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Mandel Public Library schedules Fan Fest for May 24; library technology lab to showcase tools for local creators
Summary
Mandel Public Library will host a free Fan Fest on May 24 featuring five panelists, local artists, the 501st Legion, vendors and hands-on activities. The library’s Technology and Innovation Center (TIC) — offering 3D printing, professional software and audio tools — will be a focal point for creators and families.
Mandel Public Library will host Mandel Fan Fest on Saturday, May 24, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., offering panels, vendors, photo opportunities and hands-on activities for families, library officials said.
The one-day event is free to the public; attendees need a West Palm Beach library card for access to services, and event details are posted at wpb.org/mandelfanfest. “The Mandel Fan Fest is gonna be May 24, 12 to 4, a 1 day, just a very concentrated event,” said Eric Marcus, manager of the Technology and Innovation Center at Mandel Public Library.
The festival is aimed at fans of comic art, fantasy and related creative pursuits and will include five panelists covering topics from Disney fandom to screenwriting, sculpture and character creation. Local artists and vendors will sell work, and the 501st Legion — the Star Wars costuming nonprofit — is scheduled to provide photo opportunities and public engagement, Marcus said. “There will be a bunch of photo ops for sure,” he said.
The event’s programming is intended both to celebrate fandom and to connect aspiring creators with resources at the library’s Technology and Innovation Center, known as the TIC. Marcus described the TIC as a free, publicly accessible digital arts lab stocked with hardware and software commonly used in professional creative work. “Everything that I ever used in the art school… is in the TIC for free for people to use,” Marcus said.
Marcus listed equipment and software available to cardholders, including industry tools for illustration, animation and 3D work (Adobe Creative Cloud, Toon Boom, Blender/Maya), a 3D printer and 3D scanner, and audio production tools (Ableton, Audacity, MIDI controllers). He said the TIC supports digital painting, 2D and 3D animation, sound recording and basic mastering workflows and can 3D print maquettes or scans of physical sculptures.
Organizers emphasized that the festival is family friendly and intended to introduce children and adults to creative practices. Marcus said the event is designed to be inclusive so attendees can “celebrate what they love doing” and meet others who share specific interests such as Dungeons & Dragons, sculpture, writing or board games.
Panelists announced for the festival include a Disney-focused presenter known as Disneyiki, a sculptor identified as Freddie, a world-building presenter named Sarah, a screenwriting instructor named Derek and May O’Malley, an artist associated with Artlife and local projects. Marcus said the panels are deliberately varied to appeal both to fans and to people looking to restart or begin creative projects.
The library’s event page lists photos from a previous trial run and a roster of participating artists and vendors. Marcus encouraged residents to visit the library and the TIC regardless of whether they attend Fan Fest: “I want other local artists… and even the ones who aren't local practicing artists, people who have just been sitting there thinking they're not an artist. That's not true, you are. Come here and look at the tools.”
For more information and the full festival schedule, organizers direct the public to wpb.org/mandelfanfest.
