South Shore brand Levitate does more than host one of New England’s biggest music festivals — Levitate Music and Arts Festival — every summer.
The community-oriented outlet makes its own apparel, curates children’s camps and has a nonprofit organization that helps fund people’s dreams around music, the arts and the outdoors.
“[We] just try to push what Levitate is all about and share it with as many people as possible,” Levitate owner Dan Hassett told MassLive.
This year, Levitate Music and Arts Festival will take place from July 5-7 at the Marshfield Fairgrounds at 140 Main St. in Marshfield.
Before Levitate started selling tickets to roughly 20,000 festival goers every year, the outlet sold surfboards to South Shore natives out of its shop in Marshfield’s town center.
“It really significantly grew,” Hassett said of Levitate’s name. “It’s been a really cool opportunity for all of us to kind of work around something that has a mission that we care about.”
Looking to share his love of surfing with the local community, Levitate Surf Shop was founded as a community-oriented surf shop in 2003 by Bob Pollard.
“It was really kind of a special thing in Marshfield because all these kids had this outlet that was an alternative to all the other options at the time,” Hassett explained. “It was a very accepting environment. And a lot of these creative people are really into Levitate.”
Hassett and Pollard met while both were working at The Mill Wharf in Scituate when Hassett was still in high school. Hassett started picking up shifts after school or during the summer at Levitate Surf Shop once Pollard opened the business.
But after Pollard died from unexpected health issues in 2006, Pollard’s wife handed the business over to Hassett two years later. He was just 20 years old at the time.
“It was a big tragedy in town because people loved Bob. He had young kids. He had a wife. So it was a very, very hard time for a lot of people, but also because they loved Levitate.”
Hassett said the community “rallied around Levitate to keep it afloat. And it worked.”
While still mostly functioning as a surf shop, the Levitate crew noticed customers had equal interests in surfing and the arts. The shop tapped into those interests and started to host events such as surf nights, skateboard events and restaurant gatherings.
Levitate also hosted frequent music-related events, including the shop’s backyard concert series that brings local artists to a small stage in a courtyard behind the store. As the backyard concert series grew and started to draw bigger acts and crowds, Levitate needed a larger space to accommodate everyone.
Thus Levitate Music and Arts Festival was founded in 2013. The summertime celebration of music features live art demonstrations, welcomes about 60 vendors and gives people a chance to sample bites from more than 30 food trucks, according to the festival’s website.
Levitate Music and Arts Festival draws roughly 15,000 to 20,000 people to the Marshfield Fairgrounds every year, according to Hassett. In addition to five to eight regional acts, the festival’s lineup features about 30 artists. This year’s headliners are Sublime, Lake Street Dive and Mt. Joy.
Hassett thinks artists enjoy coming to Levitate because the festival is a switch-up from the typical concert halls and city venues these acts are used to. Above all, the founder thinks artists are drawn by Levitate’s emphasis on and deep connection to the arts.
“I think because Levitate is rooted in creativity, it speaks to the artists and they enjoy playing here,” Hassett said. “It’s a good place for them to get on stage and a good stop for them while they’re looking for a good spot to get in front of their fans.”
From developing relationships with artists who perform at the Levitate Backyard concert series, Hassett also credits the festival’s success to the pipeline the surf shop created for the music festival.
Whether it’s the festival’s lineup, surf-inspired artwork or spacious fairgrounds, Levitate strives to keep Pollard’s legacy and its creative spirit alive and well.
“The festival is amazing. We have people flying in from every single state across the country who kind of treat it as a special weekend. And they come to the event because it’s kind of an old-fashioned music festival that’s kind of hard to find,” Hassett said. “Then they bring a little piece of Levitate home with them and tell their friends about it and it’s been very cool.”
More information, including how to get tickets, can be found on the festival’s website. In addition, 1% of all sales benefit the Levitate Foundation.
