July 4, 2012
First day of folk fest.
Heather and I got up at
5:45 AM so we could be ready and on the road by 6:30. Didn't quite
work out, but we were close. They open the park gates at 7 AM and
prior to that, people are not allowed to line up on the highway. We
tried to time it to arrive at 7, but at least we hit the end of a
long, long line at 7:15. We waited. Getting irate when people tried
to cut up ahead. Rude, that is. Getting anxious when people were
taking the bridge overpass to bypass the line we were in. It took
about an hour to go the half kilometre or so and get into the park.
Finally we were in and
driving. We got to the festival camping site and were directed into
a bizarre gridlock of cars. Rows and rows of vehicles, bumper to
bumper and just enough room to walk between the rows. It began to
rain. I grabbed a bag which I thought was the gazebo tent and the
ground sheets and sent Heather to walk in and get us a campsite. I
thought it wouldn't be that long before I could join her with more of
our gear. Not so.
After a bit she texted
me - “I'm in!” And awhile after that she texted - “I found a
decent spot. Fire pit. Near the bathrooms”.
It wasn't until noon
that I got through the horrors of early morning camp parking and
hauled some gear into the campground. At least I had the truck to
take shelter in. Poor Heather was out in the rain a lot of the time.
In spite of the rain there was a fair bit of drinking, partying,
playing hacky-sack and frisbee and tossing balls in the parking
line-up.
Where I wound up
parking.
By the time I got to
our campsite, the rain had stopped. The clouds slowly cleared and by
the time we finished setting up camp, it was blazing hot.
I had planned to go
back into town to get some things done, but, no. I was already too
frazzled and tired to cope with traffic and retail outlets. So, on
with the beer and partying and walking around the campground.
Geodesic dome across
from us with solar power and nightly amplified live music.
The Games. There are a
group of guys, camping next to us as it happened, who hand-make and
bring a collection of games to amuse campers.
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| Bongzilla Villa |
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| Teepee Village |
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| Star Wars |
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| And a circus! |
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| Some people adjust their campsites to their preferences, such as taking several tents and tarps and creating a single large structure. |
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| Probably the most ambitious themed settlement of all is constructed each year by a group know as The Castle Boys. Last year they did a frontier-style street front. This year was a little older-looking and more exotic... |
There are also art installations throughout the campground.
Creativity seems to be bursting out all over.
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| The helpful folks who organize camping post a big map of the campground layout. |
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The beautiful entrance
to the campground from the festival site.
|
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| Just before 7 we went across to the folk festival site. There we found the line-up for wrist bracelets. Crazy! Of course, we did our lining up in the morning. In the rain. |
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| First glimpse of the Folk Festival site. |
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| Helpful sign post |
A very popular spot –
one of the festival's 2 taverns...
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| Banks of outhouses can be found here and there to meet the needs of thousands of festival-goers. |
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| In the tavern you have the option to sit under the canopy or out in the sun. |
Approaching the main
stage...
All in all, a good
evening concert.
I was very tired.
12:12AM and I am in bed. Drumming and whooping all around outside...
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