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CIT 2011
With the help of my ear plugs I managed to sleep straight to about 11:15 in the morning…it was magical. I’d never slept that late at the festival before. Turns out I was up just in time to catch a little 56 Hope Road, a great band that has been around for years. I stopped by the Empenada stand and cored a potato egg empanada, perfect for breakfast. Great part of the food vendors, I think I visited them 3 or 4 times throughout the fest.
It was getting to be time to go check out Moe. And see Camp Counselor Nick Stock introduce them. On the way I caught the Reverend Peyton warming up and snapped a pretty good pic of him. I love seeing the performers backstage getting into their mental or zen or whatever it is they do for themselves before a show.
Musically, Friday was pretty low key for me during the day. I did, however make it out to the guitars workshop at the Church. Al and Chuck from Moe. were there to answer a lot of us guitar nerds questions about gear, playing styles, ideas towards playing the guitar and more. They were so personable and played a couple little jams for us. My favorite question though came when an audience member asked if they ever felt like they need to get some of the other artists like Jake Cinninger from the festival up to jam and show them a thing or two. Al and Chuck kind of looked over at each other puzzled, Chuck turns to the audience and says, you know, Jake’s a pretty accomplished player himself so sometimes it’s like he plays something and I’m like, wait, what?
For me, really, Friday was about the night time, which is the right time…Umph, Sound Tribe, Umph, I couldn’t be happier. The shows were amazing. UM went a little extra effort and set up their light rig in the shape of a “U” and an “M” pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good. They pulled out a Senor Mouse during the first set and debuted 2 new songs second set, Day Nurse and Hourglass. I liked both very much despite one being a dance track and the other rock…it just goes to show you don’t know where those guys are going to go next. In between sets I caught some STS9 on the big stage. What an amazing job of lighting that was taking place. The crowd was so packed I didn’t even try to get within what seemed like 100 yards from the stage. It was great to see the Summer Camp crowd so big.
After the second UM set the wolfpack headed back to the site to recharge the batteries for a minute. We got some food, got some drink, got some glow sticks, and headed out to the Vibes tent. We caught the end of Team Bayside High, but we were really there for Wyllys & the New York Hustler Ensemble. First of all, I just have to say that the upgrade in the 312 tent was AWESOME. That tent is actually a great stage and a wonderful alternative to the red barn late nights. Wyllys & the New York Hustler Ensemble, though, those guys were amazing. Wyllys has been a phenomenal DJ since before his time with Umphrey’s as a crew member and adding talented artists to add a little something extra in the live setting, something to really connect with, I think is a lot of fun. We danced all night and made it back to the site before sunrise.
Jeff Greenswag
Counselor in Training
At five o’clock, the Summer Camp Counselors in Training met up with one another in the Chapel. Yes, there is a pretty little church on site at Three Sisters Park. *Try explaining to your friends that you needed to go to a church at the festival to meet up with camp counselors without them thinking you’re tripping. This chapel would literally become sanctuary for the counselors – we could charge our phones and cameras, use the indoor bathrooms, and interview rock stars (all this is off limits to you non-counselor types so maybe you should keep an eye out for next year’s contest!).
Anyway, it was awesome to finally meet all these folks. Nick Stock, who won the contest, is just a bubbling concoction of tie-dye majesty – a total rock star. Taraleigh Weathers was also an amazing soul to connect with, along with Joe Snacker-Albin and Natalie Fletcher – each bringing their own spice to this project. And Jeff Greenswag… well, let’s just say Jeff is the pirate of Summer Camp – a swashbuckling partygoer who I had wanted to meet since I split my side open laughing at his first contest submission: a parody of the Family Matters intro. These guys all rock so be sure to read and watch their highlights here.
So here’s my experience on the subject I’m sure you care the most about: music.
