Welcome to the official site of the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival! Produced by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association.

August 6, 7, 8 -- Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Festival FAQs
Where are the festival grounds located? Since 2004, the festival has taken place in Johnstown's new festival park. This park is being developed by JAHA as a permanent home for the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival and other festivals, and will hopefully inspire more such events throughout the warm-weather months. The permanent festival park is bordered by the stone bridge made famous by the 1889 Johnstown flood, and stretches to the Johns Street bridge. The festival also encompasses the area stretching up past the train station, all the way to the Walnut Street bridge. Festival signage will direct you to the new park once you're in the downtown Johnstown area--if you can find Johnstown, you can find the new park. The festival is produced on temporary stages and tents. Beautification work, including grading, planting and other improvements, has taken place on the festival grounds, and more is planned. Permanent structures are planned in future phases of the park's development, after a comprehensive master planning process is funded and completed. Visit the Festival Park page for more on these plans.
Who produces the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival? Like its predecessor, the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest, the Flood City Music Festival is produced by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, a non-profit that exists to preserve and showcase Johnstown's nationally significant stories to the nation. To do that, JAHA provides high-quality educational, cultural and recreational experiences in the area's unique historic settings. We operate three museums, the Johnstown Flood Museum, which tells the story of the 1889 Johnstown flood; the Wagner-Ritter House & Garden, a house museum interpreting the domestic lives of 18th-century immigrants to the historic Cambria City neighborhood; and the Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discovery Center, which tells the story of immigrants to Cambria City in the late 19th and early 20th century; and the new Johnstown Children's Museum. In addition, JAHA holds a variety of additional special events throughout the year as well. In this way, we support the local economy by bringing positive national attention and visitors to our area. The festival is a wonderful program that helps JAHA provide a great experience for local residents, focus national attention here and bring people to visit. Along the way, everyone has a terrific time. Click here for more information about JAHA as an organization.
How did the festival get its start in Johnstown? With the help of City and Commonwealth officials, JAHA recruited the National Folk Festival to Johnstown in 1990 for a three-year run, raising the necessary funds to do so. The National Folk Festival brings "legendary masters and the next generation of dynamic young artists to celebrate the musical soul and cultural roots of America." After the National Folk Festival's three years were over, JAHA picked up the reigns and began to produce the event on its own, renaming the event the Johnstown FolkFest; AmeriServ Financial became the title sponsor a year later, and the AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest came into being. JAHA's music programming has continued the National Folk Festival's mix of legends and cutting-edge newcomers representing all genres of American music. In 2009, to better convey that all types of music, not just folk, are presented, the name was changed to AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival. Past performers at the festival read like a "who's who" in roots music, bringing artists to Johnstown who might never play here otherwise; the festival's multiple-stage format gives patrons the opportunity to sample types of music they might not have heard before. The festival has developed a national reputation for its high-quality programming. Click here to find out more about the festival's history.
How do I get to Johnstown? Johnstown is a small city in western Pennsylvania that's accessible from most major cities in the region, including Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C. It's an easy drive from much of Ohio as well. For detailed driving instructions, click here.
Where do I park? There is abundant parking available in downtown Johnstown -- simply drive into town and look for signage directing you to one of the city-owned garages. In addition, a limited amount of free street parking is available. Click here for more information on parking locations. As you're parking, please watch carefully for the many pedestrians making their way to festival grounds. Handicapped parking will be available; signage will direct you. To use handicap parking spaces, your car must be clearly marked with a state-issued permit or license plate tag. Violators will be ticketed or towed. If you'd like to park closer to the festival and also help support it, you can purchase an individual sponsorship that includes a space in a special lot close to festival grounds. For more about this program, visit the Individual Sponsor Benefits page on this site, or contact Gwen Hartnett at 814-539-1889.
Can I take the Incline? Festivalgoers are encouraged to take a free ride on the Inclined Plane during the festival -- it is free, thanks to the generosity of Somerset Trust and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. Click here for more information.
Where can I stay? The Johnstown area offers a wide variety of comfortable, affordable lodgings. Click here for a detailed list, including locations and phone numbers. You'll also find contact information for local tourist promotion agencies that can help you find accommodations not included on our list, as well as nearby camping facilities.
How can I support the festival? The festival is a $300,000 event, and there are a variety of ways you can help support it, ncluding: Become a member of JAHA. Depending on the level of membership you choose, you'll get a wide range of membership benefits -- including free admission to all our museums year-round. Click here for a downloadable membership application with detailed information about the membership levels and benefits for individuals and businesses, or click here to join online. Purchase an Individual Sponsorship. More details on 2010 Individual Sponsorships will be posted soon. Become a festival volunteer. Hundreds of volunteers are needed before, during and after the festival -- it simply couldn't happen without them. Shop JAHA's online store.. Every purchase you make at the Johnstown Area Heritage Association's online store helps support all of JAHA's events and programs, including the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival. You can purchase festival merchandise online, too!
What should I bring to the Flood City Music Festival? Basically, yourself, your family and friends! There is ample seating at each of the three mainstages, as well as several rest pavilions where you can sit and eat -- so bringing a chair is not necessary. The festivalalso asks that you not bring coolers. Finally, for the health and safety of all our guests we ask that you please do not bring your dog; (of course, service dogs in harness are welcome).
Does the festival go on rain or shine? Yes! The stage and audience areas of two stages are completely covered by tents (the third is open to allow for larger crowds), and there are several tented eating pavilions for our patrons' comfort.