Lambertville Porchfest 2024 will take place on Sunday, October 13th.
Lambertville Porchfest is a do-it-yourself community arts festival. It is organized by (and for) Lambertville residents and features music and art from all genres on porches throughout the city. In addition to musical acts, we also encourage visual art, video installations, and all types of performance, including dance and theater.
Lambertville Porchfest is always the first Saturday in October, unless otherwise noted. (Note that Porchfest 2024 will be held on Sunday October 13th, due to scheduling issues.)
We ask all attendees to stand on the sidewalk or yard and not in the street unless the neighborhood has obtained a permit to close the street.
Lambertville has a noise ordinance strictly prohibiting loud music. If neighbors find the volume of a porch show to be a nuisance, they may call the police to enforce the noise ordinance. For this reason, among many, we strongly encourage you to talk to your neighbors BEFORE agreeing to host a show, making sure you address their concerns. Conversely, if a neighbor's show is too loud and disrupting your life, please kindly ask them to turn it down BEFORE calling the police. One of the beautiful things about Porchfest is that neighbors talk to neighbors and find solutions together. A successful and safe Porchfest (and community!) is contingent on neighbors NOT CALLING THE COPS ON EACH OTHER.
Attendees are responsible for finding their own bathrooms. There is a public bathroom in the parking lot next to 12 N. Union Street. The Justice Center (ACME building) on South Union Street has public restrooms. There is also a public bathroom at the boat launch down past The Lambertville Station (south end of town). We also encourage you to dine at one of the many fine restaurants in Lambertville, which have bathrooms for patrons.
Artists should negotiate bathroom access with the porch owners. In most cases, the hosts will be able to accommodate you, and make sure you are comfortable and your needs are met.
No. In the case of disruptive or dangerous weather, porch hosts may decide to cancel or postpone their shows, but it's entirely up to the hosts. We encourage the hosts to update their Porchfest website page accordingly. Please plan accordingly for weather with protective layers, umbrellas, sunscreen, sufficient water etc.
There are lots of ways to be part of Porchfest! You can perform, host a show, volunteer, or just come out and appreciate all the amazing musical talent on display.
Yes, you can play! All you need is a porch (or a stoop, or a patio that is visible from the sidewalk). You can add your info to a Local Artists list that Porch Hosts may consult to book their porches, but there is no guarantee that registration alone will find you a porch. The musicians of Lambertville Porchfest represent every genre and every level of experience. Within blocks of each other, you might find brass bands, emcees, bluegrass fiddlers, and jazz trios. Some musicians are professionals, others might have put together a new band, just for the occasion. Even if you’ve never performed publicly, Porchfest is a great way to try playing out in a fun, friendly, informal setting.
All booking for Porchfest is done by porch hosts (typically, the residents of the house attached to a porch). Porchfest is what you make it. If you’re a musician interested in playing at Porchfest we recommend talking to potential hosts (see below) in the neighborhood or the Porchfest Musician/Porch Connector on Facebook. And, of course, if you live in the neighborhood, you can always play on your own porch.
That’s okay! Even if you don’t have a porch we can figure something out! Do you have a stoop? How about a tiny lawn or walkway leading up to your front yard? We can call those honorary porches for this one day. If you’re still struggling to figure out where the show can take place, you may have to call up your Lambertville friends to see if you can host a show on their porch. If you’re still coming up short, check out the Porchfest Musician/Porch Connector on Facebook to meet people with porches that want to have shows on them! Team up to book the porch show of your dreams!
We’ve got you covered. We created the Porchfest Musician/Porch Connector on Facebook for just this scenario. There you will find many excited musicians who would love to be asked to play a show on your porch. You can even post that you have a porch and let the musicians come to you!
The porch hosts play an absolutely essential role in Porchfest. Porchfest is, in fact, not one event, but a collection of individually produced shows, and porch hosts are entirely responsible for the show they’re hosting. This includes booking the artists that will play on the porch, notifying the neighbors on their block, and managing their show on the day of the event. This means that porch hosts should be comfortable with the legal liability of hosting a show on their porch and the responsibility of being a good neighbor to their immediate community. The Lambertville Porchfest Schedule is a living document. Instructions for adding your porch can be found at the top of the schedule.
Yes! Biking is a great way to enjoy Porchfest and will ensure that you will be able to catch more of your favorite acts. This is a walking/biking tour. You will find that using a car to get around town is counterproductive. If you are joining us from out of town, plan to park it and walk. :)
You can find the schedule here. Changes will be made up until the day of Porchfest, so please check back regularly for updates.
No!
We do not charge any ticket price for audience members. We do not charge any registration fees for porch hosts. We certainly do not charge artists for the chance to perform!
Some porch hosts may pay their artists. Some porches may provide a way to tip the artists performing, via a tip jar and/or posting Venmo/Paypal links/QR codes. Hosts are encouraged to include artists' Venmo/Paypal links when adding their listings to the schedule. Each of these is at the discretion of the host.
Yes! For starters, you can participate as a porch host. You may also want to consider offering a small "grab-and-go" meal for the day so attendees can pick up a bite on the way to see their favorite performers.
This Porchfest is organized by a decentralized group of volunteers within the community, as well as porch hosts and performers. Soupçon Salon hosts this website and provides basic support and logistics.
Porchfest is an all-volunteer effort and we would love to have your help! Flyering, organizational outreach, and design work are done by volunteers. If you would like to learn more about ways in which you can donate your time to Porchfest, send an email to LambertvillePorchfest@gmail.com.