Ali Baba’s Tahini
After the meeting, the musical adventure began. Jeff and I made our way to see Ali Baba’s Tahini – a band I’ve been listening to since I fell into love with Umphrey’s McGee but had never seen live. These guys were fun and really got my blood pumping for the rest of the night. They’ve got this ska like sound and Jake shreds like a madman. I think Karl Engelmann made a ball buster at Brendan Bayliss about stealing Jake from the band – he said something funny.
Family Groove Company
Hot damn guys. Family Groove straight up killed it. One of my favorite sets of the weekend hands down. Just dirty, tight funk that had people groovin’ and movin’ from first note to last. This was my first time seeing Family Groove Company and I wasn’t sure what to expect but man, it was good. They raged a cover of Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues and brought in the darkness with their sunset session. The bass lines and guitar solos coming from this gang particularly captivated me. By the end of the night, I had a pretty strong buzz going on (those 312′s just go down so smooth – a perfect festival session beer) and I ended up bumping into Adam Lewis in the VIP tent (yet another perk to getting a VIP pass next year folks!) and had a chance to shake his hand and thank him for making me smile from ear to ear throughout this set. Family Groove: If you’re reading this, please come out west – we’ll love you here.
Umphrey’s McGee
Totally unscheduled. A couple friends pitched their tent stage-right of the Sunshine Stage and we’re just chilling out when I hear Bayliss’ voice. Bam – we’re up in a flash. Before I knew it, I was hit with a Partyin’ Peeps and it was all over.
30db
I caught 30db last year in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall and also at Mayan Holidaze earlier this year. Jeff Austin and Brendan Bayliss come together for what can only be described as acoustic, feel good, messin’ around music (at least that’s how I’m going to describe it). Seeing them late night at the Campfire Stage was a treat and added to the fun of the whole event. I mean, this is total campfire music. The show was intimate and hilarious. Both those guys are seriously talented musicians with little to no seriousness in their personalities.
Papadosio
Whoa. Seriously Summer Campers, keep an eye out for these youngsters. Papadosio is getting big quick and after catching their late night set tonight, it’s no wonder why. These guys definitely bring a smooth and organic trance sound – clearly drawing on STS9 and Lotus as influences but also bringing a very unique and progressive sound to the scene. Inside the barn, they helped me warm up as it was starting to get awfully chilly outside.
Boombox
Boombox is super fun. You like funk? You like soul? Sick of “dubstep” djs? Then Boombox is probably right up your alley. I made my way over to the 312 Vibe tent to catch the Boombox DJ set after Papadosio. I didn’t stay too long – just a few songs to get my groove on. I also caught their Friday set and these guys do a super fun cover of Shakedown Street – I wouldn’t even call it a cover: they make it theirs. It was getting close to 4 AM and I always try to keep in mind Brendan Bayliss’ words of wisdom: “Remember, it’s a marathon, not a race.” With CIT duties ahead of me, I thought it best to head back to the tent and catch a few zzz’s before things really start moving. *
So now I’m in my tent, typing away as the sun struggles to break it’s way open.
Jon Perri
Counselor in Training
As you read in my previous blog I hadn’t gotten my suitcase with my tent, sleeping bag, feathers, sparkles or warm clothes, but because of the amazing community of Summer Camp I was completely taken care of. I feel so grateful I received the position of CIT and got to experience such a fabulous festival and all of the people involved. Extremely early on Friday morning I was awoken by the sweet sound of Ice T’s voice singing Today was a Good Day. I was getting into the groove of the song when I realized it was my cell phone ringing. I answered it and the man on the other end of the line was from the airport and he informed me that my suitcase was waiting for me at VIP near the flushing toilets and showers. How perfect was that? I was able to get my suitcase and pee in a clean flushing toilet at the same time…well not the exact same time, but you know what I mean.
