While the sun is still burning hot these days, there will come a time not so long from now when the scene looks more like this: a late September weekend in Sisters, evening settling in with a sharp autumn bite. The streets are filled with music, merriment and warm layers as people wander in and out of cafes, pubs and a church-turned-music hall, looking to catch the next show. Some are warming up around a bonfire in someone’s front yard; others have stopped to tap their toes to tunes provided by a young busker. It’s the annual Sisters Folk Festival, and dozens of musical acts are playing across seven stages throughout town. Now in its 28th year, the three-day musical celebration draws thousands of attendees while remaining a locally grown and cherished community event.
Though the three-day festival is the star of the show for the broader public, its proceeds support an expansive and impactful array of year-round local programming. And last year the nonprofit officially changed its name from Sisters Folk Festival Inc. to SFF Presents, to more accurately reflect the extent of this work. For example, the organization offers educational opportunities to over 1,200 Sisters students, grades 5-12, in the form of the Outlaw Strings Club, producing fiddler extraordinaires. The Americana Project inspires students to write perform and record their own music. And a luthier program enables students to use advanced woodworking techniques to build guitars. There are also summer music camps. Around festival time, visiting musicians hold assemblies and workshops in the schools.
This community-first approach is reflected throughout the festival, with its intimate venues, boot-stomping dance parties and organic post-show jam sessions. Erin Pihl, communications manager at SFF Presents, notes the exciting discoveries to be made as you make your way from stage to stage. “You may go knowing one or two of the 30-plus acts, and then a lot of times you’ll leave with a new favorite,” says Pihl. “Oftentimes, we get somebody who’s up and coming, and then in the next couple years, they blow up.” A legend often makes the lineup as well — in this year’s case, Loudon Wainwright III. Whether familiar with the acts or not, there’s an undeniable magic in the air during folk fest weekend; a grassroots, town-wide party featuring world-class musicians and mountain views.
Runner up: Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show
SFF Presents
204 W Adams Ave., Suite 101, Sisters
sistersfolkfest.org
This article appears in Best of Central Oregon 2025 and the Source August 21, 2025.
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