Hello from GRF HQ! We can’t wait to see you roll in for Green River Festival camping. It’ll be the first weekend of summer, and the festival lineup is spectacular - check it out HERE! 

CAMPING IS SOLD OUT!

Below you'll find useful info about camp, plus two important forms to fill out: a waiver and a questionnaire. Please fill out both by Tuesday June 11,  to reduce the time it takes to check in on arrival, and to give us the info/numbers/rig sizes we need to take good care of you.  

Fest and camping are again at the historic Franklin County Fairgrounds. With the exception of an outpost of 20 tents in Shady Grove Camp over by the Dean’s Beans Stage, tent and RV camping will be a sprawling festival neighborhood behind Main Stage like last year. 

The festival changed hands this year. It's now run by DSP Shows, with a lotta love and a lot of the same team from years past. Due to the demand for camping, we added a few more tent and RV sites this year. The layout of camp "streets" will feel very familiar. There are more showers for campers, more portalets and wash stations, a larger camp commons and entertainment tent with daily entertainment, plus a new common tent on the east side of tent camping aka the Main Stage end, for a little shade and camaraderie and some extra port-amenities nearby. 

This year, for the safety of everyone, our security team is doing the usual bag checks at the front gate, plus car and RV checks at camp entry. This will be a quick process just inside the gate and, for the record, no one cares if you packed dirty socks or didn't roll up your sleeping bag. Security is looking for things that you also wouldn't want at a festival. More info below at Security Checks. 

Come early. The festival opens Friday, June 21st. Camp opens Thursday, June 20th, at noon. Load in, get your site, get lunch or dinner from the Early Bird food vendors, catch a secret set of live music or the evening movie just for campers. Bring your bikes. Explore. Speaking of early birds, the Northern Mockingbird we know as the Morning Harold has migrated back to his post on the Round House and is working up a cover of "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" for your 2:21am listening pleasure.

Before you come to the festival, and assuming you’re packing a cell phone, please follow Green River Festival on Instagram and/or Facebook to get info on happenings and, importantly, updates and protocols in case of an emergency. 

As always we welcome you with the same devotion as we welcome musicians rolling in on tour buses. We’re grateful for your love of music in community, your patience with us and with each other. 

Please read this email all the way through so you’ve got the details for arrival and your sites, etc. (if your email provider clips the message, make sure to click "View Entire Message" at the bottom of the email). We know it's long. We wrote it and we are going to bed.

Safe travels – 

- The Campground Crew 

P.S. A note from the wild things on the camp and installation crews:  Please feel free to add flourish this year to your tent site: even more art, color,  fabric, ribbon, windsocks and pinwheels this year than ever, catching the first breezes and moonlight of summer.

You’ll be driving to the Franklin County Fairgrounds. If you use a GPS, it will most likely take you to the main (front) gate via Wisdom Way. Instead of following those directions, please follow the below directions to the Campground gate, which is Gate 4. 

• Travel by whatever means you choose to MA I-91.
• Get off of I-91 at Exit 43 (from here it is about two miles to the festival and camp).
• The exit will put you into a rotary. Get off the rotary onto Route 2A East.
• At the second set of traffic lights there’ll be a Dunkin' Donuts on your right. Take that right onto River Street.
• From River Street, take your first right onto Laurel Street.
• From Laurel turn left onto Fairview Street. Fairview will bring you to the back of the fairgrounds -- what some people call the West Gate or the Horse Gate. We call it Gate 4. It'll be on your left, and there'll be a sign for Camp Entrance. That's you.
• Drive in. 

Please have your camping pass ready to show. The crew here will direct you thru security check. Then you'll be directed to your parking space – or for RVers, to your RV site. After you are in your site, walk to Camp Check-in. You'll get your wristbands, camp info, a festival program, newsletter, etc. For tent campers, our golf-cart crew can then help you bring your things from your car to your tent. We've noticed that a lot of tent campers bring a wagon to bring their stuff from car to tent site in DIY form. Not a bad idea.

NOON ON THURSDAY IS THE EARLIEST TIME CAMPERS MAY ENTER CAMP. We have to stick to that even if you show up at 6am and even if we love you and you are related to us. 

Note: If you have other people coming separately to camp at your site, they should also come to Gate 4. When they arrive, we'll give them a temporary parking space so they can do a security check, check in, get their wristband, and unload their luggage. After all that,  they'll need to move their car to a parking spot outside the festival -- either at paid parking or in a free lot. Parking info is HERE.

