration with local arts, parks and historical interests. She also wants to draw in the broader region, even though Emberlight events have been held in Ironwood, owing to the needed ingredients there.

"This can't be one group doing this," added Franck. "This needs to be an 'aha!' moment for the community," one that allows everyone to feel they are "climbing the mountain together."

Booth said that even participating artists want to return, not just as presenters, but as participants in planning and execution.

"They want to see the organization succeed," she said, adding, "We'll all figure it out if we're working together..."

"...and embracing change," concluded Mykkanen.