FLOYD COUNTY, Va. – Thousands of people took in the last day of FloydFest after a week of good times, great food and gnarly tunes.
Music, magic, and mountains—what more could you ask for?
FloydFest prides itself on having all three, and people from all over soaked up the last day of a fun-filled week.
“The magic of Floyd and the magic here and the tradition of music and bluegrass in the area, it’s really strong and really communal,” said festival-goer Alethea Stelmack.
People got a chance to experience all that FloydFest had to offer in its new location.
Even though organizers had to lower attendance for the new space, thousands still got to feel the Floyd magic.
“It’s been a homecoming. It’s been special. There’s been a lot of people on this mountain. It’s the first time we’ve ever had the event here of course and the first time we welcomed more than just a handful of us. It’s been us and contractors up here for two years, making this dream become a reality. We are just at 10,000 all in over the five days,” Sam Calhoun, Chief Operating Officer of Across-the-Way Productions at FloydFest, said.
But people say they love the new location, bringing the festival to its namesake, Floyd County.
“I like the new location, Floyd, is really magical, so it’s hard to go wrong,” Stelmack said.
Festival goers were excited to end their FloydFest time with music, friends, and of course, a bite to eat.
”Oh yeah, I’ve had just about every vendor. The cheesesteak is good,” one attendee said.
And organizers’ favorite part is to finally have the festival back up and running.
”To see the community, the families get back together with each other, taking a year off, people really miss it—they miss each other. And we’ve created a lot of different communities and helped foster that. And so, to see those people, those hugs have been abundant on the mountain this year,” Calhoun said.
Although they are closing the page to FloydFest 2024, preparations for 2025 are already in talks with next year’s theme set to be announced in November.