FloydFest, an annual music festival, is currently looking for a new site after learning there are final permitting and other organizational issues at its new location.
Part of the annual event had been held in Patrick County since it began in 2002. Last year, organizers announced the festival would locate in a new location in Floyd County, called FestivalPark, situated between Floyd and Roanoke in Check, off U.S. 221.
An initial warning letter from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), dated January 25, was sent to inform “Hill Holler, LLC that DEQ observations indicated that land disturbing activities were being conduction without the requisite Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) authority approval to begin land disturbance.”
A second warning letter, dated March 6, referenced the initial warning letter and included additional concerns.
“On March 1, 2023, DEQ staff re-inspected the site in response to a complaint,” the letter to John McBroom, of Hill Holler, LLC, stated. “During the inspection of March 1, it was observed that land disturbing activity to construct a section of a road on the site had been completed and that land disturbance associated with the installation of additional road areas and three bridges had occurred, including two clear span bridge crossings of Meadow Run and a third clear span bridge crossing of an unnamed tributary of Meadow Run.
“Based upon a review of DEQ’s records, Hill Holler has not obtained coverage under the ‘2019 General VPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities,’ and no other certificate or permit has been issued for the discharge of stormwater from construction activities at the site,” the letter stated.
Will Harlan, a staff scientist and Senior Conservation Advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the location is potentially dangerous to the endangered bog turtle’s habitat and the endangered Mitchell’s Satyr Butterfly’s habitat.
“Two federally listed species have a habitat on that property, and we got involved at the request of local neighbors and communities that were concerned about these species and their habitat,” Harlan said, noting the center wants to ensure whatever development takes place at FestivalPark is done in a way that would not harm the habitats and “so that festival goers feel good about their festival experience. I think that is also shared by the festival organizers.”
“Our patrons, our memories, this ‘music, magic, and mountains,’ this community, our collective anticipation for future FloydFests, are what keep each of us going, and we don’t take that lightly,” festival organizers wrote in a March 29 statement.
“We have embarked on a paramount project: to make good on building all of us a forever home where we will celebrate life, love, and living for decades to come,” the statement added.
The festival moved to its new 200-acre mountainous location in 2023, with this year’s festival scheduled to be held from Wednesday, July 26 to Sunday, July 30.
Organizers are currently exploring all options to host the event and anticipate releasing additional information on April 6.
If the event is canceled, organizers said both refunds and rollovers will be offered.
For more information, go to www.floydfest.com, or Facebook.com/FloydFest.
