The Lock’n Festival came to a close late Sunday night/early Monday morning, and the local news station abc27-WHTM was on-site interviewing festival goers, volunteers, and Alpha Omega Mounted Patrol Service about the other side of a festival; namely, the process of cleaning up after the event, and getting people on their merry ways and off the property.
Even though the music had been over for hours at one point, one attendee was still in Full-On Rage Mode. Check out this Widespread Panic fan (who appears to be holding a barrel of whiskey on this lovely, Monday morning):
abc27 WHTM
Well, at least he was having fun.
One aspect of any festival that many need to be cognizant of is the long, arduous process of cleaning up the site, and leaving it in pristine condition so the local faction is willing to have said festival back year after year. Sometimes the cleanup can take several days to a week. As Rachel Wells of Gemini Production Services explains, “We are leaving no cigarette butt, no wrapper, no glow stick unturned…We’re hoping to be done by Friday, but we’re prepared to be here as long as it takes to make this place beautiful and back to the way it was, if not better.” Wells is supervising a 50 person team tasked with restoring these green fields to their prior beauty.
Lock’n was held in Arrington, VA and featured unique, interlocking sets between bands such as Furthur, the String Cheese Incident, The Black Crowes, WIDESPREAD PANIC (WOOO!!!!), Zac Brown Band, and others. Approximately 25,000 people attended the 4-day event.