Bonnaroo happenings

Bonnaroo happenings

By CHRISTINA CONNALLY, NEWS SENTINEL
June 12, 2005

Note: Christina Connally, a University of Tennessee senior, is interning as a reporter with the News Sentinel this summer. Bivouacked in the muck and mayhem of the campsite, her mission is to report daily on the mood of the crowd at Bonnaroo.

"I heard this was like the Woodstock of this era," said Stan Secrest, as he handed a teenager some paints. "But this is unbelievably tame."

More than 15 kids were standing in his small tent surrounded by homemade hand drums. He sells the drums through his traveling company, "Build A Drum."

Customers choose the style of drum and paint and coat it with a varnish of their choice.

At Bonnaroo it has been a huge hit with the fans who want to try a hand at keeping their own rhythm.

Chris Bonta of Johnson City, Tenn., does some juggling on the Bonnaroo grounds during the Kings of Leon performance
SAUL YOUNG / NEWS SENTINEL
Chris Bonta of Johnson City, Tenn., does some juggling on the Bonnaroo grounds during the Kings of Leon performance.

Three boys were throwing down in the mud, but the security guards didn't seem to mind.

Two crowds of people were heading in opposite directions, some to see The Black Crowes and another to hear Jack Johnson, but they had to make their way around a pool of mud to get there.

A crowd of fans took some time to watch three teenagers mud wrestle, and another boy slide through the mud on his stomach.

"Let us in, let us in," was chanted periodically while a group of fans waited for almost an hour to be let in to Centeroo, where all the stages are located.

Security guards quickly began speeding up the search process, glancing in bags and pushing people through the gates.

People didn't stay mad for long though. Every time beer was found in someone's bag they would throw it into the crowd of people waiting to be let in and tell them to chug it before they got to the gate.

"If you keep throwing beers at us, I'll stay here all day," one fan yelled.

"It's cool, but it's a different vibe this year," Patrick Smith, 35, said.

In the three years Smith has come to Bonnaroo, it has become more crowded, he said.

He arrived hours before Yonder Mountain String Band played Saturday to make sure he had some space to enjoy the show.

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a grassroots organization out of Knoxville, was spreading the word about renewable forms of energy to Bonnaroo fans.

Mel Scudder, a volunteer who asked people to sign a petition showing their support for renewable forms of energy, said that all of their petitions had been signed and they had to call in for 500 more Thursday afternoon.

"We have people coming by all the time and they're all interested in global warming and making change happen by using renewable forms of energy," Scudder said. "Overall this has been a great chance to meet people from all over the place and really get our message out there."

When the parents are ready to take a break, they take their kids to the Kidz Jam tent, where face painting, toys, musical instruments and a place to color are offered for smaller Bonnaroo fans.

"We try to make it fun for the kids," Rain Long, manager of Kidz Jam, said. "This is a place where they can get away from the crowd."

The organization travels to different music festivals and events where they give away glow sticks and earplugs as part of a survival pack.