Note that only festival goers with camping wristbands will be allowed in camp, including in the outpost, Shady Grove. All RV and tent campers will have a wristband, including kids. 

Please be aware that on Thursday and until gates open on Friday the non-camping areas of the Fairgrounds will be an active job site. Workers, vehicles and forklifts will be buzzing about the site. Please be aware of possible restricted areas. Look for signs, caution tape, and barricades. Our team will be very careful. Please also be careful, and keep a close eye on your kids. 

TENT CAMPERS — additional arrival and check-in info:

• You’ll be parking within the festival grounds.
• Your camp pass entitles you to one (1)(UNO)(no kidding, just one) parking space with your tent pass.
• You’ll have a parking pass for your dash.
• Your (1) car must stay put in that parking space until you leave the festival, with the exception of Thursday: on Thursday you can come and go in your car until midnight. You might lose your first parking spot but there will be a spot for you when you return.
• Please note that tent campers who bought a pass for the Shady Grove Camping will be parking in the same general area as all campers this year -- that said, let us know if you have a Shady Grove camping pass. We’re aiming to get you on that side of the lot to make load-in as easy as we can. 

RV CAMPERS — additional arrival and check-in info:  

• If you decide to take a different arrival route that takes you through downtown Greenfield, please be aware there’s a low railroad bridge between downtown and the campground. Clearance, last we checked, was just over 12’.
• You must arrive before 8pm on whichever day you arrive, so we can safely get you into your site before sundown, which is 8:31pm.
• When you arrive at the fairgrounds, come through Gate 4, as noted above. Please be patient with our teams — this is the first year of security checks for camping and we’re working to make it uncomplicated for RVs to drive in and be checked, but there may be a queue if we’re busy.
• After the security check, our GRF Wagonmaster will walk you into the RV neighborhood and give you a site he has hand-picked for you, and a parking pass for your dash. The RV area, aka RVana, is a puzzle so you gotta fill out the questionnaire with your RV dimensions and then trust this guy.
• Everything you bring, including your tow vehicle, picnic tables, awnings, etc. must fit into your site. If it does not fit, you’ll need to park it somewhere else — see parking options HERE.
• Once RVs and their tow vehicles are in camp, they must stay in camp until they leave the festival, with the exception of Thursday: on Thursday, tow vehicles may come and go until midnight. If you need to come and go after Thursday night, you'll want a parking pass for that tow vehicle, so you can park in the regular lot. Those have to be purchased, and they sell out fast. Limited parking passes are still available HERE. 

The security check of cars and RVs is for the safety of everyone on site — campers, staff, volunteers, artists.

• No weapons of any kind are allowed on the festival grounds. You may have small utility knives, common cooking utensils, and approved camp stoves IN CAMP. (See Cooking in Camp below)
• You may also have outside groceries and alcohol IN CAMP, as well as tents and RVs (of course), a reasonable supply of propane, and hard coolers for keeping food cold.
• You MAY NOT bring any of the above items from camp into the festival. However, soft-sided coolers are allowed into the festival (no alcohol or single-use containers).
• Additionally, and this may seem obvious, there are no swords, bazookas, fire arms, drones, menacing apparatuses of any kind, flamethrowers or fiery hula hoops allowed in camp or at the festival.
• Green River abides by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You may not sell alcohol or drugs of any kind. The security team is not interested in your personal supply of weed. We strive to keep an environment clean and safe for everyone. If you must smoke, please find an area away from others. Smoking is not allowed under tents and in buildings. Please keep in mind many families with children will be camping at the festival.

If you arrive late at night on any night, and Gate 4 is already locked, drive around to Gate 1, the main entrance to the fairgrounds, at 89 Wisdom Way. The festival box office is there. At night the security team there can make contact with the camp crew so we can come direct you into camp or give your RV a spot to wait overnight.

