So what is Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folklife Festival?  Learn more with this extract from a recent preview of the Festival by DC Music Review:

Voted 'Best Music Festival' for 2018 by Washington City Paper, Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival is back to celebrate a decade of great music that benefits an even greater cause.  Organized by Living Classrooms, a Washington, DC nonprofit that inspires people to achieve their potential through hands-on education, workforce development, health and wellness, and violence prevention programming, it also brings residents and visitors to a much less known area in the D.C city limits.  

The ultimate goals of the festival are to raise awareness of this incredible community resource and to provide an opportunity for people to experience music and nature. 

What's new for 2019?   This year in addition to a stellar lineup, we've brought on a couple great new beer sponsors. Atlas Brew Works will be back in the Lower Meadow but they are also welcoming Coney Island Brewing, Heineken and Red Stripe to the mix.  George Dickel will also be handing out whiskey samples - because what goes better with bluegrass than beer and whiskey?

What else is there to do besides just music?   One of the activities that will be added to the Living Classrooms’ tent is creating “Gorilla Seed Balls” made up of native seed species to take and throw into the meadow, to encourage its continued growth.  There will also be a fish tank that will demonstrate what kind of wildlife you might find in the Anacostia, as well as an exhibit that highlights the trash often found in the river.

REI will be back with free kayaking around the island, Anacostia Riverkeeper will be providing free group educational boat tours throughout the day, ACE Hardware will help festival goers pot their own plants, and of course we have an array of local merchants selling their handmade goods in our Merchants Marketplace as well as some of the best DC area food trucks on hand that guests can sample from all day long.  Guests can also carve out a tiny corner of the island and hang a hammock, or just stroll the island and check out the scenery. There is something for everyone!

Is the festival family friendly?  The festival is definitely family-friendly!  The island is meant to be a family destination where both parents and children can get out in nature and learn about the environment.  We will have a Kid Zone in the Main Meadow that will have face painting, arts & crafts, music and games as well as some educational projects to keep kids engaged.  It’s also nearby the Kingman Stage and beer tent so parents won’t have to miss a beat.  Kids under 10 enter the festival free.

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