NORTHAMPTON — When Florence Night Out folded in 2022, the neighborhood lost its big communal blowout. This Saturday, a new one steps in to fill the gap: Flo Fest.
Debuting downtown from 4 to 8 p.m., Flo Fest will feature live entertainment, a scavenger hunt, art displays, make-and-take art projects, local food vendors, beer and wine, a raffle, and games and freebies from local organizations.
“In the spirit of a number of beloved community [festivals] going on hiatus or canceling this year, we’re really trying to hold it down for Florence, our corner of the Valley,” said artist and festival founder Chloe Torri, who lives in Florence.
“I’m … excited to throw a big party. I am all about creating a third space that’s outside of work, outside of school, and hanging out with my neighbors in this big shared experience,” she said.
The entertainment lineup includes The Kill Phill, The Unlucky Shots, Florence Community Band, Bobbie, Gabby St. John, Little House Blues, Olivia Nied, Honkytonk Queertones, Etienne Perley, Ascendance Inner World Arts, Noho FLOW & Juggle, Funktionlust, Reil Country, School for Contemporary Dance & Thought, SPARC, and Pepperoni the Great. The music school Little Roots will also host a “jam session” for kids.
The selected artists were chosen from a pool of about 70 applicants.
“We had a really thorough application, breaking down things such as, ‘What time are you interested in performing? What’s your style? What’s your relationship to Florence and the Valley?’ … Creating a well-rounded lineup was at the forefront, because we wanted to showcase the diversity across the Valley,” Torri said.
At the same time, she said, she and her team needed to pick the lineup with some financial limitations in mind: “Because this is our first year and because all of us are volunteers, we weren’t sure what our fundraising was going to look like, so we needed to be open with artists and say, ‘We want to pay you beautiful stipends, but what’s your flexibility?’”
The team had a goal to fundraise $25,000 for the festival, which they reached this month.
Some artists “donated their performances. That was a really big, generous move for us and helpful in those early times when we weren’t sure what fundraising was going to look like. And now that we have fundraised to [the] fullest, we are able to give back to our artists a little bit more than we originally planned,” Torri said.
Performances will take place on three stages — the Aurora Stage at Florence Towing, the Milky Way Stage at Brick Mill Square, and the Firefly Stage at JJ’s Tavern. The Aurora Stage, the main performance space, takes its name in part from Aurora, Illinois, where Torri is from.
“The main stage being Aurora was a nice little homage to my hometown, where I grew up around so many music and art festivals, and I wanted to carry on that legacy with me here,” she said.
Torri said she’s not sure what the turnout will be given that this is the festival’s first year, but she’d heard that in Florence Night Out’s last year, there were at least 8,000 attendees.
“I would be thrilled if I saw the whole population of Florence and a little more show up for us, so 2,000 would be fabulous, but we’re hoping to flood the streets overall,” she said.
Torri is also looking for additional volunteers, especially toward the end of the evening; tasks could include things like running the scavenger hunt table, handing out prizes, helping tear down the setup, or helping move trash cans and recycling bins, among other things. Roles are open to all ages, and both seated and standing positions are available.
“What really makes it worthwhile, because we are all volunteers, is the turnout and the support for everyone,” Torri said.
At this point, though, what’s left to do is mostly continuing to market the festival and get the word out.
“It has been a long journey of establishing who we are,” Torri said, “but also reminding [the community] that, ‘Hey, it’s coming up! I know the school year just started, but here’s one last hurrah – end-of-summer fun.’”
For more information about Flo Fest, visit westernmassflofest.wixsite.com/event or instagram.com/westernmassflofest.
