2012 Camping Tickets On Sale Now!

We're all getting back from the fabulous Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival, with a new feeling -- instead of finishing off a festival with mud everywhere, we're covered in sand! Could be worse...

Anyhow, it's Valentine's Day, which means that GrassRoots camping is now on sale! There are a few policy changes this year, all prompted by local ordinances and Health Department regulations, but none of which will cause any major hassle for either you or us, we suspect. Still worth having a look-see, though, so go here to read up. Once you're through with that, head to the Tickets Page to buy your tickets!

See you soon...

CAMPING TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Get your fresh, delicious Camping Tickets while they're still hot! Last year they sold out in a matter of days, we're expecting no different this year. While you're at it, pick up your early bird tickets, and how 'bout leaving a comment right here on this blog to tell us who you'd love to see at the festival this year? See you in the summer...

Big News: New Camping Area!

Exciting news, campers! GrassRoots has just leased several acres adjacent to the fairgrounds to be used for camping during the festival this year. We're calling it "Next-Door Camping," and it can be accessed from your vehicle via Rabbit Run Road, right near the back gate. There is a walking path from Next-Door Camping directly into the festival site.

Next-Door Camping will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and will not be available in advance. Sites will cost $135 per vehicle for the weekend, which includes Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. There is no daily rate for camping in this area, just the flat rate of $135. The area will open for camping at noon on Thursday, July 22. It is a primitive camping area, with no electric or water hook-ups. Portable bathrooms will be available, but there are no shower facilities in the Next-Door area.

Next-Door Camping passes can be paid for with CASH ONLY -- please come prepared!

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY ORDERED OFF-SITE CAMPING: If you've ordered Off-Site Camping (for $70), you can "upgrade" your ticket upon arrival. Just come to the Next-Door Camping area with your ticket in hand, and you can pay the difference (CASH ONLY) of $65.

The traditional Off-Site Camping area will still function as usual at the Agard Road lot. Prices for that area are $70 in advance (order by July 9) or $80 on the day of the festival.

Please note that this is the first time we've offered this camping option, and it's all happening very quickly. In order to make things run as smoothly as possible, please be sure to follow the rules as we've laid them out, and if you have specific questions, get in touch in advance at info@grassrootsfest.org or at 607-387-5098.

See you in a few weeks!

2010 Onsite Camping Passes and Early Bird Tickets Available Now!

Wait, seriously? Does that mean that it's going to be Spring soon?

Yes, it's true. 2010 Camping Passes (both Onsite and Offsite) are now available, and if you're looking to buy one, there's no time like the present. No, really... they're going like hotcakes and they'll be gone before you know it. (We are aware that there was a computer glitch in the wee hours of the morning, but it has been fixed and all should be up and a-runnin' now.) The office will be staffed during normal business hours from here on through the festival, so if you'd like to call and order tickets over the phone, 607-387-5098 is the number you're looking for. Order tickets and camping here!

Visit the Camping Page on our website for a couple of slightly new and altered policies (nothing huge, mostly pre-festival parking issues).

And stay tuned for lineup announcements and other thrilling info -- we've got tricks up our sleeve that you won't believe for the 20th annual festival. As always, feel free to leave a comment with suggestions, or email us via this form.

We can't wait for this summer (for so many reasons)... we'll see you then!

Camping Information - If You're Camping, Please Read!

If you've got your onsite vehicle and camping passes all ready to go, you're probably starting to wonder what the deal is with pre-festival parking on Rabbit Run Road. Well, we've got a definitive answer: the road will open up for parking on Tuesday, July 14 at 3:00 pm. Regular parking rules apply - all four tires off the pavement, watch for signs, and PLEASE respect the neighbors. This is all the same as last year, no changes.

Another camping note: if you were planning on camping at the camping area owned and operated by the Falls Tavern (our next-door neighbors North of the Fairgrounds on Route 96), you'll need to make other plans. This area will not be a campground this year, it will only be a parking area. Again, this change only affects the area owned and operated by the Falls Tavern, NOT any of our onsite camping.

That's all the news I've got for now! Let me know if you have questions!

Onsite Vehicle and RV Camping are SOLD OUT!

We've set a new record, folks. Onsite vehicle and RV camping sold out in under two weeks after they went on sale, and the waiting list is also well over capacity, so we're not adding any more names.

There is still onsite tent camping available, if you really want to be on the festival site. You can buy that online or by calling our office at 607-387-5098.

