Frequently Asked Questions

Most of the information you need to enjoy the festival is right here! Read on for answers.

When is the festival?

Since 2010 the festival has been held in late summer, on or about the first weekend in August (with the notable exception of 2021, when it was the first weekend in October due to the pandemic). In 2024, the festival will be held July 26-27. Our 2025 dates are set for August 1-2.

What should I bring?

Your tickets. If you purchase your tickets in person, you will need to bring them with you. If you purchase a  VIP Pass, 2-day pass, or single-day ticket to the festival online or in person, you will receive a separate ticket for each day of the event. (If you misplace digital tickets, we’ll be able to look you up at the gate. Do not lose your hard tickets, because we can’t replace them!)

Your ID. You will need your ID if you intend to purchase alcoholic beverages. Please understand that you will need your ID to get a wristband at the festival or any other event at Peoples Natural Gas Park, regardless of your age and appearance.

Please do not bring:

Dogs. Dogs and other pets are not allowed at the music festival or any other event at Peoples Natural Gas Park, regardless of the animal’s size or behavior. Leave Fido or any other pet at home for the health and safety of all our patrons. (Of course, service dogs in harness are welcome).

Coolers and outside food/beverages. Outside food and beverages (alcoholic or otherwise) are not allowed on festival grounds.

A/V recording equipment. Many of our artist contracts explicitly prohibit live audio or audiovisual recordings of any portion of their performances.

Weapons. There will be a bag check as you enter the festival.

Folding chairs. Please don’t bring folding chairs to the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival — although the festival is general admission and we can’t guarantee a seat for everyone, there is ample seating at each of our stages. Space is at a premium on festival grounds, and your folding chair will get in the way! You may, however, bring a blanket for use on the park lawn.

For non-festival events at the park, folding chairs as well as blankets are welcome, as long as they are used on the park’s lawn, not underneath the Polacek Pavilion or inside the Community Foundation Oilhouse.

What happens if it rains?

Please note that we cannot guarantee that specific festival performances won’t be delayed, interrupted or even cancelled in the event of heavy rain, especially at the open-air mainstage – and all festival tickets are non-refundable.

But no matter what, the festival will go on. The stage and audience areas of the other stages are completely covered.

Concert events at the Peoples Natural Gas Park are under cover, either in the Community Foundation Oilhouse or in the Polacek Pavilion, and will continue as scheduled if at all possible.

 

Where do I park?

Please note that any charges for parking on lots near the festival grounds are not related to the festival and do not support us. More details at the link below.

Park

Is the festival and Peoples Natural Gas Park family-friendly?

Absolutely. Children are welcome at the festival (and all other JAHA-produced events at Peoples Natural Gas Park unless specifically stated otherwise). Children under the age of 12 who are accompanied by a parent/guardian get in free; older children and teens must have a ticket.

What is the refund policy?

The festival is unable to offer ticket refunds for any reason, including but not limited to inclement weather or the unforeseen cancellation of a particular artist’s performance. We’re all in this together!

Can I come back if I need to leave the festival grounds?

No problem! Of course, you need a ticket for each day of the festival. But all ticketed patrons will receive a wristband upon entering the festival, and if you need to leave and return the same day, your wristband will get you right back in without waiting in line at the box office.

Where can I stay?

In 2024 we are offering hotel packages with the Holiday Inn, which is located within walking distance of the festival grounds — this is available during the early-bird period only! Otherwise, there are a range of area hotels to choose from.

More

We are also offering camping in partnership with Coal Tubin’.

Camp 

Is the festival handicapped-accessible?

Yes! We value our patrons with mobility issues and do our best to accommodate in every way we can. Peoples Natural Gas Park has sidewalks and paved surfaces, and the entire festival footprint is flat and relatively compact. Wheelchair-accessible portable toilets are available on the grounds.

For wheelchair-using VIP Pass holders: in the VIP Lounge (located in one part of the Community Foundation Oilhouse), there is a wheelchair lift that provides accessibility to the upper level of structure where the VIP bar is located, and the restrooms include handicapped-accessible stalls.

How did the festival get its start in Johnstown?

With the help of City and Commonwealth officials, the Johnstown Area Heritage Association recruited the National Folk Festival to Johnstown in 1990 for a three-year run, raising the necessary funds to do so. The National Folk Festival brings “legendary masters and the next generation of dynamic young artists to celebrate the musical soul and cultural roots of America.”

After the National Folk Festival’s three years were over, JAHA picked up the reins and began to produce the event on its own, renaming the event the Johnstown FolkFest; AmeriServ Financial became the title sponsor a year later, and the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest came into being. JAHA’s music programming continued the National Folk Festival’s mix of legends and cutting-edge newcomers representing all genres of American music. In 2009, to better convey that all types of music, not just folk, are presented, the name was changed to AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival – and the lineup got better than ever.

Past performers at the festival read like a “who’s who” in roots music, bringing artists to Johnstown who might never play here otherwise; the festival’s multiple-stage format gives patrons the opportunity to sample types of music they might not have heard before. The festival has developed a national reputation for its high-quality programming. Click here to find out more about the festival’s history.

In 2004 the festival moved to its current location adjacent to downtown Johnstown, and fundraising began for what is now the Peoples Natural Gas Park. The park was dedicated in a special concert event on June 16, 2012.

Who benefits from the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival?

Like its predecessor, the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest, proceeds from the Flood City Music Festival benefit the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, a non-profit that exists to preserve and showcase Johnstown’s nationally significant stories to the nation. To do that, JAHA provides high-quality educational, cultural and recreational experiences in the area’s unique historic settings. We operate three museums, the Johnstown Flood Museum which tells the story of the 1889 Johnstown flood; the Wagner-Ritter House & Garden, a house museum interpreting the domestic lives of 18th-century immigrants to the historic Cambria City neighborhood; and the Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discovery Center; which tells the story of immigrants to Cambria City in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the history of steel and iron in Johnstown; and the Johnstown Children’s Museum.

In addition to the music festival, JAHA holds a variety of additional special events throughout the year as well. In this way, we support the local economy by bringing positive national attention and visitors to our area. The festival is a wonderful program that helps JAHA provide a great experience for local residents, focus national attention here and bring people to visit. Along the way, everyone has a terrific time.

About JAHA

Who funds the festival?

The festival receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

AmeriServ Financial has served as the title sponsor for 29 years in 2024, and we are so grateful!

In addition, a wide variety of business sponsors make the festival financially possible, and in-kind sponsors donate a huge array of products and services that that make the festival go. Thank you!

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