First Annual Tumbleweed Music Festival

Three Rivers Folklife Society's FIRST ANNUAL Tumbleweed Music Festival, August 30-31, 1997, was a smashing success. Thousands of people attended from locales throughout the west. One audience member from Salt Lake City was just passing through town, stopped to see what was going on, and liked it so much he stayed for the entire two-day festival! The festival staff received many accolades from the audience and performers alike. The response was overwhelmingly positive. And no wonder... It was a great festival with fabulous performers in a beautiful setting on the banks of the Columbia River!

Thanks to our 90+ volunteers who worked to make this event possible, the FIRST ANNUAL Tumbleweed Music Festival hosted over 200 performers and operated five simultaneous venues for performances and workshops. The four stages hosted 95 separate performances, and the Community House hosted fifteen well-attended workshops plus the festival-closing dance. The first-ever Tumbleweed song-writing contest was won by the band, Six Legged Frog, with their entry Ride the Tumbleweed.

After the festival closed, some of the performers partied on. Details? Read the party report.

Many of the performers did very well on their "product" sales (tapes and CDs), as audiences heard terrific acoustic music and decided to take it home with them. Audiences also bought every Tumbleweed festival button in the inventory and lots of Tumbleweed t-shirts. (A few of these collectors' items remain and can be purchased at upcoming 3RFS concerts.)

The audience was very festive and generous, and the festival was able to achieve its financial objectives, so we'll be doing it again each year.

Mark your calendars for next Labor Day weekend!

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