FRFF 2006

excerpts from the Register Star Newspaper Sunday Newspaper: www.registerstar.com Famous Festival site to be sold. By John Mason What may be the final FRFF at Brennan Farm is going off like a rocket. In Saturday's perfect weather, every event was packed as people streamed in. Robert brennan, who owns Long Hill Farm, where the festival is held, said he had not sold the farm yet, but is going to sell it. He said it would not go to a developer, but he did not know whether the buyer would keep the festival there. "I have no idea what they are going to do," he said. "Whether we'll be invited to be here next year, I have no idea," festival founder/promoter Anne Saunders said. She said she wasn't worried. We'll miss this place, but we hope to stay in Hillsdale or at least Colombia County." As soon as the news got out that the farm was for sale, Saunders said that they got 5 or six calls about potential local sites for the festival, and her partner looked at all of them. They need about 200 acres so that they can put some space between the stages. They would like to have some buildings for storage, but could build them if nesscesary. "One side of the road would be nice," Ann added. "As it is, the festival has grown so much that parking has expanded across route 23, and Colombia County Sherrifs' Deputies are on the scene constantly, controlling traffic so festival goers can go to their cars." "Otherwise we love this spot," she said. She said there had been alot of concern from the festivals customers saying they'd contribute money. "Someone offered $25,000," she said. "But the asking price for the farm is $4 million." The Brennans terminated the festival's lease in June, Saunders said. One year's notice is required to terminate on either side, so there is no agreement for next year.

Wow. Is it just me, or does $4 million sound like an amazingly low price for that much land in that location?

Hrm. I was wondering though, does anyone know what happens on the farm the other 50 some weeks of the year?

Its a horse farm-they have a few other animals, donkeys I think. They grow a lot of hay-I don't know if its just for the horses or if they sell it to others.
I thought they would get alot more $ for it too. Hillsdale is such a small town(its more like a village). It just doesn't have the infrastructure(roads, water resources etc.) to support lots of housing developments. I sure would hate to see the town turn into suburbia with strip malls-Connecticut is turning into that and it sucks.

One hopes that hillsdale and the surrounding areas in columbia county do not get over-developed and malled over.� over hte past�several years, the county has become a hot spot for country homes for wealthy NYC residents, and property values have skyrocketed.� very much like the adjoining MA area in the Berkshires.� I suspectthat these people want to keep the area rural.� there is some suburbanization as the capital district (albany-schenectady-troy) expands, which someday could pose a threat, i suppose, but right now expansion is going in other directions.

as for FR2006, if they find a site in the same area, it will look a lot like the old site - the entire area is rolling hills.

john r

Now that farm is sold, festival finds new home
By: GAIL HEINSOHN 09/30/2005
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HILLSDALE-A 47-year accumulation of farming necessities is being readied for auction, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival has moved its stages and dance platforms several miles north and applied for a new special permit, but details are sketchy as all parties remain close-mouthed about the sale of Long Hill Farm.



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Bob Brennan, the farm's owner, confirms the sale, which will close October 17. The buyers, he said, are "kind of shy" and do not want their names revealed.
A public notice appearing in this edition of The Independent says that Howard Randall and Ann Saunders have applied for "modification to their existing special permit for a special event in order to hold Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on property at 44 County Route 7D." Ruth Dodds, who with her husband, John, owns the land the special permit refers to, confirmed her ownership, but told The Independent that she thinks Mr. Randall "has a reason not to want it publicized."
The telephone numbers listed for Falcon Ridge are not in service. Another listed in Mr. Randall's name is also not in service.
The annual festival has drawn several thousand people to the site each summer.
The buyers of Long Hill Farm are not local, Mr. Brennan said, and not farmers. "No farmers can buy here anymore. And I don't know how young people can buy a piece of land and build a house in this county. Not unless they're really educated-and then they have to move away, because there's no work here."
After the closing, Mr. Brennan is moving to "Amish country," he said, "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania." Mr. Brennan milked as many as 120 cows at Long Hill for 25 or 30 years, he said. "I never considered it a job," he said. "It was fun." But making a living at it became increasingly difficult and he sold the cows some years ago when he found that he couldn't pay his help "what they were worth."
With the cows gone, Mr. Brennan began acquiring, then breeding, draft horses. He also began crafting equipment for them and, in the process, attracting the notice of the Amish farmers. He said he has many friends in Amish country, adding, "I've been doing business with them for years." And the taxes there are "one-third of what they are here," said Mr. Brennan.
His daughter is taking several of the horses and a whole set of horse-drawn equipment to her new home in West Stockbridge, Mass. He still has three or four horses, born and raised on the farm, that he hopes to be able to move with him.
All the remaining equipment will sell at auction October 8, Mr. Brennan said. "A few of those wagons, if I had a place to move them to I would, but if I start saving stuff I'd have a whole barn full like I do now, so I'm kind of going to look the other way."
To contact reporter Gail Heinsohn email [email protected].



