BUTTE — The day after the annual Montana Folk Festival, the streets in uptown Butte are quiet. The music has ended and thousands of guests have returned home, but the work is not done.
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Crews spent the day breaking down the six stages that played continuous music throughout the three-day event. Festival Director George Everett was busy paying bills and planning for next year's free festival.
"We're fundraising starting today for next year, but it went really well," Everett said.
Everett says the event broke some records.
"Crowds were slammed Friday night and Saturday…it was like a record," Everett said.
The event drew musicians from across the nation and the world, with stages including the dance pavilion in uptown Butte. On the final night of the festival, artists — including a Virginia-based gospel group — gave impromptu performances at the Finlen.
The event could not have been successful without help from 850 volunteers working shifts in various capacities.
"They are the heart and soul, and the owners of this event -- those and the people who donate on the site as well as year-round -- they are the ones who make it happen, and it's their festival," Everett said.
For Everett, the payoff for putting on an event of this scale is watching the joy it brings to uptown Butte.
"It is a great thing for Butte, and we love it... when I see joy … it's great. Lot of joy on the site," Everett said.
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