Festival works to preserve unique experience

The Sisters Folk Festival has come of age.

What started in 1995 as a one-day festival featuring local and regional folk musicians has grown into a three-day event of national stature.

Festival chairman Jim Cornelius attributes that success to a couple of factors: focus on the music; and the atmosphere of Sisters itself.

"From the beginning, the focus of the event has always been on the music," he said. "Everybody involved loves this stuff; it's not about promoting an event just for the sake of promoting an event. And Sisters itself is a draw both to the artists and to the audience."

Executive Director Brad Tisdel notes that there's a lot that is unique about the Sisters Folk Festival:

"In general, most music festivals are in a large field," he said. "We have a very different model, which is to put it right in the heart of town, make all the venues walkable and have intimate settings that create a unique and intimate musical experience. We're selling a festival experience, not a concert."

Business has been good.

The festival has experienced growth in attendance of 20 to 30 percent each of the past four years, despite spikes in gas prices and a recession that has made things as tough for folks in the music business as it has for everyone else.

The festival has worked hard to keep ticket prices affordable. While festivals commonly charge from $125 to $300 for an event pass, the Sisters Folk Festival offers its all-event pass at $95 - and there are ample opportunities to get early discount pricing.

Growth has created some challenges for the organization: How do you maintain that unique, intimate experience when more and more people are coming to share it?

"We're acutely conscious of that problem," Cornelius said. "We don't want to end up with that Yogi Berra conundrum - 'nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded.' We're working hard to make sure we maintain and enhance the experience as we grow."

To do that, the festival expanded its Sisters Art Works venue by about 50 percent, making it nearly the same size as the Village Green venue, which has served as the "main stage" for years. Hours of operation have been expanded for venues such as Angeline's Bakery & Café and The Depot Café, and the festival added an evening venue at Slick's Que Co. on both Friday and Saturday evening.

Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill and Saloon remains the destination for those looking to kick up their heels.

"We want to have a fun, festive saloon atmosphere there, and we've booked bands accordingly to do that," Tisdel said.

Folks looking for something quieter can find singer-songwriters at Slick's or at the recently established Circle the Wagons gathering at Sisters Art Works on Friday night, dedicated to the memory of songwriter Chuck McCabe.

The public can enjoy free workshops on Saturday morning at Sisters Coffee Co.

"The idea is to give people lots of options," said Cornelius. "We've gotten to a point where a lot of venues are full a lot of the time, so we needed to expand our offerings a bit to take the pressure off so that people can continue to have a good time."

It's not just audiences that have a good time at the Sisters Folk Festival.

"Artists love the town of Sisters," said Tisdel.

He noted that Welsh singer-songwriter Martyn Joseph is returning this year and added several days teaching at the Sisters Folk Festival's Americana Song Academy at Caldera to his itinerary.

"Martyn is coming back from Wales and coming to the academy all three days based on his experience here," Tisdel said.

Artists enjoy the heart-of-town atmosphere and the natural beauty of the area - but they especially like having an audience that is here for the music.

Susan Werner, who has performed at the festival twice, told organizers that it's "the best listening audience in the country."

The festival organization seeks to make the festival a significant contributor to the local economy.

"Bringing 3,000-plus people to town in September every year has a massive impact, I think," Tisdel said. "We encourage those folks to eat in our local restaurants and to stay at our local accommodations. That's a reason that things are walkable. I think those people (festival attendees) experience a very welcoming environment and want to support the local economy."

While many come from out of town - and across the nation - to enjoy the festival's diverse palette of music, it's also an event that appeals to locals.

"It's many local people's favorite event of the year," Tisdel said. "And there's a reason for it: It's fun; it's cultural. If you haven't been before, we encourage you to take a risk on our definition and our production of a folk festival."

For more information, visit http://www.sistersfolkfestival.org or call 541-549-4979.