‘Run for fun, party for free’ at Color Fun Fest

PALMER — Becoming a “human rainbow” is just one opportunity for runners in this weekend’s Color Fun Fest 5k coming to the Alaska State Fairgrounds.

According to Public Relations Director Jessica Waffles, more than 2,000 runners who like to party have already signed up to be doused in brightly colored cornstarch and loud music from 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Alaska State Fairgrounds.

Like The Color Run, the Color Fun Fest 5k from Los Angeles, California is more about the experience than running a fast time, but there are some significant differences between the two events.

“We’re better than they are,” event director and emcee Jamie Liebert said, laughing.

More specifically, the Fun Fest is “not a corporate company,” Liebert said. Liebert’s brother Cody is the DJ and race coordinator, his brother Wylie is the production manager, his father is arranging parking for the event, and his girlfriend Sandra is the “marketing guru.”

“We are a family-owned business throwing a family event for families,” Liebert said. “We really give this thing everything we have.”

Not everyone in the “family” is blood-related, but that doesn’t stop them from behaving like a family, and going “full speed ahead” into everything they do.

“Every event we’ve ever thrown has been our blood, sweat and tears,” Jamie said. “We all live in the same house, we all travel together, we skydive and rock climb together… ”

Oh, and they like downhill mountain biking, too, Liebert said.

Aside from the uniqueness of the company behind the event, Color Fun Fest is also the first nighttime color run, Liebert said, complete with black lights along the course. It is also the only color run event to promote the Electronic Dance Movement (EDM) so explicitly.

“We’re originally from L.A., so we were a part of that movement,” Liebert said, referencing the genre’s prominence in southern California. “We wanna bring that, the EDM experience. We don’t play top 40 radio stuff, we play the music we wanna play.”

Another unique aspect of the event, Liebert said, is its hat-tip to the ancient Hindu Holi festival celebrated primarily in India, known as the “festival of love” and the “festival of color.” The organization tries to emphasize letting go of regrets — in keeping with the original festival — as well as openness to other ways of being, according to Liebert.

“I think people gravitate towards anything that’s not realist,” he said. “People are curious for other cultures, curious to see what other communities’ cultures are like.”

The Fun Fest is also partnering with and accepting donations for Free Arts For Abused Children, a charity that aims “to help children with adverse pasts overcome their hardships through creativity and expression,” according to a press release.

Lastly, kids under 12 get in completely free, Liebert said.

“Nobody else in the industry does that,” he said. “I think that sets us quite a bit apart.”

“Getting kids off the couch” and “off video games” is an important part of the event, even though the run is “just a 5k course attached to our festival,” Liebert said.

“We want these kids to be, like, ecstatic when they leave,” he said.

The day run begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, and the night run — the “main event,” Liebert said — begins at 8 p.m. Vendors, food, and live entertainment kick off at 3 p.m.

More information is available at colorfunfest5k.com/locations/palmer-2014.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.