Winchester Porchfest is a unique, volunteer-organized, one-day community-building music festival where Winchester residents lend their porches as pop-up micro-stages to amateur musicians who will showcase their musical talent to neighbors who will walk around town and join other community members in enjoying concerts and the atmosphere. Porchfest is a program of Winchester Friends of Music.
The Winchester Porchfest organization exists to promote, manage, and operate the Porchfest community music festival in Winchester, coordinating the contributions of performers and hosts so that all talents can be recognized for the benefit of the community.
Porchfest has always been held on the second Saturday in June, with a possible rain date on the following day. In addition to the one-day festival, the Porchfest organization maintains connections with many performers in town and occasionally facilitates performances at other times and places. However, Porchfest is not a promoter or booking agent and makes no profits from its activities.
Porchfest runs on volunteers, and all those with interest and enthusiasm are welcome. Activities typically start around February and ramp up towards the day of the event in June. For preparations we need promoters, graphic designers, grant writers, networkers, schedulers, sign posters, and creative thinkers to identify and encourage good performers and find great porches. For the event we need help with matching performers with porches, with producing and distributing materials. On the day of the event we could use porch monitors, social media assistants, live streaming/video coordinators, and help with logistics. A small group can do a lot because it's really about supporting the community, but there are plenty of ways to help.