Yuga Labs, the parent company and creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), announced the long-awaited return of its huge in-person event, ApeFest 2023, which will take place in Hong Kong from November 3 to November 5.
Despite the overall decline of the NFT market, including the decline in value of the BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) collections, the return of ApeFest aims to boost the Ape community’s confidence in the brand and overall excitement about revitalizing ownership of the industry’s leading PFP. served as the vanguard of a new form of social and cultural identity and expression.
Expand beyond NYC
With the shift from a three-day concert event to a versatile three-day convention, Yuga and BAYC are embracing evolution to transform along with their growing community and market demand. This starts with ApeFest disconnecting from NFT.NYC and exploring new locations and new cultural integrations.
Unlike last year’s ApeFest, which took place in New York City during NFT.NYC, this year’s event in Hong Kong won’t be all about music, but rather an all-new “adventure” that prioritizes of city exploration and accessibility through hidden local gems and a virtual experience for those unable to attend IRL, according to the ApeFest website.
Access to ApeFest is free for all monkeys, but is still limited to only BAYC and MAYC holders (and their pluses) upon presentation of a valid ticket through the tokenproof app. In an effort to preserve tickets for those monkeys who can attend IRL, the collective is implementing a refundable deposit that will be refunded once a holder is scanned.
Indeed, the future looks bright for Yuga and BAYC as they look to expand beyond just the NFT community and into a multifaceted cultural phenomenon and convention infrastructure.