The 30th Annual Mountville Folk Festival!
Fri. June 21st, Gates open at 5pm, Music starts at 6pm.
Sat. June 22nd, Gates open at 1pm, Music starts at 2pm.
Rain or shine, but shine preferred.
On the slopes of Bull Run Mountain near Aldie, Virginia. http://mountvillefolk.org
RSVP required for directions, just like a house concert. With camping.
Hit Reply to RSVP your Yes or Maybe!
You are on our email invite list AND officially invited! It's just two weeks away and we've got an incredible two-night experience planned for you in celebration of 30 years of Mountville. To everyone who has donated in advance in any amount, a special thank you for helping make this year's celebration possible!
Within the next few days we will email directions to everyone who has already RSVPed Yes/Maybe, as no doubt this email will spur another dozen or two. Last minute RSVPs risk not getting directions, so it's far better to RSVP a Maybe. Either way, you’ll get next year’s invite as long as you let us know if you change email addresses.
You are invited to bring family & friends, but please do: 1) let us know how many are coming, and 2) have any of your friends who are meeting you here email us directly so we can get them on next year’s invite list.
VOLUNTEERS WELCOME AND WANTED! It takes a lot of hands, and it's a lot of fun to meeting new people and working together to help make the Mountville experience great for everyone. Check out the "SignUp Genie" at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084CA9AC2BA0F94-48880471-mountville.
This new email service comes with our webhosting, and we hope it's easier to read and find what you want as well as getting to your inbox more reliably. We're doing the bulk of our frequent updates on the website and our Facebook page several times daily up through the festival. Our shiny new website has performer info and schedule, our handy Frequently Asked Questions page that should answer most every question, an introduction to the wonderful underwriters helping support this year's festival along with your generous advance donations, and much more. We do have a few quick highlights below to answer some basics.
And about those underwriters; how fortunate are we to have friends doing great work in different businesses and organizations that make great partners in making the Mountville vibe thrive into the future! We are grateful to our Premium Underwriter, the Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, our Performance Underwriters, the Songwriter's Association of Washington, Focus Music, Moore Music House Concerts and the Aldie Ruritan Club, and our Heroes of Mountville, Shamrock Music Shoppe and the Friends of Franklin Park Arts Center. Several of them will be onsite and assisting with MC duties as well as enjoying the music with you.
If you represent an organization that would welcome a partnership with Mountville, please drop a reply. And if you'd like to make an advance donation, http://mountvillefolk.org/support has all of those easy-to-use links.
Thanks for leaving your pets at home. We know you love them, and we do too! They will be glad to see your happy “Mountvilled” face walk through the door when you return.
A Few Other Tidbits
1. Why "Mountville"?
2. When You Arrive, Please SIGN IN
3. Volunteers - help needed, and how!
4. Camping/Supplies/Comfort
5. T-Shirt Update
1. WHY "MOUNTVILLE"?
To those who've been coming for a few years, the weekend is simply "Mountville". Mountville was the crossroads on the map where the first 15 years of festivals happened. Since we took the spirit with us in 2010 when we moved a few miles away, we brought the name too. The Main Stage will be alive both nights until about 10pm with a great schedule of acoustic music, from first-time performers as well as longtime Mountville favorites. Then the music moves to the campfire circles, where all are welcome to bring an instrument and/or sing.
Some say it's magic - the mixture of music, community and ambience. We won't disagree!
2. WHEN YOU ARRIVE - SIGN IN AT HOSPITALITY IS REQUIRED!
Please come get your wristband and take a moment to say hello and sign in at the Hospitality tent. It's a simple requirement our gracious hosts ask of us, and it’s the only way we know who and how many came, so we can plan and budget for the next year. Every attendee gets a wristband and a door prize ticket for a chance to win some Mountville goodies. We will also have Swag Bags with special promotions and more from our underwriters.
NOTE: Every year Parking is a little different, so please follow the signs and park as directed. Campers may park near the camping area.
3. VOLUNTEERS - HELP NEEDED, AND HOW!
An hour helping clean up after the Performer/Volunteer dinner, a couple hour shift at Hospitality, helping organize/oversee children's activities, making sure that we don't run out of supplies in key locations (toilet paper anyone?), an hour of cleanup Sunday morning - we have a variety of needs and are always mighty grateful for willing hands that help fill them. We especially welcome Mountville "veterans" who know the ropes to staff Hospitality to better serve our first-time visitors.
If you haven’t already volunteered, see our Volunteer Sign Up list what you would enjoy doing to help make Mountville happen!
MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS - if you are an RN/EMT, have CPR training, or other valuable first aid skills, please let us know when you RSVP. We'll plan on you not being needed, but it's always helpful to know what resources we have on hand.
Volunteer schedules will be posted at Hospitality to remind you when and where you’ll be needed. We always have need for "pop-up" volunteers too to lend a quick hand with something, usually announced from the stage or posted at Hospitality.
4. CAMPING/SUPPLIES/COMFORT
The camping area opens at 4pm on Friday, and it's first-come, first-setup. There's plenty of shaded space on the far side of the creek for tent camping, including a Quiet area for those who like to put little ones to bed early. Sunday morning we feed all the remaining campers pancake breakfast and coffee, and we gladly welcome that army of extra happy and well-fed bodies to help us tear everything down and restore Rich and Dana’s house and landscape by noon.
Food, drink and tents are BYO. We keep a few useful "I forgots" on hand at the Hospitality Tent like sunscreen and bug repellant, but you'll be most comfortable being self-sufficient. Please bring reusable water bottles that you can refill as much as you like! On Saturday we take a break at dinner time, and you are welcome to use the gas grill once the Performer Dinner is prepped.
Nighttime is usually cool and likely damp, so you may want a sweater or hoodie. An extra pair of shoes can be handy after wandering through the wet night grass between song circles.
Our expectation is that alcohol will be enjoyed discreetly and in moderation – and please, if you drink, designate a driver or pack your sleeping bag. The late night campfire sessions are well worth staying for anyway!
We want to make a nice intimate listening environment with good sightlines for everyone, particularly for the evening sets. So come sit close, and enjoy the experience! The trees we planted in 2010 have grown tall and bushy, so there is decent shade in places near the stage. EZ-Up tents are welcome in designated areas.
Areas that are marked off with fluorescent tape are off-limits to all (or for designated parking) – thank you!
5. T-SHIRT UPDATE
Everyone who preordered T-shirts can pick up and pay at Hospitality upon arrival. We're expecting them to arrive mid-week this week! We will have plenty of shirts available first-come, first-served in all three colors.
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We'll send the final "2 Days 2 Mountville" email around June 19th with the latest forecast and other pertinent details, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Mountville Folk Festival http://mountvillefolk.org
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/MountvilleFolkFestival
Social Media: http://facebook.com/MountvilleFolkFestival, https://instagram.com/mountvillefolkfestival/