2026 Joe Val Bluegrass Festival Room Lottery Process

The Lottery is now closed for Joe Val 2026 – please see below for complete details

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.

Room Lottery Summary

How to Enter

Deadline to Enter – The Lottery is now closed for Joe Val 2026.

The lottery closed at 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, October 15th, 2025.

Notifications were sent out by Friday, October 24th.

Eligibility

You must be a current BBU member to enter the lottery (check your membership or sign up at https://bbu.wildapricot.org/).
Most BBU Members can enter the room lottery for FREE if they have purchased a ticket to a BBU event in the past 10 years.
BBU Members who haven’t purchased a ticket to a BBU event in the past 10 years must purchase a non-refundable 3- or 4-day pass to enter the lottery.

Increase Your Chances of Winning

Be flexible with your room type. You may request a Picking or Quiet room, but choosing “either” improves your odds.
Extend your stay to Thursday. Staying at the hotel on Thursday night also increases your chances, but requires purchasing a 4-day pass.

Weekend Stay Requirement

All room reservations (Picking and Quiet) must include both Friday and Saturday nights.

Nightly Room Rate

Rooms booked within our block will enjoy a special Joe Val rate of $154 plus taxes and fees per night.

Information We’ll Be Asking You For

Picking versus Quiet room (or no preference)
Nights you’ll be staying (Wednesday through Sunday available)
Bed preference (two queens versus one king plus a pull-out sofa, or no preference)
Do you plan to have one or more children in the Joe Val Kids’ Academy?

Important Room Lottery Dates

Oct. 15th: Room lottery closed
Oct. 30th: No-Cost Lottery winners must purchase their 3- or 4-day passes
Nov. 14th: All room lottery winners must complete the secure credit card link to reserve their room

Complete Lottery Details

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 Wednesday, October 15th at 11:59 pm 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 may also only enter the room lottery once – either for one or for both members. Entering for both doubles the chances of winning, but requires purchasing two weekend passes, and 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 3- or 4-day 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) NEW THIS YEAR: Thursday evening through Friday afternoon will feature dozens of workshops and teacher-led jams, closely resembling JamVal. Please note that being willing to add Thursday to your stay (which means committing to purchase a 4-day pass) will INCREASE your chances of getting a room at the Sheraton.

(8) When you enter the room lottery, you will be asked which nights you’re expecting to stay (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday). Please note that multiple nights must be consecutive, and every room reservation (Picking AND Quiet) must include both Friday AND Saturday nights.

(9) 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, 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

You must be a current BBU member to enter the room lottery. There are two ways to enter the room lottery, and the table below summarizes the differences in these options:

	No-Cost Lottery Entry	Lottery with Non-Refundable Purchase
3- or 4-day Pass Purchase Required	No	Yes, a 3- or 4-day Pass Purchase is required to enter the room lottery
Eligibility	BBU Member + BBU event in last 10 years	BBU Member
Duet Members	Can enter for both members, win one room max
Room Options	Picking or Quiet Rooms, flexibility helps
Thursday Night	Adding Thursday increases your chances
Reservation Rules	Consecutive Nights Required All rooms (Picking and Quiet) require both Friday and Saturday night stays
Refundability	Passes: Non-refundable, but transferable
	Rooms: Cancel or transfer until Feb. 9th
Next Steps for Winners	Winners purchase a 3- or 4-day pass within 7 days of notification	No additional purchase needed (you have already purchased your 3- or 4-day pass)
	Book room via a secure link sent by Sheraton	Book room via a secure link sent by Sheraton
Waiting List	Will be contacted as soon as possible

No-Cost Lottery Entry

(10) 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 3- or 4-day 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 “Joe Val 2026 Room Lottery”

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 3- or 4-day 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 3- or 4-day pass).

Lottery Entry with Non-Refundable Purchase

(11) 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 3- or 4-day pass to Joe Val. See below for what happens after the room lottery winners are selected.

To enter the room lottery by purchasing a NON-REFUNDABLE 3- or 4-day pass, please log onto Wild Apricot at https://bbu.wildapricot.org/ and select one of the available weekend passes.

PLEASE NOTE:

– 3- and 4-day 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 3- or 4-day passes receive two lottery entries, but they can only win one room.

Refund-ability and Transferability

(12) Tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE but are transferable. To transfer your ticket, email [email protected]

(13) Room reservations are transferable and can be canceled by Monday, February 9th at the latest. To transfer or cancel your room reservation, email [email protected]

Key Room Lottery Dates

Date	Description
Oct. 15	Room lottery closes at the end of the day
Oct. 24	All room lottery winners will be contacted by the BBU, and No-Cost Lottery winners will have 7 days to purchase their 3- or 4-day passes
Oct. 30	No-Cost Lottery winners must purchase their 3- or 4-day passes by the end of the day on Thursday, Oct. 30th, or else they will forfeit their room
Nov. 3 – 7	Room lottery winners who purchased tickets by Oct. 30th will be contacted by the hotel with a secure credit card link
Nov. 14	All room lottery winners must complete the secure credit card link by Friday, Nov. 14th, or else they will forfeit their room
Possibly as early as Nov. 3	Room lottery waiting list will start to be contacted

Key Event Dates

Dec. 1st	Single-day tickets available to purchase online
Feb. 9th	Rooms can be canceled until Monday, February 9th (email [email protected] to cancel or transfer)
Feb. 11th	Online ticket sales end. Tickets available at the door.
Feb. 12th – 15th	2026 Joe Val Bluegrass Festival!

Booking Your Room When the Lottery Ends

(14) All room lottery entrants will receive an email from [email protected] by Friday, October 24th.

(15) If you won a room with a No-Cost Lottery Entry, you must purchase your 3- or 4-day pass within 7 days of being contacted, 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.

To avoid forfeiting your room, log back into Wild Apricot (https://bbu.wildapricot.org/) and purchase one or more 3- or 4-day passes. After you purchase your weekend pass(es), we will forward your information to the Sheraton, and they will contact you (see (18) below for details).

(16) If you won a room with a Non-Refundable Purchase, the Sheraton will contact you (see (18) below for details).

(17) 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 as soon as possible. Please watch your email for messages from [email protected] because after November 8th, we will start contacting some folks on the Room Lottery Waiting List to let them know a room is available for them. If you receive this email, you must purchase your 3- or 4-day pass(es) within 7 days of being contacted, or else you will forfeit your room. Please note that entering the room lottery while it’s open is the only way to get on the waiting list.

(18) The Sheraton will be emailing room lottery winners with a secure link to reserve their hotel rooms. Please check your email for a message from [email protected]. Everyone should receive this email before November 1st. In the meantime, please DO NOT contact the hotel or the BBU to ask when they will be contacting you (because neither of us can tell you). Once they contact you, you will have 7 days to fill out the secure credit form, or else you will forfeit your room.

(19) Rooms booked within our block at the Sheraton, Fairfield Inn, and TownePlace Suites will enjoy a special Joe Val rate of $154 plus taxes and fees per night.

Disclaimer:

Please note that we have designed the No-Cost Lottery system to reward our long-time community members, but if we detect any signs of misuse, we may disqualify you from future entry.