BS: Festivals-wet or dry?

Subject: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Mooh
Date: 25 May 00 - 11:38 AM

As always, thanks for your input!

All other things being equal, are folk (or music in general) festivals helped or hindered by the marketing of alcohol on site?

How should alcohol sales be handled at a FF? Sponsorship by the producer? Does it lead to disorderliness? and so on...and maybe, does it negatively affect the performances when the crowd has alcohol available?

Fire at will! Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Gervase
Date: 25 May 00 - 11:56 AM

A dry festival? As the late A.J.Ayer would say, such a thing would be a category error. Certainly I can't imagine such a beast! Perhaps folkies are more restrained than other folk, but in all my years of festival-going I have to say that I've rarely if ever seen any real trouble that can be pinned on the booze (other than a tendency to run out of money because the darned stuff's so expensive) - but maybe I'm lucky.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: sophocleese
Date: 25 May 00 - 12:18 PM

I grew up going to the Festival of Friends in Hamilton. At that point, things may have changed, it was a dry festival. I enjoyed myself a lot and certainly didn't think I was missing anything. All evening performances were very well attended. When the same peopl ethat organized the Festival of Friends started another festival, whose name I can't remember, they incorporated a section of food tents and that included the sale of beer. I was older and enjoyed that as well. I go to a festival for the music, dance and artisans, alcohol is pleasant but not essential; its possible to go to a bar afterwards.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: sophocleese
Date: 25 May 00 - 12:20 PM

Oh, and Mooh any chance that you can get it to NOT rain at Goderich this year. That's the kind of wet festival I don't enjoy neaqrly as much.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Midchuck
Date: 25 May 00 - 12:28 PM

Been at Old Songs for 8 or 10 years. There's always been a Newman's Ale truck selling there. I've seen one obnoxious drunk there (of course, there are very few mirrors available) in all those years, and I think he was a wandering soul with no money who was bumming beers at campsites so the beer concession wasn't relevant.

Obnoxious drunks are much more common at bluegrass festivals. But few, if any, of them, have on-site sales. Everyone just arrives in an RV with a fridge full, so there wouldn't be much point in it.

I don't think on-site sales have much relationship, either way, to drunkenness at festivals. Just my opinion.

Peter.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: JenEllen
Date: 25 May 00 - 12:43 PM

For the past few years, our folklife has run their annual festival in daylight hours at the community park, and evening shows at local pubs and breweries. My first instinct was not to do this because of the generally obnoxious local traffic that runs through these places, but we have yet to have a problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Mooh
Date: 25 May 00 - 12:55 PM

Sophocleese, I'll instruct the weather spirits...but bring your umbrella if you don't believe me.

Btw, I was expecting a flood of negatives. I happen to like a beer (or more) with my music, but I've heard otherwise elsewhere.

Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Sorcha
Date: 25 May 00 - 12:56 PM

At Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, KS,USA) there is NO alcohol allowed on the festival grounds proper, which is the main Midway area of the Fairgrounds. There is not supposed to be any in the campgrounds, but they can't keep it out, come in in RV's, coolers, etc. Years ago when the festival first started, there were no rules about alcohol, and there were MANY problems. The campground is not actively policed, and now there are no problems at all, because if you get obnoxious drunk, they just kick you out.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Fortunato
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:09 PM

When I was playing festivals I most enjoyed doing the evening concerts. Folks were more relaxed and enthusiastic. I think that controlled substances, alcohol for example, helped, but the festival atmosphere relaxed the audience as well. The old adage, "The more you drink, the better we sound (and look)" holds true. I like a pint or three myself when not driving and a folk festival is a great place to catch a buzz and let the music carry you away. But I can get carried away by good music on lemonade, as well.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: black walnut
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:22 PM

mooh, i kind of liked the rain last year. and the wind. and the fact that our tent was tottering on the edge of that high lake huron cliff in the turbulent darkness as i dreamt of undertow and sea monsters.....

our family stopped going to the mariposa folk festival when it was held under those dreadful molson beer tents. the music was lost. our children couldn't see anything and hated it.

i think that i've seen an equal number of obnoxious over-drinkers at both folk and bluegrass festivals. neither has caused much of a significant bother, in my experience.

~black walnut

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: SeanM
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:35 PM

I'm on the side of "wet" festivals. Of course, my experience isn't playing to specific folk festivals, but rather to larger outdoors events where I've been part of the entertainment.

