Events by Holtermonster

I love cooking up ideas for events I want to attend and then just planing them myself.
I’ve been coordinating community-centered arts events in Memphis since 2007. Here are some highlights!

Events Organized for AAF Memphis 2024-Present

Serving on the board for the Memphis chapter of the American Advertising Federation since 2023, I’ve also led the Events Team since July 2024. This position has given me the platform to plan events that benefit local creatives, bring the community together to learn, and spotlight incredible talent with speaking opportunities.

Awards Pre-Game Happy Hour | Feb 13 2025 @ Grind City Brewing— A casual happy hour overlooking the city skyline from Grind City Brewing to hype up the squad for the AAF Awards!

Morning Buzz | Jan 22 2025 @ Dr. Beans — Morning Buzz is a chill social event offering local marketing professionals and creatives free coffee and a chance to network.

AAF Memphis Board Holiday Party | Dec 17 2024 — A private event for our current AAF board to socialize and celebrate the past year’s accomplishments.

Go for the Gold: AAF Awards Entry Workshop | Dec 5 2024 @ DCA — I organized this workshop as a resource for navigating the entry process for the AAF Awards.

Speaker Luncheon: Laws of UX, Jon Yablonski | Nov 14 2024 @ Central Station Hotel— I invited award-winning UX designer, author, and thought leader Jon Yablonksi to speak on the basic principles of user experience design. A homecoming of sorts, as Yablonski is a fellow MCA alum.

Scarily Professional: A Haunted Happy Hour | Oct 15 2024 @ Monster Market— A special intersection of my projects, this was a fun social hour for creative professionals right at Monster Market’s 2024 pop-up.

Opportunities Open Mic | Sept 26 2024 @ Palladio Interiors— A new original event concept, I invited reps from local arts orgs to this open mic-style event to pitch their creative opportunities to local artists and designers.

You Need an AAF’n Drink! | Aug 29 2024 @ Wiseacre on Broad— A playful low-key happy hour to kick off a new board year.

Morning Buzz | Jan 22 2025 @ Dr. Beans— Morning Buzz is a chill social event offering local marketing professionals and creatives free coffee and a chance to network.

Creative for Hire: Lunch and Panel Talk on Creative Freelance | May 23 2024 @ Black Lodge— My first time organizing a panel + my first time moderating one! This panel brought together 4 creative professionals doing freelance work in Memphis.

The Edge District Art Crawl

Memphis Flyer | Edge District Has Its First Art Crawl

Take a self-guided tour through Marshall Arts, Sheet Cake, Ugly Art Co., and Solid Ground.
https://www.memphisflyer.com/edge-district-has-its-first-art-crawl

“We want to let people know that the Edge is an active third space,” Lee says of his hopes for the art crawl. “The district’s still in its formation, but it’s a walkable locale with interesting things to do.”

— Anthony D. Lee

“And it’s cool to show off that we have a blooming arts district popping up with some old heads, like Marshall Arts, and all these new bloods,” adds Holtermann. “It’s really exciting.”

— Lauren Holtermann

Monster Market Events

Monster Market is an annual season pop-up I’ve been organizing each October in Memphis since 2017. Originally operating as an in-person pop-up for the first 3 years, we adapted to an online pop-up 2020-2022. Our final year online, we followed the trends and tried a “hybrid model”— hosting both our online pop-up shop and in-person kick-off event. This party was so well-attended it showed us the local support was huge, and we said farewell to the online model— shapeshifting back to a fully local event! Now coming up our 9th year, Monster Market is so big we host smaller events each day at the shop, with their own themes, co-hosts, and sponsors.

Monster Market 2024 | Oct 11-16 2024 — Our 8th installment of this spooky seasonal pop-up spotlights the darkest and weirdest of handmade art and decor.

Opening Night | Oct 11 2024 — Our annual opening night celebration is always a massive event, attracting hundreds of attendees!

Rumors and Legends In-Store Game Demo | Oct 12 2024 — A live demonstration of a locally-designed take on Clue, but with cryptids!

Wake and Bake | Oct 13 2024 — A highly-anticipated pastry pop-up from local heavy metal baking brand Whisks of Doom that always draws a crowd.

Twisted Terrors | Oct 15 2024 — A free movie night featuring horror classic Hellraiser with a soft pretzel pop-up by Whisks of Doom.

Scarily Professional: A Haunted Happy Hour | Oct 15 2024 — A special intersection of my projects, this was a fun social hour for creative professionals hosted by AAF Memphis right at Monster Market’s 2024 pop-up.

Monster Maker Appreciation Night | Oct 18 2024 — We close out the Monster Market season with a party where our makers get to mingle!

Monster Market 2023 | Oct 13-18 2023 — Our big return to a totally local event in our biggest space yet with our biggest collection yet!

Opening Night | Oct 13 2023 — Our annual opening night celebration is always a massive event, attracting hundreds of attendees!

Wake and Bake | Oct 13 2024 — A highly-anticipated pastry pop-up from local heavy metal baking brand Whisks of Doom that always draws a crowd.

Monster Market 2022 | Oct 13-18 2022 — The pop-up shop this year was online, with a team of locals hand-packing orders sent around the country!

Kick-Off Party | Oct 1 2022 — Returning from 2 years fully online during the pandemic, we did a hybrid year to test the waters with a one-night-only party and mini-mart.

Monster Market 2021 | Oct 1-31 2021 — Fully online pop-up with a team of locals hand-packing orders sent around the country.

Satanic Sundays | Oct 2021 — One of my favorite ever collaborations: During the pandemic, Monster Market collected online preorders for Whisks of Doom’s rotating weekly specials, which we would then hand deliver to customer’s doorsteps on Sunday afternoons—listening to Church of Rock along the way, and donned in different Halloween costumes each week!

Monster Market 2020 | Oct 1-31 2020— Out of necessity, we did a hard pivot to a fully online pop-up. Me and my partner hand-packed 800 orders sent around the country!

Monster Market 2019 | Oct 1-31 2019— A month-long pop-up in an amazing downtown location, showcasing a diverse collection of spooky art and collectibles.

Grand Opening | Oct 5 2019— The big grand opening party!

Whisks of Doom Chicken Biscuit Brunch | Oct 13 2019— One of our earliest pop-ups with Whisks of Doom, this one offered up fresh chicken biscuits in-store.