Folkie ready to deal with heat and keep waste down

The iconic four-day festival begins on Friday, March 8 and comes to end Monday, March 11.

Upwards of 20,000 people are expected to converge on the seaside village this weekend.

This crowd will be split between the ticketed crowd in the main arena at Southcombe Park and those enjoying free activities in the town's CBD.

Organisers said tickets sales were strong with some tickets still available.

The looming wildcard for the weekend is predictions of 35-degree plus temperatures on Saturday.

Port Fairy Folk Festival president Bruce Leishman said steps were in place to counter this heat wave, should it arrive.

"We will have misters in place to help cool the crowd," Mr Leishman said.

"There will be more small marquees put up for shelter and there could be some program changes in the bigger tents to make it more comfortable for crowds at certain times."

The festival will also have free water available for patrons thanks to a new Wannon Water drinkwater station.

And while the festival is finding ways of warding off the extreme weather, it is also being active on long-term solutions for taking care of the planet.

The festival this year will be selling sustainable re-usable wine and beer cups, which patrons can purchase for $5.

Patrons can then refill the glass for each new drink, cutting out single-use cups at the festival.

There will also be recyclable cans sold as another option.

The festival arena set up is ahead of time, with 140 volunteers helping as part of the construction crew.

Mr Leishman said that was an impressive number, and was even more pleasing given the recruitment of a large number of new helpers this year.

The festival will feature headline acts such as Graham Nash, Sharon Shannon, Fanny Lumsden and Kate Miller-Heidke.