Let the countdown begin! The Upstate’s first ever health and lifestyle 2-day comminuty driven festival at Fluor Field is now just 3 days, 10 hours and 58 minutes (and counting!) away. To better prepare for The NESS Fest, we thought there would be no better person to sit down with than their Event Director. Let’s go meet The NESS Fest’s Allie Maietta!
360: How did you get involved with The NESS Fest?
Allie: I have known Brenda Luginbill, the founder of the festival, since I moved to Greenville. We worked together for years and when she heard I was looking for a job, she approached me with the concept of The NESS Fest. Anyone who knows Brenda knows that if she asks if you want to start your own event with her, you absolutely say yes! I loved the uniqueness of the festival and was immediately on board to help make the event come to fruition.
360: Give us the quick elevator pitch… what’s The NESS Fest?
Allie: The NESS Fest is a 2-day health and lifestyle festival taking place at Fluor Field on October 20th and 21st. The festival is all about helping our attendees become the best versions of themselves and we do that by focusing on four pillars: wellNESS, goodNESS, wholeNESS and fitNESS. Picture workout classes from all the gyms in our area, live cooking demos, seminars, meditation rooms, vendor booths, live music, mini sports training camps and so much more – we are literally taking over every inch of the Greenville Drive stadium. Every resource here in the Upstate, every place you may have been curious about or too intimidated to go check out by yourself, you can find it here and experience everything they have to offer in a fun environment.
360: What do you love most about your job and planning this event so far?
Allie: I absolutely love all of the people that I have gotten to meet. It has been really special to hear so many stories from people who are excited about The NESS Fest because they’ve been struggling with something and haven’t had any idea how to take that first step in figuring out what to do about it. Brenda and I joke that we created this festival to help get our own personal wellness journeys started but the truth is that we want people to feel like we’re all in this together. Whatever has been holding you back, we hope that The NESS Fest will be the place that you finally decide it’s time to make a change and you meet someone there that is going to contribute in some shape or form to making that possible.
360: Are there any surprises you can share with us about The NESS Fest?
Allie: Well if I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise! BUT, a little insider tip: if you’re worried about missing football that weekend, there’s no need! We will have games on all the TVs in the 500 Club and there may even be a former professional/college athlete or two there that you can hang out with instead!
360: What’s next for you after The NESS Fest?
Allie: NESS Fest 2019, of course! We want to continue providing our NESS community with events and resources all year long, beyond the two day festival weekend. You can expect to see lots of pop-up events in our future and watch us continue to grow for next year. Aside from that, I have another really big event I have to start planning after The NESS Fest and that’s my wedding!
Allie: My fiancé and I love being surrounded by our friends and family – so whether it’s hosting people at our house, or heading downtown to check out a new restaurant, we love exploring all the new things popping up here in Greenville and sharing those experiences with the people we love.
360: That’s awesome. Thank you for all your hard work on this community event! We’ll see you on Saturday. And congrats on your engagement!
To find out even more about the upcoming NESS Fest this weekend on October 20th-21st at Fluor Field, you can check out their website here or you can follow along via their Instagram and Facebook. And of course, for tickets you can also click here!