�The Independent 2005

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15306571&BRD=248&PAG=461&dept_id=462341&rfi=8

i think it should move to the original woodstock site in bethel, NY.
my hometown area needs a boost in the summer and i believe this would be perfect for it.
someone should tell them that.

I thought Woodstock was in White Plains.

it's been confirmed--directly from anne--to be the wknd of july 20-23.

there are two woodstocks:

1) woodstock, NY - exit 19 off the NY thruway.

2) the woodstock site in bethel, NY�-�here.

enjoy.

Of course, it is always on the weekend after my birthday. How else would I know when my birthday is?

I'd always assumed that the site was near White Plains, for some reason. Now I stand corrected.

indeed!

there were some who were wondering if it'd be the next weekend, as the 1st falls on a saturday, yadax3.

Note: Taken from Camp Fruvous Yahoo group:
Hey gang, what's new?

I popped over to see where discussion was after getting a somewhat
surprising post from Arnie (med crew chief). I don't *think* I'll
get in trouble for posting a part of his email... *steeling myself
nonetheless*

-quote-
As some of you know, Mr. Bob Brennan signed the papers and
sold the farm on Wednesaday, July 20th, which was the day that
we opened the gates for FRFF2005. He sold it to the billionaire
who own MTV and a few other entertainment companies. At the
time the new owner said he was going to plant vegetables and
have a large veggie farm there, however there are many stakes
in the ground showing the land has been surveyed into sections.
Not sure what that really means but local people are starting
to have doubts that he intends to have a veggie farm.

ANYWAY - over the past week and a half "we" (a small crew of
volunteers and a couple of Bub's hired help) have moved all
of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival equipment and property up to
a farm that is about 6 or 7 miles from the Brennan farm. Since
Howard (Bub) Randall the promoter for FRFF hasn't announced
the name of the new farm where we will be holding FRFF 2006,
I can't release that info either. I can tell you that the farm is a
GREAT location with much more "usable" property than we had
at the Brennan farm.

There is a gentle slopping hill at which the main stage will be
located at the bottom. There will be plenty of open field camping
areas and there will be an added feature of some camping
being located in a wooded area for those who choose that kind
of setting. All of the existing stages will be located around the
fields so we will have appropiate spacing. Oh, there are a few
smaller fields which will allow us to better separate "quiet" camping
for those who want to jam all night - like that group that used to
be up on the ridge.

The dates for FRFF 2006 are: July 20, 21, 22 and 23, 2006
So now you have the date and can start to plan throughout the
cold winter months how fantastic it will be - being the first
volunteers
to set up on the NEW site for FRFF.

Bub has had Mr. Segalla fly over the new farm and take pictures
for planning purposes and for the web page. When he is
ready - he is going to have a picture put on the main page of the
FRFF web site. So keep checking that page at:
http://www.FalconRidgeFolk.com

-endquote-

erm. that is all. carry on.

"The billionaire who owns MTV and a few other entertainment companies"?

If it's who you're talking about, it's a fellow named Sumner M. Redstone and he is the CEO of Viacom. Viacom is more than just a few "entertainment companies".

Viacom owns Paramount, CBS, UPN, a few hundred radio stations, Simon & Schuster Publishing, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Spike, CMT, Showtime, BET, TV Land, and a whole bunch of other shit that I'm forgetting.

If you're gonna paint a mogul, don't skimp on the details!

So... if there's no upper and lower camping, are the two Fruvous camps going to unite?

*personally, I hope so.

Seemed to indicate they'd still want to keep quiet away from noisy, so I think it'd still be Fruheads Separated.

I agree with Andrea. Not everyone is going to want to put up with all night music, hence the need for a Lower Camp. We may just still call them the same names to make things easier, just point out later where they'll be.

The first year of the new space could be a crapshoot, but once the official pics of the space are up, we'll be able to better plan that way where Upper (Budgiedome) and Lower (Camp Edhead) Camp Fruvous will be.

Well, I'm sure there are some people who prefer lower camp not because of the quiet, but because of the location. If the hill isn't a factor, there might be some people who are very pleased to finally be able to be near the all-night music without having to climb.

Yes, I do believe that we'd see JillMom a lot more often.

I agree these are possibilities...there will be some personnel changes...I'm just saying I don't think the two camps will ever really unite as long as there are quiet and noisy camps and some people prefer one over the other.

