Just my opinion but it seem to me that if your going to put a car in line for the land rush you should be camping/staying with said vehicle. This putting a car in line and not being seen again till Thursday afternoon is not fair. I was in line Sunday night at 10pm and the first 30+ cars were already lined up, not one of them returned before Thursday. I live in Denver and could come up weeks early to drop a car, but where does it end.
The policy for the lines inside are to be present and not just a chair in line, this should also apply for the land rush. If you want to put a car in line you should be there with it, of coarse this doesn’t mean you can’t go to the river or into town etc., but be present, not just a car in line, “earn your spot” as other are saying. I make special arrangements with work, kids, family etc. to do this each year, this is no complaint I will gladly do it each year but so long as this is allowed to continue it negates my efforts to get a good close, shaded spot, it need to be fair.
Then for all our efforts, to get a good camping spot, we’re pealed out of line at the gate because we have a pop-up, separating our group completely. Which had ALL been in line (present, not just a car) at Olsen’s together for the week! We have all been coming to Rockygrass for 15+ years and this is the same setup we’ve always brought, a 14’ popup, tip to tail smallest made, smaller than many of the tent’s I saw this year. We’re no giant by any means and we are put in the worst spot on the property, along the highway in full sun with no hope of shade. But even worse, splitting our group, 2 of us have small kids/popup and 5 of us had vans/cars/kids.
Seems to me that if your willing to “earn your spot in line” this should absolutly apply to the land rush. I have never had this happen in to me in the 15 years I’ve been coming. If this is a new Planet Bluegrass policy they sure kept it a secret, I sure don’t see anything saying that campers will now delegated to front of the property along the highway. I didn’t pay extra for a vehicle pass and sit in line all week for the spot that I was sent too, that for sure. Very unfair and needs to be addressed.
One other thing that would be a huge improvement is having a “one way” loop around the front of the property. Most of the academy people have already taken a big section of the property so if cars come in to the right (through that section) and exit to the left side when parking it will avoid a lot of traffic jams with people having to back up 25 to 50 yards or find a place to pull over to let someone pass. :flower
I agree that in general, the line for onsite camping is kind of a disaster…we were in line earlier than last year by 4 or 5 hours and a whole line closer to the “front” - but when we got onsite (no car pass, just tent camping) there were almost no reasonable sites to be had. It was obvious that people had left unoccupied cars there for the week unattended.
We know that onsite camping is already limited, but there must be room for improvement.
One way I can see to eliminate people from parking their car in line and leaving for a week is to mark the cars each day if nobody is around. The more marks on the car when numbers are handed out will get their number after everyone else. There were quite a few cars (and even tents and sunshades) holding spots with nobody around them for days. People need to “earn” their spot in line just like the tarp runners (a chair is not a person). :flower
Thank you Mayor, I thought I was going to get pounded for ever breaching the subject but I think it needs to be addressed. I’m willing to wait in line for the reward, so should others, and if your unable or unwilling find someone in your group who is.
By the way I was with the group in line that you joined when the rain came on Wednesday, it was nice to have a chance to talk to you.
A good way to mark each car is to designate a certain day the line will begin.
Then, once each day a paper with “Day #1,2,3” will be placed on the windshield.
Later that day if the paper is not placed on the dash inside the car it will be removed.
When the numbers are handed out those with fewer “Day numbered” papers will get their number after those with more on their dash.
That will give people time to soak in the river, go to lunch, etc. and still be there to verify that someone is present with the vehicle. :thumbsup
The issue I see with this is man power and the logistics of rearranging the cars for the ride to the site, but I think your on the right path. We just need to come up with a way to do it without PB needing extra people, a volunteer moderator so to speak.
I think if the policy is that you need to stay/camp with your car people would do it, right now there is no policy to that effect. Correct me if I’m wrong.
And as far as the popup’s and campers go, set a allowable size and allow them the same opportunity for the available space. The people in the academy get to bring there popup’s and campers under the trees why is it that the final piece of the property has this limitation all of a sudden? when did this start?
Dave, you covered almost everything I would have said…and very well, I
may add.
