Can I camp without having my pass? And other questions

[freelyfallin]

Hey all,
This will be my first time to Lyons or the Folk Fest and I'm excited.  I have some specific questions for y'all.  I have purchased two three day passes from someone--and we have talked about exchanging the tickets at the festival.  He plans to arrive Thursday, and I won't be there until Friday evening.  I have purchased two camping passes for Meadow Park.  I plan to take the shuttle there, as I did not want to buy a car pass (plus I think they're sold out anyway.

1) Will I be able to get to the camping area at Meadow Park using just the Meadow Park camping passes?  Or do I need to have the festival pass as well to access the camping area?

2) Will we have trouble finding a spot to camp given that we're arriving Friday evening?  Will the shuttle that will take us to the camping area be running Friday evening?  I'm assuming so.

3) Any other pieces of advice for the fest given this is my first time attending?

Thanks!
Matt

[svlotus]

Hi Matt!

Sounds like you might be worried about the timing of your ticket exchange.  In my experience, monitoring of tickets, passes, and campgrounds is generally pretty loose on Thurs/Fri, as folks are setting up and may not have made it over to exchange tickets for wristbands.  Or, they share your exact situation.  You will need a corresponding ticket OR festival pass to access the campgrounds.  You should be able to drive up your vehicle to MP and set-up; they'll mark your windshield with something like 20 minutes to unload.

There are definitely some hard-core dedicated festivarians who will have set up some impressive encampments by Friday evening, but truth be told... I've arrived 3 days ahead, on the nose, and a day late and NEVER had an issue.  Most people are so accessible and willing to make a space. 

The shuttles (retired yellow school buses) will indeed be running.  But a walk from the farthest point, at the Bohn Lot parking, to the festival grounds is only a short lovely few minutes.  Everything in town is accessible by foot and it seems like most folks only shuttle if they've got loads of loot in tow.

Only other thing I would consider is that we've been unseasonably rainy in Colorado; especially come evening time (tho it never really downpours here).  I'd bring something in expectation of that.

Cheers and happy FESTIVAL!
Christine