The concert festival scene is so branded in our collective psyche some are known by their points on the map: Newport, Coachella, Watkins Glen, Monterey.
Regionally, a pair of multiday summer festivals this summer ”“ in Bethel and Bridgeport, Conn. ”“ in large part owe their existences to Jerry Garcia, the former front man for the Grateful Dead.
A bona fide Deadhead founded and continues to run the show in Bridgeport.
And Phish, a jam band that ably filled the rambling shoes of the Dead when it disbanded after Garcia”™s 1995 death, will play Bethel Woods May 27, 28 and 29. The event could pump more than $300,000 into local tax receipt coffers.
Darlene Fedun is chief operating officer at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. She anticipates 15,000 fans per day when Phish takes the stage Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. She is reaching them via targeted website advertising, social media sites and fan blogs.
“There are always potential challenges that are present with any sold-out show,” Fedun said in written response to questions specific to the Phish event. “But with proper planning, solid intelligence and teamwork they are minimized. Keeping the traffic in and out of the venue moving; turning the venue over after each show in preparation for the next show; and making sure each days”™ guests have a safe and enjoyable experience while visiting our county are among our top priorities.”
If the image of drugs and rowdiness has defined some historic gatherings, Bethel ”“ backed by five previous years in the outdoor event business ”“ expects no troubles.
“From firsthand reports ”“ not anecdote ”“ we can expect fans to be polite and respectful of posted guidelines and authority,” Fedun said. Bethel will host 23 events this year. “We have received such unwavering support and cooperation from the business community, as well as our town, county, law enforcement and emergency service leaders. We have been diligent to keep them in the loop throughout the planning process and we couldn”™t be happier how it”™s all working out. Our county visitors association and county chamber have done an outstanding job rallying the business community and creating innovative programs and ideas to roll out the red carpet. Businesses have certainly stepped up to the plate offering value added perks to concert-goers and preparing to showcase their ”˜Sullivan County Hospitality.”™
“With 45,000 expected concert-goers, Sullivan County”™s local economy can expect a boost to their businesses during this three-day concert weekend,” Fedun said. “From lodging, shopping, and restaurants to fuel, bars and home goods, all of the businesses in the area can expect to see a peak in sales before the tourist season hits in July. We hope it”™s an excellent start that continues all season long. Our visitors association has estimated that the weekend could possibly deliver a significant positive impact.”
The Sullivan County Visitors Association”™s Herb Clark said a typical Sullivan County visitor spends about $100 per day on food, lodging, gas and the like. Clark said, “We”™re talking about $4 million in spending in this county; that figures out to about $320,000 in sales tax revenues just for those three days.”
Ken Hays, the 47-year-old founder of the July 22, 23 and 24 Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport and an attendee at 360 Grateful Dead shows, began the venture 16 years ago as a way to honor Garcia. Now, “It”™s like running a small city,” he said, looking to top 20,000 in attendance this summer. “We”™re trending toward exceeding that number this year. It”™s exciting.”
This year”™s event headlines former Garcia bandmates Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, plus Elvis Costello and The Band”™s Levon Helm. (Complete schedules and performers are available at websites for either Bethel Woods or the Gathering of the Vibes.)
Both shows hark to those halcyon, hippy days of the original Woodstock, as much about the communal, open-air experience as about the music. Toward that end, there is camping at Bridgeport (options include a weekend pass for $205 will allow entry on Thursday, July 21). Bethel Woods, where there is no camping, has provided a list of 18 specific campgrounds, motels and hotels nearby and another list of a dozen websites, including Catskills.com and the county websites for Orange and Sullivan, with campfire options.
In lyrics appropriate to a music festival, “It don”™t come easy.” To-do lists calculate fencing by the mile and portable toilets in the hundreds. As for summer lightning, be prepared; you never know when the stage will be struck, as happened in Bridgeport in 2009.
“We had over the course of the weekend in 2009 two evacuations,” Hays said. “Our emergency plans ”“ which we developed with the police, fire department and emergency services ”“ worked successfully. Lightning struck the stage, but we had already cleared the area 30 minutes earlier.”
Given the competition, Vibes offers something unique: more than two miles of Long Island Sound beachfront and 370 waterfront acres. Hays notes with evident pride 2,000 of last year”™s 20,000 attendees were “kids under 12 who brought their parents. I got an email from a person, thanking us, a man who brought his kids and his parents, three generations.”
Challenges abound: two-and-a-half miles of chain link fence must be assembled; 300 portable toilets set up; three 53-foot bathroom trailers and two 53-foot shower trailers parked and hooked up. An advantage to working with the city of Bridgeport: “Because we tap into the city grid, there are just a couple of generators; it”™s a lot quieter and more environmentally friendly.”