However, I do wonder if it would be worth it to have a PB staff person
at Olson from Sunday on, especially when Olson is officially “opened”
to the line. I’d also have a staff person write down the license plate
and make of the vehicle upon each vehicle entering. You could have
a little chart in place, and if there is nobody beside that vehicle for
a given day, the vehicle receives a “mark” for that day, and is placed
near the end of the line until that vehicle’s owner arrives.
I would like to think that we Festavarians can properly monitor the lines,
but I can tell you folks that Dave and I experienced those who had
argued with having left their vehicles there since Sunday, along with
occasional less-than-pleasant vibes. Plus, in one instance where two
people lined up in Row A when nobody was in that line, the maps had
then been put in place, and those people had a legitimate argument
based on the maps.
However, next year, PB…at the very least…please have the line maps
and row labels already in place prior to opening Olson for the onsite
line. The majority of the problems Dave and I witnessed, IMHO, would
have been alleviated because there would have been no confusion on
where to line up to begin with.
I think to simplify it , the staff person/volunteer should hand out the numbers to the cars as they arrive, and in the morning walk the line to hand out numbers to those that may come in the middle of the night.
This years issues with the line all started with the first cars lining up in the wrong spot for the get go.
PB was really not at fault for this other than not making sure the line was in the right place before they left the field, assuming they were there to start with. I don’t know I wasn’t in line till 10pm that night so I can’t say.
But I do agree that a PB person/volunteer should be checking in daily or better yet be present to answer question. John and I spent much of our time playing camp host and directing people to the proper spot in line regardless of how clear PB’s directions were. I’d be glad to do it again if it helps eliminate the kind of trouble and bad vibes that were created from the start this year.
I like the idea of having to move the paper to your dash at some point. I was in line from Tuesday, sweating all day long and chasing 2 kids under 3. At some point, a person parked next to their car and said they were only taking in one car to make me not think they were cutting in front. However, when the numbers came around, they grabbed 2. It was not that big of a deal because they were only parking one car, but it added to the congestion and was slightly irritating since they had assured me that was not the case. That is a bummer that your group was split up. We were down with the campers also, but so were our friends, so it was fine for us. I have done the Olsen Field thing the last 2 years, and slept there with my car. It is awfully quiet there at night. I know some folks are out in town, but most are at home in bed. Also, I know that PB says you should sleep with your car, but like everything, people figure a way to work the system, and have figured that no one is really checking on them, so why not. I have also camped plenty in Meadow Park, and the same is true for tents over there. It is a bummer that people take advantage, but it is what it is. I am not sure where I will camp next year. I sure love being on site and like ‘my spot’ that I have had the last couple years, but I am not sure I can take another day of heat like that until my kids are old enough to take themselves to the 3000 degree port-a-potty. I am hot thinking about it now and it is 70 a my house.
I agree with the theory, but to be honest I can think of plenty of ways around it (we know people in in Lyons, we know people who do Academy, we know people who live just up the road from Lyons, and we ourselves aren’t the far away, we can look plenty active if need be… in fact our car was checked on daily maybe people think we were there).
Why not just do random numbers on Tuesday for those who are present say at 2:00 PM, that will require people to be active and there and it’s early enough to reward those who come up. It still allow people from academy to be a proxy though, but they would have to skip a class
The problem begins with the first person who thought of coming so dang early; we didn’t do it in the past now we feel obligated to get close to our friends from Academy.
I think that if the policy was “someone present with the vehicle” the vast majority of the people wouldn’t look for a way around it, they would follow the rules. And after what I saw this year, the line is self policing, people that were staying there had a vested interest and therefore were paying attention to new commers and not letting people just park willy nilly.
So, I was one of the newbs who parked in the wrong place. I got up to the parking area about 10am, pulled in and parked it. I saw some people eyeing me kind of funny so I made it a point to go ask the nice folks (I asked quite a few) managing tickets and walking around looking official if I was parked okay. I got a big green=go from all. Until many hours later, and after watching countless cars come in and the line grow, I was told I have to go to the end of the line. What a bummer! Bad vibes to kick off the festival for sure.
I entered the lottery for on-site this year and after reading this thread I am having second thoughts. Last year I had Meadow Park camping and it worked well for me because I live in the Northwest part of Longmont. I set my tent up on Monday and came back everyday to check on things. I would much rather do that again instead of dealing with that nightmare.
If I win the 3 onsite tickets in the lottery I am going to get rid of them asap and get Meadow Park again.
