First of all I think it is necessary to distinguish some sorts of festivals from others.

For a festival held on a green-field site with admission to most of the events with a season ticket then it is not a big issue. I feel people generally buy into the weekend for those (Southwell, Shrewsbury, Towersey, Shepley). Might mean trying to get there a bit early for the Friday evening, or leaving a bit late on the last day, otherwise you are there for the weekend.

For a festival with a multiplicity of venues and "open" access then it may be a problem. I think the answer here is that if you are close to home, as you say you are volunteer to do it yourself!!That way you can ensure it is done properly!

In fact I wonder why it is delayed? Has there been a huge change in the venues? Alternatively had the organiser been bogged down with other issues?

An organiser would normally have the venues on a spreadsheet (or similar) and each year just change the artists/workshop names in particular places. Only when there is a change - a big expansion for example would this normally be an issue.