I frolicked through the woods to the VIP bathrooms where my big red suitcase was waiting for me. It was being watched carefully by two smiling security guards. I gave them both hugs and proceeded to walk back to my site to share the good news with all of my new friends. A man from Green Vibes saw me struggling to get my suitcase back to my site and graciously gave me a ride. I was sooooo thankful! This is another reason Summer Camp rocks. They actually care about their attendees. They do everything in their power to make sure that everyone is comfortable and happy. This is something that makes Summer Camp a festival on a level above many other festivals and keeps people coming back year after year. Not only do they keep people coming back, but they have people telling their friends how awesome it is and that is why the attendance reached over 25,000 people this year.
I got to my site, set up my tent, put on some sparkly feather goodness and headed out to check out some music. The first band I experienced on Friday was Moe. and something awesome happened. The first ever Summer Camp Counselor Nicholas Stock got to announce Moe.! You could tell how excited he was and how much he loved this band with all of his heart and soul. It totally shone through in his intro and I felt pride that he was one of us. He was a music lover to the core and his dreams were coming true. How fantastic is that???
Then Moe. took the stage and I screamed at the top of my lungs, spun in a circle, looked around, took a deep breath and took in all of my surroundings. At that very moment I felt how lucky I was to be here. It was 75 degrees and sunny and I was surrounded by thousands of Moe. fans…I mean seriously…does it get much better than this? Actually at Summer Camp it does. Moe. played some of my favorites like Mexico and Kids. Dancing around in the 75 and sunny weather reminded me that I had to go run and see the Ryan Montbleau Band immediately.
Ryan and his band are very special to me. My husband Dan and I had the privilege of having the Ryan Montbleau Band play our wedding ceremony and reception and Ryan is one of our dear friends. We were born only two days apart and from the second we met we knew we would be lifetime friends. I am so proud of the RMB for playing at Summer Camp and Summer Camp is extremely lucky to have them play. When they first started playing there weren’t that many people in attendance. There was me, a man dressed up as Santa and about 100 people. Then all of a sudden people must have gotten sucked in by the sweet sound of the band because the next time I looked up there were thousands of people. Woohoo!
After watching the RMB I was high on life and I started to feel even higher because one of my best friend’s Courtney was set to arrive on site any minute and it was her birthday. I ran to meet her and gave her the biggest hug ever! That day we danced non stop to Cornmeal, Orgone, The MacPodz, Big Gigantic, Yonder Mountain String Band, Lotus, Umphrey’s McGee, STS9, more Umphrey’s and then Moe. latenight. I remember being at Moe. and I was so tired, but they were playing so well that I couldn’t leave. This is saying a lot about a band because I have seen them over 100 times and I couldn’t leave until they played their last note.
As you can see…or read I had a blast at Summer Camp and I will be convincing everyone I know that this is the festival to be at. This is the festival that shouldn’t be missed. This is where you need to be. So…is it Memorial Day again yet?
Taraleigh Weathers
Counselor in Training
Ahhh yes, the day was new, the mud was wet and no one was dragging ass. After a little R and R last night and a surprise visit from the fairies I knew I was ready to go. You see this was a good day for muah. I found out today that I was getting the chance to interview Ryan Stasik from Umphre’ys Mcgee. Yes this
made my day and woke me right up. I couldn’t get my mind off of anything else, until I remembered the amazing set up that day. Moe, De La Soul, Greensky Blugrass, Yonder Mountain String Band, Cornmeal, Tea Leaf Green, Umphreys Mcgee, and the list went on and on and on and on it was a bit overwhelming to be honest. How in the hell was I going to make it to all the shows I wanted to see and be satisfied? I managed just like everyone else did. I mozzied from show to show enjoying Moe.s first set to kick of the fest, Yonder playing “No Expectations” one of my favorite songs, De La Soul taking Pee Wee Herman on a stick on stage, Umphrey’s playing one of their new songs “Hour Glass” for us, it was things like that that tricked my trigger and that’s when I realized I was going to be up all night.