Besides, "lower camp" is now camp edhead... so... that's another factor.

Which is not to say efo fans don't want to unite.... just that I think there's a lot different focus and vibe in the two camps.
I, for instance, have no interest in jamming or hearing people do so... that seems to be what the other camp is all about.

But hey, as long as they have the bagpiper in the mornings, I'll be happy. :D

And don't forget.... IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!

I have a thought on locating camps at the new site.� While we might be able to pick spots from aerial maps, maps will not tell us if a site is really adequate; where the bus runs; and where the water tanks are, nor are we guaranteed of getting a spot we pick beforehand, although people from the major camps are usually at the head of the line (and often "miraculously" find a spot roped off - angels, i think).� Latecomers, if the sites are as scattered as the description of the farm indicates, might have trouble finding the right spot.� I will be at the GFP, but want to visit the budgiedome and other places as well.� Do you think it would be possible to convince FR to put up a site map in the parking lot where the major camps (budgiedome, GFP, happytown, dar camp, etc) can pin up a note or sign indicating where they are so that when people arrive, they can head right for it?

nah climbing is good for you :D

> Besides, "lower camp" is now camp edhead... so... that's another factor.

Not that I'm planning on going at this point, but why not take this chance to separate Camp Edhead from Lower Camp Fruvous? I'm sure I'm not the only one who cringes a bit sitting underneath an Edhead flag. ;-)

Because it's not worth it to lose the important folks who want to be both, like Shelly. I'd rather be at the merged camp and have people assume I'm an Edhead than lose Shells. :)

On my way� back to the Mass Pike from Philmont, NY I had to go through Hillsdale.� I think I saw the farm where FR 06 will be held. It� certainly looked like the descriptions that I have read. It looks like a great place for FR. Lots more flat land for camping and the various stages.

I was very concerned that they would be able to find a place comparable to Long Hill Farm but it looks they have found one even better suited to the festival.� I went to FR once when it was at Catamount�, I sort of forgot that this wasn't� the first time the fest moved. It looks like there will be much more room for camping in site of the stage. The hill has a couple of nice level spots almost like plateaus.

That sounds very interesting - thanks for sharing.

OTOH I hope it isn't too flat since I won't be able to fall asleep at FRFF when I'm not sliding down the hill :D

Eh, that's what legs are for. Part of the reason I don't go to FRFF anymore is the fact that Lower Camp Fruvous was getting so huge and chaotic, and most of it was the Edhead crowd. Most of them were fine, I guess, but I would rather hang around with Fruheads. *shrugs*

I guess there are overlapping interests and all, but I'd never start a Camp Decemberists and expect to merge it with Camp Fruvous just because there are some overlapping fans. *shrugs* Pet peeve, I guess.

The alleged buyer of the farm is Sumner M. Redstone, CEO of Viacom.

My theory is that he wants a pleasant country estate. When you have $4 million to throw around, you can get a pleasant country estate like the FRFF site.

My guess is that he'll build a house on the flat area in back where quiet camping used to be.

If one were to build a strip mall there, you'd have to completely level the hill. While this isn't impossible, it's wildly impractical.

�Of course I can't guarantee I saw the actual site. It was visible from the road but I only saw it for a few minutes and it was covered in snow so� my description may not be totally correct. I did not want to stop and annoy the owners if it was indeed the 2006 FR site.

As for Sumner Redstone he deserves a quiet country home I guess. However, when he gets rich from buying up local radio stations and eliminating local broadcasting I say bah humbug. He also caved in to the FCC regarding free speech and government censorship of the public airwaves so boo and hiss to him� as well.

But he has an awesome name.

So Josh, will you be attending in 06?

Probably not, unfortunately. Too much stuff going on this year.

thats too bad, should be an interesting year. When was the last time you attended?

I missed last year, so 2004 I guess. It was the year of the big rain. Oh wait, that's every year. :-P

True it seems to always rain. We've decided not to put a tarp underneath our tent this year. Without a tarp the water should drain into the ground and not turn our tent into a pool.

Maybe ,Josh you could just do a day trip to FR once the schedule is posted.

not 2001 ;)

which of course, was the best year for that to happen, because that was the year i was there :)

i get enough rain at home, i don't need to travel for it ;P

I can see where you're coming from... I certainly don't consider myself to be part of the edhead camp..... or camp fruvous, for that matter. :)
I just happen to camp with people who are.

*shrugs*

I tend to like most everyone who winds up underneath that tent, regardless of band affiliation. Not everybody, but most.

Yeah, I'm with ya on that, brotherman.

Falcon Ridge homepage has been updated with the new farm. It is the one I saw while driving through Hillsdale