The 51st Philadelphia Folk Festival descended on Old Pool Farm in Schwenksville,
PA, this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday (August 17-19). Guest top-ten writer Susan
Keller of East Lansdowne has been attending the festival since 2001, and--with
apologies to longer-time "festers"--offers these top and bottom tens of the
Philly Folk Fest.
THE TOP TEN BEST THINGS ABOUT PHILLY FOLK FEST
1. THE MUSIC, first, foremost, and forever. The
variety, amount, and quality of music is amazing. There are six stages, five of
which have acts playing simultaneously during the daytime, starting at 11 am.
The main stage hosts big-name acts, as well as an eclectic mix of world music
and specific genres such as Celtic, Gospel, Western, Bluegrass, Zydeco, Blues,
etc., and potent mixes thereof! This year's headliners include Little Feat,
Lucinda Williams, Trombone Shorty, Steve Earle, and John Hiatt. And the cost is
eminently reasonable for all the music (and all the other good things) you get
for the price!
2. Tradition of 50+ years (made richer by Old Pool Farm
and reuniting with friends). This is the 51st festival; the first one was
held in Malvern PA, I believe. The vibe, interaction, beautiful surroundings,
and historical importance of the fest is built into the experience. It is a
living, breathing, singing, playing, and dancing tradition! Folks have been
coming for years and years to this particular place, battling sometimes
harrowing conditions (see "Bottom 10" later in this blog), to laugh, share, and
enjoy. My first year I came for one evening concert only. The next seven years I
camped with four friends and made many new friends that I now know by name and
look forward to seeing this weekend only! (I'm now a daytime commuter/night time
at the Holiday Inn festival goer...don't tell the diehards!)
3. Creative and Crazy Camping Experience. To fully
experience the Philadelphia Folk Festival, you must join the campers. Camping
starts on Thursday, with a special for-campers-only concert Thursday evening, so
campers get a four-day festival! But, more importantly, the campground is full
of humorous, innovative, and friendly encampments with creative names like Pod
People, Flamigos (not misspelled--it's a bunch of amigos who like to decorate
with pink lawn flamingos), Havoc Headquarters, and Bob's Country Bunker. Both RV
and tent camping are available, and there's a special instrument check (like a
coat check for guitars, banjos, mandolins, french horns, and ????) on the
campgrounds. The Philadelphia Jug Band are regular campers and share much
music-making at their site. Even though I stay at a hotel, I purchase a camping
ticket to be part of the fun!
4. Rousing Entrance.The evening concerts on the
Main Stage (one each, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) are kicked off by a
traditional bagpiper (Dennis Hangey) in traditional dress who emerges at the top
of the hill (where the audience is getting settled on their lawn blankets and
the like) and proceeds onto the stage. It's a halcyon call that reverberates to
the tips of your toes and sets the tone for the entire festival!
5. Gene Shay. WXPN disc jockey and folk aficionado
helped found the folk festival and has hosted for all 50 years. His knowledge
and love of the music, along with his velvety voice and corny jokes, is the
perfect accompaniment to the evenings' main concerts!
6. Volunteers Run the Show. The folk fest
requires an orchestration of efforts in terms of setting up, getting everyone
parked, keeping everyone safe, and a host of other tasks. According to the folk
fest web site (www.folkfest.org),
more than 2,000 volunteers pitch in every year. These volunteers pay a
membership fee, but attend the festival free (usually arriving early to
accomplish their duties), eat for free during the festival, and get the true
inside story of what makes the festival tick! It's part of the tradition and
helps make the folk fest truly unique.
7. The
Extras: Craft Area, Guitar Raffle, and CD
Signings. These are just some of the extra activities
that make folk festival an event rather than just a series
of concerts.
8. Active Participation.
Campers bring their instruments and voices to share their talents
on the campground. The Lobby Stage often includes dancing lessons and audience
participation, and some of the daytime concerts include insights and advice for
budding musicians.
9. People Watching.
A seat on a lawn blanket is a great perch from which to watch the
world go by. From the colorful clothing to the variety of age groups, to the
t-shirt slogans, to the variety of styles (it's not all latter-day hippie
fashion, and the under-12 set make wearing glo-sticks positively trendy!) and
humor, you're sure to be surprised and entertained.
10. Memorable Moments. Attending folk
festival through the "aughts" (2001-2010 and beyond), has allowed me to
witness a little bit of history, musical and otherwise. In 2002, Tracey Grammer
and the Kennedys bravely performed a little over a month after her singing
partner Dave Carter (who had planned to be performing too) passed away suddenly.
In 2005, Marcia Ball worried on stage about what that "evil woman" Katrina might
be doing to her beloved city. Little did she know... And seeing Odetta a few
years before she passed away was a revelation.
THE BOTTOM TEN LEAST ENJOYABLE THINGS ABOUT PHILLY
FOLK FESTIVAL
1-4. THE
WEATHER.Face
it--August in the Delaware Valley does not produce ideal conditions for an
outdoor event lasting 3 days or more! I'm breaking it down this way:
(1)
Sun and Heat, Heat and
Sun. The unrelenting heat
and sun make it almost impossible to fully enjoy the daytime
concerts. There are no canopies or shade on the hill facing the main
stage, nor on the two adjacent stages. And then there's all that sunscreen, and
sweating, leading to sheer exhaustion just in time for the evening
concerts!
(2) Rain. A little rain, even a little
thunder--as long as it's clear of the concerts' electrical setups--is no problem
to the outdoorsy types who attend the folk fest, but heavy rains require manipulation (a
pushing up so as to get the water to roll off and not weigh too heavily) of all
canopies and tents in the campground and a general sogginess in one's clothes
and belongings that, in the words of the sixties, is a big
bummer!
(3) Mud. In two of the last three years,
weeks of rain right before the fest led to unforgiving mud. My car's been stuck,
my feet have been stuck, and I've seen (but elected not to sleep in) sinking
tents--what a mess!
(4) Wind and Dust. One year heavy winds lifted
several tents off their moorings, creating a Wizard of Oz-like effect in the
campgrounds, with tents spinning in the sky! And if there is no rain or if the
summer has been extra-dry, like this year, plan to return from folk fest covered
in dust--from your car to your nostrils, to the space between our toes--you
can't escape it!
5. Potty Queens.
Yes, this is upper Montgomery County's euphemism for porta-johns.
They are a necessary evil for an outdoor event this size, and they are
power-cleaned and emptied daily, but ...for three days... no thank you!
6.
All-Night Parties in the Campground.
I'm probably in the fuddy-duddy minority here, but all the live
singing and playing, blaring of recorded music, and general whoop-hollering till
4:30 on Saturday and Sunday mornings is tough on the recharging process. In
other words, it's not for those who need their sleep!
7. Having to Choose Among Several Good Acts Playing at
the Same Time.
This is a happy but
frustrating problem that arises during the daytime concerts, which are held on
five different stages and often involve surprising collaborations among several
artists.
8. Getting into and out of Shuttle and Camping Parking
Lots. This can go smoothly, but beware of mud and of the last
concert of the evening. Both can make this mundane process extra-long and
extra-frustrating.
9. Poison Ivy in
Dulcimer Grove. Dulcimer Grove is reserved for family-friendly
entertainment and contains lots of shade trees and hammocks. It's the one place
that's fully shaded and 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the festival grounds,
but it's infested with Poison Ivy! That's irony for you!
10.
Missing Music While Breaking Down
the Camp Site on Sunday Afternoon. This bugaboo can be avoided if
the chores are handled before 11 am or after 11 pm. Some years, campers are
permitted to leave Monday morning. Ah, there's never enough
time!
