But the Flat Rock Music Festival, now in its fourth year, offers more than your normal music festival list of options. Scheduled this year for this weekend, the Flat Rock Music Festival offers some great "non-stop" music acts onstage, but also has some interesting twists and opportunities not always associated with music festivals.

The festival, held each spring and fall at Camp Ton-A-Wandah in Flat Rock, NC, has a commitment to preserving the environment, a tough commitment for a music festival. This family-oriented music festival offers camping for the duration of the 3-day event and also offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities, including boating, swimming, trampolining, hiking and rock climbing, to name a few.

The crowd each year peaks at about 2,000, which makes it big enough to feel "social" without being so big that people are crushed by the crowd and become afraid to let go of their children's hands.

The Flat Rock Music Festival has also developed a tradition of offering contra dancing lessons. Contra dancing will be from 8-11 PM on Friday and Saturday nights in the Dance Hall/gym. The elevated floor is easy on the feet, and is perfect for dancing. Callers will be Barbara Groh on Friday and Hank Morris on Saturday. They are among the best at teaching basics to new dancers. The band, Bad Mandos, is uniquely mandolin-driven with piano and drums. They play oldtime music, Irish, Scottish, Yiddish Klezner, and swing. Festivalgoers can learn the dance and discover for themselves why so many people love it for fitness, camaraderie and the sheer joy of it.

And certainly the musicians that will grace the stage are the main attraction. This year's impressive lineup includes Dark Star Orchestra (with a four-hour tribute to the Grateful Dead), Peter Rowan Reggaebilly, Mama Said (country, blues, Cajun), The Stragglers (western swing), Snake Oil Medicine Show, Jupiter Coyote (mountain rock), Michael Reno Harrell, Gigi Dover, The Filthy Rich (blues-swing), Christian/Durand ((R&B, rock), and award-winning singer/songwriters Gove Scrivenor, Sam Anderson, and Jimmy Landry, among many, many others. Click here for full music line up.

The Kids Village is a great place for the younger crowd to spend some time while at the festival. There will be a children's parade on Saturday, going from the Kids Village by the main stage through camp to the dining hall. Kids Village also has various arts and crafts, and though it is supervised, it is by the stage so parents can keep an eye on their children while listening to music throughout the day.

But what seems to set this festival apart from all the others is the care and attention that is given to the development of the songwriting craft through a series of weekend workshops, jams and open mic sessions. Many of the festival performers participate in the workshops, offering suggestions and tips aimed at improving songwriting skills.

Workshops will also be available for guitar (flat and finger picking) and harmonica.

As it has since its inception, the Flat Rock Music Festival also makes efforts to benefit two local causes. One is the Environment and Conservation Organization (ECO) of Henderson County. The festival does its part to help the ecosystem by selling recyclable beer cups that earn discounts on refills.

The other cause is a longtime prized project at Camp Ton-A-Wandah, Camp Merry Times, a free summer retreat for cancer-stricken children and their siblings. The camp gives these children a week or so of fresh air and a respite from their day-to-day challenges of dealing with disease.

Weekend Pass tickets (that include the cost of a campsite) are $75 adults, $37.50 youth ages 11-17 (all youth must be supervised by an adult). Day passes for Friday are $30 adults, $15 youth; day passes for Saturday are $40 adults, $20 youth; day passes for Sunday are $15. Children 10 and younger get in free. Group discounts are available.

Volunteer opportunities are still available. Volunteers get in free in exchange for working eight hours.

For tickets, call 828-692-2005 for visit www.ticket.web.com. Numerous retail music stores throughout the Hendersonville/Asheville area and the Upstate also have tickets on sale.