BBU’s JamVal 2025 Non-Festival
February 14 – 16, 2025
at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel
JamVal 2025 will be a weekend-long bluegrass “non-festival” focused on jamming held over President’s Day Weekend (February 14 – 16, 2025). There will be dozens of workshops and jams hosted by loads of amazing musicians and teachers, and one big difference from usual festivals: no big stage show to distract from the picking! For those who missed the original JamVal, last year’s schedule is available HERE.
We need volunteers for JamVal 2025! Volunteer for just a few hours in exchange for a full weekend pass. Click this link to learn about volunteer jobs and click the button below to fill out the volunteer form:
The Sheraton room lottery is now closed!
Due to the high demand for rooms at the Framingham Sheraton, Fairfield Inn, and TownePlace Suites (collectively referred to as the Sheraton), the BBU will be holding a room lottery to determine who gets a room on-site. The room lottery is now closed, but there are still a few remaining steps summarized below. We have also included the original lottery details further down the page.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have won a room in the lottery, the hotel will contact you via an email sent from [email protected], but it could take a week, or two, or more. Please do not contact us (or the hotel) to ask when you’ll be receiving this email. If you have any questions about what’s next (other than when the email from [email protected] will be arriving), please email us at [email protected]
Booking Your Room When the Lottery Ends:
(14) If you won a room with a No-Cost Lottery Entry, you must purchase your weekend pass within 7 days (by Monday, January 20th, a.k.a. Martin Luther King Day), or you will forfeit your room. Duet Members who win a room using Two No-Cost Lottery Entries are required to purchase TWO weekend passes within 7 days (by Monday, January 20th).
To avoid forfeiting your room, log back into Wild Apricot (https://bbu.wildapricot.org/) and purchase one or more weekend passes. After you purchase your weekend pass(es), we will forward your information to the Sheraton, and they will send you an email (via [email protected]) with a secure credit card link to book your room (see (17) below).
(15) If won a room with a Non-Refundable Purchase, you will also receive an email from [email protected] with a secure credit card link to book your room (see (17) below).
(16) If you entered the room lottery and didn’t win a room, you will be added to the Room Lottery Waiting List and notified via email on (or shortly after) Monday, January 13th. Then, please check for an email from [email protected] on (or shortly after) Tuesday, January 21st, when we will start contacting those folks on the room lottery waiting list for whom there are available rooms. You will only have until Friday, January 31st to book your room, so please respond to all emails as quickly as possible.
(17) Please check your email for a message from [email protected] and be sure to click on the link as soon as possible. We can’t say exactly when you’ll be receiving this email from the Sheraton, but it could take a week, or two, or more. In the meantime, please don’t contact the hotel (or the BBU) to ask when this email will arrive. Our discounted room block expires at the end of the day on Friday, January 31st, so you must complete your reservation before then.
Complete Lottery Details:
If you want a chance to stay at the Sheraton, either in a picking room or a quiet room, you must enter the room lottery before it closes at the end of the day on Friday, January 10th. Below are the details about the room lottery. Please read the following carefully, and be sure to respond promptly to any emails from the BBU and/or the Sheraton.
(1) If you want a chance to reserve a room at the Sheraton, you must enter the room lottery by Friday, January 10th at midnight Eastern time.
(2) You must be a current BBU member to enter the room lottery. To access your BBU membership, log in to Wild Apricot at https://bbu.wildapricot.org/
(3) Every person is only allowed to enter the room lottery once.
(4) Duet Members are allowed to have two lottery entries, but they can only win one room.
(5) Most BBU Members can enter the room lottery for FREE by claiming their No-Cost Lottery Entry (see below). If you win a room via a No-Cost Lottery Entry, then you MUST purchase a weekend pass within 7 days of notification or you will forfeit your room. Duet Members who win a room using Two No-Cost Lottery Entries are required to purchase TWO weekend passes within 7 days. Duet Members who are only interested in purchasing one weekend pass can claim a single No-Cost Lottery Entry instead.
(6) The room lottery will cover both picking and quiet rooms. When you enter the room lottery, you will be asked if you prefer a picking or a quiet room, and if you’re willing to book a room even if it’s not the kind of room you prefer (picking or quiet). Please note that being willing to stay in the opposite kind of room will increase your chances of getting a room at the Sheraton.
(7) When you enter the room lottery, you will be asked which nights you’re expecting to stay (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday). Please note that multiple nights must be consecutive, and every PICKING room reservation must include both Friday and Saturday nights.
