Our first TBF and everyone left for a food and drink run their last words to me were, “hold the tarp”. :eek
So the music stopped and I was the only one standing on this huge tarp. People started to filter away from the stage and chat and mill about between sets. I was on this tarp trying not to let anyone on it :lol :lol :lol What did I know…nuttin
People were over running the tarp so I finally laid down to take space. So funny.
What I did not understand ( and this may be helpful to a newbie ) is this is a loving and communal effort. :flower :cheers
So instead of holding the tarp space, I let everyone on and they were fun and respectful. Filtered back to their own space as soon as the music started. :medal :cheers
I still laugh at the notion that I laid down to take space. This land is your land, this land is my land. :flower
My wife and I like to sit at the rear of the area in front of the sound booth so our backs are to the path and with just two of us, we don’t take up too much space. It’s pretty normal during the day to see people try to squeeze behind us so they’re actually on the path. There are almost always a nearly empty tarp or two in front of us from people who’ve reserved a big space for their late-arriving crew. Once or twice during the day PB staff will usually try to move people off of the path so that it remains – sort of – clear. The people being asked to move off the path seem reluctant to sit on somebody else’s tarp even though it’s wide open but this year one of the security folks did something I hadn’t seen before which was very cool. He very politely asked some people to move off the path and pulled a program from his pocket to read a paragraph or two of the Festivarian’s Bill of Rights and told them that they were a-ok sitting on someone else’s tarp until they returned. The path-sitters sheepishly took their chairs and huddled in the very corner of a huge empty tarp right in front of us. Over the course of the afternoon and early evening the only people sitting on that tarp were folks that the very nice PB security person directed there. They were all first-timers to the festival and we enjoyed meeting them and reassuring them that, yes, it’s fine to sit where you are. At one point late in the afternoon, we left for a bit to get some extra layers and while the people were sill there, the tarp was gone.
:wave FoM,
Thank you for your well thought out input and idea. Not sure I agree with all your comments, but your new idea sounds interesting … and yes it seems we’ve beaten this horse back to the river. :flower
Landshark, I always enjoy your stories of Festivals past! :medal
32hour, another good story and example of how we festivarians can influence the outcome.
Dang Hooch, you see the size of that tarp? You’re right, he couldn’t have bathed if he can’t find someone to share that!! :eek
I love you guys and gals and I have to admit that when I was a newbie it took awhile to fully accept no one was going to rob, rape and pillage at Fest. This we are love and share thing is beaten out of society and that pic really says it all.
After time and this is one huge reason we remain, we start to buy into and believe and feed the love machine. Acts of kindness abound daily and it is so refreshing and almost surreal at first.
I like this forum and I like you. Fest is an experience and each time you go, you figure out new ways to keep the comfort zone. Weather it be a squirt gun, my Fest weapon of choice or a condo or a kitchen sink. Each time you get better at it…
The tarp has been and will always be just a point of reference for me now. I don’t own that space and you can come and sit with me anytime. :cheers that’s the best part.
So, I admit our tarp is quite possibly the biggest tarp in the field. We were pretty close to the front and had Jerry the Gnome flying WAYYY above. The sheer number of people we had this spot ear marked for was around 50. We had chairs, coolers, water, squirt guns sprayers ETC. Getting this spot each day was quite a process as we needed 2 people to run it and a third to set up the shade spot and follow in with all the gear. (so 3 line sitters each night) I am certain that there were times during the day when you could go by and say holy crap there is no one on that enormous tarp. I’d be even more certain that if you went back by 30 minutes later it would be jammed with folks.
If you were to, say make us use a tarp half the size, we would simply double the amount of line sitters and the tarps we run in. I can assure you that we would beat you all to our spot with 1 big tarp or 2 medium sized or 6 tiny ones. Our group is educated, excited and COMMITTED.
However, the Gnome tarp did not only accommodate the people it was designated for but we met TONS of new folk who stopped to say hello or just needed a spot. We NEVER asked anyone to leave our tarp (though I did have to ask someone if I could use my chair while I face pounded some dumplings) and I would say that if you were lucky enough to find our tarp to squat on, you would have been greeted with smiles, passing of the doobies and all the cooling mist our water sprayers can dole out.
Generally, each night before the 2nd to last act came out we would pull the tarp up and just like when it was down all were welcome to enjoy the space.
I very much understand that joining a tarp with people you do not know is intimidating and really against societal norms but as this is TBF this IS THE NORM and something I recommend to everyone. I came solo to TBF last year and this year re-united with at least 50 of my best friends. (All of whom I have known for a year or less) If it hadn’t been for tarp hopping last year I never would have met my girlfriend and all of the fine folks I call my bluegrass Jamily.
So, outside of playing musical tarps (a great idea IMHO) I think if it aint broke don’t fix it.
So next year, if you find yourself in need of somewhere to plop down come visit the Gnome tarp, but remember big tarp or small tarp it takes a village and that village is built on LOVE. :festivarian :lovedr :hombre :hop :kitty :dog :thedude
Spoken well, tarp-hopper! :thumbsup Next year, the s’wandering potluck will be back, bigger than ever, and we’ll need even more tarp! Just sayin’ :cheers
Promises promises Mr. Viking king. I sure hope so! :cheers
Nate :wave
Yes well said indeed! And no matter what the rules are, those of us who are committed will still get the same spots we get now. We all play by the same rules - :clap
I am already making plans for next year, i think i got this scoped out now. Need to bring a flying kangaroo flag, cowboy boots and an esky. Also searching for world’s biggest water gun. Im going to keep doing the old tarp hop and the rest a while in Duk Tape pop up, best of all worlds…counting the days till we all return. :flower :wave
Ps does " esky" translate in your language peoples?
As Hooch said, I wondered over to our tarp several times to find people sitting on it and made sure they knew they were welcome to stay as long as they liked. To Landshark’s earlier point, don’t feel like you need to buy a round of beers just to sit there. That could get expensive by the end. If you find an empty tarp or a mostly empty tarp, go sit there. It really is that simple. I spent my first three years as a tarp hopper before I joined Camp Run a Muck and I was never made to feel unwelcome in that time. Hell, I still tarp hop every year to get a better spot for certain bands.
I will ask the tarp hoppers to please be respectful of the tarp they are on. I had one group who was sitting on our tarp that was chain smoking cigarettes. If you’re on someone else’s tarp, always ask before you light up any kind of smoke.
Isn’t Esky used to refer to a cooler, just as we Yanks refer to all copiers as Xerox copiers? I think Esky is really the biggest brand of coolers down under?
I’ve heard the randomization of numbers before, how would that work? Defeating the idea of a line altogether and having people get in line an hour before doors to start randomly handing out numbers? I see too many problems. To me, if people are going to put in that amount of effort to wait in line all night they should get those front numbers. It’s a character building experience for people to get past the intimidation factor and grab a seat for those not in the know.
What’s really been bugging me the last 4-5 years is that whoever is running the Town Park/Warner line is just clueless. There used to be order to it, it’s been a mess the last few years. This year they decided to put a blue tag on the chairs in line as if that kept some order of the chairs. It made absolutely ZERO sense. did anyone else see this and can they explain it to me? Perhaps I missed something…
This was our first year. We put a chair out on THURS morning. An older gentleman gave us the blue string to tie to the chair. My wife would wake up at 5:30 every morning and go get a number. She said the man with the numbers always came around about 6ish. The way it was setup, it seems like we could have put out a chair on Mon or Tues at the front of the line. Nobody really monitors if you stay there all night or not.
