Town Park virgin? Get your answers here!

Festivarian Events Telluride Bluegrass Festival
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Hmmm? where did I camp? it’s kind of hard to explain NWSS camping? I usualy camp in the far north east section, up the hill under the trees ? :drive

22

do i just show up on tuesday or wednesday and pick out a camping spot, maybe pay a few extra bucks?

23

Town Park opens on the Saturday before the festival (6/16/07) and is included in the Town Park camping pass. The only other campground that opens that early is Mary E. No extra fees required, just a desire to meet good people, and a little extra time off work. :wink:

Tom -
That may be the single best use of smilies to date on this board. :medal

24

woo hoo, then I will be at mary e. early. will I be able to wander around town park meeting folks by showing up early or is it closed off before the festival begins?

Thanks for all the info you guys have given out.

25

You’re more than welcome to come visit us in Town Park before the festival as it doesn’t get blocked off until the festival starts. The only problem might be driving back and forth. Without a special pass vehicle use just before and during the festival is restricted to local residents and condo renters. The shuttle doesn’t yet run either, and it’s a dangerous bike ride that I’d advise not to take. :eek

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You Folks are Truly THE BEST! :medal

Thanks for all the advise to the NuT’rides.

Hope Lin :pickin

27

Put on your glasses, this may be a long read

I’m taking my parents to TBF for the first time this year and need some advice. They’re both retired and have never been to either a music festival or Colorado, so this is a pretty big trip. The only festival I’m very familiar with is the Austin City Limits Music Festival that my brother and I go to every year. I’m sure there are differences between the two, and my plan for TBF is a little different. We’ll be there from the Wednesday before until the Tuesday after and plan on doing some sightseeing along with the festival. Normally at ACL we’re there from start to finish every day. My parents however won’t be interested in doing that at TBF. For one we’d like to get some sightseeing done during the morning and/or early afternoon, two they would get bored just sitting around listening to music for 12 hours (how odd). Anyway, now that you have some background, I have some questions:

  1. Normally what time is the first set everyday and how late do they go?
  2. I think we would be more comfortable in foldup chairs than we would sprawled out on a tarp. Are we pretty much gonna be stuck at the back of the crowd if we come in later in the day?
  3. How bad will traffic be driving into Telluride each day? None of us are campers and we’re staying in a hotel I think about 45 minutes away. I know we have to park outside of town and shuttle in, how big of a hassle is that gonne be?
  4. How many passes do they sell, how big are the festival grounds, and how many stages do they have? I’m hoping that TBF has a much smaller crowd than ACL.

I’m sure I’ll have tons more questions over the next few months, and if anybody has any advice, please by all means chime in. Also, if there’s anybody here that’s been to both TBF and ACL, I’d love to hear your take on the differences between the two.

Thanks in advance

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  1. The first set usually starts between 10:00 and 11:00 AM each day, and continues until close to 1:00 AM except Sunday when it ends at about 11:00 PM.

  2. Fold up chairs are fine. If you can fit a basketball under it then you have to be a little farther back, but you can still see the show perfectly.

  3. I don’t know what hotel you have booked that’s 45 minutes away, but you should check with them to see if you will have a special vehicle pass to drive into town. If you don’t, you’ll have to park outside of town and take the shuttle bus to the festival each day once you’re parked. Traffic is very limited during the festival and parking in town is paid by the hour. You won’t be able to park your car downtown all day either way!

  4. If you don’t have your passes already, you may be too late, but you’ll have to check with Planet Bluegrass. They limit the amount of attendees to 10,000 each day, and if you want to go to all four days you need a four day pass.
    There’s only one stage in Town Park, but they also have workshop performances for free at Elks Park in the middle of town.

If you have more questions… feel free to ask… we’re here to help. :cheers

29

Thanks for the info! The shows run a little later than I expected. Is it normally the headliner each night playing that last set? I’m thinking a LOT of the 50+ crowd will be gone by 1:00 (including my parents). I’ll be a little disappointed if they have to stay up until midnight to see Allison Krauss.

I’ll have to check the hotel again, we haven’t booked it quite yet but I think it’s in Montrose? I think it’s about 45 mins away but I could be totally wrong. If I understand it correctly, we can drive from there to Telluride but we’ll have to park at some kind of parking area outside of town and ride a shuttle in to Telluride? How bad will trafic be from Montrose to Telluride on festival days? Looks like it’s only a 2 lane road.

We do already have our passes (they came in last week). 10,000 Sounds great. ACL packs in 65k and we usually can see ok. With only 10,000 people there it sounds like everyone should be able to see very well.

Will some of the people on the lineup be playing @ Elks Park or will they all be on the main stage?

