TBF Newbies - more basic questions!

[CrowdedMind]

Hello Festivarians,

This year will be our first TBF for me and my gf, and we are SUPER excited, but we have so many basic questions!! Hopefully you can answer a few.  We're also festivals and camping semi-newbies...so lots of firsts for us at this TBF!

We'll be staying at Mary E. Ilium and we've seen in other threads that there are port-a-potties but no showers. We've also seen that you can shower somewhere else reachable by shuttle....but where exactly, is it free, how long does it take to go there and back? We're confused about that option.
Also we were curious in general to know what a typical day may look like.. We read on the main website that music starts at 10am. Are there any "breaks" in between artists? How long does an artist typically play for? Can you come in and out of the festival grounds during the day? We love almost every artist on this year's lineup, so we have the impression we would end up spending the entire day, every day, at the main stage, including lunch and dinner - is that a fair impression if you want to see most of the performances on the lineup?
That's it for now - I'm sure as June approaches we're gonna come up with more and more questions. :D

Thanks for the help!!

[Pass Port]

Welcome! Come on in, we have plenty of room Crowded. 

I'm not sure on your first question, as I don't camp at Illium.

The set breaks are pretty short, so if your intention is to see every set on the main stage, then I would plan on staying in the festival venue and eating there. You can bring food in, but no booze or glass. However, the vendors are awesome! I would definitely plan on eating some meals there, plus it's great to help keep the festival great by supporting them. You will have a wrist band that gets you in/out so you can come and go as much as you like.

There is a second stage in town at Elks Park which most of the bands rotate through holding workshops and smaller more intimate sets. These can be really really good! This is also where the band and troubadour contests take place.  Problem is you miss what is playing on the main stage, so you have to choose.

A typical day would be taking the shuttle in first thing in morning. Gates open an hour before the music each day. Plan for weather swings! You're at 8700' and during the day it can be quite hot, but will cool way down at night. So bring everything you need, you don't want to go back and forth from Illium. You can read about the line policy on the website, but I wouldn't to do that. You can set up where there is space as a base camp, and when one of your favorites is on, go up and look for an empty tarp. You can poach any empty tarp until the owner comes. Even then, if you start the process with a couple extra beers, you will make friends quickly and may get invited to stay as long as you like!     That's the Festivarian vibe that is so incredible!!    The last two sets of the day will be standing room only up front. Most people will have packed up their stuff before it gets dark.

I'm sure others will jump in with additional info.
I think you've just found you new favorite week of the summer!

 

[TellurideTom]

Showers are available Thursday thru Monday from 8am to 1pm at Telluride High School for a small fee ($4) with unlimited water.
I would suggest making it a stop on the way to the festival rather than trying to go back and forth from camp via the shuttle.
It's it's too busy in the morning it's not so hard to get there from the festival as it's only about 3/4 of a mile through town.
Plan to spend the day rather than attempting to make it back to camp for supplies or warm clothes, otherwise you could miss a couple sets.
 

[skyrunner]

   A couple of things about the artist signings....The line can get long so getting there a couple minutes early is a good idea. All of the signing times written on the announcement board will end with "'ish". If that means anything. Getting right into the line for the general store as soon as you can on Thursday is also a good little hint.
   The Shuttle bus from Mary E. takes patients. There can be a line to get on that takes a little time. It will also take the bus about 15 - 18 minutes to take the trip into town. They really try to have two or three buses running, but sometimes it can take a little time. If you want to go back out during the day, you will miss a little of something.    BUT they did start running all new buses last year that take allot less time to make the trip. You could almost get out and help push some of the older buses up the big hill.
  The first stop the bus will make on the way to the festival grounds is the shower at the high school. From the school you can get on any bus that stops by and lets people off. Or even ride the Galloping Goose, the local little shuttle bus. I think it stops by the school still.
  I haft to agree with Pass Port. The vendor food is amazing. Can be a little on the expensive side. But really not bad prices for a festival. The dumplings from Twin Sisters is a must eat! Enjoying a "Wake up call" from the Boulder ice cream place is also a must have.
 

[Australian fan]

Welcome! Come on in, we have plenty of room Crowded. 

I'm not sure on your first question, as I don't camp at Illium.

The set breaks are pretty short, so if your intention is to see every set on the main stage, then I would plan on staying in the festival venue and eating there. You can bring food in, but no booze or glass. However, the vendors are awesome! I would definitely plan on eating some meals there, plus it's great to help keep the festival great by supporting them. You will have a wrist band that gets you in/out so you can come and go as much as you like.

There is a second stage in town at Elks Park which most of the bands rotate through holding workshops and smaller more intimate sets. These can be really really good! This is also where the band and troubadour contests take place.  Problem is you miss what is playing on the main stage, so you have to choose.

A typical day would be taking the shuttle in first thing in morning. Gates open an hour before the music each day. Plan for weather swings! You're at 8700' and during the day it can be quite hot, but will cool way down at night. So bring everything you need, you don't want to go back and forth from Illium. You can read about the line policy on the website, but I wouldn't to do that. You can set up where there is space as a base camp, and when one of your favorites is on, go up and look for an empty tarp. You can poach any empty tarp until the owner comes. Even then, if you start the process with a couple extra beers, you will make friends quickly and may get invited to stay as long as you like!     That's the Festivarian vibe that is so incredible!!    The last two sets of the day will be standing room only up front. Most people will have packed up their stuff before it gets dark.

I'm sure others will jump in with additional info.
I think you've just found you new favorite week of the summer!

 

Babe - I think we should officially crown you the Festival Friend to All.

Amazing generosity of spirit.

Excellent advice.

That is what this is all about.

Does my heart good reading this post. I love how people are embraced and welcomed.

Come join our community. We love people who love our festival.

💑💑💑

[CrowdedMind]

Guys, thank you SO much! I can't wait to be there and get to meet you and all the other wonderful festivarians.