RVs

• You purchased a weekend RV site, valid from noon on Thursday 6/20 until Monday 6/24 at 10am.
• Sites are approximately 20x36 feet, with some slightly smaller.
• PLEASE NOTE: Only RVers with pre-purchased hook-up passes may hook up to water and power. Hook-up passes are sold out.
• Generators are permitted to run during the certain hours of the day, but not at night. The specific hours of use will be approximately 10am to 10pm, subject to change for safety's sake. Generators must have up-pipes to direct exhaust gasses over the roof of the vehicle.
• All the RV sites, with and without hookups,  are in the same area.  It’s a neighborhood. If you hope to be next to someone in particular, please let us know in the questionnaire; our Wagonmaster will try to make that happen. It doesn’t matter if you bribe him or not, he’ll help you either way.
• Portolets and water spigots are available in camp; fairgrounds bathrooms and showers are also available on the festival site.
• Please note that your RV pass does not include festival passes for the humans camping on the site. It's just for your site.  Make sure you bought festival passes for your humans. Festival entry passes are available HERE.
• A maximum of four "adults" (anyone over 12 years of age) is permitted at one RV site. You may have as many as four kids 12 years and under. Total mob allowed on any camp site is eight.
• No “sleeping tents” are allowed in RV camping.
• Note: For our purposes, an RV refers to recreational vehicles of all sizes whether motorized or towed, and with or without living quarters. If you're on wheels, including a car or any other wheeled apparatus/vehicle/wagon/hitch/farm equipment, you're an RV and you can only be in RV camping. This is a safety issue.
• RV sites will only accommodate motorized or towed RV’s less than 36’ (including tongue, if a trailer).
• A trailer’s tow vehicle may remain hitched, or may be parked alongside the RV, how ever it fits within the allotted space.
• Aside from a tow vehicle and the trailer, any other vehicles you bring will have to be parked elsewhere -- in paid parking (limited passes still available for purchase HERE), or in free parking at one of the free lots that allows overnight parking (more info HERE).
• Depending on the size of your RV, there is room for “sidelife” items, including RV awning, canopy, picnic table, etc.
• An RV site at Green River Festival will NOT accommodate full-size Class A motorhomes, bus conversions, or 5th wheel trailers longer than 36’. If you have one of these big rigs, please contact us to rethink the plan. 

TENTS

• You purchased a weekend tent site, valid from noon on Thursday 6/20 until Monday 6/24 at 10am.
• These sites are about 300 sq. feet, which is almost as big as (er, a bit smaller than) last year.
• Your tent-site pass includes one (1) (ONLY ONE)(really: ONE) parking space. (You can tell we’ve had some trouble conveying this in past years.)
• Porta-potties and water spigots are available in the main camping area. Fairgrounds bathrooms and showers are also available on festival site.
• Your tent pass does not include festival passes for the humans camping on the site. It's just for your site.  Make sure you bought festival passes for your humans. Festival entry passes are available HERE.
• A maximum of four "adults" (anyone over 12 years of age) may camp on one site, and as many as four kids 12 years and under. A maximum number of eight humans and a maximum number of two tents are allowed on one tent site.
• Note: We do not allow campers to reserve sites in advance of the festival, but we're happy to allow tent campers to come into camp and hold the site next to them for their friends. When you arrive we can help you with this.
• Note: There are 20 additional tent sites at the festival, in Shady Grove Camp. Those sites are about 10x10 feet. People paid specifically for those sites. If you’re one of those people, we’ll direct you to that area and explain load-in. Shady Grove sites are limited to one tent per site, and two adults (over 18yrs) per site. Shady Grove campers will have standard camp wristbands and access to the main camp.

If you have a VIP pass, make sure you mention that at Camp Check-in. We’ll probably see it anyway on your ticket but it’s important that we give you a VIP wristband.

Limited VIP passes are still available for purchase HERE, and include:

• Access to VIP Viewing areas for each stage
• Access to 2 VIP Lounges with private bar and private, air conditioned flush restrooms
• Priority access to limited capacity sets in the Round House
• Exclusive Green River Festival VIP gift bag
• Expedited Festival Entry

• Please fill out this THIS QUESTIONNAIRE (one per tent site or RV site).
• Please fill out THIS WAIVER for yourself and forward it to all individuals camping on your site (you may remember signing a waiver when you bought your tickets. We actually need to make sure everyone in your party i.e. on your camp site has signed or, if they are under 18 years, that a parent or legal guardian has signed for them).
• If you have any questions or either of these forms don’t work for you, email us at info@greenriverfestival.com. 

There will be secret sets in camp, as well as  late-night fest sets, which are great for campers because you can just walk "home" from those. Details in the newsletter and Squawk Board, both at Camp Check-in. 

On Thursday evening we’ll have live music just for camp, and a movie chosen by our fest director.

A few of our favorite food booths and trucks are coming early on Thursday and/or cooking breakfast before the festival opens each day, specifically so camp can get delicious meals before the festival opens! Info is below, subject to fine-tuning as we get closer to fest weekend.  Updated info will be available at Camp Check-in.

