08/22/2019
For the last six years, we’ve spent four days at the end of August in Friendship, Indiana serving wood fired pizza to the wonderful people who have attended the Whispering Beard Folk Festival. Our small operation was put to the test as we made countless pizzas and put in long hours with little sleep. By Sunday, we were exhausted. Too tired even to make our way over to the whiffle ball field to watch one of the famous games between The Beardos and the Smokin’ Lefties on Sunday afternoon.
The truth is, we loved every minute of it! It’s hard to put into words, but if you have ever attended the Beard, you know that special feeling of love and friendship that gently swept through the valley and into our hearts. We’ve made many friends along the way, artists, other vendors, and fellow Beardos. We feel blessed to have been a part of it. The support of our friends and family never wavered. They were with us side by side all along the way. You know who you are, thank you so much! We couldn’t have done it without you!
Talented artists filled the air with their music almost nonstop, day and night for four days. The campground overnight was often an extension of the music heard throughout the day. Impromptu jam sessions by the campfire were plentiful. I’ll never forget that, just incredible. I have tried to explain the Beard to the uninitiated, usually finishing with, “It’s the coolest place on earth for four days.”
This year the founders of the Beard have decided to spread the good vibes to a larger audience. For 2019 the Whispering Beard Folk Festival has moved to Smale Riverfront Park along the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati. While we’ll always have great memories of our time in Friendship, we’re excited for the future of our favorite event!
Our small pizza business is not really equipped for a large multi-day festival. We’ve done a pretty good job of stretching our limits, but the new venue and the larger audience had us concerned. So instead of being a vendor in the crowd, we were offered to serve the artists and volunteers backstage. This new role will require less hours from us, allowing us the time to actually watch some of our favorite performers! So we’re excited about that!
For the record, this was completely our decision, we don’t want anyone to think we were squeezed out due to the new venue. The WBFF directors have always been wonderful to us.
So that brings us to the sad reality of not being out front serving our long time customers. You guys are the best! It breaks our hearts we won’t be there for you. Sorry about that, and thank you for your support over the years!
Wishing everyone a happy Whispering Beard 2019! We look forward to hanging out with our Beardo family!
Love you guys! Jack &Tina