Camping is right on the grounds at Podunk - no bus to ride
to the concert area, just a short walk.
Our camping
area is flat and easy to access. It is a short walk
to the concert area, restrooms and showers. Camping spots
are on a first-come first-served basis. The Campground
Coordinator will reserve certain areas for camping in
tents.
2011 Best Campsite Contest Theme: "Sweet 16"
Learn more about the contest.
Looking for a list of things to bring? Check
out Stephen Indelicato’s list (adapted from Grey
Fox).
Learn about everything our campground
has to offer, and all the rules and services.
Best Campsite Contest
The Annual Best Campsite Award is
given to the outstanding campsite on the grounds.
Sites are judged for creativity, interest, elegance,
wackiness, technical prowess, and other factors that
the judges deem reasonable. Everyone who camps at
Podunk is automatically in the running. Our judges
check out each and every site! Good luck!
HOW TO COMPETE: Don't worry, you're automatically
in the running if you're camping at Podunk. Just create
the camp of your dreams (within reason) and our judges
will seek you out. You could be the winner! We'll
announce the winner from the main stage Saturday evening
and on the website after the festival. (Did you check
out this year's winners?)
FOR THE WINNING ENTRY: Weekend Camping Pass for two
to next year's festival and a trophy. Trophies are awarded
for 2nd and 3rd place thanks to our sponsor: Discount
Trophy.
 Congratulations
to 2008 Winners - The Garnjost family
Previous winners:
2008 - The Garnjost family
2007 - the Messerschmidt and Tangerone
families
2006 - the Garnjost family
2005 - the Zimmermans
2004 - A Tie between Debbie Cook and Margo Purple
2003 - The Bowmans of New Jersey!
2002 - Debbie Cook
Camp visitors
Visitors are allowed to enter campgrounds from 8:00
a.m. and may stay until 12:00 a.m. Anyone in the campgrounds
after midnight will be asked to leave the grounds.
Daily parking rates apply.
Camping in the rough
The camping area before
any campers arrived in 2003
A row of campers in the field |
We had 300 camp sites in 2008 with plenty of room to
add more. However, don't wait — register early
since all pre-registered campers are guaranteed a camping
space on the festival grounds. We reserve an area near
the tree line for those staying in tents. We place the
RVs in the middle of the field.
Our camping area is flat and easy to park. We park
our campers on a first-come-first served basis. This
way we do not lose any valuable space by skipping
areas. If you wish to camp next to another party,
please arrive together.
Upon arriving, you will be given a scrapbook sheet.
During your stay, we ask that you design a page that
will be given to Michelle LaPorte at the end of your
stay to be included in our annual camping scrapbook.
What You get - Full Weekend Pass Thursday through
Sunday (Including camping in the rough).
This year there will be no daily gate camping - If
you wish to camp on the grounds you must purchase
a full 4 day pass with camping.
This year all advanced camping ticket includes 1
adult ticket to the festival and camping from Thursday
to Sunday.
At this point, there are no tables or electrical
or sewer hookups, but there are showers and water
located close by for all campers. We will have a company
on hand to pump any grey and black water before leaving
the festival on Sunday.
Check-in times
If you wish to camp starting Wednesday you may pay
an additional $8.00 per person. We will allow campers
beginning after 1 PM. Bring something for the potluck
dinner under the family stage pavilion.
Campers may check in on Thursday from 8 AM until
8:30 PM, on Friday from 9 AM until 8:30 PM and Saturday
morning from at 8:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Proper passes
must be visible at all times. Lost passes will be
replaced at the gate price. Please adhere to these
times. Failure to check in during the appropriate
time may require you to camp in a site for the evening
until the next day at which time you will have to
move.
Equipment
Camping equipment, including properly curtained station
wagons and vans, are subject to the approval of the
supervisor in charge. Trailers and RVs exceeding 45'
in length are required to arrive no later than Thursday
at 2 PM. All equipment must be removed from the campsite
by 10 AM Monday morning.
Facilties
The Parks and Recreation Department provides water
for filling holding tanks and toilets. Our port-a-john
company will be available to dump gray water at a
small fee for those who might need this service. When
registering, please let us know of your interest in
this service. If you would like to dump your gray
water, indicate what time and day you would be leaving.
