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Looking for an escape this weekend? A place where you can just be without having to worry about things like deadlines, email, or phone? A place where you can enjoy four days of great music, arts and crafts, and come together with a very diverse group of people from all ages and walks of life? A place that is family friendly? A place not far away? FloydFest 6 is exactly that place. EverythingNRV had the pleasure of speaking with Linda DeVito, Marketing Director for Across the Way Productions, about FloydFest 6, which begins Thursday, July 26 and concludes on Sunday, July 29.
EverythingNRV: What’s new with FloydFest this year? DeVito: We have added a new timber frame stage roof at the Hill Holler Stage. It really streamlined Hill Holler Stage and is absolutely beautiful. It has added so much depth and beauty to the natural hollow. It is just breathtaking. The grounds have also become more and more spectacular. We’ve added gardens and water, new areas were people can sit and relax in, more picnic tables. We try to keep things fresh and the grounds are just absolutely beautiful. EverythingNRV: What can people attending FloydFest expect? DeVito: What brings people back and makes a new attendee become a regular attendee is the ease to come out (camp, rent an RV, commute). You can come for two days or all four and it’s a way to get-away. You don’t have to travel far but some do. Some come the 4-5 hours from DC or Charlotte. But you can come and escape. You can let yourself be without worrying about email, phone, deadlines. It’s just a time to enjoy four days of great music, arts and crafts, and the blending of so many different types of people. The age range is really ALL encompassing and we’re very proud of that. EverythingNRV: What is the average attendee like? DeVito: I can't say there really is an “average.” We have Fortune 500 CEO’s from Charlotte and northern Virginia. There really is no stereotype. There are people that come from the 18-24 demographic, the 25-35 demographic, the 35-55 demographic. We’re an all encompassing festival and we’ve tried to make it so that any one group couldn’t come to FloydFest. We’ve worked very hard at that. We are also family friendly because all of us have kids and know what its like. Those who want to bring their kids to have the experiences that they have, we provide a venue so that they would feel comfortable bringing their kids. I let my kids come. It’s a safe environment for kids of all ages from 2-92. There is just this vibe or natural feeling of people getting along and really wanting to experience music that they’ve never heard of or that they’ve come just to see. Everyone that comes enjoys themselves thoroughly. EverythingNRV: What is the most rewarding aspect of putting on FloydFest? DeVito: Putting someone on that relates to people. Just to come together with a great group of people and then put it on and have so many people have such a great time no matter what the weather. It could be pouring rain and people come back. One year we had that fog mist that we joked was the “magic mountain mist” and people still had a great time. We also have been able to work with diverse community groups that come and help like the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department, Floyd County Cares, and Angels in the Attic. For instance, the parking money goes to Floyd County Cares. The trash pickup is by Patrick County Safety Rope, which helps people that fall on hard times and need a safety rope. The area rescue squads are able to get exposure for what they’re doing. The Floyd County Band Boosters are also there. We have really tried to reach out and it’s very rewarding to seek out and be seeked out to be part of something as special as this and to give back while the community is giving to us. That’s what it’s all about and if it were more like this everywhere then people would work better together. This is what you’re supposed to do – take it to the local level and make it work. We feel like we’ve done that. We could go in and hire but we think this way is better and separates us from everyone else. EverythingNRV: What are some of the challenges? DeVito: Definitely the weather, but attendees come anyway and have a great time. We have a really tight infrastructure and we’ve worked hard to bring things like power and phone lines to the venue. It’s a monumental task to put together, to take an open field and turn into a venue to serve. This year we’re expecting 12,000, which is an increase from the 2,000 we saw at the first FloydFest. EverythingNRV: How do you select performers? DeVito: It’s done by co-founder and production director Kris Hodges. He’s a musician and has been playing music for many years. He goes after different acts, keeps his ear to the beat and tries to find different and exciting new acts and some old favorites. He is very talented at knowing what to bring in, but it also depends on availability. The process starts as soon as FloydFest ends. EverythingNRV: Why did you choose Floyd? DeVito: We’re all from Floyd or connected to Floyd in some way. We live on one of the county lines or do business in Floyd. Kris Hodges and Erika Johnson owned OddFellas Cantina in downtown Floyd. They had a lot of great music and that was a springboard. From that launched FloydFest and the rest is history. EverythingNRV: How long does it take to plan and how many people are on staff? DeVito: We plan next year’s FloydFest the moment this year’s end. We have sort of a rundown meeting about what went wrong, what went right, and what we can improve. We have three other music festivals: Wind Down the MusicFest, Vintage Virginia and Capital City Carnival. We used to just do FloydFest and have a break and then come together but now we got festival to festival and we are constantly working throughout the year. FloydFest has on staff four full-time employees, four part-time employees, a core group of volunteers and a volunteer staff going into the 100s. We have a lot of people that choose to earn their ticket at the festival. They work three four hour shifts. Twelve hours and you’ve earned your ticket. A lot of people volunteer for the bonding experience – to meet new people and make new friends. EverythingNRV: What can families with children expect? DeVito: We have a babysitting service in the Children’s Universe so that parents can have some time to themselves knowing that their children are safe. There’s a big rock climbing wall, a large area to play,a train to climb on, and neat little individual games. There’s a stage for children’s bands. We all have families so it was a natural progression to make FloydFest family friendly. EverythingNRV: What would you say to someone who’s never been or thinking about going? What advice do you have? DeVito: If you’ve never come, you just gotta go. You gotta experience FloydFest. It’s right in your own backyard, a major music festival in the US and the only music festival that has two timber frame stages. It's something very special and they just need to come out and experience it. The age group is phenomenal – college students, CFOs and CEOs of major companies, retirees, grandmas and grandpas. We have something for everyone. Whatever anyone has heard, they need to just put that in a drawer and say to themselves, "I’m going to experience this for myself." And I guarantee that they will thoroughly enjoy themselves. As far as advice, wear comfortable shoes and bring a light summer evening jacket. You can bring in your own food, but vendors serve everything from roasted fresh corn to wonderful burrito wrapped sandwiches, oriental food, truly American food, stir-fry – anything that anyone’s palate would like. For more information, visit www.floydfest.com. Make sure you don't miss this exciting experience! EverythingNRV will be there all weekend covering the festival so check back for festival updates and pictures!
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