(8) When you enter the room lottery, you will be asked if you have any special requests regarding your room at the Sheraton. Use this space to request a specific room number, a suite (which may cost extra), be near a specific person, etc. Please note that the hotel cannot guarantee any request, but it will give them a better chance to make your request happen if you enter it here. Please do not contact the Sheraton directly with these requests.
Entering the Lottery:
There are two ways for current BBU members to enter the room lottery:
(9) No-Cost Lottery Entry OR (10) Lottery Entry with Non-Refundable Purchase
The table below summarizes the differences in these options.
| No-Cost Lottery Entry | Lottery with Non-Refundable Purchase | |
| Weekend Pass Purchase Required | No | Yes, a Weekend Pass Purchase is required to enter |
| Eligibility | BBU Member + BBU Event in last 10 years | BBU Member |
| Duet Members | Enter twice, win one room max | |
| Room Options | Picking or Quiet Rooms, flexibility helps | |
| Reservation Rules | Consecutive Nights Required Picking rooms require both Friday and Saturday nights |
|
| Refundability | Passes: Non-refundable, but transferable | |
| Rooms: Cancel or transfer until Feb 10 | ||
| Next Steps for Winners | Winners purchase a weekend pass within 7 days of notification. | No additional purchase needed (You have already purchased your weekend pass) |
| Book room via a secure link sent by Sheraton | Book room via a secure link sent by Sheraton | |
| Waiting List | Will be contacted starting Jan 21 | |
(9) No-Cost Lottery Entry:
You can get a single lottery entry for FREE if you have purchased a ticket to a BBU event in the past 10 years including Joe Val, JamVal, Jam’n, or a concert in Lexington. You can also enter for free if you’ve volunteered, taught, performed, etc. for any BBU event.
If you win a room via a No-Cost Lottery Entry, then you must purchase a weekend pass within 7 days of notification or you will forfeit your room. See (5) above for details about Duet Members, and see below for what happens after the room lottery winners are selected.
To claim your No-Cost Lottery Entry, please log in to Wild Apricot at https://bbu.wildapricot.org/ and select JamVal 2025 – No-Cost Lottery Entry with NO weekend pass.
PLEASE NOTE:
– Duet Members may have the option to claim two lottery entries free of charge, but only if BOTH members have purchased a ticket to a BBU event in the past 10 years.
– If you don’t see an option for one or more no-cost lottery entries, but believe you have purchased a ticket to a BBU event in the past 10 years, please email us at [email protected]
– Claiming a No-Cost Lottery Entry gives you the exact same chance to win as purchasing a NON-REFUNDABLE weekend pass (but every person is only allowed to enter the room lottery once, so there’s no benefit to claiming a No-Cost Lottery Entry and also purchasing a weekend pass).
(10) Lottery Entry with Non-Refundable Purchase:
You must be a current BBU member to enter the room lottery. If you haven’t purchased a ticket to a BBU event in the past 10 years (including Joe Val, JamVal, Jam’n, or a concert in Lexington), you can enter the room lottery by purchasing a NON-REFUNDABLE weekend pass to JamVal 2025. See below for what happens after the room lottery winners are selected.
To enter the room lottery by purchasing a NON-REFUNDABLE weekend pass, please log onto Wild Apricot at https://bbu.wildapricot.org/ and select one of the available Weekend Passes.
PLEASE NOTE:
– Weekend passes purchased to enter the room lottery are NON-REFUNDABLE, even if you don’t win a room at the Sheraton in the lottery.
– Every person is only allowed to enter the room lottery once regardless of how many tickets they purchase.
– Duet Members who purchase two weekend passes receive two lottery entries, but they can only win one room.
Refundability and Transferability:
(11) Tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE but are transferable. To transfer your ticket, email [email protected]
(12) Room reservations are transferable and can be canceled by Monday, February 10th at the latest. To transfer or cancel your room reservation, email [email protected]
Key Dates:
Date |
Description |
Jan 10 |
Room lottery closes at the end of the day |
Jan 13 |
Room lottery winners will start to be contacted |
Jan 13-20 |
No-Cost Lottery winners must purchase their weekend passes by the end of the day on Monday, January 20th or else they will forfeit their room |
Jan 21 |
Room lottery waiting list will start to be contacted |
Jan 23 |
Single-day tickets available to purchase online |
Jan 21-28 |
No-Cost Lottery waiting list winners must purchase their weekend passes by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 28th or else they will forfeit their room |
Jan 31 |
Book your room before our discounted room block expires at the end of the day on Friday, January 31st |
Feb 10 |
Rooms can be canceled until Monday, February 10th (email [email protected] to cancel or transfer) |
Feb 13 |
Online ticket sales end. Tickets available at the door. |
Feb 14-16 |
JamVal 2025! |