My wife and I are festival regulars and I normally get in line when I wake up so I usually have a number somewhere between 300 and 600. Which always turns out a-ok for us. We don’t take up much space, know where we like to sit for the day and have met dozens of lovely people over the years. This year on Sunday morning, I spotted a perfect little triangular space just to the left of the sound booth tower in between two giant tarps. I set my little bit of gear down and asked the person on my right if I could have a little of his space. “Sure,” he said, “we’ll have a big crew but we should have plenty of room.” So I asked the person on my left the same question. “No,” she said, “we’ll have a big crew and there’s not enough room.” “Ok,” I thought, “I can make this work” so I set up our little spot, sat down and waited for my wife and enjoyed a crystal-clear beautiful Dailey and Vincent set. The tarp on my right slowly filled up with people – all very friendly, polite and engaging. The tarp on my left was populated only with on person, a cooler and chairs strategically placed on all four corners of the tarp. (Actually, they were two 8 x 8 tarps.) And the tarp on my left stayed that way most of the day. One or two people, a couple of kids and room enough for a small suburban home. People would walk through, see an empty tarp and ask if they could stay for a bit but “no, no room” was always the answer. Meanwhile, the tarp on our right was a big, fun party with wonderful people who my wife and I got to know as the day went on. Finally, mid-way through Greensky, the tarp on my left surrendered and began to let a few people stay there until they just gave up, rolled up and left without having had much fun all day. I don’t really have a point here other than to say that that 120 square feet of prime real estate could have been much better used by the 15 or 20 homeless Festivarians who just wanted a place to plant for a while.
most people at the fest are awesome and some seem to be at the fest for no reason other than to be competitive with the tarps. we just need a sunshade spot because we will go up front whenever we feel like it and sit in empty spots with welcoming people.
not to mention that those folks on the left violated your and others’ “festivarian bill of rights”!
thou shalt have the ability to sit on a tarp space til owner gets back!
BY THE WAY!!! What an AWESOME set by Dailey and Vincent!
The Tarp on the left was reserved for the Ray LaMontagne fan club.
Thank you! I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip your Festivarian Administrators on your way out. :cheers
:wave Tis is so funny and I will tell you why. When I was in charge of the tarp first dusk to hold down the fort I stretched myself across diagonally to “save our space”. Such a Lucy moment. :eek
There is a learning curve :lol :lol :lol
Be gracious and kind and guide them into the light :lol :lol :lol to be enlightened into the ways of Fest hood and kinship. Hard to grasp all at once for some.
The tarpers on the right were obviously T-ride vets. The tarpers on the left had only been to EVERY OTHER MUSIC FEST IN THE WORLD where this behavior is tolerated and expected.
I spent 100% of my time at the main stage as a tarp squatter this year, and had no issues… Although I don’t doubt there are a few bad apples out of the bunch.
In your case, I probably would have pointed out that while it’s OK for them to expect enough room for their party, it’s a general admission festival, and expecting extra space is asking too much.
that tarp on the left wasn’t yellow was it :huh :lol :pirate
My group usually sets up a small tarp WAY in the back where we leave our chairs and sit together as a group and then we individually foray down to the front to squat on other tarps when a band is playing that we really HAVE TO SEE up close. 
I’ve met some really awesome folks that way and seen some really great bands. It’s one of the cooler things about Telluride.
“…The right tarp was made
For you and me…”