A few questions on attending a smaller festival

It's been a while since I've been to a small fest like that, but I went to a bunch back in the day. Each fest is different, of course. Don't expect any kind of organized shakedown, but you never know. Expect the whole experience to be much more laid back than the craziness that is Bonnaroo. There is much more of a sense of community and you will be running into the same people all weekend. There will probably be some people selling glass, clothes. jewelry, etc scattered about. Some fests crack down on this more than others. As far as party favors are concerned, it never hurts to bring your own, just use common sense getting there. There will probably be some around, keep your eyes and ears open. I've seen tent to tent service at these kinds of fests. Most importantly have a great time!

i love small fests. chef chick hit it right on the head with the sense of community and seeing the same people all the time. thats why i love small fests. and being up front and still having room to dance dosent hurt either ;D most of the small fests have atleast some form of a shakedown where all the food and other vendors are. but its tiny in comparison to roo. some onlyh have 10 - 20 vendors total. i wouldnt look there for party favors. its tiny, usually near the stage, and has security. im sure that once you get in you will have no trouble finding what you need. its easier then at big fests imo. cheaper too. and usually better. a short walk or even just sitting in camp and that problem will solve itself. the only issue would be if its on public land. like a state park or something and the cops are there doing their thing. all in all i bet youll love it. all the good of big fests, none of the hassle. i love the huge lineups and the fact that most bands save up and bust it huge at bigger fests but small fests are where its at. most of them lare lacking the checkpoint to get into the stage. you can take a cooler full of beer down to the stage at most small fests. also ost smaller fests allow campfires. which is a huge plus for me. nothing better then coming across one of the bands doing a campfire show, which seems to happen at every smaller fest ive been to. and i just love the relaxation of smaller fests. ya dont have to walk 45 miles a day. lots of times you can camp in shade. the lineups arent as huge so there is more time to spend just hanging out with good people. plus i love cooking out while camping but never have time to do it at big fests. DAMN! i wish i was at a fest!!!!

I actually talked to a girl that went to a concert at the venue Ashefest is going to be, and she said that not a single bit of security was there the entire time. I think one stage will be right on the river, and the other stage right in a clearing in the woods. I didnt think about the option of a campfire at the site, that would be awesome and something you cannot do at a big festival. Yeah I really cannot wait for the festie, and my tickets should be in soon. Any more little tips are greatly appreciated and thanks for everyone else's tips.

small fest are awesome except sometimes the bills are so small that music doesnt start until 4 or 5 in the afternoon on fridays and saturdays. (as the case is with Camp Zoe, Although I guess i could spend an extra 40 dollars for a canoe and go on a guided float trip that runs on those days) Music starting at noon or no later than 1pm would be nice, but I guess you cant always have the best of both worlds!(or can you?)

Well this time in 2 days I will be sippin on some Yeungling, hopefully some nice greenery in my hand, playing in the river/forest/mountain/mind, and listening to some quality jam bands with about 2500 other people. I can not wait. Oh, to the above comment about music starting late, there is music nonstop from noon till probably 5-6 in the morning. They are advertising late night techno/djs starting at 3 in the morning. There are still tickets for this and if you only want a Sat/Sun pass it is 90 bucks or so. If anyone is ending up going we should meet up. If not I will have a full report on it when I come back to the real world on Monday.

Well, Ashefest was an awesome weekend with a bunch of great people, great music, and most of all great layout for a festival. It was great to go to the other kind of festival in contrast to the size of Bonnaroo, but in return you do not get the organization you would get from the likes of a Bonnaroo. There were two lakes on the property with the one we were camped beside the nudie pond (a fun site to wake up too in the morning). There was only one bad thing that happened the whole weekend, and that was after the Particale/Green Lemon shows when a dude stabbed himself 5 times in the gut (from what I heard he had some very bad psychs mixed with other stuff). Music wise, there were no bad bands, and I was introduced to a lot of great bands I have never heard of (Yo Mamas Big Fat Booty Band, Laura Reed, Big Meat, Heavy Pets, Green Lemon, Bonabos Convergance, and otheres), and Particle absolutely threw it down. For the first half of the show they had about 15 fire dancers in front of the stage and to the right of the stage was a huge flame thrower throwing fire up about 25 feet or so. We were standing right by this and it felt like I was in a tribal dance with all of the fire everywhere. Another great thing was how nice the people were. There were no bad vibes other than at night.

All in all a very good weekend, with the added bonus of popping a friends festival cherry and that weekend is the only thing he has talked about the since we got back. By the way, there is a small 2 day festival going on in Pinewood, TN (45 miles west of nashville) called Mucklewain. I am thinking of going there if people are interested.