GREENFIELD — Sixty-eight-year-old Roberta Hurtig of Oak Bluffs had her usual seat at the Green River Festival — perched underneath an umbrella in a folding lawn chair.
“We’ve learned over the years the tricks to get in line to be in the first row of umbrellas,” she said, thinking back over her 15 years at the festival.
She annually makes the trip from her Martha’s Vineyard town, using the Green River Festival as a sort of reunion between her and anywhere from six to 10 longtime friends from across the country, like 62-year-old Nancy Delaney of Wakefield and 63-year-old Dave Treanor of Olney, Md.
“We look forward to it every year,” Hurtig said. “It really makes a nice social weekend for us.”
“It’s very friendly,” Treanor said of the music festival’s unique atmosphere.
Over 15 years, Hurtig has seen both rainy festivals and sunny ones, learning to prepare for all circumstances. Given Saturday’s sunny weather, with temperatures in the low 80s, Hurtig was ready with a water-misting fan and ice cubes.
Flora Reed, publicist for the Green River Festival, believes the weather was a likely factor in Saturday’s tickets selling out on Wednesday.
“Last year, it was pretty much rainy all weekend,” she began. “I’m sure that’s part of the reason it didn’t sell out … But the people who come year after year come rain or shine.”
Attendance for the festival is capped at 5,000.
“A lot of people are surprised that the festival can sell out,” Reed said, glancing at the fields surrounding Greenfield Community College, where the festival is held. Despite signs up the road, Reed said box office staff at the gate often have to break the news to hopeful attendees and turn them away.
Plus, favorable weather means hot-air balloons, for which the Green River Festival is known.
“We fully expect balloons to launch today and tomorrow,” Reed said, adding that none were launched last year.
Ensuring the safety and comfort of attendees during hot weather, a free water bottle refill station was set up on the lower field, located alongside Baystate Health’s cooling tent and medical staff from ConMed Response and MedCare.
Standing outside the cooling tent, which featured three industrial fans, free handheld fans and sunglasses, volunteer Alex Bigelow offered sunscreen to passersby, all with a goal of cooling people off and making sure they take a break from the sun as needed.
“Sometimes heat can overwhelm people,” explained Tae Kim, medical director with ConMed Response. “They may not realize how hot they are.”
Though Kim and his volunteers hadn’t assisted many patients with heat-related injuries such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration as of early Saturday afternoon, he advised attendees to stay hydrated and find shelter or shade when possible.
“Anytime you’re at an outdoor festival, you’re kind of at the mercy of the weather,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a little hotter tomorrow and I’m wondering if that’s going to be a big issue.”
Other Green River Festival volunteers aided in the effort to stay cool, like 17-year-olds Talia Fountain of New Salem and Gemma Borra Paley of Ashfield, first-time attendees.
As they went about their day offering service to food vendors, it quickly became clear what they needed the most.
“It’s really the ice that’s in high demand,” Fountain said.
Reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
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