It pays to be nosy at Floydfest. Being nosy is how I met eleven-year old Jasper from West Virginia. He was pulling a wagon full of collected recyclables along the Global Village road. He had collected the stuff from surrounding campsites and was delivering them to the compost/recycling station. At the station he received festival […]
Michael Franti is beautiful inside and out. I like the way he jumps when he performs and how he gets the crowd jumping too. I like his fun lovingness and his life philosophies, one of which is to hug someone everyday, kiss someone everyday, miss someone everyday and give some love to someone that needs […]
I arrived at Floydfest 13 during the downpour on Thursday. After trudging around a bit in a raincoat and umbrella, I took cover under the Speakseasy tent to hear Michael Franti. No one suffered. Franti, along with virtuoso guitarist J Bowman, lifted spirits and filled hearts with stories of playing in Iraq for the children and soldiers. […]
- The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on July 17, 2014. Floydfest founder and producer Kris Hodges has been a musician most his life, playing gigs in Roanoke and beyond since the age of 14. Hodges, who is primarily a drummer (and is pictured below with his son), eventually got tired of the […]
This was the third year of Floydfest’s Teen Scene at the Imagine Tent and the first year that guest artist Josh Copus presented daily collage journaling workshops for teens throughout the four day festival. Teens were provided with blank journals, magazines and art supplies. There was a color printer for printing out self-portraits, taken with […]
~ The following appeared in the August 1st issue of The Floyd Press At the close of Floydfest on Sunday, festival MC announced from the main stage that the festival would be extended, with music acts performing at various stages until 11:00 p.m. and food booths staying open past the traditional 6 p.m. closing. Under […]
1. At some point on Saturday Floydfest began to feel like a floating island separating those who were onsite from those who (like me) wanted to be but couldn’t get back because of the heavy, steady rain. And I’m sure some of the wet people onsite were wishing they were in the comfort of their […]
Well it’s been raining pretty hard today and I just read on the Floydfest Facebook site that the traditional noon children’s parade has been cancelled (always a big draw for me). The latest festival update says: “The Boston Boys are up and running on main stage. Most of our stages are still on schedule with […]
The following are some sneak peek random shots of day one of the four day festival. I arrived in the afternoon with my son Josh, who is doing collage journaling with teens at the Global Village’s Imagine Tent, which my husband Joe runs. It wasn’t long before I headed for the backstage beer tent for […]
The following appeared in the July 18th issue of The Floyd Press. The festival is set to begin this Thursday and run through Sunday. A framed photograph of rock-icon Jackson Browne hangs in Linda DeVito’s office at Across-the-Way Productions (ATWP), the downtown Floyd company that promotes and produces Floydfest and other live events. DeVito, […]
~ The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on August 9, 2012. At 3:00 on Saturday, at Floydfest’s Virginia Folklife Porch, staffers set the stage for the wedding of Drew White and Jessica Smotrel, the first couple to take advantage of the music festival’s inaugural VIP wedding package. Friends and family of the couple, […]
Grandson Bryce hams it up eating watermelon in the Beer Garden with his nana and opa. There are staff golf carts and there are uncle’s backs for getting around the 80 acre Blue Ridge festival site. Everyone else walks. The theme for this 11th year annual music festival was Lovers Rock and my son Josh […]
Floydfest this year reminds me of the movie Saving Private Ryan. It’s a strange connection to make, but Saving Private Ryan is the only movie that had me crying with emotion within the first two minutes of the film, and Floydfest started (Thursday night) on such an emotional high note with Jackson Browne’s stellar performance […]
~ Feelin’ the Love at Floydfest. Two days down, two more to go! See photos and read about past Floydfests HERE. Note: If the videos don’t work or are slow to load, click on the upper left corner of them and they will play at youtube.
~ The following first appeared in The Floyd Press newspaper on July 26, 20102. We care about every detail, from every color to every light to every presentation throughout the festival grounds. Kris Hodges, speaking at the National Council on Arts in D.C. in October 2011. “Floydfest Ambiance Director. That’s my official title,” said Barbra […]
The following appeared in The Floyd Press on July 19, 2012 and was written three weeks before the start of the four-day festival, July 27th. Josh Newsome worked at Floydfest for six years before becoming a full-time year-round employee of Across the Way Productions, the event management company that puts on the annual four day […]
~ The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on August 4, 2011 The Imagine Tent teen scene at Floydfest was conceived of two years ago during Floydfest Revival when a group of local teens, who were wandering the festival grounds, waved down festival staffer Joe Klein, wanting a ride in his golf cart. After […]
I watched Eustace Conway put up a teepee in the Global Village in about eight minutes. Conway is a naturalist and primitive living teacher who was the subject of a book by Elizabeth Gilbert before Eat, Pray, Love, called The Last American Man. Watch a video clip HERE. Sun and fun, sons and a grandson […]
