Festival Fever: The Big Up, 7/28-30/11

Since it started in 2007, the fest has gone by several different names – the Shirefest, OTT in the Shire, Let it Roll – but now it’s officially settled in as the Big Up, and it’s grown considerably since those early days.

The three-day festival rolls into beautiful Sunnyview Farm in Ghent on Thursday, and it promises more than 50 hours of music on multiple stages, as well as arts, culture and mind-blowing multimedia experiences.

The fest features three stages of simultaneous music during the day, and two more stages that continue to pump out the music all-night long.

It all starts at 4:30pm on Thursday, and Nippertown faves Dirty Paris and the Chronicles will be sharing the Day One bill with A-listers like keyboard-master Marco Benevento.

Headline acts for the fest include EOTO, Tipper, Big Gigantic, Raq, Digital Tape Machine, OTT, Abakus (featuring Joel Cummins and Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGee) and host band Higher Organix (who will be playing all three nights).

In addition to the music, the fest will feature painting, large scale arts & sculptures, live sustainable arts, glass-blowing, fire-dancing, performance art, crystal displays & wire-wrapping, body painting, graffiti murals and live multimedia visuals. And you can display your own paintings in the Convergence Dome Art Gallery.

There’s also yoga classes, massage sessions, gardening workshops, talent shows, geocaching expeditions, astronomy workshops, a cooking challenge and the wild & crazy, late-night Intergalactic Costume Party on Saturday night.

A three-day, all-fest ticket is $120, which includes tent camping; RV camping is also available for an additional $100. Single-day tix (available for Saturday only) will be $65 at the gate.

MORE FESTIVALS ON THE SUMMER 2011 CALENDAR:

Rensselaerville Festival of Writers @ Conkling Hall and other locations, Rensselaerville, July 28-31
Bluestock Music Festival @ Hunter Mountain, Hunter, August 26-28
Jazz at the Lake: Lake George Jazz Weekend @ Shepard Park, Lake George, September 17-18, FREE