On the heels of its last-minute festival cancellation, organizers at the Sisters Folk Festival are offering people who bought passes several refund options. Festival organizers canceled the entire festival on Sept. 6, following weeks of poor and hazardous air quality conditions in the region due to fire. The festival was set to take place Sept. 8-10.
Those who bought passes can take one of two actions: Make the purchase of a pass a tax-deductible donation that goes toward continuing the wider mission of the festival, or cash in a refund of 35 percent. With the second option, purchasers can log a tax-deductible donation for the remainder of the pass price.
"Canceling the Festival two days before it was to start means we incurred a significant portion of the expenses of the event," festival organizers wrote in a Sept. 19 release. "Between the expenses we have incurred, the programs we are committed to funding and the refund we are able to offer, we will have fully expended the pass revenue we received—and then some."
The Sisters Folk Festival reports investing more than $250,000 each year into programs at Sisters schools. Music-based educational programs include the Americana Project, which teaches students to play guitar and write and perform songs. The Luthier Program, meanwhile, allows students to craft their own guitars or ukuleles. Students can also take dance, piano and other lessons through festival scholarship programs.
For refund information, visit: sistersfolkfestival.org/refund-faqs
Editor's note: This version of the story has been changed from the print version, to reflect that the festival was set to take place Sept. 8 to 10, not Sept. 7 to 9.
