Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on May 16, 2024

Dubbed Floydfest Horizon, the 2024 festival is off to a good start, after taking a year off to develop the festival’s new Floyd County property at 5826 Floyd Highway North in Check.

Set to take place on July 24 -28, Floydfest 24 will feature headliners Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Black Pumas, Sierra Ferrell and Charlie Crockett, along with up to 100 performing artists, including more than a dozen “Local Love” regional bands.

“One of the headliners this year is the site,” the festival’s Chief Operating Officer Sam Calhoun said at a recent volunteer work weekend.

Heading up an ATV tour for visitors, Calhoun showed off the lay-out of the land and its development. The just under 200 acres boasts woods, green open spaces, rock croppings, trails and creeks on top of a Blue Ridge Mountain peak. Wetland areas are protected by fencing and several storm-water drainage systems have been developed.

“Security is better than ever,” Calhoun said, citing two helicopter landing sites, an emergency exit, a command station, triage rotation and an increased number of medical tents throughout the festival.

Attendance will be smaller than the two decades of festivals that took place at milepost 170.5 off the Blue Ridge Parkway, down from an average of 15,000 to 10,000, which staggers throughout the five-day festival, Calhoun said.

Entering from Route 221 (Floyd Highway), vehicles arriving at varying times of the five-day festival will file into the site in two or three lanes, limiting possible wait lines on the highway. The entrance route will bring patrons to the Box Office check-in at The Depot, which includes or is adjacent to the Red Rooster Coffee Shop, a brew bar, the Camp Store and a Floyd artisan market and an information booth run by the Floyd Tourism and the Chamber of Commerce.

On-site parking has been the most requested item on festival-goers wish lists, and it’s a feature of the new festival site. Along with creek-side and woods tent camping, there is glam camping, yurts, and the tucked-away VIP world, where vehicles and RVs can park at their campsites and enjoy food catering and a live music pub. A system of trams will shuttle patrons from place to place.

With a commitment to green sustainability, the family friendly festival will house seven stages, which are in the works and are being constructed by local labor. Omnibuild is the site’s general contractor. On this work-day weekend, the timber-framed viewing deck by Streamline Timberframe had just been raised. Abraham Telling and family built the deck floor that looks down onto where the main stage will be. The backside of the viewing deck will double as the Higher Ground stage.

An existing barn on the property is being renovated into the new incarnation of the popular Workshop Porch, complete with amphitheater seating. The Porch will be hosted by the Floyd Country’s Store.  Co-owner and music producer Dylan Locke will be providing Workshop Porch artist programing.

Floydfest fan favorite features will return to create what Calhoun calls “a semblance of normalcy.” This includes vendors, food courts, ABC tents, the Children’s Universe, a Teen Scene, Healing Arts, Outdoor Adventures, a disc golf course, light shows, On-the-Rise patron-voted competition and much more. – Colleen Redman

1. COO Sam Calhoun with the Higher Ground Viewing Deck in the background. 2. A close-up of the Higher Ground Viewing Deck, which also doubles as a stage.  3. In the driver’s seat: Chief Financial Officer and VP of Operations Jessica Taylor was directing some of the Work Weekend activities. 4. A volunteer worker clearing rocks. 5. Another volunteer working clips some brush. 6. Fencing around a wetland area with yurt platforms in the background. 7. Children’s Universe Ark is a familiar sight.  8. Lunch was provided to workers at the house that is set up as the Admin Building.  9. A worker digs in to a pot of chili. Floydfest CEO John McBroom is pictured to the right with his son.