Annual bluegrass festival under way

Aug. 5, 2005

KATE KELLY\Frontiersman reporter

If you see desperate hitchhikers on the Parks Highway holding tattered "Talkeetna" signs this weekend, chances are they are heading to the 24th annual Talkeetna Blue-grass and Music Festival, which got under way yesterday.

Billed as "Alaska's Greatest Campout," the four-day festival at Mile 102 Parks Hwy. features 35 bands such as headliner Barefoot Bluegrass, Paul Byrd, Sportin Woodies, Josh Fryfogle, Coho, Love Puppets, Rising Dogs, and Guitar Bill, drawing hundreds of music lovers from all over Alaska and elsewhere.

Costing $35 for adults and nothing for "kids over 65 and under 12" for the entire four days, or $10 for Sunday only, organizers boast of one major new improvement: a designated family camping area.

"Our intentions are to create a separate 'family friendly' camping environment, enabling families with children and the more conservative festival goer the chance to have a positive and enjoyable festival experience," organizers wrote on the festival's Web site, www.TalkeetnaBluegrass.com, adding that patrons who use the new area are asked not to set up obtrusive or excessive camps.

Rules prohibit unnecessary "louder than camp" noise produced by radios, conversations, or music after 10 p.m. in the new family area.

"If this doesn't sound like your idea of camping, then we request that you utilize our Open Festival Camping area," the Web site states. "We hope this will give everyone the opportunity to experience the TB&MF."

One unidentified Web site writer who has participated in 10 previous festivals said he or she has watched "Dirty Ernie" and his bluegrass family pour heart and soul into improving the site and experience.

"Every year I see this family grow in ways I never thought possible," the writer said, adding that last year's festival was "a test of will and a true eye-opener for many of us" because of the tragic death of longtime security staff member John Robert Portman.

Portman, 52, of Fairbanks, rolled his Polaris ATV while making a turn on opening day, causing him to be thrown and to strike his head on a wooden 4-by-4 post. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, according to the accident report.

"TB&MF still pulled together in the true spirit of 'The Show Must Go On,'" the Web writer said.

The festival has drawn criticism in the past because of what some see as widespread drug use. During last year's Aug. 5-8 festival, Alaska State Troopers arrested a total of 23 people, none of the arrests were for drug offenses, with the exception of six DUIs.

The rest were for outstanding warrants, driving without a license or with a suspended license, and one for minor consuming alcohol.

Trooper Lt. Rick Roberts has patrolled the festival since 2000 and said 2004 was a bit quieter than usual.

"Last year, half our arrests were drug related," Roberts said of the 2003 festival.

Trooper Kyle Young from the Mat-Su Drug Team, however, said there were ongoing investigations of possible drug sales over the weekend last year.

There were also 490 other trooper contacts during the event, including traffic stops, hitchhiker stops, and checks on people in the beer garden, resulting in 178 citations and 311 warnings, troopers reported of the 2004 event.