Organizers of the Sisters Folk Festival are busy getting ready for their 16th annual event, and this year, they’re trying to address issues that have arisen because of a recent spike in attendance.
My story published in yesterday’s Community Life section of The Bulletin. Here’s an excerpt:
After four consecutive years of significant growth in attendance, the Sisters Folk Festival will expand its offerings in 2011 to include a new venue and more music at established venues in an effort to meet demand.
The festival — to be held Sept. 9-11 — will add Slick’s Que Co. to its roster of venues, bumping the total number of stages scattered around Sisters from six to seven. Slick’s will host finalists in the festival’s songwriting contest on Friday and emerging artists on Saturday.
Additionally, Angeline’s Bakery will host music on Friday night and The Depot Cafe will host sets late Saturday, a first for both venues. All three new offerings are designed, in part, to give attendees more choices for things to do after music ends on the main stage at 10 p.m., SFF Artistic Director Brad Tisdel said last week.
More late-night choices should ease pressure on Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill and Saloon, which can hold only a few hundred revelers but has become a popular destination among fest-goers looking to stretch their day into the wee hours.
The team behind the Sisters Folk Festival is celebrating the event’s 16th year by tackling issues that come with increasing popularity and growing crowds, Tisdel said.
“In the last four years, we’ve been between 20 and 30 percent over the previous year in ticket sales, consistently, every year,” he said. “So with that comes growing pains and (the question of) how do we respond to more people coming to our event.”
Click here to read the whole thing.
Tags: Sisters Folk Festival
