I am looking for some insight on how I can get a decent tarp spot or (preferably) decent sunshade spot this year. I have never been fortunate enough to get a number while waiting in line so I guess I don’t get there early enough. When do they give out numbers?
It seems as though the line forms on day one and pretty much exists throughout the festival. I recall leaving the festival on a Thursday night and seeing people already posted up for a whole night in line.
I am traveling with my family and another family and feel like I have no shot at a decent spot because I am unable to spend the night in line ( I have kids to take care of). I feel like trying to find (or buy) a teammate that has less familial responsibility than I do but I don’t want to break any festavarian code by paying for that “service” but what are my options really? Any insights or advice would be appreciated.
You can do just fine by getting up and in line by 6am, imho. Numbers get handed out between 6-6:30 usually. If you get number, any number, you’ll have a good spot. (again just mho) :cheers See you in line!
If this is really important to you form a line community in your campground. Most camps have a group that take turns sitting in line, staying overnight in line, getting a number in line, and then a runner for the actual tarp run that swoops in and does the bidding (running) for the group.
As your kids get older they can participate in the line sitting and/or running. Add tips (a.k.a. ~bribes like a festi-t-shirt, if needed) and the Tarp Run becomes a right of passage of it’s own.
Great question! Let us know post-fest how it works out! :thumbsup
If its a sunshade spot you are going for, then getting in line (from either the TP or Town side) at ~4:30AM will probably get you in the front row. I have kids and have done this the past bunch of years. I still maintain that there is no better place to be on earth and no better people to be found at 5AM each Bluegrass Morning than in the tarp line.
As others have said, if you’re looking for a sun shade spot, you won’t need to stay up in line all night. You’ll be fine showing up around 4:00 or 5:00 AM
I know this is a real newbie question but is there really a bad spot? What if you just happen to be a solo festivater and you get so involved with looking around town that you don’t wander in until 10ish? I’m really umm not a morning person to put it mildly. Thanks for any advice.
Truthfully, you will be in great shape. Wander around, share a tarp, meet and greet. There will be 10,000 new friends waiting to meet you. If a tarp is empty, it’s cool to sit for awhile. When the folks come back, chances are you’ll be invited to stay.
What Doc Mike said. I never put a tarp down my first three years at fest. I simply wandered around and found some empty space. Ask the tarp’s owner if they mind if you have a seat. Since it’s just you, I doubt anymore will turn you away.
Are there 2 lines - TP and Town side)?
4:30 AM is brutal when you have to watch kids all day. I have to find another way.
To answer ckshusker, there is no bad place in the festival grounds and if you are a single you can pretty much watch from wherever you want.
But if you are like me traveling with 2 families and little kids, it becomes much more difficult to just go with the flow. I have come into the festival at 8:00 and have had nowhere to set up a sunshade or a tarp. For me that can’t be an option or I will have tired uncomfortable kiddos and that makes for an unhappy wife - something nobody wants.
i dont recall this tarp craze from 97… do you put a tarp down every day or put it down for the weekend? i may be inclined to rise at 4:30 if its for a weekend.
and with all this talk will i be able to buy a tarp within miles of telluride wednesday?
is there a tarp recycler in town :medal
Lining up and the tarp run are something that happens everyday, you have to pick up your tarp at night. They usually go by and hand out numbers a couple of times, once before 7:00 and another time a little later, but any number usually means you’ll get a decent place to throw your tarp. Unless you want to get up front, you really don’t need to get there in the wee hours, however I usually try to be there around 6. It may be an early start, but the company is always great, if a little groggy
I suppose they have to be older than nine, though…
As for sunshade space, we usually hang out with a couple other families. Two of us do tarp line, the other grownups (yeah, usually moms) have the kids in the AM, and we all meet at the festival after things are set up. It makes for tired dads most days, but nightgrass has that effect on us anyway. Tarp line has never been anything but interesting and fun. There’s always a good conversation, and sometimes people show up and start playing music. Later, a nap under the shade is often an option. One the music gets going, the tiredness sort of evaporates.
On Thursday I got in line at about 5:45 with my chair and a sunshade. I just missed the guy handing out numbers by 20 seconds. He told me he would be back in a few minutes. He came back 2 hours later. But I got 198 which secured a spot on the front line of the sunshade area. On Friday, my dad beat me to the line (his first festival - I finally got him to come after 13 years of talking about it) at 5:15 and he got number 196. However, there must have been more people interested in shade after a searing Thursday because I could not get back into the front row of the sunshade spots. I realized that it did not make much difference anyway. I had shade for the kids and getting up fairly close for a few songs now and again was as easy as it has always been.
So, I did not worry about getting in line early on Saturday or Sunday and had a great time anyway. I guess there is just no bad way to do the festival. What a great event. I am already excited for the next one.
