Our View: Festival is a good idea

We’ve previously advocated for more summer events in Green River and we’re happy to see the Muley Fanatic Foundation follow up on that idea.

Residents will have a chance to check out the MFF’s first Mansface Mountain Music Festival at Expedition Island this summer, filling an important space in Green River’s events calendar. We have Flaming Gorge Days and the Overland Stage Stampede Rodeo to start the summer in June, followed by River Festival and Art on the Green in August.

With the inclusion of the Mansface Mountain Music Festival, Green River now has an event taking place during the vacant July.

The music festival also provides something new to the community, focusing on bluegrass music. Concerts aren’t new to Green River, having been a major focus of Flaming Gorge Days, but rock and country have always been the headliners. Bringing bluegrass music into the fold not only attracts a new crowd of music fans to the city, it also exposes residents to a new genre they may not have otherwise tried to listen to. The Mansface Mountain Music Festival, should it take off, will provide a unique cultural experience through music to residents and visitors in Green River.

The music festival helps promote Green River to a group of people who might not have come to Green River in the first place. The MFF’s reach includes much of Wyoming, as well as southeastern Idaho, northern Utah and northern Colorado.

It it isn’t too far fetched to expect members of MFF chapters from as far away as Sundance and Denver to come to Green River and support the event.

Those members, provided they enjoy their stay in Green River, will likely tell their friends about their experience and help sell the city as a place to visit. The MFF’s website for the music festival highlights local lodging and restaurant options, as well as campgrounds and RV parks visitors can utilize, already showcasing what’s available in Sweetwater County.

We’re happy to see the MFF attempting to build a bluegrass music festival in Green River. The timing of the event, as well as the fact it hits upon a genre of music not already represented locally, should make the Mansface Mountain Music Festival a prominent part of Green River’s summer events.

We’re excited to see where the MFF takes the festival in the years to come.