South Fork Fest celebrates five years of music, art and developing young creators

RIRIE, Idaho (KIFI) — Musicians, artists, filmmakers and families gathered near Ririe this weekend as South Fork Fest celebrated its fifth year.

Held at Aspen Grove Inn, the festival combines live performances with film screenings, open mics, songwriter rounds and workshops covering music, art, photography and other activities.

Caleb Brown, South Fork Fest's creative director, said the event is intentionally designed to be more than a traditional music festival.

“We've got workshops, film screenings, kids activities, open mics, songwriter rounds, and then obviously the main stage and B-stage acts,” Brown said.

The festival also includes activities such as fly-fishing instruction for children and opportunities for emerging artists and filmmakers to interact with more experienced professionals.

Brown said the idea has roots in his own experience growing up in eastern Idaho. When he was 13, he performed in a punk rock band at a local music festival where young creators were able to interact with older musicians and artists.

He said members of that group went on to careers as touring and studio musicians, screenwriters, directors, published authors and other creative professions.

Years later, Brown and his friends decided to recreate that experience. What began as a gathering of friends and family five years ago eventually grew into South Fork Fest and the creation of the nonprofit South Fork Arts Foundation.

Brown said one of the festival's goals is to create a similar pathway for a new generation.

“We open every festival with youth talent,” Brown said. “One of the kids that did the talent show, now they're playing the open mic, and in five more years they'll be playing the main stage with their band.”

The festival is hosted at Aspen Grove Inn, where owner Sharon Perry said the property is intended to provide visitors with a place for “peace and calm” where people can heal, bond and reconnect.

Perry said the setting among trees and outdoor gathering spaces has become part of the experience for visitors.

“We love the people that come here. We love the music, the food vendors,” Perry said. “It's a great feeling of peace and calm here that I have not been able to find anywhere else.”

This year's festival also came shortly after the fire in Heise. Perry said Aspen Grove Inn was not threatened by the fire and the festival went forward without delays. She also said organizers were seeing an increase in attendance this year.

Brown said organizers hope the festival continues giving young people a place to share their work while interacting with professionals doing the jobs they may someday want to pursue.

He said that could mean a child singing before an audience for the first time, a teenager sharing a short film or a young musician getting advice from a touring artist.

For organizers, Brown said, the goal is for those opportunities to continue growing along with the festival.