Photos: Ferndale Blues and Music Festival Kicks Off; Share Your Photos Here

The kicked off this weekend and festival co-chair Craig Covey said the event is off to a great start

"It's going really well," Covey said Saturday night. "There's lots of good music all over the place."

Taking a break from a full crowd at , where he was about to go on stage to introduce Howard Glazer and the EL 34s, Covey said he tries to attend events each day of the and frequently visits Como's.

"I always end up here at some point," said Covey, the former Ferndale mayor and current Oakland County commissioner.

Covey pointed out the warm feeling people enjoy when walking into the venues from the cold outside and said the timing of the festival is very intentional.

"I think it's important to do it in the middle of winter," Covey said, adding that events like this can help people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder. "We like to put something on in the dead of winter when there's no holidays in sight. It's just a good time to get out."

But most of all, he said, "to me the music and the people are what's most important."

Mild weather brings out more people

Each festival venue has a "hungry blue pig" piggy bank where people can make donations. The festival will donate 100 percent of its proceeds to local charities Ferndale Youth Assistance and .

Covey said the weather this year— possibly the mildest year the festival has seen— is likely to add to the event's success. But he said this year's festival was already doing well in donations via sponsorships.

"This year we were up," Covey said. "I already know we are doing well."

Share your photos

Were you at the festival this weekend? Upload your photos to the gallery or send them to jessicalschrader@gmail.com.