But one change this year, people seem to be marking their spaces with tents, blankets and chairs, then leaving. (See below) So if you want a spot, better make sure you give enough time to find one.
We asked organizers about this increase in space saving and they said there is really no way to regulate it, at least not yet.
2 comments:
I brought the kid pool. I was using it to, well, herd kids. At any given point I had 4-7 boys aged 6-10 rolling around in it...doing as boys that age are wont to do.
It was roughly the same size as the twin comforter I had thrown in it for them to sit on. I just figured this would help to keep them contained a bit. Some people thought it was genius. Others? Notsomuch.
Admittedly, there were a couple of problems:
1. People were just picking up and moving other people's stuff all day at Maplewoodstock. In the case of the pool, whenever the kids weren't in it (eg. bathroom, bouncy rides, etc), people would move it to squeeze in. This resulted in there being a number of other people sitting between the adults and the kids.
2. People showing up late and expecting a prime place to sit. We had a big problem w one gentleman in particular, who objected to the pool. He arrived around 6:30 w his family of four, moved the pool and squeezed in. Then he became increasingly upset over being squished into his space.
Let's just say he could have handled things better. You know, like when he threatened to pop the pool w a knife or when he stood in front of the crowd, brandishing a wine bottle, stating "I'm trying to find my happy place!" Eventually, he called the police, who spoke w organizers and we were all told the pool could stay.
Then he started saying things directly to the kids, making one of them cry. That's when one of the moms got in his face and he asked "Not in front of my family, please." The funny thing was, he had no problem doing his thing in front of our families while his were out and about, not witnessing his antics. This time we had to call the police.
By the time the Wailers came on, the kids were all passed out in the laps of their mothers, so when a new arrival asked me nicely to deflate the pool to make more room, that's what we did...even though his wife and daughter wanted to sit in the pool (of course we said they could).
Thanks for the comments. It is clear the event is getting more crowded and issues have arisen around saving spaces. Good to know. BTW, we were not criticizing the kiddie pool,. just noting it was there, which was interesting.
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