Newbie with lots of Questions!!! Help!

[mmebm]

Hi All!
      This is our first Folks Fest and our life is, of course, surrounded by problems over getting there and getting in, camping, etc., so we need some help for you pros out there. Details: It's just two of us, my husband and me, and we have a vehicle pass and tickets for Onsite camping. Before we get there, however, our youngest, who turned 18 today(Wednesday, the 17th)has to be packed off to CU Boulder and moved into the dorm at the crack of dawn or so we hope, tomorrow (Thursday the 18th) .
1) We can't easily line up until at least Thursday afternoon/evening (see above). Can we/ do we have to stay in the vehicle overnight to wait? I've read conflicting reports about when we can get in. It says that gates open at 10 AM Friday but does that mean we dash in set up camp and the music starts at 11 AM? If so, is it best to stay back and wait to find a camping spot?
2) Is there any map or layout on line of what the campgrounds look like so we know what we're getting into?
3) Is there anything we should bring that we may not have thought about (we have camped in the past but not in a long, long time)?
4) How hard is it to resupply things like ice, etc.?
Okay, I am a little stressed, so any help or advice would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks,
Beth & Michael

 Listening to: The sounds of a teenager freaking out...

[bolderfolk]

Didn't look like you had received answers yet...people have already begun lining up at Bohen (sp?) park in Lyons, on Thursday around 5pm the cars actually stay in line as they pull out of the park and proceed to Planet Bluegrass ground where the gates to the campground open at 6pm for you to go in and set up camp, it's a bit crazy, and if you're not attached to where you set up your tent, you'll find a spot.
Once you are there and camp set up ask around for someone to explain the running of the tarp and the line-up for the line-up (it's a process, crazy and fun), gates will open at 10am on Friday to go in and claim your spot for music enjoyment.
The campground has spots by the creek, by the dirt road, in the sun and in the shades, everyone has there favorites...there is an area solely for tent campers, otherwise tents and campers are interspersed.
Town is a 5-10 minute walk away with a sweet little market, coffee shops and some restaurants, there also are local vendors on the festival grounds, remember water shoes (for cooling off in the creek), rain jackets or clear plastic tarp for rain, evenings are cooler especially wandering the ground listening to random people jamming, I think ear plugs are vital to good sleep!
The community is great, so no worries if ya need help with something...it's gonna be fun!

[rubysue300]

 
like Bolderfolk said - you line up at Bohn Park if you get there before 6:00 pm.  At 6:00, the whole line moves over to PB to the campgrounds.  You spend Thursday night in the campground, not in the vehicle line.  If you get to Bohn park in the afternoon, you can exchange your tickets for wristbands & vehicle pass there.  If you arrive after the line moves over, the box office is open until 9:00.

There are two on-site camping areas.  If you turn left after entering the PB driveway, you will go down the service road to the TENTS ONLY camp area behind the stage.
Since you have a vehicle pass, go straight when entering the PB driveway, you will be in the main on-site camp area.  It will be crowded.  Find a spot to camp, and don't be shy.  You will be camping RIGHT next to your neighbors.  The shaded areas go quickly and the people from Song School are camped closest to the box office/main festival entrance.
 
You can go into the festival grounds Thursday evening and check out what's going on in the Wildflower Pavilion.

If you wish, you can wait in the TARP LINE to receive a number for the next morning.  Rules say not to line up before midnight, but people start lining up much earlier, especially on Thursday night.  You will see the line along the path from the driveway to the box office.  Sometime between midnight and 3am, PB people will hand out numbers.  The numbers are for the tarp run in the morning.  Festival gates open at 10:00 Friday morning and people with numbers get in first (in numerical order) and can only carry in one tarp.  They run in and stake out their spot for the day, then bring in their chairs and other gear later. 

If you don't want to do the tarp run, just line up with the other non-numbered people Friday morning.  You should still get a decent spot.  Every evening, you must remove all of your stuff from the festival grounds (NOT the camping area) and another line forms for numbers and the tarp run the next day.

You're not camping in the wilderness, there is a little grocery store in town, coffee shops, restaurants, etc.  There is a True Value hardware store in Lyons and a Wal-Mart 15 minutes away in Longmont.  Ice is available at the grocery store and sometimes at the beer building in the festival grounds.  Remember flashlights and mosquito spray.

Happy festivating!

 Listening to: Los Lonely Boys