I attended this festival with my friend Jessie and we actually were able to go for free! We were officers for the Sustainable Land Development Club at VT and we (plus 3 other members of the club) were given the task last Fall semester to create an organized site map for the entire festival! About 6 months of hard work later we produced something we were very proud of and Josh (the manager of the festival) was extremely pleased with it and offered us free tickets. HECK YEAHHHHH! I’ve never been more thrilled to say I’m pursuing a career in engineering. Things we design become REAL. So cool.
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| Found the map we created on the last day of the festival! |
DAY 1 - Thursday
Right from the beginning I knew I belonged at this place. Every single car was unloading mounds of camping/hiking gear and everyone looked like a pack mule. Jess and I realized we
actually packed very light in comparison. There were wagons, dollies, and tattooed people
line we had some fun conversation with the people around us. Everyone was just so darn happy and excited to be there that even waiting in line wasn't a big deal. Eventually we packed onto the bus and our destination was coming into view. It was the best set-up in the world. The mountain peaks were surrounding the festival, making it look small in comparison. It looked like a mountain resort. We unloaded and our search for the perfect campsite began. It was very difficult to stay on task because there was just so much to feast our eyes on! We tried not to get distracted by all the enticing vendors. Including PICKLE vendors. This place just kept getting better and better! We made it to the woods area and there were tents and hammocks
We actually ended up pitching our tent in the Family Camping area which I was a little worried about because I’m not a huge fan of hearing rambunctious children. People who know me know I can barely stand kids in the first place. But it was a great location - a short walk to the Porto Johns and the main area where all the commotion took place. It ended up working out really well because we had no annoying kids around us. We only really came in contact with one (who was well behaved and whose family would become our saviors later on). Once we located a spot we liked, we brushed all the tree limbs and pine cones from the area and pitched the tent. We then strung up our hammocks next to it. It was a little slice of heaven.
After setting up, we explored the festival grounds. It was coming alive with people and performances were scheduled to begin at 4PM. We perused the vendor tents and listened to the first performance on the main stage - Spirit Family Reunion. They were AWESOME! I
DAY 2
This day was jam packed with activity. I’m going to shorten it as much as possible. In the morning, we bought coffee and did outside group yoga. That was a brilliant way to start the day.
Up next was Rising Appalachia at Hill Holler stage. They were AMAZING. They even had a
woman do silks. It was mesmerizing. Shortly after this we went into the beer garden again (one of my favorite places at the festival, it had such a fun atmosphere). I even got to charge my phone and camera which were just about dead by this point. We then went to watch the John Butler Trio at the main stage. We didn’t stay too long there and met up with Jessie’s friend, Taylor, who actually worked one of the vendor tents during the festival. We went back to his tent and chilled a little bit and then around midnight we headed to Hill Holler stage to watch Citizen Cope. They were AWESOME (do you sense some repetitiveness in my opinion of these bands yet? I LOVE THEM ALL). This was a crazy concert and we got there early enough that we were in the front row of people! Jessie even sat up on stage near a speaker. It was surreal. Then this random drunk girl was grinding up on us and we told her to hop up on stage so SHE DID. Too funny. THEN, a guy backstage grabbed her and removed her from the stage. I guess she took that as a “Oh you must like me” because then she stared making out with him hahaha. Anyway, the music was great and the main singer barely moved his lips. I was entranced by how he was able to sing with his lips together. It started drizzling by the end of the concert even though there was a 0% chance of rain. When we returned to our site, we took down the hammocks and prepared for a storm. I didn’t have a sleeping pad for my sleeping bag so if the floor got wet I was screwed. Well guess what happened? Yep. Completely soaked the next morning. Things weren’t looking so good.
DAY 3
This had the potential of being the most terrible of days. We woke up in a pool of rain water....our tent had become completely soaked through and through. We hadn't set up a proper rain guard like many of the other tents in the area and only relied on the fly that was a attached to the tent. The tarp we placed below the tent floor was creating a channel for the water to collect underneath us. It was absolutely horrible. Our tent was flooded and we needed to figure out a course of action. The camp store was to open at 8AM so at 7:45 I headed over there to buy as many tarps as I could without breaking the bank. I arrived 2 minutes before it opened and the place was mobbed with people. Tarps were being sold like hot cakes! The store had run out of their largest tarps but thankfully two smaller tarps remained. I bought them both and returned to our site. Jess and I struggled to come up with any ideas that would benefit our situation. I think we were both fed up at this point with the whole ordeal. As we were dancing around our tent with a tarp in our hands, trying to figure out the best tactic, a miracle happened. A neighbor of ours, Mike, walked over to us (it's still raining at this point btw) and asked if we needed any help. I wanted to scream YES PLEASE HELP US WE'RE SO MISERABLE! But instead stuck with the simple "Yes, that would be great." He guided us and gave us so many options - most of which included using his stuff. His campsite was completely dry and looked
like a mansion. He could be a professional camper. We ended up using an extra tent of his and he helped us cover it with a tarp so that no rain would get inside. Mike literally helped us for two hours in the rain and didn't stop until we were completely satisfied. He was a saint. We offered to buy him dinner because we had to repay him somehow. He refused of course but later we bought him and his wife tickets for the beer garden. He deserved SO much more than that. He completely turned our day around. Who knows what would have happened if he didn't show up. He even let us put all our stuff under his area to keep it dry and said we could leave it there as long as we wanted. I was just completely baffled by this guy's generosity. If all humankind acted like Mike....oh man what a concept. After all this craziness occurred, Jess and I went back to sleep in our new DRY tent. It was AMAZING. We woke up
