Fox Valley Folk fest adds Saturday shows
Illinois’ largest folk festival is about to get larger.
This year, the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival will expand its offerings with concert stages in downtown Geneva on Saturday, Aug. 31.
The festival, now in its 37th year, is traditionally held the Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend in Geneva’s Island Park. This expansion into Saturday will introduce downtown shoppers to a few of the artists who will be performing on Sunday and Monday, Sept. 1-2.
Free Saturday performances include:
Ÿ 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., February Sky, Geneva Bank and Trust Stage, 514 W. State St.;
Ÿ 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Regional folk music organization performers, Joschel Plaza, South Third Street and Crescent, at the Metra depot;
Ÿ 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., Locust Honey String Band, Kane County Courthouse Lawn, 100 S. Third St.
From 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, the annual live Radio broadcast on WFMT 98.7-FM features more festival artists in a live show that is open to the public. The show is broadcast from the 155-year-old Unitarian Universalist Society Chapel, 102 S. Second St., and is also streamed live on the Internet. Advance tickets for the broadcast are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, students and volunteers; at the door, if available, tickets are $25/20.
The broadcast’s featured artists include Ben Bedford, Harpeth Rising, Jeni and Billy, Locust Honey, Zoe Mulford, Sparky and Rhonda Rucker.
The festival continues from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday, Sept. 1 and 2, at Geneva’s Island Park, Route 38 and the Fox River. It will present folk music, dance and storytelling on eight stages featuring more than 36 Midwestern and national folk music and storytelling acts. Concerts, hands-on teaching, dancing and topical workshops are part of the event. Sunday evening features an Old-Time Community Barn Dance from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and ghost stories in the big tent from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Suggested admission is $15 per day for adults, $10 for teens and elders; children younger than 12 are admitted free.
For tickets or information, call (630) 897-3655 or visit FoxValleyFolk.com.