When the lights went down and the bands hit the stage for a “podfest” in the overflow parking lot at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in spring 2021, festival goers felt the return of something all new, yet familiar.
Coming on the tail end of the pandemic panic that shut down concerts, festivals and the economy at large for a hard year, pulling off Suwannee Spring Fling that March took a dose of faith.
It also took something else, said headliner Keller Williams.
“Let me be the first to say it,” Williams said. “Beth Judy’s got balls.”
He was speaking about the park’s festival director, who had staged another in a growing list of successful and safe socially-distanced music festivals. Someone had to be first back. At that point, the park had done it twice already. They’ve marketed it as “a tradition reborn.”
Continue reading “Faith, Grit Drive Music Festival Promoter Beyond Covid”
There’s a scene in the sitcom “Home Improvement” where Tim Allen’s character tells wife Jill, “You know why I like tools? Because they fix things. You tear down a motor, see the problem, it’s right there – boom; it’s fixed.” Hey, DIYers, workshop fixer-uppers and RV and tent campers, you nodding in agreement? Projects, renovations and “honey dos” pop up. Things – slides, awnings and other devices – break. The campsite could use a little boost in livability, whether speeding up raising and lowering scissor jacks or putting in or out the awning, or adding some stereo sound, extra light or a fan to cool the still air.
For most RV campers, “boondocking” is a mythical form of camping. Disconnected, off the grid, separated from other campers – just you and your crew deep in the state or national park or out-of-the-way getaway where no power, water or sewer lines can reach. Just like the pioneers used to do. But glampers aren’t pioneering woodsfolk, unless the pioneers had their own memory foam bed, and shower, and fridge, and solid roof and door to keep out the elements and creatures. Modern boondockers want the creature comforts only power can deliver.