Community invited to family-friendly music festival happening this weekend
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RIRIE — A local music festival will take place this weekend that will not only offer music, but a variety of family-friendly activities.
The South Fork Music Fest will be held Friday, Aug. 16 to Saturday, Aug. 17 along the South Fork of the Snake River at Aspen Grove Inn near Heise Bridge in Ririe. This is the festival’s first year open to the public, as the past two years the event was an artist showcase only for friends and families of the musicians performing.
“It’s a soft-open to see if the community has an appetite for an annual music festival,” Caleb Brown, creative director, explained.
Brown, along with program director Colter Wilson and Derek Parry co-founded the event. The multi-day festival will feature two stages and 20 bands will perform. There will be regional bands and touring artists that will bring a variety of different music genres for the community to listen to.
“Friday, the line-up consists of more acoustic acts. There’s a fiddle champion, Tim Hodgson, he’s famous locally for being in the Bar-J Wranglers,” Wilson mentioned. “Saturday, we have big bands — rock, funk rock. We’re excited to have a multi-genre festival.”
There will be food available to purchase, fly fishing workshops and raffles. Local businesses donated items to the raffle which include prizes such as a Yeti Cooler, fly rod, an annual gun range membership and gift cards to restaurants and coffee shops.
“There will be a lot of raffle prizes for people to take home,” Wilson stated.
A youth talent show will take place to kick off both days. Brown said this is something they did in the past and are looking forward to continuing it.
“It’s a fun way to open up the stage,” Brown said. “(By) giving the kids a shot.”
The organizers of the event are bringing in the theme of recreation and will have speakers talk about outdoor recreation between performances. The Snake River Animal Shelter is also bringing a dog to the event with the hopes it will be adopted on-site.
“We’re thrilled with the help that people have been and we’re excited to have as many people come out as are available,” Wilson said.
Tent sites are available for those wanting to camp at the event. For more information on availability contact Aspen Grove Inn or Mountain River Ranch.
The festival is $20 for the entire weekend per person, although those 18 years old and younger are free. To purchase tickets and for more information on the event, visit the event’s website or Facebook page.
For those interested in attending, Wilson said bring lawn chairs and know there will be plenty of trees to provide shade during the event.