It’s an art staying up all night, it takes a lot and if you got it, you got it, if you know what I mean. After carrying a man who had a seizure out of the Umphrey’s crowd, I hit up the VIP bar with my copilot for the night Cherry. We hit up Team Bayside High in the Vibes tent after strolling the land and making many a friends and grooved there for a bit before making our way to the Campfire stage catching the last bit of Greensky Bluegrass. That was fun, I got to make Pee Wee on a stick dance and ran into another CIT Joe. That made for an interesting night. You see I personally think everyone needs to meet Joe, he is great to say the least. He is spunky as all hell, funny and a great slap the bag partner haha. So after the show Cherry and I followed Joe back to his campsite for late night festivities. We slapped that bag until it was gone bsed for a while. The pictures turned out amazing by the way hahaha oh where they funny.
Back to basics, looking at the time I realized that it was getting to that point of the night where we turn in…..NOT. In reality I looked at the time and realized heck yeah I am going to make it to kickball with Stasik this year . Last year I was awoken by the fun of kickball but could not get my butt out of bed to play, but this year I was ready to go. What a turn out, there was a good crew of people there and we were all pumped for 5 AM kickball. This year they came prepared, they had more than one kickball so it couldn’t get stolen unlike last year when someone ran off with the ball and ruined the game for everyone which is pretty lame but no no no not this year. Stasik threw the first ball and the game was on. Awaiting my turn to kick I got hungry and got some amazing cheese fries from one of the vendors close by, pretty happy they were still serving. I sat my happy butt down and inhaled those things as I watched the game, felt good. So many balls went out of bounds, some people missed the kick, it was a pretty good game. In the end Stasiks team won, YEAH BUDDY!!!! I giggled my sleepy butt back to camp, had myself a morning drink and went to bed wondering what tomorrow would bring.
Natalie Fletcher
Counselor in Training
For those of you who travel, I’m gonna be starting this Thursday blog with Wednesday. I think we finally got the car packed up and we got on the road around 7:30 mountain time. Coming to Chillicothe from Colorado, well, now that I think of it, coming to Chillicothe from anywhere is not the most scenic of drives. Vast flat expanses, smells of poop, it can get pretty boring. Fortunately Kelly mentioned the “Swift” game…anyone who spots and calls out a Swift truck on the interstates gets a point…ties are half points, like sacks in the NFL. For some reason though, driving through the night, listening to music, we were all a little too excited to sleep and talked through most of the drive. As we approached Chillicothe, the weather went from bad to ok to not so good again, and when we got there, we could see what the weather days before had done. It was gonna be a mudfest…get your boots on.
We arrived around 12:30 and got through the ticket line relatively quickly, I was at my site and set up by about 3. The next couple hours were spent reacquainting myself with the grounds, deciding which food vendors I’d frequent, meeting up with friends as I walked the campsites, and ultimately I met all the other Counselors in Training. What an amazing group of kids. We all come to this festival from different parts of the country and from different occupations; it was no surprise that we had different music tastes. If you are into more of the rock and electronic stuff those are the bands I was seeing and who I’ll mostly be talking about…Anyway, we were debriefed by the amazing Holly Brinkman. If you know her, you know how much she does for Summer Camp and the CIT program. Thanks Holly for making this possible. After getting somewhat of an understanding of what I was supposed to be doing over the weekend (I’ve never “covered” an event before) I set out to see my first show.
