THE AMERICAN FOLK FESTIVAL

The city is spruced up, the sun is predicted to shine and Bangor is ready to launch The American Folk Festival. The festival, three days of music, dancing, food, arts and crafts, aims to build on the successful National Folk Festival, to which the city was host for three years.

Bangor, the smallest city to hold the national festival, exceeded expectations. The challenge for festival-goers and organizers is to keep the cultural and morale boost that the national festival brought to the city going. Attendance at the festival is part of the equation. Financial support is another.

So, first go to the festival. It will look much like the national, with the same set-up of five stages featuring music from around the world and the country. The festival starts today at 6 p.m. with a performance by Danu, featuring Irish music. A 7 p.m. parade led by the Bahamas Junkanoo Revue will wend its way through the festival grounds. The music continues until 10:30 p.m. It starts again at noon Saturday and runs through 6 p.m. Sunday. The music ranges from Polish polkas to Hawaiian guitar to New Orleans Creole jazz and blues to French fiddling.

Dancing is optional, but often irresistible. There will also be displays of traditional arts and international cooking. Kids can make headdresses, play games and have their faces painted in a children’s area. Of course, there will also be lots of food.

While festival attendance is free, it costs the city and others $1 million to put on the three-day affair. Local businesses have contributed about half of the festival’s funding. Another 20 percent comes from the government, including the National Endowment for the Arts, and 10 percent from grants. Another 10 percent comes through individual donations. Organizers hope to raise $45,000 from the bucket brigade, substantially more than the $30,000 raised during the first year of the national festival, but less than the $49,000 raised last year.

Organizers are still about 20 percent short of their fund-raising goal. As in past years, volunteers will walk through the crowds with buckets for donations, not only to meet this year’s obligations, but to jump start next year’s festival. So, give generously. If you do, you will get a small token of appreciation.

The final source of funding is earned income, the money made from vendors and by selling festival merchandise. To further boost earned income, parking at Bass Park will cost $5 a day. Shuttle buses will take festival-goers to the waterfront.

Long after the music has stopped this summer, the benefits of the Folk Festival will continue to be felt. It’s no accident that increased cultural activity and a livelier downtown have coincided with the city’s folk festival success. The long-neglected waterfront has been transformed into a focal point of the city. New sidewalks, lights and lots of grass have made the riverfront more inviting. Condominiums soon will be built there and plans are in the works for another restaurant and other development along the Penobscot.

Less tangible are the feelings that the festival engendered. With local support, big and small, that positive vibe can continue for years.

To get in on the excitement, head downtown and enjoy the music and festivities.