Baldcypress Bluegrass Festival May 21 in Frankford to benefit Delaware Wild Lands

Grammy-nominated musician Courtney Hartman will headline the Baldcypress Bluegrass Festival in Sussex County Saturday, May 21. In addition to her solo career, Hartman is also guitarist and vocalist for the all-female group, Della Mae.

Four other bands will play sets in advance of Hartman’s performance: Kindred Spirits, Saltwater String Band, Flatland Drive, and a group formed for this festival called New and Spare Fools (featuring Mickey Justice and Todd Smith of Such Fools, Jon Simmons and Martin Wirtz of New and Used Bluegrass, and Wes Parks of No Spare Time.)

The Baldcypress Bluegrass Festival is a benefit event for Delaware Wild Lands, Delaware’s oldest and largest nonprofit land conservation. The festival grounds will be the scenic Roman Fisher Farm at the edge of the Great Cypress Swamp, the largest contiguous forest on the Delmarva Peninsula. DWL owns and manages 11,000 acres of the swamp, and 10,000 additional acres in Kent and New Castle counties.

The festival will run from noon to 6 p.m. Tickets for adults are $25 in advance or $30 at the gate. Children ages 5 to17 are $10. Kids under 5 are free. Tickets can be purchased online.

Local craft beer will be sponsored by Crooked Hammock and Dogfish Head. Wine will be provided by Nassau Valley Vineyards. A bevy of food trucks will offer a menu provided by Mr. Bar-B-Que, BK Catering, Vinnie’s Pizza Truck, and ice cream for dessert from Vanderwende Farm Creamery. Festival activities will include games, vendors, and tours.

Tickets to the Baldcypress Bluegrass Festival include the opportunity jump onto a guided bus tour looping through the 11,000-acre Great Cypress Swamp. DWL is actively restoring forests, wetlands, and wildlife habitat in this unusual ecosystem. Local experts will be on hand to answer questions and explain more about the history of the swamp.

Delaware Wild Lands is committed to long-term and large scale habitat restoration in the swamp. They have planted more than 165,000 trees here since 2011, improving one of the most important natural resources on the Delmarva Peninsula. Traditional uses continue on the land, including sustainable forestry, farming, and hunting.

Tickets are available online at Eventbrite.