‘Fun and dumb’: Themed events, like Shrek Rave, fill the Knitting Factory’s calendar
While looking at the Knitting Factory’s event calendar, in between shows from some of the biggest acts in pop, rock, country, hip-hop and just about any other genre you can think of, you’ll see themed dance nights.
In the last few months alone, themes have included emo music, “Stranger Things,” Taylor Swift, disco and the 2000s. The next such themed event is a Shrek Rave, planned for Saturday. The event is for ages 18 and older.
This rave marks the second time the Knitting Factory has taken attendees to the swamp.
Shrek Raves have been happening for the last year or two, Knitting Factory general manager Kent Shelton said, because a group in California thought dance party nights were becoming too serious, too full of pounding EDM music, million dollar light shows and big video walls.
“They were like ‘No, let’s do one that’s just really, really dumb,’ ” Shelton said. “ ‘It’s fun and dumb. The idea of being cool is dead. Let’s not worry about it.’ ”
When the event first showed up on the Knitting Factory calendar, Shelton remembers thinking “Who would theme a dance night around ‘Shrek’?” He cold-called the general manager of a venue that had hosted a Shrek Rave a couple weeks prior and asked how the event went.
The venue owner shared that people loved the idea and the themed drinks they created for the event. Many attendees came in “Shrek”-related costumes, while others treated the event as a Comic Con of sorts and wore costumes related to other franchises.
Hearing that encouraged Shelton to give it a try at the Knitting Factory, and he found that Spokane audiences reacted similarly to those in Montana. He remembers seeing a few Storm Troopers walking around the venue and wondered whether he had missed some kind of “Shrek” and “Star Wars” crossover.
“We were happy to bring it back again, and this one has a holiday twist to it, so who knows? Maybe we’ll have a chance to see some Christmas Shrek costumes,” he said.
Themed events like Shrek Rave are part of the Knitting Factory’s goal to book as many live events as possible. With Spokane sometimes missing out on bigger shows that stop in Seattle and Boise, there are times when Friday or Saturday nights are wide open on the venue’s calendar.
Shelton has found that people still want to go out and have a good time, so he and the Knitting Factory team have worked with DJs and dance promoters, anyone who has a good idea for a party.
“Just because your favorite band is not coming through town this weekend, that doesn’t mean you need to sit home and stare at your phone,” he said. “We’ll find something for you to do. That’s the philosophy.”
The team will check out how the themed event performed in other markets before deciding whether to bring it to the Knitting Factory, though there is always a bit of a gamble in bringing new events to town.
If audiences respond positively, the event is likely to be booked again. If not, Shelton said they pretend it never happened, though he’s still happy they at least gave it a try.
“When I was growing up, my dad’s philosophy was ‘Trying something is better than trying nothing,’ ” he said. “We try to do that around here. It might seem like a goofy idea. It might seem like something that Spokane may or may not be ready for, but I’m a big fan of trying something rather than of trying nothing. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes you go ‘Well, what are you going to do?’ ”
Shelton can’t reveal much yet, but he’s excited for audiences to see what’s on the horizon for the Knitting Factory, saying 2026 is going to be an excellent year for the venue. He can share that the venue is hoping to host more comedy, and there will, of course, be more themed events to help fill in those gaps between bigger shows.
“We try to bring in great touring entertainment, but if we can’t, we’ve got to find something to do, because we don’t want everybody wandering around in the streets looking for a place to dance,” he said. “We want them to come here where we know they’ll have a good time.”