FOR THURSDAY EARLY BIRDS

Noon onward: 

• The Food Booth AKA All Things Maple offers local grass-fed burgers, dogs, salads, and hand cut fries. V and GF options. Annd maple cream on fried dough. 
• K&G Roadhouse is all about bowls this year -- delicious chicken, steak, shrimp, and vegan bowls plus shrimp on a stick. Housemade guacamole. GF, V, and dairy-free versions. 
• Riff's is slinging Nashville Chicken, mac & cheese, pulled pork, and wicked good fries. 

FRIDAY/SATURDAY/SUNDAY BREKKIE!

Open at 7am:

• The Food Booth AKA All Things Maple aka All Things Maple will fire up the grill this early to serve camp with delicious breakfast sammies. V and GF options. 
• Pinky Toe Chai serves up Chai teas, hot and iced, golden milk, plus croissants and chai chia pudding and fruit. Good chance you'll see them roving in camp to bring delicious treats direct to your camp site. 
• Dean's Beans will open every morning of the weekend to serve up the world’s best coffee that you can feel good about! 

No open fires or grills are allowed in camp -- nothing that would throw a spark. Small camp stoves are permitted as long as an adult is present to supervise their use at all times.

Please be aware there are many delicious, healthy meal, snack, and beverage options during festival hours PLUS great snacks and meals before festival hours, from a selection of devoted Early Bird food vendors, including fantastic coffee from Dean's Beans.

Check the newsletter and  Squawk Board, both at Check-in, for daily announcements, arts & crafts, uke lessons and yoga, secret sets, scavenger hunts, and the price (factoring in bribery and inflation) on the last bag of ice.

In addition to the festival rules and policies (eg. what to bring/what not to bring, etc.) HERE, we have a few rules specifically for camp:

• RVs must arrive in camp by 8pm – before sundown.
• RVs must stay in camp till their departure from the festival. Tent campers’ vehicles must also stay in the camp till their departure from the festival -- except on Thursday, when cars and RV tow vehicles may come and go until midnight. After midnight on Thursday, all vehicles must stay parked until departure from the festival.
• Only festival goers wearing camp wristbands are permitted in camp and in the Shady Grove Camp outpost. Kids get wristbands this year. Taking this opportunity to say please make sure your kid leaves their wristband loose enough that it doesn't cut off circulation. We've made that mistake ourselves. 
• Campers must wait until the festival opens for all festival goers before claiming a spot on the grass in front of a stage. All blankets and chairs must be removed at night or the crews will take them away and consider them their own.
• Campers are not permitted on stages or in fairgrounds buildings other than the ones that are hosting public events. This is perhaps obvious. One would hope. Again, please be aware that on Thursday and until gates open on Friday the non-camping areas of the Fairgrounds will be an active job site. Workers, vehicles and forklifts will be buzzing about the site. Please be aware of possible restricted areas. Look for signs, caution tape, and barricades. Our team will be very careful. Please also be careful. And keep a close eye on your kids. 
• At the festival, the staff has discretion regarding shelters and chairs in the festival field which are impeding the sightlines or enjoyment of other guests.
• Camp quiet hours are midnight to 7am. Please be kind to your neighbors inside and outside the festival. 
• No fires or grills in camp -- nothing that could give off a spark. See Cooking in Camp for what's allowed. 
• No pets, with the exception of service animals. No animals may be left in cars or RVs. 
• No generators may be used in the tent camping area. No tents are allowed in the RV area. 
• Generators are permitted during certain hours of the day in RV camping. Hours are 10am to 10pm, subject to change if necessary. Up-pipes are required to direct exhaust over the roof of the vehicle. 
• No glass containers.
• Anyone under the age of 18 in camp needs to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle. Use the right bins, for our crew’s sake. Take big trash home: broken lawn chairs, umbrellas, tents, etc. 

Located at Camp Check-in, the Camp General Store has a useful selection of items including bagged ice, tent stakes, tarps. We also sell ear plugs, in case you don't love Harold as much as we do.

Please use your locked car or RV to store items of value during times when you’re not home. We have a great security team but a locked vehicle is an extra measure. The festival cannot be responsible for lost or stolen goods. With apologies to all the musicians who camp with us, we do not have instrument storage in camp.  

Please see the lists of what to bring and what NOT to bring to the festival on our FAQ page. In addition, here’s a list of things  specifically to bring to camp (see Security Checks above  for notes on what not to bring).