30

I live in Montrose, and it’s about an hour and a half drive to Tellluride one way! :eek
I’ve been known to make it in just over an hour with no traffic, but I know the road real well! :wink:

The headliners for the late sets are usually more of a jam set, and I doubt if Alison will be scheduled that late. Your parents should be able to enjoy her set. :thumbsup

If your hotel is in Montrose, I’m sure your parents may not want to stay past 9 or 10 if they have to look forward to that long of a drive, but you never know.
Once they get to listening to the music the time goes by pretty quick.
Then again, once the sun goes down in Telluride it gets COLD pretty quick, so be sure to have warm clothes along for that.

31

An hour and a half isn’t too bad. I’m assuming that’s the closest place to get a decent hotel without paying two arms and a leg for it?

I was hoping the late night sets were jam sessions. Those would be fun to stay for but if they start getting tired it won’t be a big deal to miss some of it.

How cold does it get after the sun goes down?

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33

Forgive me if this has been covered already, but here goes. I have 2 town park passes, but no vehicle pass. Are there areas in town that are designated as festival parking? This is my first time coming to TBF, and I won’t have a lot of time to make alternate travel plans as I will be arriving back in the states from Afghanistan around June 1. Am I out of luck, or do I have to start looking to carpool with someone passing through Omaha?

Thanks for any info you can give.

34

Articdesertnomad:

You will be able to drive your car into Town Park and unload all of your gear. Then you will park your car outside of town, or up at Mountain Village, and take either a shuttle or the Gondola back into town. Unless you have a Vehicle that you sleep in, there is no need for a Parking Pass. :slight_smile:

35

Actually, you may not have to park too far away if you get there earlier.
I doubt if you’d have to park in Mountain Village, but if you get there the day before the festival or later you may have to park just outside town and take the shuttle back to camp. :thumbsup

36
Unless you have a Vehicle that you sleep in, there is no need for a Parking Pass

Wait, so if I can sleep in my car (station wagon), then I don’t need a parking pass? I am planning on getting there somtime on Monday the 18th. Would that be soon enough to find a decent parking spot? Thanks for the answers by the way.

37

I don’t think you understand… :eek
You only need a vehicle pass if you’re going to have your vehicle in Town Park, and are going to sleep in it. Vehicle passes are extremely limited, and I seriously doubt you’ll find one. A Town Park vehicle pass is somewhere around $100 and a parking pass is free. Parking passes on the other hand, mean that you can park your car somewhere OUTSIDE of Town Park, and you CANNOT sleep in it.

Does that make any more sense?

38

OK, I think I got it now.

Provided I arrive early enough, I will be able to park (relatively) close to Town Park fro free, and I will have to bring a tent to sleep in. How is security at the event? Would I have to worry about leaving my vehicle (or tent for that matter) unattended, or are most festival goers made of better stuff than that?

39

The festivarians are much better people! Your possesions should be safe in your tent. I’d just be sure it was zipped up when not around. Nobody is going to attempt to unzip a tent to steal something, and find someone inside sleeping anyway. I’ve heard a story of someone losing thier wallet, only to have it found and returned by some kind soul that actually PUT more money into it first as a joke. The lost and found is always the place to take things you found or get things back that you lost.

40

Hi, Friends! How many of ya’ll have been at the festival all four days???

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I’m a five-year veteran of TBF and a Town Park Virgin. I have a zillion questions regarding how you roll in Town Park. If anyone can answer these for me, I’d worship them forever. Here goes:

  1. I’m planning on driving down on Tuesday night. Is that too late to score a decent camping spot? Would it be worth it for me to take Monday and Tuesday off and and arrive the Saturday before? How much fun will I be missing out on by not being there Monday and Tuesday? I have visions of rumballs dancing in my head.

  2. What is the best place to camp in order to score at least twenty minutes of sleep a night? I know it’s asking a lot, but I get crabby when I don’t sleep. You don’t want to see this girl when she’s crabby. Plus I’m one of those freaks who has to get up every single morning for the tarp run. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

  3. How does the tarp run/line work for Town Park? I think it’s a different line, right? I usually get up around 5:00am to get in line. Is it the same thing for the Town Park line? What’s the system? Is there a secret tarp run ceremony I need to know about?

  4. How about food? I keep hearing about oyster stew and rumballs and some kind of punch. Is it each man for himself? Do you bring food to share? Or is it like the Alaskan fur trade where I need to bring an item to trade for a sip of the infamous oyster stew?

  5. Is there anything extra I need to bring besides just normal Colorado camping stuff to make my stay more comfortable? A sunshade, extra lawnchairs, a hammock, ear plugs or a goat?

  6. I was wondering if more of the Town Park veterans could post pictures of themselves in their profiles so I can put faces with the names. That way when I eventually roll into Town Park on that magical day, I’ll see all the friends I’ve been getting to know all these months.

  7. Is it June yet? Can we leave right now???

I think that’s it for now. If anyone has any other snippets of advice to share regarding the magic that is Town Park camping, please let me know.

Hugs and tie-dye,

Daniela