CUMBERLAND — Though the day began with incredibly warm weather and high spirits, many campers at DelFest found their tents leveled and their evening very wet as heavy storms moved through the area.

“There was a lightning strike near the site and a tree that came down,” said Dave Williams of McClarran and Williams. “The place is just leveled. Just about every tent here is down. It’s pretty intense. The point is, nobody left the site injured and they’re going to do a show tonight. People are scrambling around like crazy to put this back together. They’re still going to put the show on. That’s really cool.”

After 5 p.m., the site was inundated with heavy rain and thunderstorms, but Williams said adjustments were being made to plans, moving performers into the multi-use building at the Allegany County Fairgrounds, which was set up for outdoor sound and video.

There was definitely damage done by the weather, he said, but they were still going to keep the second annual DelFest going with performances set to happen as scheduled today at the grandstand.

A similar spirit echoed the sentiments of many of the festival’s attendees and even vendors earlier on Saturday, as the fairgrounds were packed with campers and visitors, there to hear performers and enjoy the overall festival atmosphere.

Recent Frostburg State University graduate Evan Dalglish of Rockville said he was enjoying his time at the festival, though he was promoting the university’s Appalachian festival in September.

“I’m loving it here,” Dalglish said. “Everything seems to be in the spirit of a communal atmosphere. It all seems to be very alive.”

Paula Bell of Fincastle, Va., said the whole experience had been great, very family friendly. She said there was a wide variety of vendors offering nice selections of food and items to buy. She said there was even a workshop on how to hoola-hoop that she was planning to take her sons to later that day.

She said it was a great opportunity to introduce the boys to the music festival experience.

Her husband, Andy, said he was impressed not only with the wide variety of music, but that his neighbors where they were camping had been very friendly.

Of course, the biggest draw for most was Del McCoury, the reason for DelFest.

“Obviously, the priority reason is Del McCoury,” said Steve Daily of Reheboth Beach, Del. “His bluegrass pedigree is astounding. The lineup he brings in is amazing.”

Joey Eells of Athens, Ga., said the opportunity to see McCoury performing live, to have the chance to stand up and dance if they want to or see the special performances were what made the festival so unique.

Eells and Daily met last year at the festival and both said it was nice to get to see old friends at DelFest.

Leigh Pullekines of Fleetwood, Pa., also attended the festival in its inaugural year in 2008, and said she has noticed numerous improvements from that first festival. She said the festival seemed to be running even more smoothly than it did then, with additional vendors and activities throughout the day.

And of course, she was still very pleased with the music and getting to meet up with friends she made in the previous year.

“It’s a great group of people,” Pullekines said. “We met people from all over, people we met last year. It’s a reunion of sorts.”

Today will mark the final day for the festival, with performers at the grandstand. One-day tickets are available at the fairgrounds.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.