Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival is on

TALKEETNA — Having overcome a permitting issue with the Mat-Su Borough, the longtime organizer of the Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival says he’s all set for the final installment of what he calls “Alaska’s Greatest Campout.”

The festival is scheduled for Aug. 5-7, and this is it for “Dirty” Ernie Wheatley. For real this time.

“I’ve been telling everyone for 10 years that it’s the last one just to get people to come to the damn thing, and now it really is the last year and everybody’s like, ‘yeah, right,’” Wheatley said.

As for the permitting problem, Wheatley said it’s a battle he’s been fighting with the borough for at least four years.

“About four years ago I figured out a way to get around their goddamn permit,” he said. “I’ve been fighting them on it because I think it’s against the Constitution.”

He said he feels he should be given broader latitude since the festival is held on his private property.

The problem had to do with insurance. The borough wanted him to take out a performance bond in case something happened. Wheatley said he used to put up his land to cover that — the same land where the festival was held. It meant that every year he had to risk losing his land, but it worked. For whatever reason, this year that was deemed insufficient.

“To make a long story short, they gave me a waiver for this performance bond,” Wheatley said. “But they wanted their $500 blood money for their application.”

He said he was surprised he received the waiver, but had things not gone his way he was planning a protest. The pro-festival demonstration was being organized on Facebook as of two weeks ago. Wheatley said 35 people volunteered to show up outside borough headquarters.

“They enacted this ordinance under the guise of public safety, but if you don’t charge, they can’t require you to get a permit,” Wheatley said. “I could have 10,000 people in here if I didn’t charge them and they could kill each other and they wouldn’t care.”

Of course, all of that is behind him. Wheatley said he’s getting too old to put on the yearly festival, but he promises one last great show.

“This is going to be spectacular this year. It’s going to be the last one. It’s got to be a hoo-rah, man,” Wheatley said. “If you ain’t never been you better come because it’s going to be a good one.

Lulu Small, who’s played at the festival since Ernie came on the scene and is now in charge of booking the bands, said there will be some great acts on stage. Her own band, LuLu and the Aqua Nets, are headlining one night.

Also performing are Gary Sloan, Son Henry, Ken Peltier, Suzy Crozby, Marty Raney, Mabery Bros., Grits-n-Gravy, Rachel Renae, Hot Dish, AK Free Fuel, Sarahndipity, Sourdough Biscuits, Winterland, Time to Live and more.

In addition to feeling his age, Wheatley said he’s also starting to feel the heat of competition.

“When I started this thing 30 years ago there wasn’t anything going on, but now you open the paper and there’s a festival going on every weekend almost,” he said.

In 30 years, Wheatley said, he’s put all kinds of improvements on his land, including lights and generators. There are free showers, free water and an RV dumpsite. He’s got barrels for people to make fires in. He has medical staff on hand for the whole weekend, round-the-clock trash cleanup and two shifts of 25 security guards each.

“All 50 of them are available if need be,” Wheatley said.

Small said she’s trying to find a way to keep the show going on her own, maybe in a different place, at a different time of year. Possibly even under a different name.

“Music festivals seem to be a big thing for local people,” she said. “This is the godfather and grandfather of them all. “

Having recently had both her hips replaced, she said she feels born again and is ready to rock.

Her band will feature a 17-year-old guitarist she took on as a student in Anchorage this year making his onstage debut. She can’t say enough good things about his ability. And having him there with her for the last show, she said, will be poignant.

“It feels like it’s going to be kind of passing the torch,” Small said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.