For anyone who did order vehicle camping already, your tickets will be in the mail within a few weeks. For those of you who are on the waiting list, you'll be getting a call within a couple of days to let you know whether or not we're able to sell you a ticket.

Early Bird Tickets and Onsite Camping go on Sale Feb. 14

Feb. 14 falls on a Saturday this year, but since we've ALWAYS put tickets on sale on Cupid Day, we didn't want to mess with anyone's calendar. Early bird tickets will be available online, over the phone, or at one of our ticket outlets (see the Tickets page on our website - we'll have outlets listed there soon, they'll mostly be the same as last year). Camping and youth tickets are only available online or over the phone.



If you're in or near Ithaca, remember that our last State Theatre show of the season is coming up: The Flatlanders are coming to town on April 3. The Flatlanders are Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Some of you GrassRoots veterans will remember Jimmie Dale Gilmore's incredible performance from several years back - we're still talking about it. Butch Hancock and Joe Ely are just as amazing, and all together... well, let's just say it ain't no joke. We'll see you there!

Currently Listening: The Flatlanders - 'More a Legend Than a Band'

Currently Watching: The Big Lebowski (Jimmie Dale Gilmore plays Smokey in this movie)

FAQ du Jour - Tent Camping Tickets

Hi!

So, we've changed the policy on tent camping tickets - instead of mailing them out, we're going to be holding them all at the gate. A bunch of people have been calling and emailing asking why, because there's some concern that it adds another step to the process and will make things take longer. Fear not, though, my friends!

The reason we're holding them at the gate is so we can actually speed up the process. For those of you who've done the tent camping thing before, you know that the situation used to be as follows: 1) Schlep all your stuff into the ticket exchange line. 2) Exchange weekend tickets for wristbands. 3) Schlep all your stuff through the gate and get in line for tent camping ticket exchange. 4) Fill out an index card with all of your information so the Health Department doesn't shut down the festival. 5) Get your sticker. 6) Set up your tent.

With us holding the tent camping tickets at the gate, we can now eliminate steps 3-5 from this process. You'll be able to get your tent sticker at the same place you get your wristband (make sure you get in the right line!), and therefore only have to wait in line one time. We'll have the card filled out for you already, and your sticker ready to go. Yay!

Also (BONUS!) it'll save us a couple of hundred dollars and about four acres worth of trees by not mailing out all of the tent camping passes. More yay!

When is it going to stop being winter?

More Offsite Camping Questions

Got an email today from an old friend of the festival, and he asks several very common questions about offsite camping, so I thought I'd just rock some Q&A here:

I won't be arriving until late Friday afternoon; is it likely that I can still get a site in the offsite camping area?

The super-sweet spots are all going to be taken up on Thursday, but we predict that there will still be plenty of perfectly pleasant camping left by Friday. We cannot, of course, promise anything - it's first-come, first-serve until it's gone, but as we've never run out before, we don't anticipate any problems.

Do we park our cars at our sites or leave them in the lot and haul our stuff back to our site?

You are allowed to do either. We ask that if you plan on doing a lot of driving in and out that you park your car in the parking lot - we prefer that people keep driving to a minimum in the campground area. A run to the grocery store is fine, but 5 trips in and out per day is pushing it, y'know?

Is the price still $40 even if we are using the site only for Friday and Saturday nights?

Yes.

What time do we have to be out Sun night?

Within a reasonable hour or two after the music ends at the main site. Please do not drive home if you are not able to do so safely (even if you are just feeling too tired); let one of our staffers or volunteers know what's going on and we'll help you figure something out... we do pride ourselves on our MacGyver-esque problem-solving skills.

Give a shout if you have any further questions about anything else, y'all!

Offsite is Beautiful!

Okay, so I have been to the GrassRoots Festival offsite camping and parking area a number of times, but I've never really explored it. A couple of nights ago, instead of having our regular staff meeting in our 100 degree office, we decided to go out and have a look-see around offsite.

We're working on filling in the relatively massive divots and tire tracks created by last year's freakish rain, and it's getting much better. The field and woods are still in their natural state, not mowed or populated in any way. There are daisies and buttercups and phlox. There was also a tiny baby spotted deer (which I may have scared off when I yelled "Baby deer! Tiny deer! You guys! Look at the tiny baby deer! Look!") and there was also, um, a snake. I was assured that it was a harmless little garter snake, but I don't believe in harmless snakes.

