Regarding the comments about booze at festivals--within the Northeastern US alone you'll find a great range from festival to festival. At the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the crowd is large (in the tens of thousands) and booze is officially prohibited, yet the prohibition is honored mainly in the breach (or at least used to be--the last time I went, back in the early 90s, examples of inebriation were on display all over). Contrast that with the Old Songs Festival in upstate New York (were the crowd maxes out at just a couple thousand) and where alcohol is sold openly. The Brewery that made Newman's Ale used to have a booth until they went out of business, and now Mr. Newman himself brews a batch especially for the festival. Yet in a couple of decades, I've rarely seen anyone slosh-o. (In fact, the only heavy imbibers I've ever noticed there have been British folk singers.)

Participation vs. passive consumption of the music also varies greatly from festival to festival in the U.S. If North America seems like a more participatory place for festivals based on what you've read on Mudcat, it's quite possibly because Mudcatters are attracted to the more participatory American festivals.

--Charlie Baum