It’s time to shine a light on the otherworldly and unknown.
Explore the supernatural during Dark Matters: Winter Tales, a two-day podcast festival Feb. 25-26 at Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin.
“A lot of people think the paranormal stuff should be at Halloween,” said Tanner Melvin, co-founder/director of Side Street. “Well people are inundated by that.
We wanted to do something fresh and in a time period where it might be considered some down time for people.”
Produced in partnership with Ghostly Podcast, all festival programming will take place in Side Street’s Theater, which is located upstairs and is not wheelchair accessible. Proof of vaccination or a negative 24-hour test must be shown and masks are required.
Festival activities include live podcast recordings, workshops, a paranormal investigation and more. Side Street decided to host the festival after assistant director Nick Mataragas, who was trying to organize a podcast festival in a neighboring town, ran into difficulties with a venue.
“I really wanted to be able to see this medium showcased in our area,” Melvin said.
They decided to make the festival about darker themed subjects, and reached out to Ghostly Podcast, which has previously recorded live episodes as part of the Elgin Fringe Festival. Ghostly Podcast features skeptic Patrick Harrington of Geneva and believer Rebecca Rivers of Chicago exploring and debating whether ghost stories are fact or fiction.
Together they reached out Chicago area podcasters who explore similar themes.
“There’s a lot of them that are into the world of the paranormal,” Melvin said. “Ghosts, aliens, conspiracy theories, (and) true crime has just exploded in the podcast world.”
Among the other podcasts that will be participating are Bob After Dark, which discusses ghosts, crypts and other supernatural topics; The Bad Taste Crime Podcast, which explores topics including serial killers, bizarre crimes and conspiracies; Rob Southgate: Graphic Tales, which will feature true paranormal stories of everyday people; and Radio Luzifer, a bilingual podcast from the south side of Chicago.
“There’s going to be a lot of audience interaction as well with some of these podcasts,” Melvin said.
Investigators from Graveside Paranormal will host a ghost-hunting workshop the afternoon of Feb. 26, and later that night take festivalgoers on paranormal investigation inside Side Street Studio Arts.
“They’re actually going to host a workshop for us,” Melvin said. “We wanted to add a little different element to the podcast. We didn’t want it to be just a podcast event, because there’s so much else involved in this world. Mind reading, Tarot card reading, palmistry, paranormal investigations, history and all of those things”
Tarot reading and palmistry will be offered by The Mayfields on Feb. 26. Mind reader, mentalist and psychic entertainer Jacob Mayfield has also previously appeared at Elgin Fringe Festival.
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Audience members will get a chance to question podcasters during an Ask Me Anything session on Feb. 26.
“We’re going to be doing a little workshop on Saturday where we’ll have some of the podcasters there and people will be able to talk shop,” Melvin said. “We wanted to make this just a really interactive and fun event and want people to be able to try it.”
All of the festival programs are open to all ages.
“We do have disclaimers that some shows have adult language or adult topics, but no one talks about anything that is gratuitous or might be displeasing,” Melvin said.
Tickets are available in advance and will be available at the door if not sold out. As of press time, tickets were selling very well, Melvin said. With the help of a grant from the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, event organizers were able to keep the price of an all-festival pass at $10, which they hope will encourage people to take a chance on something different.
“We have great sponsors this year, we have a high level of interest and we’re just really excited to be able to bring something so new and different to downtown Elgin,” Melvin said.
Dark Matters: Winter Tales podcast festival
When: Feb. 25-26
Where: Side Street Studio Arts Theater, 151/2 Ziegler Court, Elgin
Tickets: $10 festival pass
Information: 847-429-2276; sidestreetstudioarts.org
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.