The music at the Green River Festival doesn’t stop when the bands leave the stage each day.
Last year, roughly 600 of the event’s attendees spent nights at the Franklin County Fairgrounds, where they were joined by several of the festival’s musicians so the beat could go on. The bohemian camp-out, complete with informal acoustic jam sessions, blossomed from years of requests from festival-goers and will make its second appearance this year.
Approximately the same number of people (including musicians and food vendors) are expected to set up tents and customize livestock stalls to safely lay down their heads the nights of July 13, through July 15, and possibly July 16. The festival at Greenfield Community College will last from July 14 to July 16.
Camping coordinator Lynne Bertrand said the fairgrounds offers a fun alternative to attendees who couldn’t book a hotel room or want a more rustic experience.
“It was wonderful, really laidback,” she said of last year’s camp-out. “The fairgrounds’ wide-open space is the perfect setting. It was like a little, mini-festival atmosphere.”
Bertrand said there will also be ukulele lessons and yoga for campers.
There will be constant bus shuttles from GCC to the fairgrounds at the beginning and end of each day of the festival.
Festival director Jim Olsen said organizers aim to make the fairgrounds feel like an extension of the festival and characteristic of the region.
“That’s the thing about Franklin County – we love the rural nature of it, but there’s not much as far as infrastructure in terms of hotel rooms to accommodate,” he said.
Olsen said the fairgrounds have bathrooms with showers and RV hook-ups.
“The campers loved it,” he said.
He also said there will be people from 27 states at the festival this year.
Bertrand said noise emissions from campers is minimal because of the size of the fairgrounds and she is not aware of any complaints from neighbors. The time between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. is designated as quiet time. Bertrand also said camp directors and security will be present at the fairgrounds, which sports more than 40 acres of land.
More information is available at greenriverfestival.com.