The one "dry" event we played was a nightmare. Noone really knew what they were getting into when they sat down at our stage, so every set would generate random smatterings of applause, and maybe 3-4 people trying to clap along. People would smile, nod along with the music, tap their feet, but they'd be too reserved to do anything more.

At the "wet" events, there's always seemed to be more of a party feel to the air, and the crowd usually seems to be more receptive to entertainment and to participating to a degree. After discussing it with a bandmate, we jokingly considered getting a "band drunk" to come along to all our shows, sit in the audience, and be his smiling, clapping, singing self.

Like I said, I haven't had experience with "festivals", but for shows in general, give me one with a bar every time. Besides, we've got to have SOME place to go for when our stock runs out...

M

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: TerriM
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:38 PM

gotta go along with the majority here, I like a beer or several with my folk music and have seldom seen trouble at a festival, one or two people get a little enthusiastic or innapropriate perhaps, but no real trouble.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:46 PM

I find that FOLK festivals, when wet, attract the least amount of obnoxious drunkenness, while having the same amount of just plain drunks. However, all types of music, I think, ought to be accompanied by the possibility of alcohol (since nothing else intoxicating is legal). But then again, I think most things should be accompanied by the possibility of intoxicants at some point or another. The trick is for the intoxicant to be an accompaniment, not the main attraction, and for its consumption to be voluntary. I also find that at folk festivals, there is less Oh come on have a drink! than there is at other kinds of musical events. Folks sem to respect people, quoi, even in their cups.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Mooh
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:47 PM

Black Walnut, Glad you enjoyed it! I like beer, but even one nasty drunk at a festival (wet or dry) can really upset organizers, while most of the patrons never see it. The Goderich Celtic Festival you refer to has a neighbouring pub (with a view of the grounds) for which we are not responsible, and that's how we avoid the issue for the most part, lucky us.

The Penetanguishing Festival (2 years ago) had beer but I didn't see any trouble during the day. I do wonder about insurance and liability expenses though.

Other festivals have alot of booze smuggled in, and I'm wondering how prevalent this practice is.

Thank Goodness we don't suffer from Woodstockitis. Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Bert
Date: 25 May 00 - 01:49 PM

I vote for wet.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: GUEST,liz the squeak
Date: 25 May 00 - 06:16 PM

Been to many festivals over the years, and the only trouble I've ever seen or had is with the locals who usually only drink lager and decide to give this newfangled drink called 'beer' a try, and are invariably dumped on their arses because they are not used to it.

This usually only happens in military towns where there are a lot of macho testosterone fuelled men between 18-28. Great fun wandering the bars with a baby in your arms saying 'I'm looking for her father....' Ah, the cold frosty looks and the explaining that THEY had to do !!

Anyway, the only time anyone has ever made a real nuisance of themselves on a campsite, was as a result of mixing drink and drugs. And even then the only violence was a) threatened upon him if he didn't shut up spouting bad poetry and b) him massacring the English language by spouting bad poetry.

Football matches are supposed to be dry, and see what trouble they have!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 25 May 00 - 08:52 PM

The only time I ever went to a Festival and never had a drink or even saw one was Woodstock back in '69. Didn't seem to miss it. Mind you...

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: DonMeixner
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:04 AM

For years i would go to Old Songs with very little money to spend, just my gas and ticket in. But I always had fiver to cover at least two Newman's Albany Amber Ales.

As to wet or dry. One year it rained at OldSongs for the entire week end. Then we got the driest summer in years. Friends who know said that footprints left in the mud at Old Songs were still in the ground in late August for the County Fair or a Farmers Field Days. In this instance, dry is my weather of choice.

Don

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: paddymac
Date: 26 May 00 - 01:25 AM

Most folks with festival management experience would argue in favor of alcohol sales for two reasons: 1) it is a significant profit center; and 2) It is an excellent mechanism to control obnoxious over-indulgence because when it is sold on site there is usually a tighter security effort to prevent folks from bringing their own. But whatever you do, there's no pleasing those folks who spend their lives worrying that somebody else might be enjoying theirs.

Subject: RE: BS: Festivals-wet or dry?
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 May 00 - 01:33 AM

My mum used to say (Candid Camera Parody)that "Somewhere, sometime, someone is having FUN, and we must stop them!" (joke on some particular religious sects)