SFF to host free celebration

Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) will hold a free community celebration - the Ponderoo Arts Experience - following the 4th Friday Art Walk on Friday, June 23. The event will kick off the Big Ponderoo festival weekend. The family-friendly event will include live music, food and drink, a new public art unveiling, and hands-on creative opportunities for all ages.

The evening will begin with a Big Ponderoo-sponsored 4th Friday Art Walk, which includes live music at 10 participating businesses around town. Musical artists will perform from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. (See info box.)

During the art walk, patrons are invited to pick up a "Ponderoo Passport" and map from a participating location and have it stamped at each of the businesses they visit. Completed passports can then be redeemed for a Little Ponderoo, a glass suncatcher envisioned by glass artist Susie Zeitner and created by local artists and community members. Passports can be turned in at the Sisters Art Works check-in tent on Friday, June 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. Organizers recommend visiting the tent early as there is a limited quantity of Little Ponderoo suncatchers available.

At Sisters Art Works, attendees can participate in art activities including a community weaving project, creativity table, coloring station, and wishing tree before settling in for food and drinks. On tap, adults 21 and over will find the limited-edition Ponderoo Pale Ale by Three Creeks Brewing, a collaboration between SFF and the local brewery to celebrate the new summer festival.

A sneak peek concert from festival bands Never Come Down and Twisted Pine will take place on the Sisters Art Works stage from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Never Come Down is a Portland, Oregon-based five-piece composed of Joe Suskind (guitar), Crystal Lariza (vocals), Brian Alley (banjo), Kaden Hurst (mandolin), and Ben Ticknor (bass). Their dedication to thoughtful songwriting and dynamic arrangements highlights polished technical skills and a commitment to listening to each other. They've toured internationally and have found acclaim at festivals and venues such as Iceland Airwaves, John Hartford Memorial Fest, Americanafest, FreshGrass, and RockyGrass.

Twisted Pine grooves with fearless improvisation and intricate arrangements. Band members Kathleen Parks (fiddle), Dan Bui (mandolin), Chris Sartori (bass), and Anh Phung (flute) aim to take traditional music in new directions with a sound they coin as "Americana funk."

The celebration will culminate with two days of live music on June 24-25, with performances from 16 artists including The War and Treaty, The Travelin' McCourys, The Lone Bellow, The Lil' Smokies, Corb Lund, Dustbowl Revival, Margo Cilker, Twisted Pine, Jon Stickley Trio, Mile Twelve, The Last Revel, Never Come Down, Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs, FY5, Honey Don't, and Skillethead.

Advance two-day festival tickets are available for $175/ticket for adults and $70/ticket for youth ages 17 and under. Saturday-only tickets are $100/adults and $45/youth, and Sunday-only tickets are $90/adults and $40/youth. Children under 5 attend for free. Tickets are available at http://www.afton

tickets.com/BigPonderoo. Prices will be slightly higher at the gate on day of show.

Those interested in volunteering for a ticket can still sign up for shifts at http://www.bigponderoo.com/

volunteer. Those putting in a minimum of 8-10 hours will receive a two-day wristband, with access to both venues

throughout the weekend when not volunteering (subject to venue capacity, as with all pass-holders).

Follow @BigPonderoo on Instagram and Facebook or visit BigPonderoo.com.