Hey this will be my first year at the Bluegrass Fesitval. Any helpful hints would be much appreciated!!! :flower
Thanks
Sarah
Well Sarah Rose, take a look around, do a little studying and process what you’d still like to know, then come back at us with some question. I’m sure you’ll find out a lot about the fest and about us and still be mulling something around in the brain.
Welcome to the family and can’t wait to meet you in June!
Where ya camping?
Auntie Hope :festivarian2 :green
flank steak is goooooood. :cheers :thumbsup
that’s probably not the kind of help being sought, but lunch/dinner/mid-meal snacks can be a difficult choice on the festival grounds!
seriously, though… TBF is a super awesome, laid-back experience with tons of awesome people, scenery, and – of course – music. there’s LOTS of help on these boards – both in the form of past posts and in the form of kind people who are willing to answer current questions.
because i feel like i could show up with only the clothes on my back and be happy, my main suggestion regarding festival comfort is this: don’t forget that, though it’s june, you’re waaaay up there. it gets chilly fast when the sun goes under (both at night and during cloudcover) and it gets hot when the sun’s out. it can rain unpredictably (or is it predictably, since it happens almost every year?). anyway … bring layers, prepare for some mountain rain. have fun.
it’s awesome!
and sometimes it even snows…
i think this was excellent advice and is probably the most important… Bring clothes for weather from 90 degrees to 20 degrees!!! Really, Honestly…
and some bacon is always good too!
I’ve refreshed a few relevant threads for you to peruse: Hippie’s ultimate packing list, what you can’t live without, and for all the loner newbies :thumbsup
I seem to remember I gleaned a good number of tips from them 
Feel free to fire back with any questions :cheers
So proud of all of you! :medal
YES! Clothing is the most important thing you can do for yourself when going to Telluride. Everything from your bathing suit (with SUNSCREEN!) to your best warm jacket and “under layers”. Layer it up, because you’ll need to peel it off and put it on several times throughout the day, given the weather of the moment.
Tent… get a good sturdy one. You may want to think about changing your clothing in that tent and want one you could stand erect in also (yes, I said erect, get over it).
Layers for sleeping are also very important.
I go with a sleeping bag liner and down comforter… all inside my sleeping bag. If you have a sleeping pad, great. Bring something else to put between the sleeping pad and the ground… it’s a long week in a tent. If you’re on a cot your best bet at night is to store other things under the cot to make that barrier between you and the cold ground.
Slide on shoes for the morning run to the bathhouse/port-o-john, sandals of some sort (again, with SUNSCREEN!) for the hottest times and warm COMFORTABLE shoes/boots for the colder times/evenings.
Remember, no open flames in Telluride because it’s an historic, protected town, so… gas/propane is the way to cook.
OH! AND TARPS! You can’t go wrong with a few good tarps around camp… and of course the one you’ll need for the FESTIVVVAAALLL!!! field!
The “last big grocery store” to the North is in Montrose, Colorado, if you care to stock up on supplies before heading into the mountains, although there are 2 or 3 good food markets in Telluride and they really appreciate the business.
Another plus you will have (hopefully) this year, that we didn’t have last year…
One of the BEST fresh bakery’s in the entire WORLD! Yes, Baked in Telluride burned to the ground in early 2010, but construction is well under way and the bakery is doing their best to get opened “before bluegrass”, as they say.
Well, my dear… again, I’ll ask, where ya camping???
Auntie Hope :festivarian2 :green
You guys are so wonderful! Thanks for all the suggestions! :cheers If I think of any specific questions I will be sure to post them. My sister and I will be driving from Nebraska and staying in Mountain Village. We didn’t think our first time camping should be during something this big. Maybe next year…
Please keep the info coming! Anything you can think of, doesn’t matter how small, is helpful.
Thanks Again
Sarah
Festing from MV means you need great warm shoes, great sandals, great LOWback chair, great layering clothes (4 season), great sun hat, a tarp, and great sack to carry it ALL in on the Gondola . Once you land in front of this fest, you won’t want to make too many trips up and back. :festival :thumbsup
Sararose,…We did the same thing with our first TBF two years ago. We camp often but felt the first time there we oughta scope it out. Happy to say we are coming back this year to camp in TP. In 09 we managed to stay on festival grounds or in town all day going up/down the gondola to Mt. Village only once to drop off the day supplies (chairs, tarps, picnic stuff) for our daily change into warm clothes for the evening/night. We’d pick up the live feed while re-outfitting/happy hour so we didn’t miss much. We tried to agree for which act to make the dash and that was hard considering all the great music. Don’t miss sunset though as the combination of music, color and light are hard to beat. And if you think you want to line up in the early am for the tarp run, the gondola doesn’t start until 7am so we would shuttle the line keeper down earlier and join once the gondola started up. :flower
Don’t forget to be prepared to meet a bunch of new best friends. And realize, of course, that after the first time, you will be forever making plans to keep coming back for the rest of your life. :hop :hop :hop
This will be our first year at TBF.
I found this site with a TP campground map and info.
Nice little map but I still guarantee you will get lost after dark. Especially if you are wearing a lampshade on your head. The map does not show Bear Creek Preserve (noted at the top of the map as ‘no camping’) which is where many of us actually camp (yeah we are special like that). The road there is less confusing but the camping density is higher so winding your way in to find your tent may be quite a feat. If you do get hopelessly lost then Telluride Tom has a guest tent for the wayward.
I strolled through TP Mandolin in hand at midnight to find these great folks and got sooooo lost. I left defeated, no one to play with :sorry So yeah, getting lost is a real factor at night in TP. :cheers
If it’s just you and your sister, you may not need a tarp. I’ve been in a group of three every time I’ve been to the festival and we were usually able to find some open space via tarp hopping (the art of finding vacant tarps to temporarily occupy or asking the rightful owners of a tarp if there is enough room for you). Any empty tarp is free game until the owners come back (and even then you’re usually just asked to make room for them). I’ve never had a bad experience with tarp hopping before. Just be respectful, make room, and, if asked, find another space.
Especially after a full day of festivating.
Yeah, tarp hopping with strangers is a great way to meet new friends. We love tarp hoppers.
I’ll have to cut eyeholes in my lampshade, then. And maybe add a headlight.
I was going to ask the veterans about Bear Creek Preserve and the Primative Area?? So most veteran camps set up in the Bear Creek Preserve?
I’m going to have either a small RV or a pop-up camper. If I arrive on Monday before the fest, will I be able to find a decent site? I suppose in the main Town Park campground? If it’s that easy to get lost, I’d better have a camp near a potty 
Woo! We can be twins!
Bear Creek Preserve and the Primitive Area have no vehicle access at all. You can get decently close to both for unloading gear (then park elsewhere). Bear Creek is more open and the Primitive Area is more bushy (so harder for a big camp). There’s some open (and direct sunny) spots near the river though.
If you want to RV it you’ll be in the main campground area but you MUST have a vehicle pass to do so.
Veteran camps are in all areas.
In bacon we trust.
The older I get the more appealing this gets. :medal
In addition, most Festivarians will you encourage to forgo the vehicle pass unless you find it medically necessary to camp in your pop-up or small RV. These passes are VERY LIMITED. 99.2% of us camp in tents.
Vehicle access/parking at your campsite is not included in the ticket price at this fest. Sorry. Not to worry, you’ll be just fine. I’m “older”, I manage. :lol :lol :lol
Auntie Hope :festivarian2 :green
(SUR, and the rest of y’all too!)