Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
I've been to five Bonnaroo festivals and the camping situation has always, in a word, sucked. The organizers spend a lot of time and energy putting together an awesome spectacle--music, classes, community outreach, comedy, movies, attractions,etc.--that makes the venue itself a kind of mini theme park (maybe too much so now that Such and Such has been replaced with a friggin water slide).
But the downside is that the camping side of the experience is always left up to chance. Come early, you get shafted and stuck in BFE. Come in the middle, you probably are still parked way out in the sticks. Come late even and you quite likely will have a 15-20 minute walk to and from the venue to your camping area.
After the first year, my wife and I do the tent-only thing now because the walk is so excruciating. Tent-Only is the only way the experience makes any sense (and even then, getting to tent-only can be like the Bataan Death March). Otherwise (as with this year in my case) you might get parked way out on the otherside of Bushy Branch Road where your looking at a minimum 20-25 minute walk each way. And that's on top of waiting in line when you get to the gate, waiting in line for bathrooms, food, to get into the pit, etc. Think about it: over the course of 4 days, you could be spending upwards of 8-10 hours doing nothing but walking in 95 degree heat to and from your tent!
And the crazy thing is, Bonnaroo has always sold this bill of goods as a great thing, because you get to be near your car!! Hoorah! So for some extra storage space, you have to walk perhaps three miles in and out--great!
In short, parking by your car is quacking ridiculous. It eats up space that could be used for tents, canopies, and other things useful to camping. And God forbid, what if an emergency happens and you need to leave early? How in the quack could you ever get you car out if you had to prior to Sunday evening (unless your right on the end of a line of cars)?
Here's a simple, elegant solution. The back forty of Bonnaroo, including everything on the other side of Bushy Branch and the James Bond area way out in BFE across the bridge, becomes parking only. That means that when you go through the tollbooth, you are directed to a parking space. After parking in an orderly fashion (so emergency exiting is possible), there would be a shuttle system employing golf carts pulling wagons (like the taxis they already have but with some hauling capacity). You would unload your stuff from your car, take it to the end of a row of cars at a designated pick up spot, and wait for a shuttle to take your crew and your stuff down close to the venue to set up your camp site. Volunteers down at the site would do like they do now with cars, directing people to fill in spaces and keep expanding outwards.
This means that the system would always be first come, first serve. You wanna get there really early, well then congrats, you get to camp in Thunderlips and have a minute walk in. You come late on Thursday, your going to be further back but still not in BFE, because without all the friggin cars, there is more space for everything else!
And likewise, in leaving, the shuttle service would work in reverse or, if you have your own wagon/dolly/what have you, or if you want to walk, you can pack up your Leno and head back to your car. Since many people leave on Sunday anyways, the clearing out time shouldn't be too bottlenecked on Monday morning (it will be time consuming, but if it's well organized people should be able to get out in 2-3 hours).
That brings me to the second crucial point. The camp sites should function more as little communities, meaning they should cluster more around amenities such as drinking and showering facilities--this would promote limited use for only that community and thus be better maintained. Additionally, the organizers should erect giant shade structures with big fans inside them and place them out in the campgrounds (like the State Farm sponsored tent over by the Cinema Tent). These could hold a few hundred people at a time and would let people grab some shade and cooler temps. These should be a part of each camp cluster/pod--maybe like one shade/cooling tent per 6,000-8,000 people.
For ten years now, this important part of the experience has been completely ignored. But where you camp is where you're going to sleep, eat (unless you wanna go broke doing it inside the venue. God bless), and hang out from 7-12 every morning. Having your personal haven so very far away from the Bonnaroo madness and being forced to do so much walking in the generally suck-ass Tennessean weather contributes to a whole host of problems that could be largely mitigated if people had more convienient access to their own supplies and to a community shade site nearby.
I know a great deal of you like the camp-by-car thing, but really, it's a stupid idea that needs to be gotten rid of. If the only way you can camp is to sit in your car for an hour every day running the AC then maybe Bonnaroo isn't for you. Check out Memphis in May or some other day-pass festival. You can stay in a motel and go in and out as you like. But to make people pay almost 300 dollars for camping miles away from Centeroo is totally asinine.
It's time for a change Bonnaroo.
I welcome conctructive criticism of this idea, but anybody who says they don't mind being in BFE is making a large scale rationalization of a system that could be rethought in order to be fairer, safer, and more pleasurable for all. (You are, after all, a consumer of this experience. Why continue to put up with this Leno-y service?)
Just in making the decision to go to Bonnaroo we are accepting a lot of discomfort that comes with the whole "nature" experience--heat, port o toilets, dust, thunderstorms, lack of good hygiene--so why should we have to put up with walking miles everyday when it isn't necessary?
There is no rational way to haul 80k people and their cars two miles to a campground that will look like the end of Far and Away as far as land grabs go. The farm just does not have that much room, or nearly that much staff. Like I said before either deal with it and take taxis, or haul your crap to tent only either one works. Persoanlly I go with the latter myself, but I know other people do not mind the walk.
Post by RxMarky Mark on Jun 14, 2011 13:01:57 GMT -5
I had no issues with the camping and I was in POD 1 BFE. Its a 20-30 min walk, not that bad. Just limit yourself to 1-2 trips back and forth per day and its easily manageable. I don't get all of the fuss about how terrible it is to walk around, you know this going in. Don't stand up for and dance at every show. Sitting at shows is a great way to relax and give your legs a break.
Post by klimfactor on Jun 14, 2011 13:15:09 GMT -5
Yes, camping in BFE poses its share of issues, but the key, whether you're camping near Centeroo or far away, is limiting your to-and-from trips. A tractor-wagon system just wouldn't work at 'roo. It's too immense, both in acreage and in number of attendees.
