While MerleFest 2010, presented by Lowe’s, is now officially another one for the history books, initial figures show that aggregate attendance over the festival’s four days exceeded 76,000 people, who attended the celebration of “traditional plus” music on the campus of Wilkes Community College from Thursday, April 29 to Sunday, May 2. MerleFest is the primary fund-raiser for the college and funds scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.

A diverse and fully loaded schedule of artists as well as an unusual rain-free four days, encouraged attendance. Thursday’s attendance was the highest in the festival’s history, and the remaining days are estimated to be in the top three of festival history. Festival officials are also proud to announce that a goal set at the close of the 2009 event, to reverse the trend of unpaid tickets comprising a greater percentage of total attendance, has been met.

“What a weekend this has been!” exclaimed festival director Ted Hagaman. “With over 100 artists playing on 15 stages, representing everything from bluegrass and blues, to gospel, country and Americana, we feel that we succeeded again in giving our festival guests a great value for their entertainment dollars. We deeply appreciate the support of the great folks of Wilkes County, everyone who works here at the college, and of course our volunteers and fans, for making this all possible.”