Thinking about it more now, Free Tarpers are part of the natural ecosystem and totally necessary once you open up the field to the whole idea that semi-private tarps can hold your place for an entire day.
Every available inch is covered in tarps, and the "rightful" owners very often do not fully occupy that space by themselves, sometimes not occupying it all for hours and hours. Without Free Tarpin' rules, every party would be compelled to place a tarp and there wouldn't be enough space on the field for everyone who wants to be there. PB might need to do away with tarps altogether, or strictly enforce square footage rules, maybe sell a fewer tickets up front or have a much less happy group of campers on the backside since so many would not be able to enjoy the show at all. Some things would be different and not necessarily better.
Free Tarpers: taking up only the space that we need at any given time, enabling the loose tarp policy enjoyed by all, and spreading good cheer. A feature, not a bug. If you pick up a good Free Tarper, let 'em know the love!
I think this very true. I have never been to this festival but I have gone to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival many times over many years. At first there was a free and open policy for reserving your own personal space for the day in front of any stage but it got way out of hand in front of the main stages with the biggest acts. There were literally barricades of lawn chairs so that a whole lot of space was being used up by relatively few people, and that space was unusable even when folks left their chair city for an entire set. Now most of the decent space is SRO, and I dont mean just the very front, I mean anywhere in front of the sound board. The blanket and chair section is way back very far away from the stage. If you sit down at all in the SRO section, even on your butt in the dirt, security will come hassle you. That is difficult if you happen to be in a nice spot for a couple of acts you really want to see, given the absolutely stifling heat and humidity that is typical for that festival. The foundation is also now selling the VIP privilege of standing or sitting up front (seats built into the barricades for the privileged few).
This is a harsh solution to the problem of people taking up a ton of space for a whole day. It sounds to me like Telluride has a kinder, gentler system. I am looking forward to seeing how it goes for us 4 people, we could easily split into two groups of two on different tarps as well.
Hubby and I wont be standing on line all night for a number for the tarp run. We have to get some rest and relaxation on this vacation. We are both ready to crack from stress and obligations!!!!!
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