Ali Baba’s Tahini was awesome. It was great to see where Jake got his start…well, that’s not true, but to see that band that ended up becoming a big part of Umphrey’s sound was very cool. It was kind of a playful rockabilly vibe to it with a lot of good grooves setting up Jake for some nice guitar work. The guy on keys was slaying and could hang with Jake musically. Overall they were a real fun band who I would definitely go see again. I was lucky enough to walk in on a Got Your Milk (Right Here) which I found to be pretty much the same as Umph plays it. I went back to my site for a minute after that to check in on the rest of my people (wolfpack) who’d be trickling in over the next day and a half. The site was almost ready to go. About 6 of our 13 were there, 3 canopies for the living room/kitchen, about 15 chairs, rope lights (there’s power in the forest…you just gotta find it). I really feel like this was one of our best set ups yet. We didn’t bring so much it was a pain to set up, didn’t bring too much food. Just lots of “soda” and “juice”…
Anyway, we set out to see Brainchild but made a quick stop to see Family Groove Company. Now, I went to the University of Illinois from 02-06 and I remember seeing FGC a lot. Those guys continue to play great show after great show and the stage they were on and the attendance they received was evidence of their continued efforts to be one of the hardest working bands out there. Always upbeat with a great rock feel I love the way FGC jams. If you know ‘em, you know what I know, if you don’t, you should. Down at the campfire stage (where the fire was yet to start, I presume due to the wetness) Roy Ponce, his mustache and Brainchild were destroying. Those guys can really play. And If you are into a sound that changes on a dime with great tension and release build ups, then Brainchild is for you. After Brainchild it was on to a little bit of Cornmeal. Allie is so stunning and such an amazing fiddle player, that, despite my general lack of interest in bluegrass and related genres, I rarely miss Cornmeal play. And you know what, every time I see them I enjoy them a little more. This time was no exception. I love the way they can bring their whole band to this central place that is darker and heavier and then through their jam build it up and out to a twang explosion…like I said, this is my first attempt at blogging to if some of the things I say are weird, well, I don’t know what I’m doing.
By this time, we needed to go back to the site again for one more recharge, we met up with about 5 more of the wolfpack, we drank some more “juice” and “soda” (got to stay hydrated) and we set out for the rest of the night. We made it back to the campfire around 10:15 and saw about 30 minutes of the Pimps of Joytime. Now I have known about these guys for a few years now, maybe 4 or so, and they are awesome. If you like a kind of new school electro funk with a lot of soul then you should have been at this show. Pimps of Joytime are always a fun time and a dance party, which was great to warm up for what we were to experience next.
The first Red Barn “late night” it was only 11:00pm, was one of my favorite bands at the festival, Digital Tape Machine. What an awesome show. I interviewed Marcus Rezak, guitar player for DTM and he was saying that they tried to base a lot of their music on the video games of our youths. Well they did not accomplish that because I felt like I was in the video games of the future. These guys are super talented musicians, with Joel and Kris from UM they pull a lot of attention. But the beats are amazing, super danceable and usually up-tempo and every once in a while they will throw in a neo classical guitar riff or even complete breakdown that makes you remember there’s people up there and they are ROCKING. I hear DTM could be gearing up to tour some in the next year or so, so be on the look out.
After having my hair blown back in the barn I stepped outside for a couple hours of some of the best stage banter you will ever hear, and the music ain’t bad either. 30db is Brendan Bayliss and Jeff Austin’s project that came together at a time that was really difficult for both of them. But from this shared time they created some awesome songs. They play them together like two guys happy to be beyond that stage in their lives often sharing a lot of whiskey as well, only increasing the hilarity of their aforementioned stage banter. What a great way to wind down the first night of the festival. I had been up for about 42 hours at this point and decided to head back to the site to crash. Like any experienced festival goer I brought my landing gear; put my “ear plugs” on and slid gently into sleep. Goodnight Summer Camp.
Jeff Greenswag
Counselor In Training
You know I look forward to Summer Camp from the day it ends until the final day it comes. That’s why this year I left home on Wednesday night to cure the anticipation that burned inside me. After a 6 hour drive with my boyfriend and our buddy we finally arrived to the magnificent grounds that host such an amazing experience, Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, IL. You know it wasn’t the drive that bothered me, or the arriving at about 5 in the morning, it was the getting denied to enter because of the rain flooding the parking lot that made that anticipation just grow. I’m not saying it upset me at all, the upsetting apart was Mother Nature, but hey when have we ever been able to control her. Anyhow, finally entering was awesome. I immediately jumped in line and began the 4 day weekend ahead of me. I got my tickets, found a sweet set up in the woods (when I say sweet I mean sweet, 10 tents filled with people, an upstairs, a downstairs, and a sitting room with 10 tapestries surrounding it and not to mention a sweet little lit up trail that attracted many fairies) and began to plan the excursion that would follow.
