Planning a festival

My voyage north to Lollapalooza was tarnished this year only by a constant rain Friday and what we considered to be a great beer fiasco Saturday.

Friday, the three-day music festival offered 24-ounce cans of beer for $8 or 12-ounce cans of beer for $5. You don't have to be a genius to figure out the better deal. Heck, you don't have to be sober to recognize that the Tallboy is the way to go -- and the way everyone went.

By Friday night, the big yellow tents emblazoned with Bar Bar Bar were out of 24-ounce beers in almost every flavor. By Saturday morning, the second day of the festival, Duct Tape covered the option and everyone complained about the bait and switch.

We still had a great time because the music carried us through.

When I returned to work and looked at the calendar -- in particular the end of September -- it reminded me of another beverage issue at a music festival in our own dear city.

Many people remember the 2008 River City Music Festival where they waited in one line, only to be told they had to go wait in another line to buy a ticket, then wait in the beer line to exchange tickets for beer. Then the beer ran out. Then they had to stop serving. People were left with tickets, no beer and a sour taste in their mouths.

I'm not saying beer is everything. It's not. You go to a beer festival for beer. You go to a music festival for the music. The missing link here is organization and planning, things both festivals dropped on one or a couple of aspects.

I was visited by a festival fairy who assured me things have changed. The board that organizes the River City Music Festival has been organized into committees, the beer contracted out, the band scheduling passed to one person, the volunteers to another. Spreading the wealth and the work allows one person to focus on one aspect of the festival instead of one person trying to keep everything straight. It gives me hope and confidence that this year's festival will be much better.

The fairy also told me about some extras this year like the fashion show, Guitar Hero and more vendors. And, of course, they need manpower. Volunteers this year again get entry into the festival for helping with things like manning the gate, setting up Friday, tearing down Sunday, picking up trash and a whole host of other things.

With the River City festival more than a month away, I'll thankfully have plenty of time to rest up my calves. Although, walking the few blocks of downtown Cape Girardeau to see Mike Renick or Fat Pocket will be a cake walk compared to sprinting across Grant Park to see Peter Bjorn and John and Of Montreal.