Currently we are not providing individual connections
for electricity, water or sanitary facilities, nor
are there laundry units (however there is a laundry
mat near by), lodges or shelters on our campgrounds.
Limited firewood is available.
Fires and Cooking
Fires are permitted in designated fireplaces. Ground
fires are strictly prohibited. The use of camp stoves
or hibachi-style grills is encouraged. Limited grills
are provided at Martin Park. Please do not leave any
fire unattended.
Grounds and buildings
Campsites are to be kept in a neat, clean and sanitary
condition. Dishwashing is prohibited at water taps,
in lavatories and showers. The injuring, removal or
destruction of any animal or plant material is prohibited.
Nails, knives, or other foreign objects may not be
driven into trees or park structures nor may wire
or rope be fastened to trees for any purpose.
The permanent bathrooms will stay open throughout
the festival. Please inform a staff member should
the facilities need cleaning or supplies.
Ice
East Hartford's own Burnside Ice Company will be
selling 15 lb. bags of Cooler Fuel (Chips) on the
grounds. Cost is $5.00 per bag or you may buy 5lb
bags of cubes for $2.00. Place orders for your ice
with the campground quartermaster - The Iceman Cometh.
We hope to have the ice truck staffed so
that you may purchase ice between 9 AM and 7 PM.
The ice truck is near the "Steamers" black
and yellow building on the grounds near the skate
park.
Motor Vehicles
One vehicle per campsite (with proper passes) is
permitted. Vehicle passes are nontransferable. If you have more than one vehicle, you will
be asked to park in the parking lot designated area.
You will not be charged for parking in this area.
The speed limit within campgrounds is 10 miles per
hour or less.
Pets
We know that many people consider their pets to be
family. We hope that you will only bring family members
to Podunk that get along with everyone, if not please
leave them home.
Pets are limited to one per per person in a campsite
and must be held on a leash not to exceed 7 feet in
length. Dogs must have rabies vaccination and owners
may be required to show proof. Pets must not be left
unattended.
There is a paved road that leads around the back
of the park and also to a Linear Trail that is ideal
for exercising your pet.
We ask that you clean up after your pets. Failure
to do so will mean you will be asked to leave.
Pets are not allowed in the
concert area. Sorry :(
Playgrounds
the playground being built in 1998
 |
We have available two playgrounds located next to each
other within the park. This "Old Western Frontier"
themed playground was built in 1998. One is geared for
children up to 5 years old and the other is 5-12 years
old. There are swings nearby as well.
Pool
We are planning to have the pool open in 2008. So
bring your bathing suit! We will require that children
are accompanied by an adult while in the pool. In
the event of rain or cold weather pool hours may vary.
Podunk Bluegrass Swim Schedule for 2008 at
Martin Pool
- Thursday
- Friday
- 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
- 1:00 - 6:00 PM
- Saturday
- 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
- 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Sunday
Are you a currently certified ARC lifeguard? We might
need lifeguards to help supervise our pool times.
If you are interested contact
Roger Moss.
Pictured is Martin Pool. We have a wading pool located
to the far end of this picture for young children.
Depending on our staff levels the wadding area may
be opened during limited times. Parents must be with
children at all times.
Quiet hours
We try to have quiet hours observed between 11:30
PM and 7:00 AM. Generators may be run between 8:00
AM to 9:00 PM only. Due to the size of our camping
area, we allow picking throughout. If you would like
to camp in a quieter area, please inform our Campground
Coordinator upon arrival. Reasonable levels of sound
may not be exceeded at any time.
Shower facilities
Showers will be available for campers in the bathhouse.
We don't promise how long the hot water will last!
The showers will be opened from 9 AM until 9 PM,
unless otherwise posted.
There is no charge for use of the showers. We ask
that you clean up before leaving the shower area,
so the next person will have a clean shower to use.
Things to bring (adapted
from Stephen Indelicato’s Grey Fox list)
- Tent or two, (you can never have too many).... tents
with big poles stand up to the wind better.
- Sleeping bag or sheets or blankets or something
to keep you warm/and or cold at night depending on
the weather.
