Five years of Firefly and still going strong
Gov. Jack Markell, one of Firefly’s favorite fans, warned the press at Firefly Music Festival that if he was seen rocking out somewhere out of character, it’s because of his 20-year-old son.
Markell - sporting his signature khaki shorts and baseball cap - joined other organizers and supporters at the fifth annual Firefly at The Woodlands of Dover to celebrate the warm, sunny skies that opened up for the festival’s first full day of music Friday.
“It was really, really hot last year and I’ve been watching the weather every day, three times a day,” Markell said. The weekend warmed up for festival goers, after a small spat of rain just hours before the first performances.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Markell said. “With good weather, all these amenities, the great food vendors, great drink vendors, amazing music and the hospitality of the people of Delaware - what an amazing, amazing event.”
For Dogfish Head Craft Brewery based in Milton, the event is an opportunity to showcase local craft beers.
About 70 kegs were tapped on the first night of Firefly, which began at about 5 p.m. June 16. And the beautiful weekend weather only helped, said Dogfish Event Planner Ashley DiMichele.
“Last year was a wet mess,” she said. “Red Frog did a good job fixing things, especially the water situation and drainage.”
Her colleague Lars Ryan, a tour guide at the Milton brewery, agreed.
“The flow of the festival grounds and the whole experience has been nice. It’s not confining at all,” he said. As for the growlers offered by Dogfish for the first time at Firefly, all 700 - at $20 a piece - were sold out by the early afternoon on Friday.
Firefly continues to grow in both attendance and amenities for fans after five years of bringing world-class musicians like Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to the First State. The 2012 inaugural event brought about 30,000 people to The Woodlands, and nearly tripled with about 90,000 people in attendance in 2015.
New additions in 2016 included a livestream of the whole event, more art installations, an expanded beercade and Dogfish Head Brewery tent, as well as modified drainage, roads and walkways throughout the grounds, said Firefly/Red Frog Events Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Mezzano.
“We want to make sure our guests are here and comfortable, and that they see the Woodlands for what it is,” she said.
Event organizers expected about as many music lovers for the fifth festival, and that about 60,000 campers were settled within the first 48 hours. Drivers may have encountered some congestion on Route 1 in the Dover area as those campers filed in June 15 and 16, but the highway near Dover International Speedway was moving smoothly by the second day of the festival.
The four-day event featured headliners Kings of Leon, who were rained out at last year’s festival, Florence & The Machine and Mumford & Sons. Throughout the weekend, more than 100 musicians - including Blink 182, Ellie Goulding, Grouplove and Ludacris - rocked out on one of seven stages throughout the 300-acre festival grounds.
The day after the festival ended, organizers announced that Firefly will return to the Woodlands Thursday, June 15, through Sunday, June 18, 2017. A limited amount of pre-sale passes, starting at $249, went on sale at noon June 22.
For more information, go to www.fireflyfestival.com.
