The Wheatland Music Organization is a non-profit organization
governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. They produce an annual
folk festival which always takes place the weekend after Labor
Day. This year was the 24th annual family festival, and my first
time to attend.
I was extremely impressed with how well the festival was organized.
The program guide was one of the most informative I've seen, and
the internationally known performers were of the highest quality.
Best of all, the 15,000 attendees are so well provided for, that
the huge popularity of the event caused all tickets to be sold
out more than a month before the festival.
A large group of red shirted volunteers helps out with the 1001
tasks that go into producing a major festival. The staff is sort
of like a large extended family, with a unified goal of preservation
and presentation of traditional music and arts. Besides the festival
itself, the Wheatland organization provides educational programs
and scholarship funds throughout the year.
The festival itself is on the grounds(now owned by the organization)
of a former farm, with large fields for motor camping, and a beautiful
wooded area for tenting. Everyone comes for the duration, (2 1/2
days) of camping, and there is a choice of bringing your own food,
or purchasing tasty meals at the dining building. There are lots
of portable restrooms, plentiful water supply(but no showers),
and well marked and maintained pathways between the various camping
and performance areas. Handicapped parking and camping areas are
provided.
The festival features the best arrangement and selection of kids
activities of any major festival I've ever attended. Not only
is there a children's stage and play area, but a virtual factory
for the hands-on construction of toys such as bug houses, face
painting, and other crafts. I got a real kick out of periodically
visiting the children's area to see such things as a native American
dancer and singer, numerous sand castles being built, and to watch
kids assemble Dreamcatchers.
Several stage areas featured continuous and simultaneous concerts,
dances, and workshops throughout the day and evening. The continuous
activity kept me wandering throughout the several hundred acre
site, so as to not miss anything. There was a special Saturday
night dance/concert for teens from 10 pm - 1 am which featured
a rocking celtic/contemporary band. The audience area was packed
for this show, and I was happy to see that the organizers had
provided for this segment of the festival population.
Some large festivals cater mostly to concert audiences, but Wheatland
(to their great credit) also provides generously for music making
within the ranks of the attendees. There were workshops on fiddle,
banjo, hammered dulcimer, whistle, guitar, accordion, harmonica,
dobro, dance, and more. Through out the camp ground were jams
with just about any style of ethnic or traditional music one might
wish to play. Late night jams went on in several locations with
the exception of drumming, which was limited to the hours of noon
to 10 pm.
Events at the dancing area went from 5:30 pm to 2:30 am on Friday
night, and resumed Saturday morning at 9 am with yoga and stretching,
finishing up at 2:30 am, started up at 9 am Sunday, and finished
at around 5 pm. Participatory dance styles included: squares,
contras, cajun, Tejano, swing, family dance(kids and adults!),
appalachian clogging instruction, French canadian step dancing,
and a "Texas swing" dance with Johnny Gimble's band.
On Saturday morning I visited the dining hall for breakfast and
encountered an informal group of fiddlers, banjoists and other
instrumental music makers inside. Despite being hungry I couldn't
resist pulling out my own fiddle to join them. After about 45
minutes of playing some fine old time tunes, I was informed that
I could join the food line for a complimentary breakfast! What
a nice touch to show appreciation for musicians and such a contrast
to other festivals where I've been asked not to play in similar
situations.
Other special festival features included: tables provided for
gas stoves in special cooking areas in the campground, a ban on
public drunkeness, free shuttle service to a nearby town for supplies,
a ban on amplified music, workers available 24 hours a day at
6 "safety stations" to handle any problems that might
arise, vendor areas with instruments, recorded music, and supplies,
medical personel, recycling containers, jam session areas with
benches, and lots of friendly greetings with the words "happy
wheatland," to festival goers!