Folk festival rocks Johnstown
Visitors to Johnstown over Labor Day weekend will experience for free the AmeriServe FolkFest in the midst of the town's historic flood sites.
The festival does not limit itself to folk music, so the "folk" part of the name must stand for the many people who attend the annual event. Estimated attendance runs as high as 100,000 people.
"It's unusual for a town this size to have a festival of this size and quality, and it's free," said Shelley Johansson, marketing manager for the Johnstown Area Heritage Association.
The music this year will play Sept. 1, 2 and 3 on four stages in Festival Park downtown.
"It's a wide variety, from blues to zydeco we say," noted Johansson.
"If you don't like what's playing at one stage, you can just go to another one, sample them all."
The many acts include Sleepy LaBeef, Balkan Beat Box, Those Darn Accordians and The Recipe, a rock band, along with Pittsburgh area performers the Billy Price Band, Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers and Mark Dignam.
There's even some Celtic music this year, Johansson said. Of course food will be available, in a variety of ethnic flavors.
The festival came to Johnstown in 1990 as the National Folk Festival, remaining for two years before moving on the another American city. The Johnstown Heritage Association then began to produce the event, with AmeriServ as the title sponsor.
The Festival Park, being developed as a permanent home for the FolkFest and other festivals, is a grassy swath not far from the historical sites. "If you drive to Johnstown, signs will take you there," Johansson said.
For stage schedules and parking information, visit the Web site www.jaha.org.