around 1PM and restarted our day in good spirits. Smiles were seen all around the festival grounds and I’ve never seen so much mud in my life. Even walking 100 feet was a challenge. Flip flops were lost in the depths of the soil and war paint was splashed across each person’s legs. It was very entertaining to watch everyone maneuver around the place. It was like watching a bunch of drunks trying to walk. We were wearing our hiking sandals but eventually gave in and took them off completely. That made things so much easier and it felt like a massage for our feet. Throughout the afternoon we watched a couple little concerts in the pouring rain and collected free stuff from the vendors. Despite the weather conditions, the place was still hopping with people. And oh baby was the beer garden jam packed! I guess everyone was drinking their sorrows away. The wine vendor stated that it was the most he's sold all weekend. Pretty hilarious. The rain had stopped by 4PM and everyone looked great - mud covered and drenched. I was amazed at how everyone was still able to have smiles on their faces and enjoy the day. It definitely helped me to stay positive. In the beer garden we bought a bottle of wine to split while watching the weirdest string band I've ever seen. When I think of string bands I think more mellow music or beats that get you jiggy. This band was SCREAMO CITY. It was a little too much. I wondered how they were even admitted into the festival. Adds some variety I suppose. After this we went to a yoga session...drunk. It was the most comical thing and very ironic. Fun times. Then, we watched Rising Appalachia again since we liked them so much the day before. Their music really gets you on your feet. A guy was walking around with a bag of gummy bears so I eyed him down until I worked up the courage to ask for some. He was like "I saw you eyeing me and my bag and was wondering how long it would take you to approach me" haha. Cool dude. Jess and I then ate some delicious pizza and tots for dinner. Throughout this whole event, I didn't really realize when I was getting hungry because I was too excited all the time; my fervent thoughts cancelled out everything else. I've never experienced that before. I mean come on, I LOVE food.
The Brandi Carlile concert was next on the list and oh. my. god. She was absolutely amazing!!! I hadn't heard much of her before so I didn't know what to expect but her songs seriously touched my soul. I know that sounds really cheesy but seriously, I felt changed after this concert. And she's a fabulous performer. She was so appreciative of the crowd and was
DAY 4
We decided to leave in the morning so we could return to Blacksburg at a reasonable hour. We packed up our tent and gave it back to our savior. Mike's act of generosity reminded me of something I heard from an Appalachian Trail thru hiker a few weeks back. He called random acts of kindness Trail Magic. Such as a driver picking them up off the road to transport them to the nearest town, or someone supplying them with food when they ran out. So I therefore will deem Mike's kindness FloydFest Magic. And the thing is, he helped a lot of other people too! He truly is a saint. We stood in line for some delicious coffee and then dropped by Taylor's food truck to say goodbye. He mentioned that the Alpha Lot was closed due to the extreme mud conditions and they only tow people out. Our mouths dropped and we didn't know what to do. We talked to a lady at administration who said they were suggesting that people stay an extra night. The festival was scheduled to continue in order to accommodate people. She made it sound like that was the only option but then eventually stated that we could go if it was an emergency. We told her we already packed up all our stuff and needed to get back because we had work the next day. She replied that it would take many hours and if we were willing to wait in line then we should go for it. Jess and I looked at each other and both agreed that we wanted to get back. Plus, we figured the mud would only get worse since there was a 40% chance of rain that day. We collected our things from our site and said goodbye to Mike and his family. I wanted to give him the biggest hug. He really made an impact on me. As we were walking toward the shuttle line, the pickle vendors were giving away FREE pickles. Day made. I no longer cared how long we had to wait - I was content with my pickle. The line weaved in and out of some camping areas but it really wasn't that bad. I think we waited and hour and a half tops. We waited longer than that Thursday morning. When we all got onto the bus, everyone cheered but the battle wasn't over yet. We arrived at the parking lot and it looked like a giant pig sty. I wanted to wait for a tow truck (staff members mentioned that the tow trucks were on FloydFest's tab and not to let them charge us. Super nice of them). To exit the lot from our space, we had to make a left turn in some heavy duty mud, continue straight in more deep mud, and then turn right onto gravel. There was no way. Thankfully, a neighboring car was also a manual and they had a game plan. They were gonna wait for a nearby car to move from a grassy area at the left turn, then they were gonna drive on that section so that there was a smaller chance of getting stuck. We followed them and it was smooth sailing until we reached the straightaway. Cars were stuck wheel deep everywhere. However, I have never seen such supportive people in my life. Everyone was helping to push cars and move wooden planks in front of the tires to provide stabilization. Once the way was cleared, I revved up the engine, and didn't release the pedal at all. Slowing or stopping meant sure death. Mud was flying EVERYWHERE! Including into my car because I had the windows down...whoops. I tried to hold the driving wheel steady as we spun in different directions. After much struggle, we successfully made it through the mud and released celebratory cheers and fist pumps. People nearby were laughing and clapping for us. It was EPIC. We then exited the lot and gave each other celebratory high fives. What an adventure! It was the perfect way to end the weekend.
I really did not want to leave. Some things I participate in, once I reach a certain point, I’m kinda done with it. I felt so alive and happy at this place. It literally could not have gotten any better. I’m even ok with the rain that poured down on us. It made the experience what it was. And one of the greatest parts of the whole thing was that we got to meet so many different people! Everyone was so friendly. Conversations have never been so easy. The amount of generosity outpouring from that place was absolutely astounding. And shoutout to you Jess for being the perfect companion throughout the adventure :) Time to count down until next year!
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