Yuga Labs, the parent company and creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), announced the highly anticipated return of its massive in-person event, ApeFest 2023, which will be taking place in Hong Kong from November 3 to November 5. 

Despite the overall NFT market decline, including the drop in value of the BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) collections, the return of ApeFest aims to reinvigorate the Ape community’s trust in the brand and overall excitement of holding the industry’s landmark PFP that has served as the forefront of a new form of social and cultural identity and expression.

Expanding beyond NYC

Shifting from a three-day concert event to a multi-faceted three-day convention, Yuga and BAYC are embracing evolution to transform alongside their growing community and market demand. This begins with ApeFest detaching itself 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 will not be music-centric but rather an entirely “new adventure” that prioritizes city exploration and accessibility through hidden local gems and a virtual experience for those who can’t attend IRL, according to the ApeFest website. 

Entry to ApeFest is free for all apes but is still limited to only BAYC and MAYC holders (and their plus ones) with a showing of a valid ticket via the tokenproof app. In efforts to preserve tickets for those apes who can attend IRL, the collective is implementing a refundable deposit that will be returned once a holder is scanned in. 

Indeed, the future does seem bright for Yuga and BAYC as they look to expand beyond just the NFT community and into a multi-faceted cultural phenomenon and convention infrastructure.