It was easy knowing what band I was most excited to see, Family Groove Company. All I can think about is how they threw down last year and how pumped I was too see it again this year, I mean after all it is pre party day so PARTYYYYY!!!!! Family Groove is one of those awesome bands that everyone knows and enjoys to see. I live in the heart of Wisconsin so we see almost no music what so ever, however, Family Groove comes to the not so far away Stevens Point and plays and ya know it just makes me giddy knowing great talent can still come even though we don’t have much to offer. Before I ramble on pointlessly, lets get into 30db. Not much more to say I know. I mean Umphrey’s Bayliss and Yonder’s Austin, whoa. Two of my all-time favorite bands come together and serenade us with their witty lyric and amazing string talents. You really can’t get much better than that. I don’t even think I can justify the amazingness of it all.
With Thursday being Pre Party day and all, you can go all out but take it easy so you survive the rest of the weekend. That’s why we did our shows and went back to camp for some R and R from our long travels and exhausting camp set up. This brings me to fairies. Oh those wonderful fairies started our weekend out just right. Catching fairies came easier to us then we had planned. A few friends were just recapping the day when all of a sudden 3 girls came stumbling in on out lit up path into what they called “fairy land”. You see we had a tarp on the ground at the time and that was covered in glow stick juices and of course looked sweet. Well these fairies were so pumped about it they started rolling around on the tarp caressing each other and in a sensual voice kept saying to each other, “you’re a fairy, now you’re a fairy, oh this is a wonderful fairy land” and on and on and on. The guys are at this point sitting here thinking they are about to get a show (as if this already wasn’t one) but the fairies then turned to the group realizing, hey there are actually people here. So one by one the fairies started to dub everyone present as fairies by rubbing the glows tick juice on the arms of the audience, hahaha but nothing was rubbing off, and proceeded to say “you’re a fairy, now you’re a fairy”. Now comes my favorite part, one of our buddies decided to mess with the fairies by picking up some bugles that fell on the ground and said “you guys want some fairy food?” naturally you would hope they were smarter than that but nope, they moseyed their way over to him, took the floor food and ate it like they were cattle in heaven with the fairy food cupped in their hands. Strolling off the fairies disappeared into the night and that was when everyone realized what a weekend this would be, one of a kind.
Natalie Fletcher
Counselor In Training
I flew into Chicago from San Francisco last night. It’s easy to forget how big most major cities are when you live in San Francisco – Chicago is huge! I met up with a gracious fellow activist I know in Chitown and was able to catch a good night’s sleep before being picked up around nine this morning by Summer Camp’s very own Holly Brinkman.
We were about 20 minutes away from entering the pearly gates of Three Sisters Park when a police cruiser pulls up behind us and starts flashing the blues and reds. Before we knew it, there were two cop cars parked behind the car. If you’re not brushed up on how to handle a police encounter, check out this new film by “Flex Your Rights called” 10 Rules for Dealing With Police. Anyway, despite us not having anything illegal in the car, the officers indicated that their dog had signaled for narcotics (either they were lying or their German shepherd needs more training!). They kept us waiting in the cold for about 20 minutes while they ripped the car apart and found nothing. Then they sent us on our way (and accidentally kept Holly’s driver’s license!). It was an interesting way to kick off my adventure. We saw at least five other vehicles pulled over and/or being searched over the next 20-minute ride.