• Water bottle. No single-use i.e. disposable plastic water bottles are allowed at Green River Festival. Water is all over the fairgrounds, and we do sell water in cans. 
• For tent campers: tent, tarp, rainfly, stakes. Once again: tarp
• Flashlight or headlamp
• Soap & towel (there are showers) 
• Rain poncho (although it never rains on the festival...except that year it rained all weekend) 
• Bikes, bike locks, reflective gear, lights 
• Sneakers, for the Sunday Run
• Yoga mat for Saturday/Sunday morning yoga
• Extra shade tent (aside from shadows cast by the occasional mockingbird flying over, there is no shade in the main campground) 
• Bathing suit (you can bike to the Green River swim area) 
• Whatever flourishes (art, ribbons, fabric, pinwheels, etc.) you want for your campsite, and supplies to batten those things to your tent. Avoid anything that could double as a lightning rod in a storm.

Bring your bike! The festival has a bike valet during the day. You can check your bike there, or lock your bike to your car. We will have our own bike rack again this year for camp. See below at Getting Around Greenfield for bike routes. Remember to bring reflective gear and lights if you plan to bike at night.

With camping and festival all in one place, and good food available before and during the festival, you may choose not to leave the fairgrounds at all this weekend. But in case you’d like to explore downtown Greenfield and the surrounding hills, info on Franklin County and the city of Greenfield is available HERE. Greenfield's Main Street is less than a mile from the festival. Check out an article on biking in the area, with a DIY section and maps for routes HERE.

There are no festival shuttle buses on Thursday. However, on Thursday campers may come and go in their cars or their RV tow vehicles until midnight. After that time, cars and towing vehicles must all remain parked in the festival until departing from the festival. From Friday to Sunday, there will be shuttle buses to the parking areas and to Downtown Greenfield. Shuttles run from an hour before gates to an hour after the music ends. You are welcome to use the shuttles to explore downtown. Shuttle hours are below, subject to minor changes in schedule. We'll have the final hours at Check-in.  

Friday shuttles: 2pm to Midnight  

Saturday shuttles: 10am to Midnight

Sunday shuttles: 10am to 9pm 

Bring your mats! We’ll have morning yoga on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Info at Camp Check-in.

Ukulele lessons will be Saturday and Sunday mornings. Ages 12 and up. Ukes provided. Details at Camp Check-in.

Sunday morning we will be inaugurating the first annual circling of the Green River Runners. 

What’s that? It’s a fun run around the horse track! And you’re invited to join. Our team will part the barricades, and for several blissful fleeting minutes it’ll be just you and your fellow campers jolly-ing around the track (no doubt, the very fast horses who usually run on this track will enjoy watching this reversal of roles from their stalls with their mint juleps). So – pack your sneakers, just in case. Start time is TBD Check the Squawk Board. T-shirts commemorating the run will be available through the Camp General Store. Proceeds will benefit the Turtle Rescue League in Southbridge.

Water is widely available from taps throughout the festival, including water spigots in camp.

Electricity will be available for charging your cell phone, etc. at select and specific spots around camp.  Please do not run extension cords to your tent or RV, unless you specifically have an RV with Hookup pass. At Camp Check-in we can direct you to charging centers.

Cell phones generally get good service throughout the festival and camp.

A public WIFI network was installed at the fairgrounds last year. We’ll give you the network info when you arrive. We’re not making any promises. With a festival crowd, the internet could be slow going. If you need fast WIFI and you can’t get it on the public WIFI, you can find it at a few places downtown. Ask at Camp Check-in for info.

Public showers will be open in the mornings and at night, but are unavailable during festival hours. I Get your clean on, before or after those hours. We have more showers this year.

We have a great team who sorts through all the waste from camp to keep the festival green. Bins for compost, recycling, and trash are located in the camping area as well as throughout the festival. Please follow the info signs and put things where they go. And please do not throw out big items like broken tents, chairs, or umbrellas. Take them home to recycle them.

We can usually offer an on-site place where RVs can empty septic tanks at the end of the weekend -- that is, on Monday morning. Not guaranteed, but likely. Check with camp staff for info.

In the event of severe weather overnight, fairgrounds buildings or your car are effective emergency shelters. From the two campgrounds, Halberg Hall (underneath the grandstand and next to the bathrooms) will remain open overnight for campers to shelter if necessary and is a quick walk from both tent camping areas.

In case of emergency at the festival, dial 911. We will also give you a list of staff cell numbers in the camp newsletter when you arrive at camp. We have a security team and EMTs on site throughout the weekend. Here’s a reminder to follow Green River Festival on Instagram and/or Facebook to get live updates and protocols in case of an emergency.

Check festival FAQs HERE or email us at info@greenriverfestival.com.

Thanks for reading, we're looking forward to seeing you very soon!