Average costs for DjangofestNW???

BluesBop Harry

Hi all,
I'm considering going this year and would like to know how much money would food and a place to sleep cost for one person for a five day stay?
I'm not including workshops, concerts or raft tickets

Any help appreciated.

BluesBop Harry

Does many people sleep at the campgrounds?
What are the other options?
What kind of food can one get at the site?

Thanks

Passacaglia

Harry, for what it's worth, I spoke with the chamber of commerce people - the ones linked to from the DFNW site. I can't give you exact figures, but I can tell you the woman said there is usually ample room to camp on the site. I also know she said a lot of people drive in and take the car ferry over. (I had considered going, and one of the modes I was thinking was actually taking a car - has to wait till next year).

Paul

djangology

I'm going to be camping this year. Its $10 a night but i dont know if it is per car or per tent or per person. I think its per-car . If you decide to camp then you are not alone.. ill be there with a bunch of others. None of us hang out at the campsite though because its usually way to cold. Everyone goes downtown to jam and socialize.

I'm budgeting about $30/day + festival fees + transportation + CDs.

B25Gib

I'll be camping this year also ($10 per car) and $30 a day total for camping and restaurant food is adequate. There will be players jamming around the campground in the morning after about 9 am for an hour or more until they head downtown (1/2 mile) for breakfast and jam circle at the book store, other locations, and workshops. Later in the afternoon a number of the campers will return and jam again. I agree that the after dark jamming is none out of doors as it cools way down. I've attended four DFNW festivals and one had a ALOT of rain, one was dry but cold for a few days, another had some rain and turned warm, the other one was hot and wonderful from the getgo!
Rocky

BluesBop Harry

Thanks a lot to everyone!
Sounds great.
I still have to figure out if I can make it but I really hope to be there.
If anyone has any more experiences or insight into the festival they'd like to share here I'd appreciate it.

Bob Holo

The two things about DFNW are:

1.) Get your tickets early
2.) Get your room early

Actually - that's only if you want primo tix & primo digs. If you don't mind camping and sitting mid-auditorium It's not so bad. But to get up front - you gots' ta' treat it like getting tickets for a rock concert because there is a hardcore following comprising about 1/4 to 1/3 of the attendees and they all hit the phones at the crack of dawn on the day tickets go on sale - and they all book their rooms months (like... 3 or 4 months) in advance. True hardcores book next year's room before they leave the island... but I've found that to be a minority of people because you're talking about people who are staying in $1,000 rooms ($200/night for 5 nights) and they don't mind dropping a thousand bucks a year in advance... not a lot of musicians I know can/would do that.

Nick has instituted a policy of 'premium' tickets in the last couple of years. Essentially - you get to buy from the first couple of rows if you make a donation to the arts foundation - I don't know what the minimum is - $100 or $300 or something. I've done this the last couple of years and have liked the seats and think it's worth it because - hey, realistically - damned few people are supporting this music and if a couple hundred bucks from me can make a difference - it's all good. But if you call early - you can still be sitting ?? gee, I don' t know - maybe 10-15 rows back, which some people prefer anyway because in the first row your neck is sort of tilted back.

Phil

BluesBop Harry wrote:

If anyone has any more experiences or insight into the festival they'd like to share here I'd appreciate it.

here's my insight, having had the good fortune to have attended every festival to date:

-the Star supermarket in Langley is best place to stock up on essential food supplies;
-best breakfast is at The Braeburn;
-best burger in town is at The Edgecliffe;
-best early morning walk to watch the sunrise over puget sound, before your mates wake up; is down to the marina to smell that sea air!
-best place to catch sighting of the top performers warming up, if the weather's good, is in the green field overlooking the sound, right opposite the WICA theatre;
-best jamming outside is around the Otter Coffee Shop - on both sides of the street;
-best late night jamming is either at the Edgecliffe and then later on... find the guy with the name tag "Troy" and follow him
-if you're gonna leave on Sunday and don't want to queue up in a looooong line of ferry traffic be sure to leave before the 5pm ferry...or be prepared to wait for a few ferries;
-best place to see Tchavolo walking down the main street...ah the memories flood back...

Laurent

I am with a group coming from Calgary and we are picking up a motorhome in Ferndale. Does anyone have any recommendations on whether we should come down through Deception Pass (sounds cool) or take the I5 and ferry it??

On the map it looks about the same distance....

B25Gib

The Whidbey Island route is beautiful, longer, more winding, a little slower, but beautiful, as the western side of the North/South long island is more wind blown, but the Eastern side where DFNW is held (Langley) is much more wooded and sheltered.
Here is a link to the Washington State Ferry system route and fare info. The Clinton(Island side) to Mulkulteo only charges for rig and driver, but the mainland side charges for passengers also, and there are lots of add on charges for both directions, so check the info carefully ie. over 20' and height, etc., so check the website. Also, depending on time of arrival down Interstate 5 heading for ferry on the Everett side, maybe after 3:00 pm traffic can be a bugger.
Here is the website:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/fares/Default.aspx
You will have to type this website into your URL
I'd say take the Whidbey Island route coming in at least.
Rocky

Passacaglia

You guys are killing me. I love WA generally, and this fest seems like another paradise. Will have to plan for next year.

To that end, do any know if the dates will be the same, or a way to find out the planned dates as early as possible (in other words, who really plans it, so I can get the earliest information possible)? I ask, because I understand lodging can be a bear, and if we don't hit Samois, I'm going to try to bring my family to DFNW next year, and would like to book lodging as early as possible.