By Chelsea Sproul
The weekend of July 20th through the 22nd marked the inaugural year for Delaware’s Firefly Festival – the host to a variety of gourmet food vendors, a vineyard, pop-up brewery, and more than 40 bands and 30,000 festival-goers. Firefly far exceeded our expectations!
With our car filled to the brim with camping supplies, our fun group of four set out on the delightfully short journey to Dover, Delaware. Our setup was easy and neighbors were friendly. We took a trip into the festival later that afternoon, and the atmosphere was electric. Since we arrived on Friday the festival grounds weren’t quite as packed as later in the weekend, but the crowd was energetic.
The festival grounds held plenty of surprises—from a hammock hang-out and magical forest that lit up after dark, to an air conditioned arcade and hot air balloon rides. There were also a host of vendors stationed inside the festival. You could grab a burger at The Burger Joint, or find something lighter at Fresh Co. I enjoyed some delicious southern-fried chicken tenders and sweet potato fries at The Front Porch, with a healthy helping of barbeque sauce of course. Hopefully future Firefly Festivals will feature a few more vendors, providing for slightly shorter lines and even more variety.
The Vineyard was also a huge hit. We visited this spot a few times—the wine was great and atmosphere perfect. The area was surrounded by a white picket fence, provided upturned barrels for groups to relax, and featured a ton of local wines.
My personal favorite, though, was The Brewery. Firefly’s pop-up brewery was huge and air conditioned, providing a nice respite from the sun on Sunday. Dogfish Head brewed Firefly Ale just for the festival, so I knew I was in for a treat. I tried the ale for the first time on Friday night, and I wish I had a cold pint of it in my hand now as well. It’s a pale ale with 5.0% ABV that’s refreshing and smooth, perfect for a dance-break between sets.
Although I haven’t mentioned it yet, the shows were the highlight of our weekend. Jack White blew me away on Friday night, and despite the drizzle the crowd was huge. Two other bright spots for me were Modest Mouse and The Killers. Modest Mouse played an intensely good set Saturday afternoon, and The Killers closed Saturday night with an energy-packed performance.
Although only a few days have passed since I returned home from the festival, I’m already hoping that this festival becomes a regular for the east coast. The location is great, there were few logistical issues, and our fellow campers were full of praise for the weekend. See you next year, Firefly!
2 Comments