I’ve never actually heard of “yellow balloon” groups but sounds great. After scrolling down and reading all, i agree with Bluegrass Geoff in that Todd G’s idea with teams running a tarp in every day (chair section my preference, the closer the better but more room in shade) makes the best sense for a first year effort. Love the banner or balloons idea too. There are meetings daily within walking distance from the fest in town that i’ve been to which we can share with the group either in some central online place or even here in the Sober Festivarians in Telluride Forum (is this up during the fest? I would imagine so)…
10/04/2007 Steve here to TP for TBF for 2025!
Me and my peeps coming in from Central Wisconsin for the pre-fest. I will/should be in town June 14 and would love to connect asap with any other FOBs. If there is possible of a table I could bring some literature & books to give away. But all I really want is some daily meetings! We could do a sign up to chair those?
Wow…serious Pre-Fest! I’m not in till the 18th but know they have some good meetings in town…just look on google. The one I’ve gone to (where closer to the fest you’ll find visitors attending) is at 434 W. Columbia Avenue at Christ Presbyterian Church…its excellent
We were brainstorming here at HQ yesterday on ways we could help with a meeting spot. Assuming we would want it to be inside the Festival grounds, it’s a little tricky as almost every square foot has been already accounted for. Unfortunately, we don’t have acres and acres of land to work with like some other festivals.
How about if we try ToddG’s plan of running in a tarp everyday and see how that goes? You could have some yellow balloons or fly a yellow flag to allow others to find it. If balloons, I would be happy to help with storing the balloons and a smallish helium tank in the box office. Or if a flag, you could throw your flag behind the box office counter each night and grab it each morning if that would help.
Sound like a plan? We could gather some feedback throughout the fest and improve the plan for 2026 if needed!
Let me know what you think and I look forward to meeting you folks in June!!
Love this idea plus your amazing offer of perhaps storing a yellow flag for storage (and or hellium tank). I’m getting to Telluride that Wednesday and would be happy to craft some kind of Flagpole with a Yellow flag on top of it or something to that end…(how would that go in the ground…is it soft enough turf to push a pole into? I know, details!!!). Also, in terms of running in a tarp…don’t people literally sleep outside overnight to do that the night before day one and then the tarp kinda stays for the duration? Could you refresh my memory about the tarp running…
@Krenny -
I did some asking around re: anchoring a flagpole. All I can officially say is there is a 6 inch max for stakes due to irrigation in the Park. Perhaps ToddG or someone else on here has some better ideas.
As for the running of the tarps, the rules depend on which entrance you use (Town Park/Warner Field vs. Main Entrance). Your tarp does not stay for the duration, the field is cleared each night. Find more details here.
Let me know if you have any other questions/concerns!
Hey Bluegrass Geoff – thanks for the flagpole info. I’m sure we’ll figure it out closer to the fest along with the tarp scenario. Something tells me that closer to the date would be a better time to plot everything out. I will, however, still want to create a flag or some sort of “here we are” alert
I just also bought tickets for Rockygrass so I’m soberfesting the whole summer and very excited to be in mountainous CO vs. the urban jungle (which i do love in my special way as well
If you search for “flagpoles” in the TBF section of the forum, you’ll find some threads that give some good info on flagpole etiquette and how to play by the rules and stake out a tall pole! If you aren’t trying for a big space front and center, shouldn’t be that difficult to get a spot large enough to gather in the back areas amongst the shade tents! The Tarp Run sounds much more worse than it really is, pretty fun to watch though!
LOL! I will do a flagpole search and become educated on the art of such! Meanwhile, i actually watched some youtube videos of the Tarp Run (set to bullfighting music) and admittedly, it scared the X out of me :). We will be cool in the back…i’m thinking if we have a big turnout way up front, that could be a bit intense. Also, i can do my solo mini chair a-wandering this and get up close and only take up a tiny space…(shhhh…my secret…i use a childs chair and i’m very compact!)
Apparently you can’t go deep in the ground in town park so I found this…
We can weigh it down with something heavy and set up a spot large enough to gather in the back area amongst the shade tents, (per your suggestion - a great one). I could make a flag and find a pole in Telluride (hard to bring from NYC!)
what do you think ToddG…are we makin this happen ???
I will also ask bluegrassGeoff if he can store the pole stand in the office for us!
Wanted to see if you might be able to store this and a flagpole/flag for us at the fest…
i think it might be easier than taking it to and fro. Its better than having to dig into the ground and I saw another festivarian used it years ago when i searched Flagpole on the Festivarian forum! Also, stupid as it may seem, i cannot figure out how to address the whole soberfestivarians group on this…am i missing something? Seems like you have to write one person at a time?
Absolutely, we can either throw it behind the counter, under the trailer, or keep it locked inside. The Box Office is fairly close to the entrance and either me or one of my staff can help you carry it over in the AM if needed.
