FAN SPOTLIGHT:   TEAM FUN

By Ryan Neeley exclusively for Appalachian Jamwich

Photos courtesy of Kevin Link

“I’m to the right of the Team Fun flag”;   “Halfway up the hill straight down from Team Fun’s flag” – If you’ve been to any major festivals in the eastern US in the past few years, you may have overheard this phrase, you could have seen the Team Fun paraphernalia yourself, or you may have joined the team at a festival, knowingly or unknowingly.   So, who is this Team Fun and what are they all about?   Recently I was able to sit down for an interview with the co-founder of Team Fun and owner of Team Fun Foods, Kevin Link.

Appalachian Jamwich (AJ):   So, Kevin, I’ve seen Team Fun at a LOT of events over the past year – Allgood, Jubilee, Rootwire, WerkOut –  So, what is team fun and how do you join?

Kevin Link (TF):  Team Fun is just what it sounds like –We’re a group of people who have made a simple commitment to having fun.  Joining is simple, and we would love to have you on the team.   There are no membership fees or confusing contracts but there are rules.  If you want to join Team Fun, you must be willing to follow the rules :   #1 – you must have fun   #2 you MUST have fun and #3 – which has been toned down a bit as we’ve grown older and had kids is NO is not an acceptable answer – you don’t have to say yes to everything, we just feel that the word NO is too negative.  If they agree to join the team, they can leave their mark on our board – they don’t have to sign their name if they don’t want to  – they can just leave their mark.

AJ:   Sounds easy enough – So how did Team Fun originate?

TF:  We were at Bonnarroo in ’09 and had a friend Coco that was a little intoxicated and could only blurt out a few words – no full sentences – Alll night it was “FUN, Team Fun”.    In the wee hours of the morning I told Coco, “Let’s get serious about this and make a sign or something.”      I ended up passing out for a while and when I woke up, Coco had made signs, rules, and had team members already.   It really just blew up there – we got almost 600 people that weekend alone!

AJ:  So how many original members are there?

TF:   Oh, I’m not sure.  Let’s see –Coco, Jason and Jared Link, Sarah and Avery Corcoran, Lauren Schneeman-Rolf,  now the Team Phun (with a PH) Chapter: Margo Heinz, Angela Soder,  & Chastity Butterfield – and  myself of course – plus the thousands of others who have agreed to have FUN!   There are soooo many signatures that you can’t see them all in the tower of fun picture.  Those boards are front and back full of signatures plus I have more sign up boards in my basement!

AJ:  I was at All Good when Rumpke Mountain Boys played on the stage you built.  That HAS to be one of the highlights of the year – How did that all come about?

TF:  Wow, you’re right – that was epic!   You can actually hear them mention Team Fun on the recording from All Good on Archive.org.   Well, basically Rumpke had a sign making contest for their early morning set there and we made some posters promoting it.  We had brought a flat bed trailer with us to haul all of our stuff on it – My friend Danielle and Rage’n had the idea to convert the flat bed into a stage for Rumpke to play on.   We had an artist make a Team Fun back drop with a Stealie and set up the stage for them, and just like Rumpke always does, they picked till dawn at our campsite.   It was one to remember for sure.

AJ:   Other highlights of the year?

TF:   Well, as you know I also own a food vending and catering business.   We recently did the back stage catering for Rootwire.   We served 2,100 meals over six days – different choices too –vegetarian, vegans, and carnivorous options.   We also fed all the headlining bands at the Werk Out, made appetizer platters each night for the VIP lounge and furnished and decorated the VIP lounge – plus the vending to the public of course.

AJ:  Wow, that’s a difficult task to pull off!  Mad props!

TF:  Yeah, it took a lot of cooperation to pull that together, I have a lot of really good people working with me.   Plus, we still had FUN!

AJ:  What can we expect from TEAM FUN going into 2013?

TF:   Well, more FUN of course!   You’ll see us at shows and festivals on a regular basis.  You can follow us on Facebook at Team Fun Foods – If you like us we’ll like you back with special deals for every event we’re at.     We’ll be at Family Roots in October and shows throughout the winter.   If you see us, stop by, say hello, get something to eat if you’re hungry and leave your mark to join TEAM FUN.

AJ:  Thanks for your time Kevin!

TF:  Thank you!