Posted on October 1, 2007
Spaghettifest, an annual music festival, began with an idea and has grown into a tradition for many people.
“Spaghettifest is my favorite weekend of the year,” Natural Chimney’s Park Manager Bill Howard said. After the success of Spaghettifest 5, which ended yesterday, many students and community members may also agree.
The weather was ideal for the three-stage, three-day, two-night, 35-band festival held as a charity fundraiser for The Patients’ Fund for Creighton University, PMP (Pseudomyxoma Peritonei) Cancer Research Fund. The crowd demonstrated their appreciation through the successful turn-out.
While pre-sale tickets totaled around 100 last year, Spaghettifest 5 sold over 350 pre-sale tickets and welcomed carloads of additional music-lovers. The Natural Chimneys campground remained open all weekend, as Spaghettifest rented the entire park.
The festival is a multi-faceted weekend. The entire environment was one of mutual good-feelings, appreciation for music, the earth and fellow campers and friends.
Festival-goers were greeted at the front gate by volunteers and park employees and given bright green bracelets, music schedules, park maps and campsites upon arrival. Once in the park, people were part of a new community, drawn together by the good nature of the event.
“It’s always a great crowd here,” Howard said. “Great bands and great people.”
It was effortless to meet someone new, especially when people spent their time walking between stages, hiking the Chimneys, browsing vendors, dancing to the music or simply sitting in the grass enjoying the show. People came from locations spanning from New York to Georgia for the event and were more than willing to share their story about how and why they were there.
Likewise, campsites became small communities as tents formed circles and campers gathered around fires with their new neighbors.
The crowd ranged dramatically from grandparents to infants, and children were often seen running through the campsites, enjoying the playground or even sitting atop the shoulders of parents and friends for a prime view of the main stage.
The layout of the park also made for an important element of the entire experience. Campsites were sprawled out over several large sections and each site was clearly marked so campers could park and pitch a tent within their area. From any site, music could be heard and enjoyed since of the stages was only a short walk away.
There was a main, elevated stage where most of the major acts performed, a smaller side stage and a stage within a tent around the corner of the chimneys. A covered picnic table area with a fireplace is where late-night acoustic café performances with Eric & Mike and Barling & Collins took place on Friday and Saturday.
Vendors were located directly across from the main stage and included vintage clothes, hand-made jewelry and food that featured classic favorites such as French fries and grilled cheese.
At any point during the weekend, people could be found in the main area by the stage, throwing Frisbees, eating, watching, listening, meeting new people and even doing arts and crafts.
JMU’s own Ultimate Frisbee team was sprawled across numerous blankets and joined the JMU Earth Club in participating in small projects designed to get more people involved. The groups were face-painting and making ankle bracelets and Mardi Gras sunglasses.
Ultimate Frisbee team member, junior Dana Corriere was excited about the whole weekend.
“The arts and crafts are just to get everyone to be creative,” she said. “This is my first Spaghettifest and it is amazing.”
Corriere rattled off numerous bands she enjoyed and was looking forward to seeing.
“I love whoever’s up there,” she said.
The JMU Earth Club also had a prominent presence at the festival, offering garbage and recycling bags to every campsite and picking up litter left behind by guests.
“I think sometimes the park looks better after Spaghettifest because of the Earth Club,” said Howard. “They do an indredible job.”
The climax of the weekend was easily the Saturday night perrformance of headlining group and organizer of the event, Midnight Spaghetti and the Chocolate G-Strings. The show included Spiderman, Superman, Sombreros, sunglasses, hats, balloons, stuffed animals, beat-boxing and the funkiest music in the valley. Although The Afromotive on Friday night had easily been the favorite for a majority of the weekend, the energy of the Midnight Spaghetti performance was unparalleled by any other part of the event.
“Midnight Spaghetti is something very special, really more of an experience than just a band,” explained lead singer Seth Casana.
Following the climatic performance, spaghetti was served at midnight and the music continued with the zero decibel dance party and acoustic café. The event finished Sunday evening.
“Year after year, I have friends come up and tell me that some of their best memories have come from Spaghettifest, that they look forward to the next one year after year,” Casana said.
It is easy to see why.
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