Having driven for 3 days, across half of the USA, I finally arrived at the beautiful Euphoria Music Festival around 5pm. And there was a lot to do, so having a rest was not on the agenda. I had fifteen Tentsiles to put up before morning, and evening was rolling in fast.
The first day of the festival proved as crazy as I had feared – or hoped! I woke up at 8am and braced myself for what was about to unfold. With 6000 people flooding through the gates, it was all hands on deck as all the staff manned their stations and prepared their stands. And I found myself running the whole VIP area on my own. Now, this area is over 1000 feet long, separated only by a rope, and has two entrances on opposite sides, so you can imagine how hard it was for one man to keep this space secured on his own! After several hours of supervising the area, I became equipped with a radio, two security guards, two volunteers and one full time staff assistant to help me out, and was granted the title of VIP camping Manager! And I was proud to manage it under the auspices of Tentsile, especially as the regular campers walked by and couldn’t help but talk about how cool the Tentsiles looked, and how they wished they had chosen them as a their camping option. Chaco Sandals also stopped by to set up a camp right in front of the VIP area, using the Tentsiles as a back drop to their photo shoot.
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By the end of the day, most of our Tentsiles were filled - and scores more had been bought. Having let everyone pick the tent they wanted, it was a joy to sit back and simply watch the looks on their faces as they relaxed and laughed and played. An unforgettable moment as more and more of the VIP camping area filled up with Tentsiles until it was pretty much full. My job now was to help people enjoy them.
I did a walk through every morning, checking on the tents and asking the campers how they had slept. Everyone said it was the best night’s sleep they have ever had, and that they loved their Tentsiles. I had a couple people ask me to ratchet their tents tighter, and I gave a basic rundown of how to set them up and take them down. By the end of festival, I had all the tents filled but one. But it was soon time to relinquish my title and radio and begin the pack down.
Nonetheless, the festival was a success. Everyone enjoyed themselves and Tentsile had found a whole new flock of fans. And although I had a 1400 mile trip in front of me, I couldn’t help a smile of satisfaction creep over my face as I realised the season of summer festival fun was about to begin – and people will be pitching their Tentsiles everywhere the world over.
