Folk festival: year two

Wow. We promised this to our sponsors and to the residents of Bangor and beyond. We believed, and hoped we could deliver. By all reactions we did. The 64th National Folk Festival in Bangor was an overwhelming success. Thanks and congratulations go to many – too many to name. But now we must move forward, make adjustments for next year (mark your calendar, 65th National Folk Festival in Bangor Aug. 22, 23, 24, 2003), springboard the can-do spirit to other venues, and plan for the future beyond the National.

Our passion for delivering this festival grew from an understanding of the quality performers and high standard required by the National Council for the Traditional Arts. The delivery was borne on the support of more than 250 financial sponsors, 700-plus volunteers and the dedication of a very small paid staff. Truth be told, we quietly pondered the thought, “Will they come?” Together the city of Bangor, the Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau, Eastern Maine Development Corp., National Council for the Traditional Arts, in partnership with the Folk Life Center at the University of Maine, threw a party and everyone did indeed come.

Now we turn our attention to next year and beyond. First, we want to remind everyone that the Festival is brought to you free of charge – primarily with private funding. More than 85 percent of the budget for the Festival is from corporate sponsors large and small and individuals (including the many who contributed on-site to the “bucket heads”). And, yes, we have to raise more to meet the increased demand we expect for years two and three of the National and years four and beyond of the festival we create.

This year’s success lays the groundwork to spur on other opportunities. We need to draw from the Festival’s energy and passion to encourage Bangor and the greater region to take on additional challenges. We hope the festival will serve as a catalyst for community growth and re-birth of the waterfront and beyond. The festival itself will continue and encourage other “off-season” events – perhaps a downtown pre-festival, a winter event, and many other community projects.

The festival is a part of a dream for the waterfront development, now a reality put in motion. The waterfront was a blank canvas for 80,000 people to come together and experience Bangor and the region. We proved that the waterfront could be a place to share and celebrate diverse cultures and reflect upon our own heritage.

We have our work cut out for us – improving upon this year’s festival while laying a foundation for a long-term festival in Bangor. We will address the long food lines – but wasn’t the food excellent? We will review and address traffic, parking and other issues. We will also begin planning what the National will become in Bangor in 2005 and beyond.

It will take a long-term commitment and energy from people from Bangor to Greenville to Quebec City, to Halifax, Rockland, Bethel, everywhere in between and beyond. Our vision is to learn from the National and create an event that celebrates the diversity of culture that is The Atlantic Northeast. Even with this wide geographic range of support, the torch will be carried by the Greater Bangor region and eastern Maine. On behalf of the entire board of the Bangor folk festival, we will reach out for guidance and assistance from across the region. We will all make this year’s and future festivals a success – and we will all play a role in the rising of Bangor as a star in a new vibrant economy.

John Rohman is chair and John Holden is vice chair of the National Folk Festival in Bangor.