Outlier Events began in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a summer collegiate baseball team that had its sights set on everything but baseball. Without Major League players, we leaned into the unusual: a 6-year-old head coach, players dancing between innings, and the infamous 3,000-calorie donut cheeseburger. The crowd went wild—and we knew we were onto something.

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It became clear that fans weren’t looking for a typical baseball game. They wanted something unique, something memorable. That’s how we launched the country’s very first Donut and Beer Festival. Our founder, Brian, remembers being laughed out of a local meeting when pitching the idea, but after selling out the inaugural event (and turning away thousands of would-be attendees), we realized we had struck gold.

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From there, we kept the momentum going. Taco and Tequila Festival followed, along with Michigan’s first and only Mac and Cheese Festival, Bell’s Brewery’s 30th anniversary Funvitational, and many more unforgettable experiences.

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Our mission is to make people happy, one out-of-the-box event at a time.