Apparently when you leave the office and enter the outside world, you see things like deer and snakes and daisies. This information was not shocking to anyone else, but whatever.

We traipsed through the woods with our fearless guide Jason (offsite crew chief extraordinaire) and looked at the camping back there. It's really, really nice. Surprisingly flat and very quiet and cool (in the literal and figurative senses).

Our offsite property bumps up against State Park property, and if you amble through that a bit, you reach Taughannock Creek, a favorite, though not exactly legal, swimming spot for locals. Now, it's very much swim-at-your-own-risk. The slate and shale rocks that line the creek become incredibly slippery (swimming alone is seriously dumb, if you slip and hit your head - ugh - just don't ever, ever swim alone out there, ok?) but if you're careful, the swimming holes are really lovely... warm and refreshing and very clean. The Park Police fine people who are caught swimming in the creek, and last I heard, the fine was $100-ish. So if you choose to swim, consider yourself forewarned.

Basically, it's a lovely, lovely place to camp and I was so glad to really get to explore it. Especially since the only other option was boring old staff meeting in the stuffy office. :)

Camping Questions

The most common questions we get in the office are regarding camping. We sell camping by site (NOT as a ticket-inclusion) because the Trumansburg Fairgrounds has limited onsite space. Selling by site allows us to keep better track of how much onsite space is and will be used for camping. So that's the "why"... here's the "how".

There are 3 camping options available through GrassRoots itself (this doesn't count local campgrounds or festival neighbors selling space in their backyards). There is onsite vehicle camping, onsite tent camping, and offsite camping.

Onsite Vehicle Camping - This is sold out for 2007. It sold out in March this year because, due to new health department regulations, we had fewer spots to sell. A vehicle camping ticket gets the ticketholder either one car and one tent OR one RV/bus/large van. Only four people are allowed per site. Vehicle campers enter through the back gate (Rabbit Run Road) and the sites are located in the infield and behind the track. New: Extra tent tickets can be purchased to go along with the vehicle camping sites. They are specifically assigned to your site; you must have a vehicle camping pass in order to buy them. Price: $95, plus $40 for an additional tent

Onsite Tent Camping - These are still available for 2007. A tent camping ticket gets the ticketholder one tent sticker. Four people maximum are allowed per tent. Tent camping is in the wooded area behind the Cabaret Hall and the craft vendors. Tent camping ticket holders enter through the front gate. They can either pull their car into the small load-in area next to the front gate and unload their stuff, leaving someone with it while the other person goes and parks the car OR they can park their car at the off-site parking lot and just haul everything over to the site in one fell swoop. Price: $40

Offsite Camping - This is the best option for people who really want to spread out, or who want quiet camping. This campsite is located on Agard Road (about a mile from the festival site) and is serviced nonstop by a shuttle bus that runs back and forth from the festival. An offsite camping ticket gets you a car and two tents, with a reasonable amount of space, your choice between wooded land or flat land, etc. Price: $40, only for sale on the day of the event at the offsite area.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

• All of our campsites are primitive. No plug-ins, no electricity, etc. We generally do not allow people to run generators, either, as they are quite noisy... if your neighbors complain, we will ask you to turn it off. There are showers available on-site; we recommend camp showers (the Coleman ones are decent - just make sure you use earth-friendly soap and shampoo) if you are camping offsite.
• Onsite camping is noisy. The stages run well into the wee hours, if you can't sleep through music, onsite camping is not for you. If you like to be right in the thick of it, though, it's definitely the place to be.
• There is potable water available both onsite and offsite, so if you'd like to bring some containers, you can fill them up. You also might consider buying some jugs of water to bring with you, or even just fill up your container at home... this will save you the time of waiting in line.
• No fires! On wet years, we'll sometimes make some designated fire pits at offsite, far away from tents, but generally, no fires. None. You can have a well-controlled hibachi grill or a Coleman camp stove, but be smart and have some sort of fire-put-out-er substance available (an extinguisher for gas, water for flame) if you decide to cook your own food. If we catch you lighting a bonfire, we will not only extinguish the flames, but we will confiscate all of your marshmallows and graham crackers and proceed to eat them in front of you while making obnoxious noises of delight. This will make you very sad, you really don't want it to happen.
  

More questions? Leave them in a comment or send them to me at megan-AT-grassrootsfest-DOT-org and I'll address them ASAP!

Currently Listening: The Best of Memphis Minnie