Sponsor ZAOstock 2026
Put your name on the busiest weekend of the fall.
Saturday 3 October 2026. Franklin Street Parklet, downtown Ellsworth, Maine, then Black Moon Public House next door. Free to attend, music from noon.
Why
Three local reasons.
- 01
Your block, on the busiest weekend of the fall.
Maine Craft Weekend brings statewide promotion. Art of Ellsworth is in its ninth year. ZAOstock puts live music on Franklin Street inside both.
- 02
Free to attend.
Nobody chooses between your door and a ticket.
- 03
We measure an ordinary Saturday against 3 October, and publish it.
If it works for downtown businesses, you have the number. If it does not, you have that too.
Who we are
The ZAO, since 2024. Every week.
The ZAO is an independent community of musicians and digital creators. Music first, community second, technology third. ZAO Festivals is its events arm; ZAOstock is its flagship, and it runs at break-even.
- ZAO-PALOOZA
- New York City, 2024. Twelve artists. Volunteer-organised in six weeks. Broke even.
- ZAO-CHELLA
- Miami, Wynwood, during Art Basel, December 2024. The first live WaveWarZ battle.
- ZAOville
- Laurel, Maryland, July 2026. Co-hosted with DCoop.
WaveWarZ
Two artists go head to head. The audience decides.
A live music-battle format, online all year. The audience picks the winner, and the winning artist is paid straight away. It is not on the 3 October programme.
What you get
Four things, whatever the size.
Every sponsor gets the same four surfaces. How big your name is on each one is the conversation.
- The parklet banner
- Your name on the banner behind the stage on Franklin Street.
- The programme
- Named in the printed programme and on the day-of schedule.
- Site and stream
- Logo on zaostock.com and on the livestream.
- Thank-you from the stage
- Said out loud by the MC, in the changeovers.
Packages
Packages on request.
Tell us what you want your name on and we send back one page with the options. In-kind counts at retail value.
Sponsor an artist
Cover one artist's costs. They make content with your name on it. They opt in.
One business pays for one named person to get to Ellsworth. The artist agrees to it; we never sell a likeness on their behalf.
Sponsor an artist
One artist, one business.
Covers one artist's travel. Content carrying your name. Opt-in from the artist, every time. Never discounted, because it is a cost and not a margin.
What we do for you
Before, during and after.
Reach is across the team's accounts, the Farcaster /zao and /zabal channels, Telegram, the daily newsletter and the livestream.
- Before
- Named in the newsletter and in the artist posts.
- During
- On-stage mentions, your logo on the backdrop, presence on the stream.
- After
- Named in the recap, in the published local-business measurement, and in the footage that keeps circulating.
Next step
One conversation, then a yes or a no.
Fifteen minutes this week. info@thezao.com
Sponsorship is a marketing spend, direct with The ZAO.