- A pillow and an inflatable bed for sleeping comfort
- Your instruments...if you realize you forgot your
instruments, turn around and go back home because
you'll want it to make the weekend complete.
- Instrument accessories. Things like picks, capos,
straps, music stands, sheet music, words, chords,
of course most of that stuff can be purchased at the
vendor tables if necessary.
- Food. There are always the food vendors. Cooking
takes away from valuable picking and concert and workshop
time so I recommend keeping it to a minimum.
- Water. For drankin' and showerin' and washin'.
Bring several filled plastic water jugs from home.
They can be refilled from the trucks at the site.
The Coleman 5 gallon square jug w/ tap works pretty
decently.
- Water bottles (for the concert site and walking
around or whatever). Keep one on ice at all times.
- Spray bottle...If its hot, nothing works better
to cool you off than a spray in the face!
- Chairs. Lots of chairs. You will need 1 chair for
jammin' at the campsite. 1 chair for sittin' at the
concert site. I also bring a Podunk Portable Pickin’
Perch for the workshops to save your back.
- A claw hammer...to stake-down a tent.
- A bandana. They soak up sweat and can be kept moist
for added evaporation and natural cooling.
- Bug repellent. Bugs are not usually a problem since
we spray the grounds before the event.
- A small backpack or waist pack to carry money,
picks, etc.
- Money for the food vendors (Seafood, Hot Dogs,
Pulled Pork, Burgers etc.) and lots of CDs to buy.
Don't forget a marker for autographs for your CDs
if you want. Also money for vendors who have trinkets
for that special someone.
- Your tickets to the festival.
- A hat. One with a wide brim preferably.
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Utensils for eating or cooking. I usually bring
a stove and grill for heating water for coffee or
tea or weisswurst or whatever. Bring all necessary
pots, pans, knives, bottle opener, corkscrew etc.
- Matches to light the stove (in a plastic bag of
course).
- Spices, salt, pepper if you plan to cook.
- Toilet paper (sometimes its needed during the late
hours).
- Tarps for shade. I'll bring a couple...Tarps keep
water and sun off of you. Survival necessities. Extra
tent stakes, rope, bungee cords, carabeaners or whatever
you got to lash things down.
- Rain gear. Useful only if it's cold and pouring.
For the most part....getting wet is OK. Truthfully,
rain gear just would make you sweat anyway.
- An extra pair of dry footwear.
- Clothes. Shorts (bathing suits if you plan to swim
or dance in the rain)...extra socks, shirts, long
pants and a jacket or sweatshirt for evening. It gets
cold at night so have sweats for the evening show.
- Towels, washcloths, toiletries. Don't forget shampoo,
soap and toothpaste.
- Lanterns and/or a flashlight.
- Your favorite CDs. Preferably bluegrass since it
is a bluegrass show.
- Tape recorder and mike for the show or jams. Bring
lots of extra batteries and extra tapes.
- Cellular phone to call home or for help.
- Coolers for food or whatever. ice can be purchased
on the grounds.
- Golf Clubs - You can visit Long Hill country Club
for a round if you must.
- Deck of cards...Frisbees...reading material or
other items to entertain...backgammon?
- Tables for the camp. I bring a card table and a
jammin' table.
- clothespins - great for clipping towels, sun shades,
etc up on the tarp.
- beater rug(s) - it's nice to have a little area
under the tarp that's not grass
- duct tape - need I say more?
- spare car key
- And anything else you can think of which will come
in handy that hasn't been mentioned here (aspirin,
over the counter pharmaceuticals, binoculars, camera,
film, etc.
Trash and recycling
Please dispose of your trash in the
appropriate cans around the grounds.
Help us to recycle by keeping glass
and plastic separate. You may place glass bottles
and cans in our half-barrels or cans with covers throughout
the festival.
Weapons
Except as specifically authorized, no firearms, paint
guns, archery equipment or other weapons may be possessed
in any campgrounds or park.
When it's all over
Please leave the grounds as you have found them.
Do not empty gray water tanks on the grounds or in
the sewer drains. We will have our port-a-john company
available to empty holding tanks for a $20.00 fee
(sorry, that's what he charges).
Please let us know what day and time you are planning
on leaving so we can schedule the company.
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