This Weekend: The 48th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival

It’s that time of the year again when the great unwashed converge upon the Old Poole Farm in Schwenksville, PA for the 48th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival.

It’s a 3-day music festival held by the non-profit organization The Philadelphia Folksong Society. It is almost completely volunteer-run and organized. The music is an eclectic mix and not just for “folkies”: this year’s lineup includes everything from The Decemberists to Iron and Wine to Tom Rush to the Get the Led Out (an acoustic Led Zeppelin tribute band).

The Main Stage

Nightime camping area jams.

For the true festival experience, you can get yourself an All-Festival with Camping Pass, which allows you to camp all weekend and come and go into the concert area at will. The camping experience is not for the faint-hearted: the people there party almost 24-7, and at night there’s impromptu jam sessions throughout the camping area until the sun comes up (in recent years, a ‘Quiet Area’ was set up for families and those needing a little peace).

The attendees range form the very young to the very old. Plenty of babies as well as old heads who wear their volunteer badges from 25 years ago. There are a few knuckleheads, like the guy next to us, affectionatly known as ‘the nude bagpiper’, or the random idiot that stumbles through your campsite at 4am. Although alcohol is not permitted (or sold) there always seems to be a lot of it around and plenty of people who overindulge. But that’s a very small majority, as most of the people there are super-friendly and always willing to lend a hand (or spare a beer).

We only read these for the articles.

Sunrise over the camping area.

Camp Stage crowd.

Tempest, a Norwegian Celtic-rock band, peforms on the Camp Stage.

The main performance stage is set on a hill. Campers enter form behind the stage, day-trippers enter from the top. Day-trippers can buy either All-Festival tickets or purchase tickets for individual days. There is some reserved seating, but most concert goers bring blankets and low chairs. Another stage just behind the main stage near the camping area called ‘The Camp Stage’ is where some of the afternoon concerts are held. Many times it’s a good opportunity to see up close one of the headliners that performed the evening before on the main stage.

I was a volunteer at the Festival for about 12 years. Volunteering is a great way to see the Festival, because they give you free camping and concerts in exchange for your time (they even FEED you….

My last year to the Festival was 2004. After time, those long weekends take a toll. Each year, as I drove home dirty and exhausted, I vowed that this would be my last. But, time heals all wounds, and as Winter turned to Spring, our group began planning our campsite and getting prepared. I guess in 2004 we all decided to take a break and I haven’t been there since…but each year as the commercials appear for the Fest, I long for those great nightime concerts and jams, the blazing heat during the afternoon shows, and just hanging out with good friends old and new.
My life has taken some unexpected turns in the last few years, but maybe next year I’ll make a go of it.

Volunteering, 2003

On the Road

The 48th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival
August 14,15, 16, 2009
Old Pool Farm
Clemmers Mill Road in Upper Salford Township, PA
Festival Website
Philadelphia Folksong Society Website