The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #72294 Message #1280574
Posted By: JohnInKansas
25-Sep-04 - 02:25 AM
Thread Name: Winfield (WVA) Festival 2004
Subject: RE: Winfield (WVA) Festival 2004
Bill D -
You mean they have stage shows there????? ..... Maybe I should look into that.
My own observation is that few of the people who camp in the "traditional" camping areas try to go to more than a couple of stage shows, and then only if a real favorite performer is on. The music in the camps is more than sufficient, and a lot of people would rather play than just listen.
Those in the recently added "overflow camping" areas probably are more likely to spend a significant amount of time at the stages, and of course about half the admissions are "day trippers" who probably come mostly for the stage shows.
What was commonly called the "RV Park," now called the "West Campground" by the management and the "Walnut Grove" by most of the campers, is a Winfield City Park, with RV hookups (electrical) for about 600 - 700 campers, and a water tap for about each dozen electrical outlets. Prior to about 1988 or so, RVs were seldom seen outside this camp. During recent festivals, they probably squeeze around 1,000 (+/- a couple hundred) camping permits out of this area.
The "South Campground," commonly called the "Pecan Grove," is normally a "day park," with no overnight camping permitted. During the festival, around 800 - 1000 "camping units" squeeze into the interior oval there, and share about 120(?) electrical outlets and FOUR water faucets. Another 1,000(?) or so camp outside the "main oval" in the Pecan Grove, where there are about 24 electrical outlets and NO WATER. Prior to about 1985 or so, you seldom saw an RV in the Pecan Grove, but recently about 50% of the "camp units" are RVs, from pop-ups to massive 3-slide units.
Both of the above areas do have some shade from trees.
In recent years, they've put "overflow campers" in the open field behind the main stage, where there is NO SHADE, NO ELECTRICITY, NO WATER, and NO OPEN FIRES PERMITTED. A wild guess would put recent camper count at about 800 units there.
A semi-official report was that the festival sold about 4,200 camping permits in 2003. Ticket sales are not generally revealed, but recent attendance has probably varied from 18,000 to as much as 24,000 "bodies with tickets."
Sorcha - If/when Mr Redford stops participating, the consensus in the lineup was that it will probably take people several years to get out of the habit of coming down in September. It's almost like the ducks going south for many or the old regulars.
John