THE AMERICAN FOLK FESTIVAL

When The National Folk Festival came to Bangor, the smallest community to host the three-day event, there were doubts that the city was up to the task. The doubters were proved wrong and last year the city launched The American Folk Festival. Despite its past success, the festival needs you – to go enjoy the music, food and arts, and to contribute financially.

Because 80 percent of festival goers are from Maine, you likely know the routine. There will be five stages stretching from Main Street to the Kenduskeag Stream. Here musicians, ranging from boogie-woogie piano players to New Orleans Jazz bands to Cape Breton singers, will provide nonstop music.

Food vendors, selling everything from alligator to gooey chocolate cake, will be spread throughout the venue, with a large cluster near the Penobscot River. Handmade crafts will be demonstrated and for sale throughout the festival area.

As always, admission is free and dogs should stay at home. Parking at Bass Park will cost $5 a day with free shuttle buses to take festival goers to the waterfront.

The American Folk Festival starts today at 6 p.m. with a performance by No Speed Limit, which plays bluegrass music. For the second year, the Bahamas Junkanoo Revue will get the crowd moving and grooving with a parade through the festival grounds at 7 p.m. The music continues until 10:30 with zydeco, gospel and jazz. It begins again at noon Saturday and runs through 6 p.m. Sunday.

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. There is also money from the government. The rest must come from individual donors and the sale of festival merchandise.

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.

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, the cultural and morale boost that the national festival brought to the city can continue for years.

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