so wich one of you are going to be first in and report back

I should be there by 12AM Thursday and will try to report in.

Anything more than a peek and maybe a poke if warranted is going to cause traffic issues, if u consider there will be approx 6000 vehicles going in, even if they have 2 or 3 entrances

They've posted the rules and could just address them as needed inside the concert grounds, so I'm hoping it'll be get along lil doggie at the entrance

hey guys, i just read this reply from lockn on their faceboogie page.... regarding RVs and diggs mountain road (i was kinda planning on taking that route - i'm tent, but live relatively close)

"RVs are going to be directed from the South to take a right onto Arrington Road, then a left onto Diggs Mountain Road to Toll Booth West. The Box Office on Diggs Mountain Rd is for Customer Service and Sales (not Will Call), and it will be harder to get to with the traffic early Thursday."

I'll be getting there around 9am Thursday and will report on here

ill be looking forward to hearing from you asap, as that's probably when i'll be leaving richmond, to get there around 2am or so

Yea...I definitely don't smoke while I drive. Just seein' some of the post makes me want to be extra extra careful. I was planning to bring beer, more than a case cause I'd like to participate in the can exchange mentioned on another thread. And debatin' bringin' just enough for the weekend...

I guess I'm a little baffled that they/(and other festivals) would go to the extent to allow you to be searched upon entry...it's one thing to say "prohibited items" and another to say "you consent to a search of your person and vehicle upon entry"...is this how bad off we are in this country??...I guess it's the Libertarian in me that's ticked...



 

I go to Summercamp in IL and they are very strict, most camping is tent camping and walk ins and their gear is throughly. All vehicles entering the RV area are also searched pretty throughly. Even on the second day of the festival, we waited in line for 3 hours to get into the RV lot, it sucked. And also note that I'm a middle aged mom, usually traveling with my child and/or a friend in a wheelchair w/accessible vehicle so at most concerts no one ever looks at our stuff but at Summercamp I get the full search as do all the other 30,000 attndees, so it takes FOREVER to get in that place. I believe they are almost exclusively looking for booze, their interest being their own bottom line, if you bring your own in, you won't buy theirs - festival organizers don't care about the other stuff but of course will confiscate anything else on the prohibited list like fireworks, which is good since I'd prefer not to die in a burning tent.

My biggest piece of advice is to be kind and curteous to staff, volunteers, and yes security too. Always remember that they are doing their jobs as instructed under perhaps less than ideal conditions for not enough pay, and they don't make the rules they are just tasked with enforcing them. If we all do our best to make their job as easy as possible, we'll all get into the festival as fast as possible.

I'm leaving in 14 hours. should be there by 6 latest wends. vendors have to go in early to get set up. already was warned that they will be looking for any glass wear, because they don't want vendors selling it. if I have signal, I'll report on how it looks coming in...

but...be safe, don't drink and drive, no matter how long you're waiting in line. don't smoke anything stinky, be respectful to everyone. offer the security guys a water if it's hot...forget something? buy it in town! support the locals. remember this is the first year, things might get a little crazy...be patient we are all here for the same reason.

Just make sure all this delicious booze is in plastic containers!  In my experience, the folks that got searched heavily by cops had a visible infraction seen by the festy searchers - liquor/beer over the stated amount, glass bottles, paraph in plain sight, etc.  Then the festy searchers turned them over to the cops.

For SURE the following will happen:
1. They will open your cooler(s) and do a quick dig.  Don't have glass bottles or too much alcohol in there.
2. They will rifle through your top-ish layer of supplies to make sure you aren't hiding nitrous tanks, tons of cases of beer, unlicensed merch.
3. They will look all around in your car.  Everyone should be in seatbelts, no visible anything, and your car should smell like the dew on a fresh rose (or chili-cheese Fritos, you get the drift).

This is a minimum.  We got our car emptied and all our bags emptied at Roo for no apparent reason, so make sure your snacks are hidden so well that even you might not be able to find them.

Planning on arriving around the same time or even earlier depending on friends and the possible attendance of the pre-show. I am a tech addict so I'll do my best to give you guys some play-by-play upon arrival.

We're also dressing conservatively on the trip down so if you see me changing out of a button-up shirt and into a dye before putting up my tent, I AM NOT A NARC!!

I'm actually hit concerned about the alcohol. I don't drink much. I will be at the stages mostly, and my copilot doesn't drink so I could bring 2 cases but only bringing 1.

I don't think they will be making folks unload anything if the gates don't open till 9.