THE FOLK’S ON US! In inaugural run, Bangor rises to the challenge of continuing a free festival

For weeks, people in Bangor and beyond have been abuzz. They’ve all asked themselves – and their friends – the same question: “How will the American stack up to the National?”

The answer revealed itself slowly as The American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront made its debut on Friday night. At 5 p.m., a handful of people had set up lawn chairs on the banks of Kenduskeag Stream to get a good view of the Irish ensemble Danu.

“I expect it’s going to be similar to the National Folk Festival,” LuAnn McPhail of Enfield speculated.

But she wasn’t sure. No one was.

As the last strains of Danu’s fiddles faded, horns began to wail from the bed of a shiny, bright orange public works truck, decked out in metallic streamers, garland and Day-Glo tape like a psychedelic homecoming float. The Skatalites had arrived.

So, it appeared, had the crowds. Wearing visors and Hawaiian shirts, flowing dresses and Goth black, toting chairs and pushing strollers, riding skateboards and scooters, they descended on the waterfront in droves, tapping their toes to the beat and following the Skatalites like the Pied Piper.

“We’ve already done this for three years,” Heather McCarthy, the festival’s executive director, said. “We’ve got a very experienced crew. We’ve got very experienced volunteers, food vendors, craft vendors. The whole team’s back, and while we’ve got new artists at the center of it, I think we’ve figured out how to throw this party.”

By the time Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders hit the Railroad Stage, the entire field was full of people dancing, chatting and waving to their friends. McCarthy estimated that Friday’s crowd was on par with past opening nights. In 2002, that meant about 10,000 people.

There were a few concerns when Hurricane Katrina left the Bahamas Junkanoo Revue stranded in Florida. But organizers kept on truckin’ – literally – and had the Skatalites lead the parade instead. Nobody seemed to mind.

“I like the Skatalites,” said Jason Horne of Bangor, whose daughter, Ava, sat atop his shoulders wearing a leopard-print skirt, pink pants, a cat’s whisker mask and a pair of white shoes that she put on especially for the parade. “They’re legendary.”

Among residents of eastern Maine, the festival is becoming a legend in its own right. Last year, as the National, it drew 135,000 people over three days. Families plan vacations, gatherings and even weddings, around it.

For the last four years, James White of Alabama has planned his summer visit with his daughter, Whitney Crowe of Brewer, to coincide with the festival. He says the event runs more smoothly – and the waterfront looks better – each year, and he expects that to continue.

“The organization’s even better this year,” White said. “I can tell.”

“I figured this was the important year with the transition,” Crowe added while listening to Danu. “If they can at least meet the expectations or exceed them, people are going to keep on coming.”

A seamless transition was the goal. The Washington, D.C.-based National Council for the Traditional Arts produces the National Folk Festival, which wrapped up its three-year run in Bangor last summer and will resume in Richmond, Va., in October. For the American Folk Festival, local organizers have partnered with the NCTA to ensure that the event retains its national scope and its rich ethnic diversity.

“You can see entertainment you’ve never been exposed to, just to see what it’s like, that’s what’s so fascinating for us,” said Carole Getchell of Corinth. She and her husband, Phil, were regulars at the National and plan to be at the American, as well.

Janet Smith of Bangor expects the community to embrace the new festival in the same way it embraced the National.

“I think it has brought some culture to our area and a different perspective for our community, the eastern Maine region, our state and even into Canada and the New England area.”

Her sister, Sherry Dalton of Brewer, said it’s great for the community – especially young people like her 12-year-old twin daughters. But her husband isn’t so sure. He didn’t come, but he did ask Sherry to bring home some food.

“He thinks it’ll be this year and next year only,” Dalton said. “He doesn’t think the community will support it.”

Joe Wilson, the NCTA’s executive director, would disagree. Though Bangor is the smallest city ever to have hosted the National, its run here was among the festival’s most successful. And Wilson doesn’t expect that to change now that the city has its own event.

“This is a heck of a time here,” Wilson said. “We’ve had a heck of a time here. We’ve learned as much as we’ve taught. There are great people here.”

And the people make the festival, whether it’s the National or the American.

“The community pride is really shining through,” said Brad Ryder, chairman of the festival’s board of directors. “We’ve gotten this thing started. We can’t stop now.”