Grey Fox looking for new site

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival's Mary Burdette today confirmed recent renewed rumors that the pending sale of Rothvoss Farm will necessitate a move this year to a new location for the long-running event.

"We want you all to know that we are monitoring the Rothvoss Farm situation very closely. While we have not yet received official word that the farm has been sold, we have every reason to believe that it will be sold very shortly. We also believe it will be necessary to move the festival to a new location this year," Burdette wrote in a posting to the Grey Fox discussion board.

Grey Fox and its predecessor event, Winterhawk, has been located at the Rothvoss Farm site near Ancramdale NY, fondly known as "The HIll," since Winterhawk's inception in 1983. The possibility of a sale of the property and the need to move the festival to a different location has been in the air for several years. At the 2006 festival, promoter Mary Doub announced an agreement that would allow Grey Fox 2007 to take place in its familiar location.

Since no such assurance was given during the 2007 festival, today's news comes as little surprise. But it does raise big questions for long-time attendees. How will it be different? How will long-held festival traditions translate to a new site? Will a new site change the character of the event? Already, Grey Fox attendees are weighing in at the discussion board with suggestions and reaction.

The 2008 festival is fully underway, with tickets already on sale and the full lineup announced for July 17-20. All that's missing is a location.

Many festivals have undergone location changes with a minimum of disruption. Grey Fox's well deserved reputation for patron friendliness, as evidenced by today's announcement, should serve it well as it follows through this challenging transition.