The big party ends
August 4, 2003 - Portland Press Herald
By Mark Peters
LIMESTONE — The population of Aroostook County is expected to drop by half
today as fans of the band Phish leave northern Maine after the two-day "It"
festival that attracted an estimated 70,000 people.
In the wake of one of the nation's largest summer music festivals, a
makeshift city that included miles of cars, trucks, RVs and tents will be dismantled
today on the concert grounds. Maine State Police predicted traffic backups as
fans leave the site, the former Loring Air Force base. And more than 70 people
will work for a week to pick up the trash left behind.
State police estimated that 70,000 people attended the festival. Adam Lewis,
a spokesman for Great Northeast Productions, said promoters had capped ticket
sales at 60,000. But no fans who made the trip to the show were turned away.
Although the return drive loomed for Phish fans, few missed the second day of
music Sunday evening. By late afternoon, they packed the concert grounds to
hear three more sets by the band.
Crews had worked all day turning the gooey mud of the concert area into a dry
dance floor of hay, gravel and wood chips. The grounds had received heavy
rain in the days preceding the festival.
The second day of music came after a long night that included four sets by
Phish, including one surprise set played around 2 a.m. Sunday from the top of
the former base's empty control tower.
In that set, Phish played an extended jam amid billows of red and blue smoke,
spectators said. Lights illuminated three aerial gymnasts wearing rapelling
gear who bounced off the tower's sides.
On Sunday, fans replaced beer with coffee for several hours, but by afternoon
the party had restarted in a tent city where most fans spent the weekend.
Grills started to smoke. Car radios came on. A couple sold brownies with
marijuana baked into them for brunch.
"How often do you get to do this?" said Mike Lewis of Massachusetts as he
sipped from a bottle of Guinness shortly before noon.
There also was a road race in true Phish festival style. It included serious
runners, a few with beers in hand and a man wearing only a hat and shoes.
Phish fan Pat Hallisey, 28, winced as the man went by. Hallisey and Heather
DiNallo, 26, had a scare with a friend who had "too much of everything" the
night before, and both were sick of using portable toilets. But they were ready
for more music.
"It is going to take a week" to recover, said DiNallo, of Massachusetts.
The concert's promoter and police encouraged fans to stay Sunday for the
three scheduled sets, camp overnight to rest and sober up, and leave today.
State police predicted heavy traffic on Route 1 and 1A. Today was not
expected to be a repeat of the 10- to 12-hour wait that many Phish fans endured in
the last 10 to 20 miles on their way to the concert, said State Police Lt.
Darrell Ouellette, because there will be wait to park and no cursory search of
departing vehicles.
By Sunday afternoon, state police had made 30 arrests. Most were related to
drug sales, but there also were arrests for assault, domestic violence
incidents, theft and vandalism. The one major case of vandalism involved $12,000 worth
of damage done to a fence near an exit that was closed, Ouellette said.
"We have really been pleased with the overall behavior of fans," he said.
Promoters reported 800 people had been treated by Sunday at field medical
units. Fourteen were transported to Cary Medical Center in Caribou for treatment.
Peacemaker, a group of paramedics, doctors and nurses who provide medical
attention at rock festivals, treatred people for blisters, dehydration,
drug-related illnesses, broken bones and other problems.
The Aroostook County Office of Emergency Management reported no shortages of
essentials such as food and water. Crews struggled to keep portable toilets
pumped out, especially near the concert area, where most fans spent several
hours Saturday and Sunday nights, said Vern Ouellette, county director of
emergency management.
Ouellette said everyone worked hard to try and keep the area safe and clean
for fans. Challenges are expected, however, when there is a gathering that
brings in 70,000 people, he said.
Government will pay little, if any, of costs for the festivals. The promoters
paid for everything from staff meals to police overtime, and rented the site
from the Loring Development Authority for $500,000.
Some of the money will be paid to Anna Borofsky and her crew of more than 70
workers from the company Vibes, an environmentally friendly concert-cleanup
firm from Portsmouth, N.H. The festival is expected to produce between 300 and
400 tons of garbage and 100 tons of recyclable items such as glass and
aluminum.
The It festival is Phish's third time at Loring. The band also played here in
1997 and 1998.
Copyright © 2003 Portland Press Herald
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