After that, arriving safely at Summer Camp was even more glorious then I could have imagined. I grabbed my gear and after some poking around, found out where to go to get my VIP credentials. While waiting in line, the fun began. About 10 close friends, all traveling in different groups (some I haven’t seen since college in New Hampshire, others I know through work, and some I’ve met on the scene over the years) found me standing here. We talked shop about where we would be camping and who we wanted to see the most tonight. This was proof that I’m in the right place and this was going to be a killer weekend. I already knew what Summer Camp was about: music, friends and family.
After getting my wristband, I lugged my stuff to the VIP area, set up my tent and quickly made my way to the VIP bar. I’ll tell you one thing is for sure, the VIP bar is pimp. You get couches, discounted drinks, and they blasted killer soul and funk music all day and night. After my experience with that K9 unit, a 312 on draft while sitting on a plush couch in the middle of a field in Chillicothe, IL is just what I needed to calm down the nerves. I’m in the party zone now and there is no turning back. Let’s rock!
Jon Perri
Counselor In Training
On Wednesday night/Thursday morning I was too excited to sleep. My alarm was set for 5:05am so I could make the 6:00am flight from Burlington, Vermont to Chicago and the time couldn’t come soon enough. I kept on sitting up abruptly to see the clock because I was paranoid that I would over sleep. I got my butt to the airport and checked in my bag. I was so excited it weighed 49.5 lbs, which is .5 lbs away from having to pay a $25 charge. That is an accomplishment in itself, since it had my tent, two sleeping bags, two pillows, all my clothes, sparkles, feathers and rain boots in it. I flew to Chicago easily and effortlessly.
When I arrived in Chicago, I checked to see how my next flight to Peoria, IL was looking. I fly stand-by and the flight was oversold by at least 20 people so I figured I should take the Peoria Flyer bus to Summer Camp. My luggage was going to arrive in Peoria at 2pm which was perfect because that was the same time my bus was going to arrive. Yes! While I’m on the bus I get a call from two of my friends that were supposed to be on the Peoria flight and they ask me if I’m on a big red bus right now. I was! The flight we were all originally going to take got cancelled so they rented a car and that car was next to the bus randomly on the highway. They told me to get off at the next stop and they would drive me. Awesomeness!
Then I realized that my luggage was on the flight that got cancelled. No big deal except that my tent, sleeping bag, pillows, feathers, sparkles and all my warm clothes were in there. The airline told me I could have my bag delivered in the morning when it arrives, so I gave them the address to 3 Sisters Park and told them to bring it to the VIP tent.
I ventured to Summer Camp with just the clothes on my back, hardly knowing anyone there. I found a friend of a friend named Allison and she is my angle. She gave me a feather boa hat, gold lame’ leggings, painted my face with glitter, a sleeping bag and a space in her tent. We spooned that night to stay warm and I was told that I was a fabulous spooner. I will add that to my resume. Haha! Anyways, her friends took me in like I was one of their own which at the end of the weekend I ended up being and gave me some drinks and food. I have to say that besides the music one of the best parts of Summer Camp is the community. It is amazing how a festival with over 25,000 people attending could feel so small and connected. Everyone looks out for each other and we all make sure that everyone is comfortable and having a fantabulously rockin time…and fantabulously rockin times we all had! Seriously…like the best times ever!
This may be bad, but I actually don’t remember any of the music I saw on Thursday, although I do remember I danced a lot. It wasn’t because I was intoxicated in any way, but it was because I was so enthralled by the festival grounds and the people. Getting there on Thursday is the best idea ever because you get the best campsites, get to explore the grounds, you can prepare yourself for the big event, you can warm up your boogy muscles and break in your dancing shoes.
I flew by the seat of my pants from Burlington, VT to Summer Camp Music Festival as one of the first ever Counselors in Training and I couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you everyone for voting for me and thank you to the beautiful Holly for creating an opportunity like this. I enjoyed getting to know the other CIT’s and the Summer Camp Counselor, Nick Stock throughout the weekend…but this blog is only about Thursday so with that…good bye and I love you all!!!!
Taraleigh Weathers
Counselor in Training