Given theft issues, I don't like the idea of tent-only being the only option. Logistically, I get your idea, but I feel a need to lock things in my car while retaining campsite-side access to.
My food, bottled water, clothes, camera, etc are all things I want easy access to from my camp site, but that are easy targets for theft or drunken debauchery if not locked inside my car. I don't want to have to shuttle back to camp Stewie Griffin to get my stuff.
That said, we lucked out BIG TIME this year as we got in early and were camped in the beautiful, beautiful woods (tons of shade) by pod 2. Shade, tons of room, away from the dust, a pretty constant breeze and only a 10 - 15 minute walk to the arch, passing by Pod 3. Given the heat, I'd go as far as saying I wouldn't prefer to camp anywhere else in GA. Last year, we were in BFE, and our location this year made a huge difference.
Post by shingboslice on Jun 14, 2011 13:21:15 GMT -5
Should they also have ziplines going from the clock tower to every site? pay a taxi 5 bucks if you dont want to walk, as far as parking and camping goes i think they do a pretty good job.
^^ agreed. Parking by your car is not a stupid idea. It gives people a since of security. I can lock my valuables in my truck, I use the back of my truck to store large things, coolers and such, and I use my tailgate as a table. Camping by your vehicle, not stupid, someone saying it is=stupidity. Just my thoughts.
Post by rogermexico on Jun 14, 2011 15:21:19 GMT -5
The cars provide a sense of space and structure to the camping that wouldn't exist otherwise. It would be total anarchy without them. At least with the huge lines of cars you know you have a certain space and the people parking cars can ensure that everyone gets an adequate spot. Otherwise it would be impossible to make sure people got enough space, because anyone arriving late would have to deal with everyone having spread their shit out as much as possible.
Post by c234567892 on Jun 14, 2011 15:57:23 GMT -5
I have almost always gotten put in Pod 1 and I never had a problem with that walk before. This year we got put in Pod 11 and I absolutely hated it. But even with that, I still wouldn't do tent only. And it's not because we sit in the AC everyday, I just feel better knowing I can lock my stuff up in my car at night and not worry about it getting stolen.
Post by sendmetoalbion on Jun 14, 2011 16:06:15 GMT -5
I've been to festivals where you have to haul your shit from your car to the campsite and the problem that arises there is that while at first you have adequate room, any tiny open space gets taken up by those who arrive late and just walk up to the front and set up tents under other's canopies..between tents..where ever. No camping situation is perfect. I didn't have a problem with the walking at Bonnaroo, and I appreciated being able to charge my cell phone (aka lifeblood) in my car, so I'm a fan of the cars in camp...plus, it's a fun way to tell where people came from.
If your worried about how much room you have to camp go RV without the RV as we did. They give you a 20x50 lot which was plenty of room for 5 tents, 2 eazy ups, two room shower, 2 lg pickups and a wading pool! Plus the portos are much cleaner.
Post by chemicalbrother on Jun 14, 2011 20:35:26 GMT -5
I've never in 6 yrs thought of that! ^^^^ wouldn't have even known you could!
Did you have to buy the companion vehicle pass for the second pickup? They didn't give you any flack goin in or did you inquire about how to go about it ahead of time? details details!
Should they also have ziplines going from the clock tower to every site? pay a taxi 5 bucks if you dont want to walk, as far as parking and camping goes i think they do a pretty good job.
I like what this guy is thinking. What about chair lifts? Seriously. Chair lifts and zip lines. The future is now!
I always end up near pod 8 which is just fine for me. 10-15 minute walk to centeroo, and right near Shakedown. This year I came up Friday morning, and found my usual area practically empty. I got a closer spot than ever. There was literally 5 cars behind me, and the rest was an open field all weekend. The other side of the road was filled to the back, so those people got screwed by about 300 yards. Even the parking attendants had no idea why some were directed so far away, while this awesome section went unused. Guess I'm lucky.
However, I did get my coolers stolen Sunday morning. So there is a downside to having no neighbors. And a big F U to whoever ruined my Bonnaroo buzz
With all due respect.......this is what happens when a solution is sought for a problem that really doesn't exist. Including staff you have about 100K people descending on a farm during a 24 - 48 hour period. While it may not seem perfect, I think it's it's handled pretty damn well. I'm with laggy on this one.
If your worried about how much room you have to camp go RV without the RV as we did. They give you a 20x50 lot which was plenty of room for 5 tents, 2 eazy ups, two room shower, 2 lg pickups and a wading pool! Plus the portos are much cleaner.
The only problem with this is that you are surrounded by other RVs, putting out exhaust. Carbon monoxide can be a real killer, literally.
The only point you had was having to leave early, because I had this experience. Me and my sister had to leave Sunday morning in order to be at our grandmothers funeral. We told the people directing us and they assured us we would be able to get out, but come Sunday we were packed in and the workers at our pod said there was nothing they could do. Luckily our friend had volunteered and had been parked somewhere where he could get out, so he let us take his car and drove ours back.
Unfortunately, your alternative is not really a good idea, because many people really like being able to park by their cars. It adds some extra security for valuables, and with so much shit being stolen this year, that's definitely necessary.
Post by bamadancer on Jun 15, 2011 10:09:42 GMT -5
Unfortunately I think the 'leaving early' thing is quite the issue at any fest where you're car camping like that. Last year at Waka my boyfriend had a nasty spiderbite that we thought was blood poisoning...we were seriously concerned about my ability to get my car out or get an ambulance IN (fortunately we had to do neither).